Dr. Arthur Agatston developed the South Beach Diet to help patients lose weight and maintain their goal weight for life by choosing low-glycemic carbohydrates, lean proteins and healthy fats. Before you choose any diet, you need to know what you'll will be eating so you know if you'll enjoy the foods on the diet and be able to stick to the program. Get your doctor's approval before undertaking any diet program.
Diet Basics
Each day on the South Beach Diet, you have a breakfast, lunch, dinner, two snacks and a low-sugar dessert. You eat frequently to reduce hunger and control your blood sugar levels. Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet is two weeks long, and it is supposed to eliminate sugar and carbohydrate cravings. Phase 2 is for slow and steady weight loss to your goal weight, and Phase 3 is a lifetime strategy to maintain your goal weight. The foods that you can include in your breakfast depend on which phase of the diet you are in.
Phase 1 Breakfasts
You can eat lean proteins, such as skinless white-meat turkey and chicken, shellfish, lean meat and fish, nuts, beans, eggs, nonstarchy vegetables, low-fat or fat-free milk and plain yogurt, and healthy oils. You cannot have alcohol, fruit, grains or sweets. Southbeachdiet.com provides recipes for acceptable breakfasts such as artichokes benedict with eggs and bacon, asparagus and goat cheese omelets, baked eggs with spinach and ham and bacon, tomato and egg sandwiches on tomatoes instead of bread.
Phase 2 and 3 Breakfasts
Phases 2 and 3 include the foods from Phase 1, along with some fruits, starchy vegetables such as pumpkin and corn, nonfat artificially sweetened yogurt, whole grains and high-fiber, low-sugar cereals. You can come up with your own breakfast ideas with these foods, or use recipes from the South Beach Diet. Some options are whole-grain and oat buttermilk waffles with sugar-free jam, salmon sandwiches, pear bran muffins and Phase 3-appropriate cottage cheese crepes with cherries.
Considerations
The South Beach Diet is a commercial diet that does not give you the specific requirements for meals until you join the program for a fee. Once you are a member, you can ask a registered dietitian for individual help in meal planning and get cooking tips from the online South Beach Diet Kitchen. You can get additional help from your online meal planner and purchase a variety of South Beach Diet cookbooks for ideas. South Beach Diet members can read articles about eating out at restaurants while on the diet, so you can plan a restaurant breakfast that fits into your meal plan.
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