What Is The South Beach Diet?

The South Beach Diet was developed by cardiologist Arthur Agatston to help his patients lose weight and maintain a healthy diet for a lifetime. It is designed in phases, like the Atkins Diet, with different eating recommendations in each phase. All phases have the same underlying philosophy, though. Weight loss and maintenance depends on establishing a balanced diet that avoids 'bad' fats and carbohydrates. The proponents of the South Beach diet claim that you can lose weight and maintain the weight loss without counting calories, weighing portions or depriving yourself of good-tasting, satisfying foods. This is accomplished by cutting out empty, high-carbohydrate foods like sugars, potatoes, rice and white bread. Each phase is specially designed to accomplish a particular goal. Phase I: Adjusting your Metabolism

In Phase I, you eat three meals and two snacks daily, eating until you are no longer hungry. The phase lasts two weeks, during which time your body will shed 8-13 pounds. These items are not allowed during Phase I: bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, baked goods, fruit, candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, sugar or alcohol Phase II: Weight Loss

The aim during Phase II is to lose weight, with loss averaging 1-2 pounds per week. During this phase, you will gradually add the restricted foods from Phase I back into your diet, but you will eat less of them. The daily diet on Phase II should consist of: All the protein you want Minimum of 4 1/2 cups of vegetables Up to 3 servings of fruit Up to 3 portions of starch 1 1/2 cups of milk/dairy (including yogurt) 3 tbs. fat In real terms, a typical menu for a meal on the South Beach Diet might include something like this: ½ grapefruit 2 scrambled eggs mixed with Monterey Jack cheese and salsa 1 slice of whole grain toast Decaffeinated coffee or tea, fat-free milk and sugar substitute if desired The eating plan recommended by the South Beach Diet emphasizes low carbohydrate foods, restriction of sweets, processed starches, white sugar and 'unhealthy fats', and all the protein you want. It specifies minimum amounts of low carb vegetables to be eaten daily that are remarkably close to the recommendations made by the USDA and the American Diabetes Association. A key concept in the South Beach diet is the Glycemic Index. Foods are ranked on a scale of 1-100 according to their Glycemic index - the amount by which they raise blood sugar levels after meals. The focus of your diet should be on foods low on the GI level, such as yogurt, cucumbers and broccoli and whole grain cereal, while avoiding those high on the GI scale such as white bread, potatoes and pretzels. In addition to the above, the South Beach Diet offers the following guidelines:

* Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water and other decaffeinated beverages per day (excluding fruit juices) * Limit your intake of caffeine-containing beverages to 1 cup each day * Take one multivitamin and mineral supplement daily * Take between 500 and 1,000 mg of calcium daily Phase III:

The lifetime maintenance plan is nearly identical to the weight loss phase, with more portions of foods allowed. Dr. Agatston cautions that patients being treated for diabetes, impaired kidney function, pregnancy or other chronic illness should consult their physician before embarking on any weight loss regimen.

What Is The Atkins Diet?

The Atkins weight loss diet is based on one simple principle: Your body burns both carbohydrates and fat for calories. If you reduce the amounts of carbohydrates available, it will burn more fat and you will lose weight. According to Atkins, calories are unimportant. The key to losing weight is to restrict the carbohydrates that you eat and force the body to turn to its stored fat as an energy source. As proof of this, proponents of the Atkins Diet point to the following facts derived from research: * When the body doesn't have enough carbohydrate, it will use ketenes derived from fat as energy. * You can eat more food and lose more weight on a low carbohydrate diet than you can on a low fat diet. * You crave less food when you eat fewer carbohydrates. * By eating fewer carbohydrates, people tend to eat fewer calories without counting them. * The greater the difference between fat and carbohydrate, the greater the weight loss. In short, if you restrict your intake of carbohydrates, you will most likely also restrict your intake of calories. By lowering your carbohydrate intake, you will encourage your body to turn to fat for energy. The Atkins diet has provoked storms of controversy since it was first published. The recommendation to eat a high-protein, low-carbohydrate flew in the face of all the dietary recommendations by established medical institutions. The diet was denounced as unsafe, particularly if used as a life-long weight maintenance plan. Over the past five to ten years, there have been numerous studies that come down on both sides of the equation, and Atkins last version of the diet included the admission that calories do matter, and the advice to 'eat only enough to satisfy hunger'. A typical menu for a meal on the Atkins Diet might include: Portobello and Ricotta Crostini Chicken Milanese over Spring Salad Lemon Vinaigrette dressing Warm Lentils and Celery Raspberry Cheesecake in a Cup The eating plan recommended by the Atkins diet contains very low portions of carbohydrates, deriving the majority of carbohydrates from vegetables high in fiber and low in carbs, and unrestricted portions of proteins, including high fat proteins like beef, pork and cheese. Follow up research on people who have used the Atkins Diet to lose weight show a fast initial weight loss that eventually levels off. The Atkins Diet has four phases to account for it:

1. The Induction Phase, which restricts carbohydrates severely.

2. The OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss) Phase, in which you add in limited carbs and tailor the eating plan to your tastes 3. Pre-maintenance, with ten pounds or less to the target goal, deliberately slows weight loss to begin adjusting the body to after-weight-loss diet. 4. Lifetime Maintenance, a long-term eating plan that emphasizes low carbohydrates and healthy, long-term eating Who should use the Atkins Diet?

While the Atkins Diet seems on the surface to be directly counter to what is recommended by most medical institutions, many of the principles are actually the same. Unless you are under the care of a physician for a chronic medical condition like diabetes, high blood pressure or coronary problems, you can use the Atkins Diet. Do pay attention to the portions recommended in the menus and plans at www.atkins.com, despite the reassurances that you can 'eat all you want and still lose weight.'

The Big Three In The Diet World�How Do They Stack Up?

If you've been struggling with weight and losing weight for any length of time, if you go to the supermarket, if you watch television, listen to the radio, read on the internet or do just about anything else that brings you into contact with the world, you already know that weight loss is a national obsession. This obsession is characterized - and has been for decades - by the periodic acclimation of 'the only diet you'll ever need!" Fad diets have come and gone over the years. Some linger, most are forgotten by all but those who might have lost weight, gained weight or been damaged by them. Some of the diets were so unhealthy that they garnered the warnings of medical America, or were loudly decried as dangerous and unhealthy. As early as the seventies, there were diets that recommended cutting out ALL carbohydrates and consuming only meat and proteins - or the reverse, eliminating all proteins entirely. The current "fad diets" include some of the most famous diet names in the recent history of weight loss: the Atkins Diet, the South Beach diet, and the Zone diet. All three have come under fire for their contention that one can eat a healthy diet and lose weight without restricting the intake of protein and fat-rich foods like meats and cheese. This flies in the face of conventional medical advice to restrict fatty foods in the diet. So what about these three diets? Do they work? Are they safe? Can each of them, as claimed, form the basis for a lifetime of healthy eating? The answers are - surprisingly enough to all three - very likely. On the surface, each of them makes the claim that carbohydrates are bad, proteins are good, and you can eat all the protein you want and still lose weight. How does that reconcile with the contention that a healthy diet is low in proteins and saturated fats, derives 50-60% of its calories from carbohydrates, and emphasizes whole grains and fresh vegetables as the main source of nutrition? Take a closer look at a typical menu recommended on each of the above diets and see. Typical Meal Using USDA Recommendations 3 oz lean fish (brushed with olive oil and garlic and broiled) 2 cups of spinach salad with grapefruit 1 tablespoon olive oil vinaigrette dressing 1 oz slice whole grain/whole wheat bread Contains: approx 350 calories 20 g. carbs 15 g. protein 14 g. fat South Beach Diet Dinner Menu:

Poached salmon with Greek salad. Sugar-free jelly with low-fat topping Contains: approx: 300 calories 17 g. protein 3 g. carbs 14 g. fat (olive oil in Greek dressing) Atkins Diet Dinner Menu:

Spring Salad Green Goddess Dressing Maple-Mustard Glazed Baked Ham Baked Artichoke-Parsley Cheese Squares Roasted Asparagus Atkins Coconut Layer Cake Contains approx: 400 calories 18 g. protein 17 g. carbs 8 g. fat The Zone Dinner Menu:

Baked salmon with Fruit salsa (kiwi, blackberries, apple)

Contains approx: 435 calories 17 g. protein 10 g. carbs 5 g. fat Notice anything? No matter how the ingredients are counted - calories, carbs, exchanges, and food blocks - the bottom line is the same. A healthy diet that will lead to lasting weight loss includes a balance of protein, carbohydrate and fats with an emphasis on complex carbohydrates and lean meats. So pick the diet that seems to make the most sense to you - and use it as the start of a new healthy eating style for a healthier, slimmer you!