Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: south beach diet alcohol

Question:
Hi. I am a writer doing an article for Health Magazine on the new South Beach Diet and am looking for people to interview who have tried the diet. If you are interested, or have questions, feel free to contact me. Thanks,

Answer:
The South Beach Diet Philosophy Introducing a delicious, foolproof plan for fast and healthy weight loss by Arthur Agatston, M.D. The South Beach Diet is not low-carb. Nor is it low-fat. The South Beach Diet teaches you to rely on the right carbs and the right fats--the good ones--and enables you to live quite happily without the bad carbs and bad fats. As a result, you're going to get healthy and lose weight--somewhere between 8 and 13 pounds in the next 2 weeks alone. Here's how you'll do it. Phase 1 You'll eat normal-size helpings of meat, chicken, turkey, fish, and shellfish. You'll have plenty of vegetables. Eggs. Cheese. Nuts. You'll have salads with real olive oil in the dressing. You'll have three balanced meals a day, and it will be your job to eat so that your hunger is satisfied. Nothing undermines a weight-loss plan more than the distressing sensation that you need more food. No sane eating program expects you to go through life feeling discomfort. You'll be urged to have snacks in the midmorning and midafternoon, whether you need to or not. You'll have dessert after dinner. You'll drink water, of course, plus coffee or tea if you wish. For the next 14 days you won't be having any bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, or baked goods. No fruit, even. Before you panic: You'll begin adding those things back into your diet again in 2 weeks. But for right now, they're off-limits. No candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, or sugar for 2 weeks, either. No beer or alcohol of any kind. After this phase you'll be free to drink wine. It's beneficial for a variety of reasons. Not a drop during the first 2 weeks, however. Now, if you're the kind of person who lives for pasta or bread or potatoes, or if you believe that you can't get through a day without feeding your sweet tooth (three or four times), let me tell you something: You're going to be shocked at how painlessly 2 weeks will pass without these foods. The first day or two may be challenging; but once you weather that, you'll be fine. It's not that you'll have to fight your urges--during the first week the cravings will virtually disappear. I say this with such confidence only because so many overweight people who have already succeeded on this program tell me so. The South Beach Diet may be new to you, but it has existed for several years--long enough to have helped hundreds of people lose weight easily and keep it off. Phase 2 After the first 2 weeks, the strictest part of the diet, you will be somewhere between 8 and 13 pounds lighter than you are today. Most of that weight will come off your midsection, so right away you'll notice the difference in your clothes. It will be easier to zip your jeans than it's been for some time. That blazer will close without a bulge. But this will be just the noticeable difference. You won't be able to see that during those 2 weeks you'll also have changed yourself internally. You will have corrected the way your body reacts to the very foods that made you overweight. There's a switch inside you that had been turned on. Now, simply by modifying your diet, you'll have turned it off. The physical cravings that ruled your eating habits will be gone, and they'll stay away for as long as you stick with the program.