There is no limit to the number of short-term and fad diets promising to help you lose weight fast, but most are not intended for long-term weight loss. Cardiologist Arthur Agatston created the South Beach Diet in 2003, and it has remained a popular method for losing weight ever since. The South Beach Diet has three phases---and is intended to allow you to eat delicious food while helping you maintain a healthy weight for life, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Phase-One Foods
During the two weeks of phase one it can be challenging to find meals to enjoy, because your carbohydrate intake is restricted. This two-week phase limits carbohydrates to only about 10 percent of your total calorie intake per day. During this phase, you can eat lean protein, skinless white-meat poultry, high-fiber vegetables, reduced-fat cheese, low-fat dairy and eggs. You can also eat snacks and dessert. Breakfast can include an omelet with low-fat cheese and spinach. The South Beach Diet website suggests eating chicken breasts stuffed with spinach and goat cheese, seared pecan salmon with lentils, and grilled pork chops for dinner. Snacks during this phase can include nut mixes and hummus with celery.
Phase-Two Foods
Phase two of the South Beach Diet is the long-term-weight-loss phase. It lasts until you reach your target weight, and during this phase you can add back some of the foods you removed from your diet. Carbohydrates can comprise about 27 percent of your diet. During phase two you can enjoy whole-grain bread, brown rice and whole-wheat pasta---along with fruits and vegetables that you couldn't eat in phase one such as sweet potatoes, pumpkin and peas. You can also eat dark chocolate in this phase.
Southbeachdiet.com suggests meals such as coconut chicken, shrimp scampi and pesto pasta salad. You can also eat tasty side dishes such as baked sweet potato fries. For a snack you can eat popcorn and baked whole-grain tortilla chips with low-fat cheese or black bean dip.
Phase-Three Foods
The third phase of the South Beach Diet is intended to allow you to maintain your current weight for life---but if you gain weight then you restart at phase one. During phase three, you can eat everything in the first two phases and slightly increase your carbohydrate intake. The South Beach Diet suggests eating foods such as dutch apple pancakes for breakfast, chicken salad with wonton crisps for lunch and chicken pot pie for dinner. For side dishes, the website suggests apple-butternut squash soup and corn on the cob---and for dessert you can eat chocolate fondue or chocolate pie with a crunchy peanut butter crust.
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