The South Beach Diet burst onto the scene in 2003, quickly becoming the darling diet of the moment. Since its conception, it has helped countless people lose weight and has seemingly lasted beyond the fad diet stage. However, even with its solid nutritional advice and a new "supercharged" version on the market, the South Beach Diet comes with a few potential negatives.
History and Features
Dr. Arthur Agatston based "The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss" on one he recommended to his cardio patients. The diet is arranged in three phases---the first one of which is highly restrictive and eliminates sugars and most carbohydrates. During the two weeks of phase one, the book claims you will lose as much as 13 pounds. Phase Two introduces some foods back into your diet, such as low glycemic carbohydrates. Phase Three makes recommendations for you to follow for life---teaching you about proper portion size and the concept of treats in moderation. In 2008, he released the "South Beach Diet Supercharged," which is basically the same as the original with a few extra allowed foods to provide people with more flexibility. The "supercharged" version also includes specific recommendations for interval training cardio exercise as part of the program.
Health Effects
Agatston notes in the original book that you might experience some constipation during the first phase of the diet due to the lower carbohydrate (and subsequent lower fiber) intake. Many products produced by South Beach and marketed in grocery stores contain sugar alcohols, which can lead to bloating and gas. The complete elimination of fruit during the first phase is a bit extreme and deprives you of certain important nutrients.
Adherence
Because the first phase is so restrictive, you might suffer from carbohydrate cravings and fatigue, which makes it challenging to adhere to the plan, which strongly urges you to cook at home--dining out in restaurants becomes very challenging because there are specific foods you must eat. Vegetarians may also struggle with finding enough suitable foods to eat during the plan.
Expert Insight
Some experts critique the science behind the way Dr. Agatston relies on the glycemic index without taking into account how much digestible carbohydrates certain foods deliver. Watermelon, for example, is allowed only in phase three of the diet on very rare occasions because it has a high glycemic index. However, watermelon only delivers a few carbohydrate grams per serving--so it does not spike your blood sugar as the index would suggest. Glycemic load takes into account not only how the carbohydrates in a certain food affect your blood sugar, but how many of those carbohydrates a food actually contains. The South Beach Diet, because it does not take glycemic load into consideration, unduly disallows some very healthy foods.
Considerations
No research proves that the South Beach Diet works in the long run. It does not prescribe extremely low carbohydrate intake for the long term, so it is unlikely to cause some of the health problems reported with extremely low carbohydrate/high protein diets such as Atkins. But, just like any diet, you must adhere to its principles for life to sustain weight loss.
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