Cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agaston had originally designed the south beach diet to deal with heart disease. He made this diet after he saw a good success ratio among his patients who follow low carbs diet, that is, plenty of ‘good carbs’ with high fat diet. His aim was to help heart patients not only through medication but also through diet control. This is the diet plan that became well known as the South Beach Diet.

South beach diet suggests that one should simply stick to ‘good’ carbs and ‘good’ fats and leave the ‘bad’ carbs and ‘bad’ fats. Refined food items, such as sugar, cookies, cakes, french fries, chips, etc all fall under the group of bad carbs or bad fats. Whereas the good carbs or good fats group includes foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, beans and whole grains, etc.

The success of the south beach diet depends on the low glacemic index food with good carbohydrates. South beach diet replaces all trans-fats and saturated fats with the foods rich in unsaturated fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acid that provide good cholesterol, also known as high density lipoprotein or HDL. While on the south beach diet, you have to resist from eating poultry and red meat. Instead, you can have nuts, fish, and lean meats. This diet improves insulin resistance and helps to reduce weight.

The South Beach Diet is followed in three phases:-

Phase 1:

The duration for the first phase is two weeks. It is the most difficult phase among the three phases, because it is the most restrictive phase. In this phase, you will have to cut out most carbs from your daily diet. You also need to drink lot of water during this phase. Foods such as potatoes, pastas, fruits, alcohol, breads, rice, sugar, baked items, and all kind of alcoholic drinks are also prohibited. Phase 1 aims to cut down food craving and limit the carbohydrate intake.

Phase 2:

The second phase does not have a designated period, but it continues until your body reaches your targeted weight. Carbohydrates are then reintroduced into your daily diet in a phased manner. This phase of south beach diet allows almost all types of food items. However, it starts with high fibre carbohydrates such as whole-grain breads and starchy carbohydrates. This phase of diet is very liberal as it even allows you to have sweets such as strawberries with cream.

Phase 3:

In the third phase, you just have to maintain your body weight. This phase is the most liberal, because you are permitted to eat all types of food items. However, you do have to watch the amount of what you eat, making sure to consume only in moderate quantities.

If you start gaining weight, then you have to restart the whole procedure from the very first phase. The south beach diet is popular because it gives vast variety of food options, while achieving good and long term results. Moreover, the success ratio of the south beach diet is high as compared to other diets which require the same amount of effort.

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