South Beach Diet
What Are The Benefits And Pitfalls Of The South Beach Diet?
What is the South Beach Diet and what are its benefits and its drawbacks?
The South Beach Diet is the creation of cardiologist Arthur Agatston, MD, director of the Mount Sinai Cardiac Prevention Center in Miami Beach, Fla. And like the Atkins Diet, Dr. Agatston’s South Beach Diet also limits the intake of carbohydrates as well as including a severely restrictive two week induction phase that is followed by a long term diet. So this means that potatoes, fruit, bread, cereal, rice, pasta, beets, carrots, and corn are no longer allowed, especially during the induction phase. So, with the aforementioned similarities, you may be wondering where Atkins and South Beach actually differ.
First of all, while Atkins promotes the obscene consumption of saturated animal fats, South Beach bans all unhealthy fats while, on the other hand, promoting the consumption of healthier unsaturated fats. The other difference can be found in their opposing views of carbohydrates. The South Beach diet doesn’t count grams of carbohydrates and low-sugar carbs are actually recommended. Therefore, South Beach is unable to be pegged as simply as “low-carb” unlike the Atkins diet, and it’s stance on fats disqualifies it from being labeled a “low-fat” diet as well. One of the more beneficial points that the South Beach Diet makes is for people to snack throughout the day so that hunger pangs are offset and their metabolism remains elevated. Actual meal portions will be just large enough to satisfy one’s hunger but no larger. Another point that many diets such as South Beach are stressing is insulin control by eating less refined carbs and more complex, fiber-rich carbs that will keep your energy levels high and your risk for diabetes low.
But what about this harsh induction phase? As mentioned above, one must begin the South Beach Diet with what they call an induction phase that lasts for 14 days. During these 14 days, one’s choices for food are limited greatly. Foods to avoid include bread, cereal, fruit, pasta, rice, potatoes, and alcohol. While one can have dairy products, only two servings of low-fat or non fat dairy are permitted during induction. Once the induction phase is over, and your carb cravings have waned, you can now begin to reincorporate some carbs back into the diet. However, most foods are still banned, but things like pasta can be had occasionally. This diet is maintained until you reach your target weight.
Now, South Beach is not as wonderful as Dr. Agatston would like for you to believe. In my opinion, any diet that includes a highly restrictive period that leaves people nutritionally unbalanced is not a good idea. Furthermore, most of the weight lost during induction turns out to be water weight, therefore disrupting the electrolyte balance and leaving you dehydrated. Lastly, the induction phase is a necessary stage, yet it is a nearly impossible challenge for many to go without grains, pasta, and fruit for two weeks. And for the uninitiated, this induction phase simply asks for too much too soon. So, Dr. Agatston’s heart appears to be in the right place, but one-size-fits-all diets like the South Beach Diet appear to be more trouble than they are worth.
Learn about South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet is yet another way for people to lose weight. It seems that everyone wants to lose weight at some point in their lives. One day they look at themselves in the mirror and they just decide that they need to go on a diet. But then there is the tough choice of which diet to choose from. After all there are so many diets out there that anyone can find it hard to choose one diet and then stick to it. If you do choose to use The South Beach Diet, then you will be on a diet that seems to let you eat anything that you choose to eat. The option of fast-food takeaways is in the diet snacks are also not a problem and The South Beach Diet even includes desserts.
How Does It Work?
There is no magical way that The South Beach Diet works. It seems that you are free to eat what you want when you want. The South Beach Diet actually urges you to have snacks during the day and you will still have 3 course meals. It seems that the first two weeks are when everything starts to happen. During the first two weeks of The South Beach Diet you will not be allowed to eat any bread, pasta, rice, potatoes or any fruit. Also things like chocolates and cakes as well as sugar are not allowed to be touched during the first two weeks of The South Beach Diet. After two weeks though you can actually start to eat these foods again because you will be eating the right amount of carbohydrates and so you will lose weight instead of gaining it.
Disadvantages
There are a lot of people that disagree with The South Beach Diet and it seems that they have a good reason to. Just like the Atkins diet there seems to be a big problem with some of the foods that are suggested that you eat. This can result in problems for lots of people. You need to make sure that you have a healthy balanced diet and not a diet that is as erratic as The South Beach Diet. You will be encouraged to eat a lot of food that is highly unhealthy and this will result in future problems. The way our bodies work is very fascinating, but the way that people try to change this through diets can and will cause problems for many of us. For example some of the foods such as fish do have a high level of Mercury in them. The reason for these high levels of Mercury is because of generations of pollution that has been taking place. But high levels of Mercury can cause someone to experience serious neurological disorders. While this will only be as a result of high levels of Mercury intake it seems that The South Beach Diet wants you to have a lot of fish intake, especially during the first two weeks and as you start to include it into your diet after these first two weeks you will still have a high intake of fish plus all the other minerals that come with fish such as Mercury.
Summary
There are many diets that do work and they work very well. However it seems that The South Beach Diet has helped many people to lose weight, but it seems that people are trying to forget about the old way of losing weight through general exercise of about 30 minutes a day and also eating a healthy well balanced diet. If you have been eating a lot of bread and are then told to quit for two weeks for you new diet, then you will experiences some withdrawal symptoms and you will find it hard to resist these cravings.
With all these new diets coming out a lot of people get confused as to which diet is right for them. They do seem to get lost somewhere and find it hard to find the right diet that will help them lose a lot of weight. If you do choose to go for a normal well balanced diet then you can be sure that there is nothing wrong with what you are eating. While these diets all over the world claim to help you lose weight a lot of them are rubbish and are just invented to help some people make some money for themselves.
What Are The Benefits And Pitfalls Of The South Beach Diet?
What is the South Beach Diet and what are its benefits and its drawbacks?
The South Beach Diet is the creation of cardiologist Arthur Agatston, MD, director of the Mount Sinai Cardiac Prevention Center in Miami Beach, Fla. And like the Atkins Diet, Dr. Agatston’s South Beach Diet also limits the intake of carbohydrates as well as including a severely restrictive two week induction phase that is followed by a long term diet. So this means that potatoes, fruit, bread, cereal, rice, pasta, beets, carrots, and corn are no longer allowed, especially during the induction phase. So, with the aforementioned similarities, you may be wondering where Atkins and South Beach actually differ.
First of all, while Atkins promotes the obscene consumption of saturated animal fats, South Beach bans all unhealthy fats while, on the other hand, promoting the consumption of healthier unsaturated fats. The other difference can be found in their opposing views of carbohydrates. The South Beach diet doesn’t count grams of carbohydrates and low-sugar carbs are actually recommended. Therefore, South Beach is unable to be pegged as simply as “low-carb” unlike the Atkins diet, and it’s stance on fats disqualifies it from being labeled a “low-fat” diet as well. One of the more beneficial points that the South Beach Diet makes is for people to snack throughout the day so that hunger pangs are offset and their metabolism remains elevated. Actual meal portions will be just large enough to satisfy one’s hunger but no larger. Another point that many diets such as South Beach are stressing is insulin control by eating less refined carbs and more complex, fiber-rich carbs that will keep your energy levels high and your risk for diabetes low.
But what about this harsh induction phase? As mentioned above, one must begin the South Beach Diet with what they call an induction phase that lasts for 14 days. During these 14 days, one’s choices for food are limited greatly. Foods to avoid include bread, cereal, fruit, pasta, rice, potatoes, and alcohol. While one can have dairy products, only two servings of low-fat or non fat dairy are permitted during induction. Once the induction phase is over, and your carb cravings have waned, you can now begin to reincorporate some carbs back into the diet. However, most foods are still banned, but things like pasta can be had occasionally. This diet is maintained until you reach your target weight.
Now, South Beach is not as wonderful as Dr. Agatston would like for you to believe. In my opinion, any diet that includes a highly restrictive period that leaves people nutritionally unbalanced is not a good idea. Furthermore, most of the weight lost during induction turns out to be water weight, therefore disrupting the electrolyte balance and leaving you dehydrated. Lastly, the induction phase is a necessary stage, yet it is a nearly impossible challenge for many to go without grains, pasta, and fruit for two weeks. And for the uninitiated, this induction phase simply asks for too much too soon. So, Dr. Agatston’s heart appears to be in the right place, but one-size-fits-all diets like the South Beach Diet appear to be more trouble than they are worth.
Learn about South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet is yet another way for people to lose weight. It seems that everyone wants to lose weight at some point in their lives. One day they look at themselves in the mirror and they just decide that they need to go on a diet. But then there is the tough choice of which diet to choose from. After all there are so many diets out there that anyone can find it hard to choose one diet and then stick to it. If you do choose to use The South Beach Diet, then you will be on a diet that seems to let you eat anything that you choose to eat. The option of fast-food takeaways is in the diet snacks are also not a problem and The South Beach Diet even includes desserts.
How Does It Work?
There is no magical way that The South Beach Diet works. It seems that you are free to eat what you want when you want. The South Beach Diet actually urges you to have snacks during the day and you will still have 3 course meals. It seems that the first two weeks are when everything starts to happen. During the first two weeks of The South Beach Diet you will not be allowed to eat any bread, pasta, rice, potatoes or any fruit. Also things like chocolates and cakes as well as sugar are not allowed to be touched during the first two weeks of The South Beach Diet. After two weeks though you can actually start to eat these foods again because you will be eating the right amount of carbohydrates and so you will lose weight instead of gaining it.
Disadvantages
There are a lot of people that disagree with The South Beach Diet and it seems that they have a good reason to. Just like the Atkins diet there seems to be a big problem with some of the foods that are suggested that you eat. This can result in problems for lots of people. You need to make sure that you have a healthy balanced diet and not a diet that is as erratic as The South Beach Diet. You will be encouraged to eat a lot of food that is highly unhealthy and this will result in future problems. The way our bodies work is very fascinating, but the way that people try to change this through diets can and will cause problems for many of us. For example some of the foods such as fish do have a high level of Mercury in them. The reason for these high levels of Mercury is because of generations of pollution that has been taking place. But high levels of Mercury can cause someone to experience serious neurological disorders. While this will only be as a result of high levels of Mercury intake it seems that The South Beach Diet wants you to have a lot of fish intake, especially during the first two weeks and as you start to include it into your diet after these first two weeks you will still have a high intake of fish plus all the other minerals that come with fish such as Mercury.
Summary
There are many diets that do work and they work very well. However it seems that The South Beach Diet has helped many people to lose weight, but it seems that people are trying to forget about the old way of losing weight through general exercise of about 30 minutes a day and also eating a healthy well balanced diet. If you have been eating a lot of bread and are then told to quit for two weeks for you new diet, then you will experiences some withdrawal symptoms and you will find it hard to resist these cravings.
With all these new diets coming out a lot of people get confused as to which diet is right for them. They do seem to get lost somewhere and find it hard to find the right diet that will help them lose a lot of weight. If you do choose to go for a normal well balanced diet then you can be sure that there is nothing wrong with what you are eating. While these diets all over the world claim to help you lose weight a lot of them are rubbish and are just invented to help some people make some money for themselves.
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