If you wish to lose a few extra pounds or a substantial amount of weight, a structured diet regimen may be what you need to stay on track. However, some diets can be so difficult to follow, such as weighing every bit of food you consume, that they replace your motivation with frustration. Arthur Agatston designed the South Beach Diet with easy-to-follow guidelines that are direct and simple, as well as recipes and prepackaged foods that take out the guesswork. Although, no matter how easy a diet is, it can be extremely hard if you are not in the right frame of mind to follow it. Your health and weight-loss goals begin from within.
Recipes That Eliminate the Guesswork
The South Beach Diet is broken up into three phases, and there are recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as snacks and desserts available for each phase of the diet. Every recipe provides the ingredients, instructions and a picture so you know how the finished product is supposed to look, as well as calorie, carbohydrate, fat and protein content. This makes it easy to stay within the amount of carbohydrates allowed for the day. Appropriate beverages are listed as well, so you don't accidentally fall off the wagon because of a high-sugar "fruit drink" or carbohydrate-loaded "nonfat latte." Recipes are available for fruit and coffee drinks that are alternatives to unhealthy, commercial options. Registered dietitian Jodi Danen recommends recipes that substitute full-fat ingredients with reduced fat alternatives such as liquid egg whites in the place of eggs, which is what the South Beach recipes offer.
Easy Phase 1 Guidelines
Phase 1 lasts two weeks and is the most restrictive phase in the diet. It is laid out straightforwardly, which makes it easy to know what to eat and what not to eat. The primary "rule" in this phase is that you are allowed to consume 20 g of carbohydrates per day. Restricted foods include fruit, sugary foods, starchy vegetables such as potatoes and all bread including whole wheat. You are not required to count calories and are supposed to focus on consumption of foods high in protein such as fish and lean meat and healthy fats such as extra-virgin olive oil.
Easy Phase 2 and Phase 3 Guidelines
When you reach phase 2, your carbohydrate consumption is increased to approximately 45 g per day. Some complex carbohydrates, such as fruits, are reintroduced into your diet. In phase 3, carbohydrate intake is increased to approximately 47 g per day and you can implement any complex carbohydrates including whole-grain breads. This is supposed to set you up for a way of eating for life and maintaining your weight loss.
Warning
Katherine Zeratsky, a registered and licensed dietitian, warns that diets high in protein and low in carbohydrates often result in health problems if followed for long periods of time. The South Beach Diet is well under the recommended 45 to 65 percent of calories from carbohydrates per day. This may result in fiber deficiency, which can lead to constipation and diverticulitis. High-protein diets can also worsen liver or kidney problems. Zeratsky advises you to consult your doctor before following a high-protein diet if you have kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes or if you are pregnant or nursing.
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