30 April 2008

South Beach Diet

After reading the Great Debate, I wanted to find out more about the south beach diet.
I read that it is a three phase plan and that its claim to fame is that you will loose the weight you need to loose and that it will improve your cardiovascular system. I really liked that the system was a life long program however; I thought that some things needed to be changed.
It states that phase 1 is two weeks in which you eat as much as you normally would however you eat three well balanced or healthy meals in order to subdue cravings. My problem is that it takes more than two weeks to learn how to eat healthy and maintain regularity in the process. Think of it in terms of a New Year’s resolution when you have to take baby steps and perform regularly for the new habit to stick. Two weeks has never made anyone’s New Years resolution stick.
Phase 2 is about loosing weight by continuing to eat healthy and with portion control in order to achieve your goal weight. This phase can go on as long as one pleases. Last is phase 3 were you are at your goal weight and you maintain it however the foods that you are allowed to eat are less restricted. The synopsis of phase three goes on to say that at this point in time you will improve your cardiovascular system. Any one who is clearly overweight and looses a significant amount of weight will improve, but the way it is described might have your average person thinking that it pertains specifically to this diet and not dieting in general. I personally think that they should elaborate on the idea so that people understand that that is common to weight loss.
Finally I see no mention about exercise, a crucial player in weight loss and improving health. Does anyone else have issues with that?

This is the website I got my info from
http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/index.html
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1 comment:

ChristinaS495 said...

Since one of the articles was a Q & A between the two doctors behind the south beach diet and the Ornish diet. I had heard of the South Beach diet but I didn't know the specifics of the Ornish diet. So, I thought I might mention the specifics on the Ornish diet.

Ornish counsels that we will find success not by restricting calories, but by watching the ones we eat. He breaks this down into foods that should be eaten all of the time, some of the time, and none of the time.

The following can be eaten whenever you are hungry, until you are full: Beans and legumes, Fruits, Grains, Vegetables

Eaten in moderation:
Nonfat dairy products -- skim milk, nonfat yogurt, nonfat cheeses, nonfat sour cream, and egg whites

Nonfat or very low-fat commercially available products but if sugar is among the first few ingredients listed, put it back on the shelf

Avoid:
Meat of all kinds -- red and white, fish and fowl (if we can't give up meat, we should at least eat as little as possible)
Oils and oil-containing products, such as margarine and most salad dressings
Avocados, Olives, Nuts and seeds
Dairy products (other than the nonfat ones above)
Sugar and simple sugar derivatives -- honey, molasses, corn syrup, and high-fructose syrup
Alcohol
Anything commercially prepared that has more than two grams of fat per serving

I can see why Dr. Agatston would suggest a person take drugs after they did not have the desired results from change in diet and exercise. If i had to go on this restrictive of a diet I would probably choose a pill instead too. But that's just me.

30 April, 2008 18:28

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