If you have struggled with a weight problem for the most part of your life or are in the thick of one right now, then you would surely be looking for diets that can cut your weight cut down to the right size. You most probably would have heard about the famous South Beach diet – and you would most probably be questioning its effectiveness.
Well, that is because the South Beach Diet allows you to eat foods that are normally considered bad for weight watchers. But the fact is that this diet has proved to be extremely effective and you can you can go for it.
Most popular diets today force you to cut out all carbs and fats. Not the South Beach Diet. One of the reasons the South Beach Diet is so effective is that it doesn’t leave you feeling deprived. With the South Beach Diet, you learn how to tell a good carb from a bad carb and become familiar with good fats and bad fats. The South Beach Diet discourages eating foods with a high glycemic index, as these types of foods cause a quick rise in blood sugar. Foods with a high glycemic index also lower your body’s ability to properly utilize fats and sugars.
Among the fats, what is forbidden are the saturated fats because they contribute to heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases. Thus, to make the South Beach Diet work, all a weight watcher has to do is cut off bad carbohydrates and saturated fats from his plate, while enjoying foods based on good carbs and good fats.
Successful South Beach Dieters will attest to the benefits they derived from the South Beach Diet. One of the most popular aspects of the South Beach Diet is its phase structure. The 3 phases of the South Beach Diet are flexible and not difficult to follow, and this makes the South Beach Diet much easier to stick to than other, more restrictive diets.
The South Beach Diet begins with Phase 1. This is the most difficult phase because it is the most rigid, but happily it is also the shortest phase of the South Beach Diet – only 2 weeks. While you go through Phase 1, your body experiences many changes including physical detoxification and elimination of cravings for the unhealthy foods you have been consuming.
The second phase (Phase 2) of the diet is much easier to stick to than Phase 1, especially when it comes to your food choices. In this Phase 2, you start seeing the results of Phase 1 and begin to lose weight. Phase 1 is short – it lasts just 2 weeks, but Phase 2 can continue as long as is required – till the desired weight is achieved. During this phase, the weight watchers get enthused by two factors: (i) the changes in their weight and (ii) the extra energy they derive from healthy foods.
The third phase of the South Beach Diet is the part you carry with you for the rest of your life. Phase 3 is known as the maintenance phase because now it is up to you to maintain the weight you worked so hard to take off in Phases 1 and 2. One of the most important things you will learn from the South Beach Diet is the importance of choosing to eat healthy foods as a lifestyle, not just a temporary diet plan. During Phase 3, you are given much more latitude in your diet choices, but it is very important that you don’t go back to the eating style that caused you to gain weight in the first place.
The best way for you to find out if the South Beach Diet is to try it out for yourself. The next step is to find some South Beach Diet recipes and experience first hand how good they taste and how much weight you can lose!