Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: South Beach Diet Meal Plan

Question:
Are South Beach Diet plans/ food good?? Because I want to get myself and my husband to loose some weigh and we have seen that Wal-Mart has to offer Science Diet frozen food package, snack bar, etc... so I'm just wondering if that program was good one. Unfortunately I'm not into seafood or anything but I don't mind chicken which we try to eat that as much as possible.

Answer:
Are you exercising? You can't be healthy without exercise no matter what you eat. Yes, the book has solid information in it on how to feed a human body so that it is sated and energetic on a limited calorie budget. In fact, about a million books tell you that. I liked SBD okay, as well as Body for Life by Bill Phillips and The Zone Diet by Barry Sears and the glycemic index books. The short form is that you have to cut out crappy foods. Cut as much saturated fat as possible, but put healthy fats back in their place. (No butter, but eat nuts, for example.) Cut as much refined flour products as possible and substitute whole grains. No bagels or english muffins or prepared cereal, but have oatmeal or whole grains instead. These plans don't actually work at all... you have to do all the work. you need to know your goals and then learn what it is that you didn't already know. Do some head-work first: why are you fat now? What is in it for you? Why have you stayed fat for so long (however long that is.) If you want to change you're going to have to change. And by the way, I sincerely doubt you want to loose weight. My guess is that you want to lose fat. We know how to do that here and we can tell you. The answer is in five parts. You can work on all five at once or tackle them one by one but you've really got to do all five or you'll just make yourself miserable with yo yo dieting. So here are the steps: 0. Fix your head 1. Eat less 2. Exercise more 3. Repeat 4. Forever. I read the book and likes it. I didn't o on the actual program,, but I adopted its 'main principles: slow carbs and very littel saturated fat. I keep track of what I eat with a Dutch version of Fitday. I learend *a lot* about food from that. I weigh most of my portions. I exercise 3 times a week. I drink plenty of water. I plan what I'll eat per day, so that I know whether I can afford the extra snack someone might offer to me at work. I stick to my plans 99% of the time. I have lost 50 pounds in 8 months, so its working. I am now at my target wieght. I had 1500 kcals a day, as a woman. I am now in the process of learning to maintain. So there were many more factors to it that the South Beach programme. I think I really needed all the factors above to make it work. It has a been a lot of work - but it hasn't been hard. The success was very motivating and rewarding. I also try to stay inthe guidelines of South Beach Diet and it is very good. I never cont cals but I just eat until I feel satisfied. I really like the reading in the book. This has helped me very much. I'm very close to my goal and I seem to have gotten a little away from my program after the Easter dinner. I'm fighting to get back to my better way now. The South Beach Diet (which was essentially taken from The Zone, by Dr. Barry Sears and given a different name) is one of the healthiest diets one can follow. The imortant concept in the South Beach / Zone approach is to balance protein, carbohydrates, and fats at each meal, and to eat reasonable amounts frequently through the day. I suggest a 3 meal and 2 or 3 snack per day plan, each balanced with regard to protein, carbs, and fats. This diet is good for weight loss as well as maintaining general health and wellness as it lowers insulin levels and reduces inflammation in the body. You may want to read the Anti-Inflammation Zone by Dr. Sears as well.