The South Beach Diet - Dr. Arthur Agatston

Diet book reviews & objective analysis of popular diet books...

The South Beach Diet

Dr. Arthur Agatston

The South Beach Diet teaches you to rely on the right carbohydrates and the right fats (the good ones) and enables you to live quite happily without the bad carbohydrates and bad fats. Like the Atkins diet, Dr. Agatston is concerned about the glycemic index of foods, or how fast the body turns them into sugars, because high-index foods make you hungry.

Also like Atkins, Agatston wants dieters to avoid all pasta, bread, potatoes, sweet things and alcohol during the first two weeks. After that, unlike Atkins and many other low-carbohydrate diets, The South Beach Diet encourages you to return to eating fruits and breads. For fruits, the doctor lists apples, oranges and cantaloupe as good. Bananas, watermelon and pineapples are to be avoided.

Unlike Atkins diet plan, however, Agatston warns dieters to stay away from saturated fats such as butter, hamburger and bacon and shift to monounsaturated fats such as olive oil and fish that contains omega-3 fatty acids.

As in the Atkins diet, The South Beach Diet Plan is divided into phases:

South Beach Diet Phase 1… lasts 14 days, the strictest phase. The goal here is to eat three balanced meals per day, and to eat enough so that you don’t feel hungry all the time. Expected weight loss during South Beach Diet phase 1 is 8-13 pounds.

South Beach Diet Phase 2… lasts until you reach goal weight, a more liberal phase. This phase is similar to the first, but you reintroduce some of the banned foods and eat from all the dietary food groups. Expected weight loss during South Beach Diet phase 2 is 1-2 lbs. per week.

South Beach Diet Phase 3… this is the weight maintenance phase, an even more liberal version of the initial South Beach Diet plan. If your weight begins to increase, you repeat the diet plan.

Much of the initial weight loss is likely to be water weight loss caused by restricting carbohydrates. Such weight loss is usually regained, as soon as the carb consumption resumes.

In our opinion, one drawback of The South Beach Diet is the lack of options for people who don’t like or can’t tolerate dairy products. Furthermore, low-carb diet plans are not generally advised for people with any kidney problems.

With a major publishing company’s resources behind it (Rodale), they were able to create a website with some substance. This seems to be the latest trend, regarding diet books—producing more than just a bestseller. Any diet books/diet gurus that don't also have a related website today will be considered by many dieters to be lacking, leaving them wondering: "Is that all there is?"

The information on this web site is intended for information purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Before starting any weight loss program, it is recommended that you consult your physician or other health care professional.