What can't I Eat?
Phase one is the strictest part of The South
Beach Diet. For two weeks, you'll be totally
eliminating fruit, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta,
sugar, alcohol, and baked goods (The exclusion
of these items is why some people may assume
it's a low-carb plan.) from your diet.
This means you'll be eliminating many foods
you may be accustomed to eating now such as a
roll with dinner or a banana in the morning. And
say good-bye to junk food. However, after the
initial two weeks are up, you can beginning
adding the excluded foods back into your diet.
What can I Eat?
You can eat meat, chicken, turkey, fish, and
shell-fish. This could mean a serving of
Canadian bacon at breakfast or meat topping a
chef's salad at lunch. You can easily find a
South Beach Diet recipe incorporating your
favorite type of meat.
You can snack on meat, too, such as a turkey
roll-up.
You will also be eating vegetables, eggs,
cheese, nuts, and salads. Your responsibility on
this plan is to eat until your hunger is
satisfied. This shouldn't be a problem since the
meal plans include three meals, a mid-morning
snack, a mid-afternoon snack, and even dessert
after dinner!
Is the Food Good?
Though I haven't tried the yet diet myself, I
have to say the meal plans certainly sound
delicious. And there are tons of recipes
included in the book. I spotted phase one dishes
that sounded wonderful, such as Balsamic
Chicken, Roasted Eggplant with Peppers, and
Grilled Mahi Mahi.
The phase two recipes get even better with
the likes of Broiled Sole in Light Cream Sauce
and Baked Tomatoes with Basil and Parmesan.
There are even desserts -- Almond Ricotta Créme,
anyone?
Is is Difficult to Do?
Dr. Agatston says even if you're a bread and
pasta lover, you'll be able to get through these
initial two weeks "painlessly". It
seems you may not even have the urge to eat
these types of foods once you get going on phase
one. The proof is in the pudding (Or is that in not
eating the pudding?): Dr. Agatston's patients
who have previously followed his plan have said
their cravings virtually disappeared.
What does Phase One Do?
The theory behind phase one is that there is a
"switch" inside us that affects the
way our bodies react to the foods we eat that
make us overweight. When the "switch"
is on, we have urges to eat foods that actually
cause us to store fat (Agatston, pp 4-5).
According to Dr. Agatston, at the end of the
first two weeks of the diet that
"switch" has gone from the on to off
position.
The principle requiring the stringent
two-week introductory phase is that by following
the specified plan, you can correct the way your
body reacts to food.
In other words, by eating fewer of the foods
that cause those pesky cravings, you're sort of
"re-booting". You shut down those
cravings during phase one and then when you
start adding carbs again, your system has had
time to adjust.
Phase Two
At this time you can begin adding the foods
that were off-limits before. You can begin to
add bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, or cereal to
your meals... it's up to you. You can add fruit,
too, if you wish.
This diet gives you the freedom to
"cherry pick" which of these foods you
add back into your diet. While you can't eat
them all, nor eat the ones you choose with
abandon, they'll no longer be off-limits. The
key here is to re-introduce these foods in
moderation and to not eat them as often as you
were before.
Phase Three
Lastly, phase three is the final and least
restrictive phase of The South Beach Diet. Dr.
Agatston says as long as you follow some basic
rules, you'll continue to manage your weight. In
fact, he suggests you'll even forget you ever
were on a diet and what you've learned will
simply become a way of life.
What do You Think?
Have you tried this diet? We're eager to hear
what you think about it! Did you find it easy to
adjust to or were those first two weeks like
boot camp? Please visit our forum and share your
opinions with our community.
Reference:
Agatston, Arthur S. The South Beach Diet: The
Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for
Fast and Healthy Weight Loss, New York:
Rodale (dist.: St. Martin's Press, April 2003
(Paperback Ed.).
