Does the South Beach diet work?

Question

I am thinking about it.

Answer 1

South Beach is a modified Atkins Diet, which itself is a modified 'low carb' diet.

Low carb diets are old news. Your body quickly converts carbs to pounds, and carbs are found in a lot of the 'filler' foods we use- rice, pasta, breads, cereals, sugars, and even fruits.

You want to choose a diet plan that fits your specific needs and way of thinking, but you can also save yourself a lot of money, reading, and work by just doing a few basic things:

1. Limit carbs in the diet. When you DO have a carb, make it work for you! Whole grain instead of white baked goods, real fruit instead of fake flavored junk, whole grain or brown rice instead of white.

2. Limit fats, same rule as above- use 'good' oils, such as canola, and flavorful but more costly oils for flavor and nutrients, such as walnut. Use nuts as a snack- plenty of nutrients- but don't over do it. Choose a good liquid margerine instead of stick or tub stuff or butter, etc.

3. Boost proteins. Aim for proteins other than fatty, salty, or heavily processed meats- go for lean red meat, fish, poulty (especially true 'free range'), etc. Minimize the sauces and stuff on the meats.

4. Boost veggies big time. Aim for as much variety and depth of color you can. Ignore pale greens (like Iceberg head lettuce for dark leafy greens. Look for those bright colored veggies we often ignore- squash, peppers, eggplant, etc. Salads are great (with low carb, low fat dressings on the side rather than dumped all over it), as are steamed or roasted veggies.

5. Watch for the diet killers- cheeses; soda pop; processed/pre-prepared/pre-packed foods high in fats, sugars, salts, and chemicals; ice cream; chips, most other snack foods; etc. Don't ignore these, but be aware of their nutritional value and choose wisely. A good brand beer or wine and a can of soda have similar calorie counts, but beer and wine actually have health benefits (in reasonable amounts).

Besides the South Beach diet, you can try things like the Diabetic Diets, Rate your Plate, Eat the Rainbow, etc.

Answer 2

I Bought the book and absolutely love it, I lost a good 8 pounds (that's still gone), I lose about 12 at first, but bounced back a bit. My only problem was that when I started re-introducing carbs, I kind of sunk it. I went too crazy. It gives specific instructions on how to re-introduce them, and I am going to start again tomorrow. This time I will do it right.