What Is The South Beach Diet?

[Guest guest]

*****************************************************************

Message delivered directly to members of the group:

*****************************************************************

Please consider this free-reprint article written by:

Kirsten Hawkins

==================

IMPORTANT - Publication/Reprint Terms

- You have permission to publish this article electronically in

free-only publications such as a website or an ezine as long as

the bylines are included.

- You are not allowed to use this article for commercial

purposes. The article should only be reprinted in a publicly

accessible website and not in a members-only commercial site.

- You are not allowed to post/reprint this article in any

sites/publications that contains or supports hate, violence,

porn and warez or any indecent and illegal sites/publications.

- You are not allowed to use this article in UCE (Unsolicited

Commercial Email) or SPAM. This article MUST be distributed in

an opt-in email list only.

- If you distribute this article in an ezine or newsletter, we

ask that you send a copy of the newsletter or ezine that

contains the article to dave@...

- If you post this article in a website/forum/blog, ALL links

MUST be set to hyperlinks and we ask that you send a copy of

the URL where the article is posted to dave@...

- We request that you ask permission from the author if you

want to publish this article in print.

The role of iSnare.com is only to distribute this article as

part of its Article Distribution feature (

http://www.isnare.com/distribution.php ). iSnare.com does NOT

own this article, please respect the author's copyright and

this publication/reprint terms. If you do not agree to any of

these terms, please do not reprint or publish this article.

==================

Article Title: What Is The South Beach Diet?

Author: Kirsten Hawkins

Word Count: 579

Article URL:

http://www.isnare.com/?id=18082 & ca=Wellness%2C+Fitness+and+Diet

Format: 64cpl

Author's Email Address: dave@...

Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?id=18082

================== ARTICLE START ==================

The South Beach Diet was developed by cardiologist Arthur

Agatston to help his patients lose weight and maintain a

healthy diet for a lifetime. It is designed in phases, like the

Atkins Diet, with different eating recommendations in each

phase. All phases have the same underlying philosophy, though.

Weight loss and maintenance depends on establishing a balanced

diet that avoids 'bad' fats and carbohydrates.

The proponents of the South Beach diet claim that you can lose

weight and maintain the weight loss without counting calories,

weighing portions or depriving yourself of good-tasting,

satisfying foods. This is accomplished by cutting out empty,

high-carbohydrate foods like sugars, potatoes, rice and white

bread. Each phase is specially designed to accomplish a

particular goal.

Phase I: Adjusting your Metabolism

In Phase I, you eat three meals and two snacks daily, eating

until you are no longer hungry. The phase lasts two weeks,

during which time your body will shed 8-13 pounds.

These items are not allowed during Phase I: bread, rice,

potatoes, pasta, baked goods, fruit, candy, cake, cookies, ice

cream, sugar or alcohol

Phase II: Weight Loss

The aim during Phase II is to lose weight, with loss averaging

1-2 pounds per week. During this phase, you will gradually add

the restricted foods from Phase I back into your diet, but you

will eat less of them. The daily diet on Phase II should

consist of:

All the protein you want

Minimum of 4 1/2 cups of vegetables

Up to 3 servings of fruit

Up to 3 portions of starch

1 1/2 cups of milk/dairy (including yogurt)

3 tbs. fat

In real terms, a typical menu for a meal on the South Beach

Diet might include something like this:

½ grapefruit

2 scrambled eggs mixed with Monterey Jack cheese and salsa

1 slice of whole grain toast

Decaffeinated coffee or tea, fat-free milk and sugar substitute

if desired

The eating plan recommended by the South Beach Diet emphasizes

low carbohydrate foods, restriction of sweets, processed

starches, white sugar and 'unhealthy fats', and all the protein

you want. It specifies minimum amounts of low carb vegetables to

be eaten daily that are remarkably close to the recommendations

made by the USDA and the American Diabetes Association.

A key concept in the South Beach diet is the Glycemic Index.

Foods are ranked on a scale of 1-100 according to their

Glycemic index - the amount by which they raise blood sugar

levels after meals. The focus of your diet should be on foods

low on the GI level, such as yogurt, cucumbers and broccoli and

whole grain cereal, while avoiding those high on the GI scale

such as white bread, potatoes and pretzels.

In addition to the above, the South Beach Diet offers the

following guidelines:

* Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water and other decaffeinated

beverages per day (excluding fruit juices)

* Limit your intake of caffeine-containing beverages to 1 cup

each day

* Take one multivitamin and mineral supplement daily

* Take between 500 and 1,000 mg of calcium daily

Phase III:

The lifetime maintenance plan is nearly identical to the weight

loss phase, with more portions of foods allowed.

Dr. Agatston cautions that patients being treated for diabetes,

impaired kidney function, pregnancy or other chronic illness

should consult their physician before embarking on any weight

loss regimen.

About The Author: Kirsten Hawkins is a nutrition and health

expert from Nashville, TN. Visit http://www.popular-diets.com/

for more great nutrition, well-being, and vitamin tips as well

as reviews and comments on popular diets.

================== ARTICLE END ==================

For more free-reprint articles by Kirsten Hawkins please visit:

http://www.isnare.com/?s=author & a=Kirsten+Hawkins