How Does the South Beach Diet Work

From LoveToKnow Diet

Watching the glitzy ads you may be asking yourself, how does the south beach diet work? Is it for real, or just another scam? As usual, it's not a black-and-white issue; you can make it work if you're determined and dedicated enough, but it's not a magic bullet.

What the South Beach Diet Is

The South Beach diet is similar to the Atkins diet in that it's a low-carb, high-protein diet. One notable difference is that the emphasis is more on healthy fats than just any fat, such as bacon grease or heavily marbled beef, something Atkins has been criticized for in the past.

This part of the diet can be traced to its originator, Dr. Agatsons, who is a cardiologist. Naturally, with this background, heart health is a key consideration. This stance also translates to the carbohydrates you are allowed to eat on this diet, where high-GI carbs such as sugars and highly processed foods are eschewed in favor of high-fiber vegetables, nuts and so on.

How Does the South Beach Diet Work?

The South Beach diet is divided into phases, where the first phase--typically running two weeks--is designed to work like hitting the reset button for your body. Basically, the diet cuts out all sugars, dairy, alcohol, pasta, breads etc. so as to give your body a chance to purge the junk that messes with insulin resistance from your system, along with cravings and bad habits that may have grown quite hardy over the years.

As with Atkins, the diet relies heavily on the function of insulin, since excess insulin and poor use of said insulin (i.e. the body has built up resistance to it) directly promotes fat storage along with other nasty side effects. The first two weeks can be very tough, as they present a big shock if you've been leading a typical American life up until then, but there's some merit to the idea of getting a clean start.

Furthermore, the South Beach diet is fairly humane in that it does not advocate starvation unlike other, similarly named and marketed diet scams. Instead, you get to have three square meals with snacks in-between; you can eat until you're satisfied, you just have to eat the right kinds of stuff to get there.

The second phase is the down-to-business part where you chug along on the new diet until you hit your target weight. Moderate amounts of alcohol, dairy and whole grains are now carefully reintroduced into the diet. The idea here is that since they're "good" and you've cut the ties with your old habits, you can now safely ease up a little on the anti-carb stance without awakening the now slumbering cravings.

Finally, the third phase is the maintenance regimen where you're allowed decent amounts of carbs and other "normal" food every day. Still, whole grains, fiber, healthy fats and above all, moderation, remains the priority.

Is It For Real?

There's a lot more details to be covered in a comprehensive answer to the question, How does the South Beach diet work, but the fundamentals are sound. Going cold turkey on the morning donut and Friday night beer can be a traumatizing event, but the cravings typically subside considerably once you've suffered through the initial withdrawal agony.

The good news is that you'll likely see your weight drop several pounds in those first two weeks alone. The bad news is that it's most likely just water, same as practically every other diet out there. Beyond that, there's a good chance of success if you manage to stick to the program, especially in combination with regular exercise.

Be prepared for quite a bit of involvement, however. This isn't one of those diets where you snap into autopilot; you have to put some thought into your menu, learn to cook your food and probably abstain from eating out more often than not. Also, the program is a bit of a one-size-fits-all solution. Naturally, an athletic 20-year old male has quite different metabolic needs than a sedentary 50-year old female. After a grueling workout, one of the best things the 20-year old can eat is actually a load of sugar, since this prevents his muscle tissue from cannibalizing itself and thus reduce his metabolism. The same amount of sugar would be downright hazardous for the sedentary woman, wreaking havoc on her blood sugar levels. In other words, you may have to improvise and bend the rules a little to adjust to your particular situation.

The bottom line is that the South Beach diet can be a good, common-sense system if you have the discipline, which has an edge over the competition in that it promotes healthy eating that is realistic for the long haul. Good luck!

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