The South Beach Diet And Its Phases
In the recent past, people who have wanted to lose weight have had a hard time in deciding the best diet plan for themselves. Many diet plans have been floated around and some of the popular ones that almost all of us would have heard of are the Atkins diet, Low carb diet and the South Beach diet. The South Beach diet, a huge commercial success with people who want to lose weight, was formulated by Dr Arthur Agatston. It is said that 'necessity is the mother of invention'. And this is exactly what happened with the South Beach diet. Dr. Agatston who is a practitioner himself realized that some of his patients were not responding to weight loss through the popular low carb-high fat diet plans. He then went ahead and designed his own diet plan that was an improvement over the existing low carb-high fat diet and the Atkins diet. The plan is divided into three distinct phases just like the Atkins diet and the differentiating factor is the fact that South Beach diet is a low carb diet. Every phase of the South Beach diet has its distinct meal plans and recipes.
Let us see what the South Beach diet plan is like. The first phase of the South Beach diet is the toughest one to follow and is supposed to last for two weeks. This phase of the diet excludes the use of carbohydrates like bread, potatoes, rice; sugar, alcohol and fruits. This is probably the reason why this diet plan is known as the low carb plan. It is this part of giving up on your favorite foods in the first phase, which makes it the most difficult part of the diet plan. However, the beginning if the second phase comes with good news. The dieters are free to add back all these items from the excluded list, after the first two weeks. So you can get back to you favorite bread, pastas, potatoes or rice. It is up to the person to choose what he or she wants to add back to the diet. But it is important to note here that these foods need to be added back in a structured and disciplined manner. It is critical that these foods be added back in moderation. Remember, excess of anything is bad!
Having given you the good news, let us see what the third phase of diet looks like. This phase actually comes with minimum restrictions. And as per Dr. Agatston himself, if the person continues to follow the underlying principles of the South Beach diet, he or she will be able to control their body weights for as long as they want! Impressive! Isn't it?
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