South Beach Diet Plan for Beginner

What Is The South Beach Diet?

Most people are sick of trying new diets for one reason – they do not work! What makes the South Beach Diet different is that it teaches a way of life where you rely on the right carbohydrates and fats. This new way of eating allows you to live contently without eating the bad carbohydrates and fats. In contrast, when a person eats bad carbohydrates and fats they feel hungrier, causing them to eat more, which causes weight gain. In exchange for eating right, you become healthier and can enjoy an 8 to 13 pound weight loss in just two weeks!

The Diet was created by Dr. Arthur Agatston, a highly respected cardiologist, to work with your body safely and effectively. This diet works in phases, the first two for a specific timeframe and the third phase for life. With this new approach, you can stop counting calories, stop weighing food portions, and stop feeling as though you are deprived from eating good-tasting and satisfying food! Actually, you will be eating three, normal-size meals but wait, that not all! You will also get two snacks each day and with meal plans that are designed to be flexible, you can enjoy a variety, based on what sounds good to you on any particular day.

Best of all, you will see amazing results in a short amount of time. Your hips, thighs, and stomach will be thinner, the number on the scales will go down, and all those overwhelming food cravings will be gone! Just imagine losing weight while still enjoying many of your favorite foods. With the diet, you can dine on mouth-watering foods like Chicken en Papillote, Shrimp Louis, and even Chocolate Sponge Cake and still lose the weight!

South Beach Diet Phase
There are basically three phases in SB Diet. You eat normal portion sizes In Phase 1, but all carbohydrate are restricted. This is the strictest phase in the diet and will last for two weeks. It emphasizes lean meats, such as chicken, turkey, fish, and shellfish. Low-Glycemic-index vegetables are allowed as well as low-fat cheese, nuts, eggs. Dieters should expect to lose somewhere between 8 to 12 pounds. In Phase 2, some of the banned food are slowly introduced while weight loss continue to around 1-2 pounds per week. You should remain on it until you lost your desired amount of weight. Phase 3 is for maintenance and should be followed for life. Is all about maintaining your desired weight with a healthy balanced diet. Should your weight begin to climb, simply return to Phase 1.

To learn what the phases consist of, how South Beach Diet plan works, and what you can eat, keep reading!

Caution: As with any new diet, if you have any illness, are pregnant, or have questions or concerns, consult your physician prior to starting. Specific to the diet, if you have kidney problems, or have diabetes that might have impaired your kidney function, talk to your physician before starting this diet.

How Does The South Beach Diet Work?
As mentioned, the South Beach Diet is unique, successful, easy, and works in a three-phase process. Unlike many other so-called diets, with the South Beach Diet, simply substitutes your bad carbohydrates and fats for good ones. After trying this, you will be amazed by how well and quickly it works.

South Beach Diet Phase 1
South Beach Diet Phase 1 lasts for two weeks. During this first phase, you will eat normal meals of chicken, beef, turkey, fish, and shellfish, lots of vegetables, eggs, cheese, nuts, and garden salads using 100% olive oil for your salad dressing. Each day for 14 days, you will eat three, well-balanced meals. While eating until your hunger is satisfied may go against most diets, with the South Beach Diet, it is part of the plan.

Trying to lose weight and become healthy by depriving the body of food makes no sense. In addition to the three meals each day, you will also eat a snack between breakfast and lunch, and then again between lunch and dinner. Even if you do not feel like eating these snacks, for the South Beach Diet to work, you need to, and after dinner, you will even have dessert. Additionally, during this phase, you can drink all the coffee and tea you want and be sure to drink lots of water.
You may be thinking that this is a lot of food - it is! With most diets, you deprive your body, eating only small portions of foods that are unappealing. The change you will make during this phase is that you will cut out all bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, baked goods, fruit, candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, or sugar. Keep in mind that these eliminated foods will be added back into your diet, starting in Phase 2. In addition to taking these foods out of your diet temporarily, you will also need to avoid beer, or any kind of alcohol. Once you start Phase 2, reasonable amounts of wine can be added back in.

Instead of feeling overwhelmed about the foods that will be taken out of your diet during the first two weeks, stop and think about this for a minute. To achieve a life of health and lose unwanted weight, two weeks is a small investment to make. After all, you are worth it! The first two or three days will be somewhat challenging, but breaking any bad habit starts out a little bumpy. Once you pass this small hurdle, the rest of the time will go by quicker than you think. When you see the results that these changes bring, you will be glad you did not give up!

South Beach Diet Phase 2
South Beach Diet Phase 2 is different from the first in that it will last as long as it takes you to lose your desired weight. This phase will last different lengths of time depending on each individual person, how well they follow the diet, and how their body reacts.
Do not forget that by the time you start this phase, you will already be 8 to 13 pounds lighter! Other changes you will notice when starting Phase 2 is that your outlook on eating will be changed. During the past two weeks, the way in which your body was reacting to foods making you overweight was corrected. Those old, nagging cravings have been squelched and the bad eating habits of the past are gone.

The secret is not that you are eating less food, but eating fewer foods that start cravings and store excessive fat. Once the first phase ends, the weight will continue to come off by staying on the plan. Some of the indulgences you took out of your diet during Phase 1 will be added back in, but less often. When you want a piece of chocolate cake, you can have one, just not every night. If hot garlic bread sounds good, you can have this too, but not as often and with less enthusiasm.
As you go through phase 2, your weight loss will not be as dramatic, but it will be consistent. On average, you can expect to lose from one to two pounds. While these numbers are lower than what you achieved in the first phase, losing slowly is healthier and you will keep the weight off.

South Beach Diet Phase 3
South Beach Diet Phase 3 begins when you have hit your target weight. To help you maintain your new weight, you will be able to enjoy options that are more liberal. Once you get to this phase, you will stay there for the rest of your life. After completing Phase 1 and 2, this phase will feel like normal eating to you. Now you are eating differently – for life! If your weight starts creeping back up, modify the foods you are eating and the amounts.
Along with losing extra weight and changing the way your body responds to food, your blood chemistry is also changing, improving your cardiovascular system. With heart disease being a leading cause of death where the only symptom of heart attack is often death, improving your cardiovascular system will add quality years to your life. Although you may have started the South Beach Diet as a way to lose weight, when finished, you will see that you achieved so much more!

South Beach Diet Food List
During Phase 1, the foods eaten will be in controlled portions to include chicken, beef, turkey, fish, and shellfish. These types of foods along with vegetables, eggs, cheese, nuts, and salads can also be eaten, although all of it will be in controlled portions. Refer to the following list to see the types of foods that are acceptable in phase 1, 2, and 3. Remember that bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, baked goods, fruit, candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, or sugar will be slowly added back into your diet in Phase 2.
Quick Shopping List Phase 1 Food List Phase 2 Food List

Foods to Enjoy
Boiled Ham
Canadian Bacon
Canola Oil
Chicken Breasts (skinless)
Cheese (fat-free or low-fat - American, Cheddar, cottage, cream substitute, feta)
Cornish Game Hen
Eggs (whole)
Fish (all types)
Green Vegetables
Lunchmeat (lean)
Peanut Butter
Peanuts
Pecans
Pistachio Nuts
Olive Oil
Seasoning/Spices (broth, butter sprays, pepper, anything containing no sugar)
Shellfish
Sirloin
Sweets * (chocolate powder, cocoa powder (baking type), hard candy, sugar substitute (sugar-free)
Tenderloin
Tofu
Turkey Bacon
Veal
Vegetables (artichokes, asparagus, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, eggplant, legumes, lettuce, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, zucchini)

* No more than 75 calories per day

Foods to Avoid
Alcohol *
Baked Goods **
Beef (brisket, liver, rib steaks, fatty cuts)
Bread **
Breast of Veal
Cereal (all kinds) **
Cheese (full fat, brie, edam)
Crackers **
Fruit
Fruit Juice
Honey-Baked Ham
Ice Cream
Matzo **
Milk (whole, low-fat)
Oatmeal **
Pasta **
Pastries **
Poultry (chicken wings, legs, thighs, wings, duck, goose, poultry products)
Soy
Vegetables (barley, beets, black-eyed peas, carrots, corn, pinto beans, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, yams)
Yogurt




* Includes beer, hard alcohol, wine (wine will be introduced in Phase 2 in moderation)** Includes all starchy foods

South Beach Diet Recipes
Once you get to Phase 3, you will be eating all the foods listed. The following recipes are sample of food you can eat. Feel free to explore new recipes by referring to South Beach Diet foods list.

Breakfast – Tex Mex Style (South Beach Diet Menu)½ grapefruit2 scrambled eggs mixed with Monterey Jack cheese and salsa1 slice of whole grain toastDecaffeinated coffee or tea, fat-free milk and sugar substitute if desired

Mid-Morning Snack1 hard-boiled egg

Lunch – Roast Beef Wrap1 ¼ cups reduced-fat cream cheese4 flour tortillas (9” or 10”)½ red onion, sliced4 spinach leaves8 ounces roast beef, slicedSpread a small amount of cream cheese over the tortilla. Layer the spinach, onion, and roast beef, roll up, and fold. Serves 4.

Mid-Afternoon Snack4 ounces Dannon Light ‘n Fit yogurt

Dinner – Lemon Couscous Chicken (South Beach Menu)1 ¼ cups water1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil2 cups broccoli florets1 package Near East Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Couscous mix1 ½ chopped cooked chicken3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice¼ teaspoon lemon peel
In a large skillet, bring water, oil, broccoli, and spice from couscous mix to a boil. Stir in couscous, cooked chicken, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Simmer until heated through and then remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Using a fork, fluff lightly, then chill and serve cold. Serves 4.

Dessert – Lemon Peel Ricotta Crème (South Beach Diet Menu)½ cup part-skim ricotta cheese¼ teaspoon grated lemon peel¼ teaspoon vanilla extract1 package sugar substituteMix the ricotta cheese, lemon peel, vanilla extract, and sugar substitute. Serve chilled. Serves 1.

Extensive Collection of South Beach Diet Recipe (SBD Recipe)
Over 80 collection of South Beach Diet recipe. If you love the quick results of South Beach Diet, but feel limited by the food choices, put some variety into your diet. Explore new recipe by referring to South Beach Diet foods list. If you have new recipe and like to share with other dieter, please submit at out food and recipe area in our forum


SouthBeach Diet Tips and Guides
The SouthBeach Diet is different from the Atkins diet in that it is not a low carbohydrate diet. Regardless of which phase you are currently in, you should follow these recommendations:
Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water, decaffeinated beverages such as club soda, tea, coffee, or decaffeinated sugar-free soda every day
Limit your intake of caffeine-containing beverages to 1 cup each day
Take one multivitamin and mineral supplement daily
Take 500 mg of calcium for both men and women under the age of 50, and 1,000 mg for women over the age of 50, each day
Eating can be both pleasurable and healthy as long as you eat the proper foods. All the meals in the SouthBeach Diet consist of healthy combinations of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Dishes can be made by anyone and the ingredients can be found in most grocery stores. These foods will satisfy your hunger without depriving your system of the low-quality starches and sugars that caused problems with your blood chemistry in the first place.
The SouthBeach Diet does not involve counting calories, fat grams, or portion sizes. This plan was designed to be simplistic and will help you understand the principles of metabolism and put it to work for your own body. A major key to success with the South Beach Diet is the Glycemic index (GI), which ranks carbohydrate foods based on the effect on blood sugar levels. When you start adding foods back into your diet in Phase 2, keep your focus on low-GI foods such as apples, berries, grapefruit, high-fiber cereal, and whole grain breads.

Preparing For The Rest Of Your Life
Mindset Change for South Beach Diet
You have learned what the South Beach Diet is, how it works, and what to eat. Now, you need to get prepared to change the way you eat, for life. Start by accepting that the first couple of weeks will be a big change but one you will not regret. The first morning of this diet, you will eat a breakfast that may consist of a two-egg omelet with two slices of Canadian bacon, cooked in either spray canola or olive oil. In your old life, you may have toasted bread or a bagel and had fresh fruit or fruit juice to go along with your omelet. However, with the South Beach Diet, the bread will have to wait.

Most people have been conditioned their entire life to add bread to meals. You have toast with breakfast, sandwiches on bread for lunch, dinner rolls with dinner, and cake, cookies, or pie for dessert. However, during Phase 1, you will have to forget about the bread. It may take a few days to leave old habits behind but keep in mind that it is during this time that your body’s inability to process sugars and starches is being reversed. After trying numerous diets, most leave you feeling hungry, is one of the most difficult aspects of any diet. A common denominator seen with overweight people is that most of them skip eating breakfast. When this happens, blood sugar drops, which then increases the desire for bad carbohydrates to escalate until lunch when the entire meal is blown.

Planning for South Beach Diet
Planning will help you stay away from snacking or substituting things that are not healthy and could cause weight gain. Remember that once you start into Phase 2, carbohydrates will start being introduced back into your diet along with fruits. You also need to remember to eat your mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, even if you do not feel like it. Some of the greatest low-fats foods to incorporate into your planning include cheese and yogurt to replace the fats since they have no bad carbohydrates. In addition, the sugar is found in the lactose, milk sugar, is one of the things you can have with the South Beach Diet.
The South Beach Diet is a lifetime change, lifetime commitment, and a lifetime of health and vitality!

What Is Glycemic Index
Glycemic Index or GI Index is a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels. It measures how much your blood glucose increases after eating. Low Glycemic Index index food (less than 55) produce small rise in blood sugar and insulin level. Foods with GI index between 55 and 70 are consider intermediate-GI foods. High Glycemic Index food GI numbers (more than 70) make our blood sugar and insulin levels rise fast.
Research shown that low GI foods can
improve glucose and lipid levels in people with diabetes.
benefits for weight control because they help control appetite and delay hunger.
low glycemic diet reduce insulin levels and insulin resistance.
prevent heart disease.
South Beach Diet and Glycemic Index
The success of south beach diet depend on glycemic index. Rule of thumb: always choose low glycemic index foods with good carb. Phase one of South Beach Diet consist of low glycemic food. In later phase, you can mix foods with higher glycemic numbers.
Glycemic Index Food Chart (Glycemic Index Table sort by category)
Low Glycemic Index Foods List - GI Index less than 55
Medium Glycemic Index Foods List - GI Index 55-70
High Glycemic Index List - More than 70

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