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The South Beach Diet Phases

The South Beach Diet is comprised of “phases“, and you move through phases as you get closer to your weight loss and health goals.

The South Beach Diet, created by cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatston, is a safe and effective diet that differs from other diets in that it advocates not just a new way of eating but a new way of life.

The South Beach Diet puts an end to counting calories and it puts an end to portion control. The South Beach Diet also avoids putting people in a position where they feel like they’re depriving themselves from eating food that tastes good and satisfies them.

The focus of the South Beach Diet is on fats and carbohydrates, more specifically, the right fats and carbohydrates. With the South Beach Diet, you find that healthy carbohydrates and fats satisfy your hunger and feed you energy while eating the wrong carbohydrates and fats can actually make you feel hungrier than you were before eating them, causing you to eat even more and, as a result, gain weight.

The South Beach Diet works in 3 phases, dieters going through phases 1 and 2 sequentially, each for a particular period of time, then moving to phase 3 where they remain for the rest of their lives.

South Beach Diet Phase 1 – For two weeks certain forms of carbohydrates are restricted, based on their glycemic index (a measurement of their affect on a person’s blood sugar). Portion sizes for all other foods are normal.

This two week period is the most intense and restrictive of the three phases. Foods emphasized in Phase 1 include chicken and turkey, fish and shellfish, vegetables with a low glycemic index (including salads with light dressing), low fat cheeses, eggs, and nuts. This is the period where drastic weight loss is usually noticed in a short time.

This type of weight loss is not sustainable, however, which is why the South Beach Diet then promptly transitions you into Phase 2 where you can adjust your dietary patterns so as to achieve a more sustainable rate of weight loss without gaining back that initial poundage you just shed.

South Beach Diet Phase 2 – Here many of the carbohydrates that were forbidden in Phase 1 are incrementally introduced back into your diet.

The desired effect of Phase 2 is to get yourself to a place where you lose between 1 and 2 pounds each week, a rate of weight loss than you can easily sustain until you achieve your body’s individual “healthy weight” (generally best determined by your Body Mass Index and percentage body fat to muscle mass).
Phase 2 lasts as long as it takes for you to reach your desired weight.

South Beach Diet Phase 3 – Now you begin to establish the balanced diet you aim to maintain for the rest of your life, so long as weight remains where it is. Should you start to gain weight again, you can simply go back to one or both of the earlier phases until you get back to where you need to be.

The South Beach Diet is not a starvation diet. In it, you eat 3 satisfying meals per day plus 2 snacks in-between meals. Your meal plans are not set in stone, so you can still enjoy variety and spontaneity in your diet.

Studies of the South Beach Diet have shown that it not only helps people lose weight, but it increases their “good cholesterol” (HDLs) and decreases their “bad cholesterol” (LDLs) levels, while also improving their levels of insulin.

Dr. Agatston’s South Beach Diet is outlined in full in his book: The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss.

How to read nutrition labels and why it is so very important

Does this sound familiar?
You follow your diet to a T, you watch your carbs, fats and calories yet you don’t lose weight and in many cases you actually gain weight.

Although you think that you have just eaten 1 serving of pasta or cereal if you were to check out the nutrition label of the product you will find that you have consumed 2-3 servings.
No wonder your gaining weight!

Over the years, our portion sizes have gotten out of control, they are much larger than they were just 20 years ago. Bagels are larger, an order of regular fries is almost 3 times larger than they were in 1970 and even the size of soda bottles are larger than their 8 ounce counter parts.
Yes, the sizes for take out, fast food and restaurants are much larger than they were so we really don’t understand what a “correct” size portion is.

Getting back to the bagel –if you were to look at the nutrition information at the bakery you would notice that your plain bagel is actually 2 portion sizes — not 1. They may give you 1 bagel but you should only eat half, if you want to eat only 1 portion.

This is why it is so important to get to know the nutritional information of what you eat and learn how to read a nutrition label correctly.

Ok, so what is a What is the Serving Size: standardized amount (like cups or tablespoons or pieces) followed by the equivalent amount in the metric system (such as grams). Each product will have its own serving (portion) size even if 2 products appear to be similar.

The first few times that you actually measure out your food, you’ll see how much you have been over eating even though you thought that you have been “good”. If your like me -you’ll actually be shocked to see what a correct portion size is.

How Many Servings Per Container: Most packaged foods contain multiple servings in a single package, making it easy to double, triple, quadruple, etc. the caloric intake from that of a single serving.

What are the Amount of Calories Per Serving: Typically, a single serving of around 40 calories is considered low-calorie, around 100 is considered moderate, and 400 is considered high-calorie.

Keeping tabs on the amount of servings you take in, based on the caloric intake per serving, is one great way to manage your weight. Another is to balance out eating high-calorie foods with some low-calorie foods earlier or later in the day.

The next step to using nutrition labels to help control your weight is to get the most nutrition out of the calories you take in.

Use the Percentage Daily Value to tell you how rich in each of the required nutrients the food really is.
Daily values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. 5% or less of a nutrient’s %DV is low, 20% or more of a nutrient’s %DV is high. Limit your amount of Total Fat, Cholesterol, and Sodium.

No daily requirement exists for Trans-Fats (the most dangerous kind), though their quantity per serving does appear on the label; so just be sure to keep them to an absolute minimum. Make sure to get plenty of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, and Iron.

Once you have gathered all the information you need, you simply ask yourself if a food choice is a wise choice for you in terms of both calories and nutrients, and whether it makes more sense for you as part of a meal or as a standalone snack.

If the answers to these questions don’t satisfy you for a particular food, then the next question to ask yourself is whether you can find a suitable alternative. The answer that question is almost invariably, ‘Yes’.

Over the last few years, green tea has been hyped as a “weight loss product” and we wanted to find out if it’s true or hype. Here are some of the results of our search.

For 4,000 years, Asians have regarded green tea as something more than just a beverage. Green tea was used as herbal medicine and treatment for everything from headaches to depressions and even to weight loss.

Researches have been conducted over the last few years to identify what compound present in green tea makes it a potent health drink. The scientists have found that green tea contains several antioxidants which are responsible for many of green tea’s health benefits, including weight loss benefit.

A research study by American and Swiss scientists on the weight loss benefit of green tea was concluded and the results of which were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Urology. During the course of their study, they have found that green tea contains certain compounds that contribute to its weight loss benefit.

Lead researcher, D. Abdul Dulloo said in a press release that there are only two ways to achieve weight loss – either reduce energy intake or increase energy expenditure. Green tea, it seems, has compounds that can increase the body’s normal metabolism rate, thus giving it its weight loss benefit.

At the University of Geneva, where the study was conducted, Dr. Dulloo and his colleagues experimented on ten healthy young men. They theorized that the main contributor to green tea’s weight loss benefit is its caffeine content. To test this hypothesis on green tea’s weight loss benefit, they placed the study’s participants on a typical “Western” diet which is about forty percent fat, thirteen percent protein, and forty-seven percent carbohydrates.

Thrice everyday, the researchers measured their subjects’ energy expenditure (the measurement used in determining the number of calories burned in 24 hours) and monitored their respiration quotient to find out how well they utilized their carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

When they interpreted the data they collected, they found out that the men receiving regular dosages of green tea extract showed a significant increase in their 24-hour energy expenditure and a reduction in their respiration quotient (which means that more fat is burned, thereby achieving maximum weight loss). On the other hand, those men who were only given caffeine or placebo with every meal showed only minimal increases in their metabolism rates.

The scientists construed that the substance catechin polyphenol present in green tea adds to its weight loss benefit. These substances in green tea may alter how the body uses the hormone norepinephrine which is responsible for increasing the metabolism rate, thus leading to weight loss.

In their conclusion, the scientists inferred that green tea owes its weight loss benefit to the presence of antioxidants and the substance catechin polyphenol. These substances help increase fat and calorie burning and optimize weight loss.

Remember that the weight loss effect is minimal (only a few extra calories burned a day) and if you use sugar in your green tea, you’ve lost the weight loss benefits - but you still get the antioxidant benefits.

How To Stick To Your Diet Easily

Hmm, you might be thinking that I am joking here, right? After all, diets are known for being hard to follow.

Well, with anything in life, you face what you think. If you take it easy, you will never have any problem in following a healthy diet. That said, I know how hard it is to start a diet, especially for newbies, so in this article I will give you three tips that will not only help you start a diet program easily but even keep it!

First of all, let’s start with the definition of a diet, since many people think that diet means restrictions on food intake.
Diet is nothing but the food we eat.
There are actually two types of diet. When we eat healthy foods we are following a healthy diet. On the contrary, if we eat fatty and processed foods all the time (which are generally unhealthy for us), then we are following an unhealthy diet. In order to lose weight, you need to follow a healthy diet.

1. Eat raw vegetables:
You might not be aware of the fact that eating vegetables in their raw form is far healthier than frying them or even microwaving them!
Why? Raw vegetables contain a lot of minerals and vitamins which will help to immune your system against various illnesses. However, as soon as you fry or cook them, most of these nutrients are destroyed.
On another note, raw vegetables contain a lot of fiber, so you will feel full and won’t have any temptation of trying your hand at the fatty and junk foods of your local restaurant! Raw veggies also have a high water content, adding to your daily water intake.

2. Eat whole fruit instead of fruit juices:
You have probably hard a million times that fruits are the healthiest type of food ever! Why? Not only they are easy to digest, they also provide your body with a lot of nutrition. Plus they contain lots of fiber so you won’t feel hungry for a long time. What you may not know is that you should steer clear of fruit juices. Fruit juices contain a lot of carbs and sugars which will not only increase your body weight overnight but also fail to satiate your appetite!

Ok, so if fruit juices are made from fruit why is the sugar and carb content an issue?
When you eat the whole fruit, the fiber slows down the absorption of sugars (carbs). With this slower absorption your blood sugar wont spike like it will when you drink a juice. Plus when you eat the fruit you eat it more slowly which brings us to #3

3. Slow down when you eat:
It takes your body 20 minutes to start feeling full while you are eating. If you slow down your eating there will be less of a chance to over eat. Plus if you slow down and enjoy your food more you will feel more satisfied. When you slow down even if you cheat you’ll cheat with less food. Just think about savoring a chocolate kiss. If you take your time and enjoy it, one kiss will give you the satisfaction of having 5 if you just chomp them down.

4. Eat home cooked meals:
You know, there is no guarantee that you won’t be presented with calorie-rich foods even if you visit a vegetarian restaurant. Fortunately, there is an alternative in the form of home cooked meals. With home cooked meals, you can control which ingredients to use and in what quantity. In fact, you have total control over home cooked meals. That is why you should try to eat home cooked food as much as possible!