Why The South Beach Diet Burns Belly Fat First

Many diets offer ways to lose weight, with the South Beach diet being one of them. The South Beach diet allows you to burn fat by remaining in ketosis, or burning fatty acids for energy. If you have body fat to lose, limiting your carbohydrate intake and eating healthy fats and proteins not only works, but helps you maintain lean muscle mass. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any diet or exercise program.

Belly Fat

If you have to lose belly fat, you lose this the same way you lose fat everywhere else -- caloric restriction and exercise. There is no method of spot reduction short of liposuction. If you are looking for a diet that will burn fat from a specific area, save your energy and use it to exercise. Fat is utilized as an energy reserve by your body -- if you want to lose it, you need to begin by controlling your diet. The South Beach diet is a method of limiting calories by limiting your carbohydrate intake. This method has been shown to be effective, according to a 2007 study published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association."

Phase One

The first phase of the South Beach diet is a strict ketogenic diet, where you attempt to exclude all non-fibrous carbohydrates. This means no fruit, starches or sugars. The only carbohydrate sources you will be consuming are leafy green vegetables. Almost all of the carbohydrates in green vegetables come from fiber, which does not get digested and converted to glycogen, or sugar. This means they will not be stored as fat. Even during this phase, you should avoid overeating. An excess of protein and fat is still a caloric excess, regardless of the source. This phase lasts three weeks.

Phase Two

The second phase of the South Beach diet is where you begin to re-introduce carbohydrates into your diet. Carbohydrates that are not quickly digested are allowed, and this includes cherries, blueberries and apples. Other carbohydrate containing sources are allowed, such as milk, but in all cases, your total intake of carbohydrates is low, with the bulk of your calories still coming from protein and fat. Slowly digesting carbohydrates generate far less of a spike in your blood sugar levels, which means they are less like to be stored as fat, according to a 2002 study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition." You should remain in phase two until your weight loss goal is achieved.

Phase Three

Phase three is a maintenance plan that you can follow for life. Having practiced the principles of portion control, carbohydrate control and disciplined eating, you follow these principles while slowly reintroducing other foods. Certain principles always apply, such as there rarely being a good time to add cake, ice cream and sugary sodas back into your diet. Make careful, cautious choices and maintain a healthy lifestyle. The most important part of phases one and two of the South Beach diet is teaching you healthy eating habits. Healthy eating habits help you lead a long and healthy life.