Losing weight and achieving a "beach body" is a common goal, especially before summer. Many diet plans promise quick results, but it's important to understand the details and potential implications of each. This article explores several popular diet plans, including the South Beach Diet and the 21 Day Fix, providing information to help you make informed decisions about your health.
The South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet is a commercial weight-loss diet created by heart doctor Arthur Agatston, M.D. It's named after a stylish part of Miami. The purpose of the South Beach Diet is to change the overall balance of the foods you eat. This change may help you lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle.
Core Principles
The South Beach Diet limits some types of foods that have nutrients called carbohydrates, also known as carbs. Carbs are a key source of calories that give the body energy. The South Beach Diet doesn't tightly limit all foods that have carbs. It just limits the ones that are more likely to cause weight gain.
The diet mainly includes healthy carbs that give the body steady energy. These are called complex carbs. The body digests complex carbs slowly. Then the carbs turn into sugar that slowly moves into the bloodstream. This sugar is called glucose. The South Beach Diet limits carbs that give the body a short burst of energy. These are called simple carbs. They tend to have less nutrition than complex carbs, and too many simple carbs can lead to weight gain.
The South Beach Diet also features foods that have healthy fats, including plant-based oils, nuts, and oily fish. The diet limits sources of saturated fat such as red meat and butter. The South Beach Diet features foods that have lean protein as well.
Read also: Delicious South Beach Desserts
Variations
Another version of the South Beach Diet places strict limits on carbs. It's called the keto-friendly South Beach Diet. Keto is short for ketogenic. The keto-friendly version of the South Beach Diet starts with a limit of 20 to 50 grams of carbs a day. In time, the limit rises to as much as 75 to 100 grams of carbs a day.
Recommendations
The South Beach Diet recommends that you limit simple carbs, such as candy or baked goods, over time. It also suggests that you choose complex carbs, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. The South Beach Diet recommends regular exercise as an important part of your lifestyle. It suggests activities such as walking and strength training.
Phases of the South Beach Diet
Phase 1: This two-week phase aims to jump-start your weight loss. You cut out almost all carbs from your diet. That includes whole-grain pasta, rice, bread, and all fruit. You don't drink fruit juice or any alcohol either. The goal is to help you stop craving some foods and drinks that can lead to weight gain. These include foods and drinks that are high in sugar, as well as refined grains that have had the nutrients removed, such as white bread and white rice. During this phase, you focus on eating lean protein. Your protein choices include seafood, skinless poultry, lean beef, and soy products. You also can eat high-fiber vegetables and low- or nonfat dairy. You can have foods that contain healthy unsaturated fats too.
Phase 2: This phase aims to help you lose weight over the long term. You start to add back some of the foods that were banned in phase 1. For instance, you can have whole-grain breads, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, fruits, and more vegetables. You stay in this phase until you reach your goal weight.
Phase 3: This phase aims to help you eat healthy for life. You focus on eating foods with complex carbs, lean protein, and healthy fats. But you can eat all types of foods.
Read also: Healthy Pancakes for South Beach Diet
Sample Menu
- Breakfast: Breakfast might be an omelet with smoked salmon or baked eggs with spinach and ham.
- Lunch: Lunch might be a vegetable salad with scallops or shrimp.
- Dinner: Dinner may feature grilled tuna or pork.
- Dessert: The diet recommends that you have a dessert that's not sugary after dinner. For instance, you could try sugar-free gelatin.
- Snacks: You can enjoy snacks during the day too.
Expected Weight Loss
The South Beach Diet says that you'll lose 8 to 13 pounds (3.6 to 5.9 kilograms) during phase 1, the first two weeks of the diet. It also says you'll lose most of the weight from your midsection.
Safety and Considerations
In general, the South Beach Diet is safe. Be aware that eating fewer carbs than the diet recommends has risks. A very low-carb diet may put your body in a state called ketosis. Ketosis happens when the body doesn't have enough blood sugar, also called glucose, for energy. So the body breaks down stored fat instead. This causes acids in the blood called ketones to build up. The keto version of the South Beach Diet says it doesn't require you to reach ketosis or stay in it.
The 21 Day Fix
The 21 Day Fix is a diet and exercise plan that can help you lost up to 15 pounds in three weeks. The 21 Day Fix meal plan suggests several practices proven to promote weight loss. For example, research shows that cutting out added sugars and processed foods are effective ways to lose body fat. Plus, those following the 21 Day Fix are instructed to eat a high-protein, high-fiber diet and drink plenty of water, methods that have also been shown to be particularly powerful in promoting weight loss. The foods emphasized on the 21 Day Fix meal plan are healthful, nutrient-dense foods, including vegetables, complex carbs and lean proteins. The program urges participants to prepare meals at home and cautions against relying on quick, unhealthy food when on-the-go.
Key Components
Workouts: The 21 Day Fix comes with two DVDs that include six 30-minute workouts:
- Upper Fix: Targeted resistance training for the upper body (chest, back, shoulders, arms, and abs).
- Lower Fix: A workout designed to “firm and tone your entire lower body while you blast fat and burn calories.”
- Total Body Cardio Fix: A full-body cardiovascular workout with weights to increase heart rate and burn calories.
- Cardio Fix: A second cardiovascular workout without weights.
- Pilates Fix: A Pilates-based workout that aims to strengthen the abdominals and firm the thighs.
- Yoga Fix: This is a restorative yoga-based workout used to improve flexibility and balance.
The 21 Day Fix workout calendar encourages dieters to complete at least one workout every day of the week.
Read also: Nutritious Manhattan Beach Eats
Container Plan: Before diving into the meal program, 21 Day Fix followers must calculate their own calorie needs. In the starter guide, a mathematical equation is provided to estimate overall calorie needs.
- Multiply your current weight in pounds by 11. This number is your calorie baseline (basal metabolic rate or BMR).
- Add 400 (workout calorie burn) to your calorie baseline. The resulting number represents your calorie needs to maintain your weight.
- Subtract 750 (the calorie deficit) from your calorie needs. This number is the calorie target you should eat to lose weight, according to Beachbody.
The resulting calories determine the right plan for you and tell you how many servings of each color-coded container you can consume per day. Each container is a different size and is meant to be used for a specific food group:
- Green container (one cup): Vegetables
- Purple container (one cup): Fruit
- Red container (3/4 cup): Protein sources
- Yellow container (1/2 cup): Carbs
- Blue container (1/3 cup): Healthy fats
- Orange container (two tablespoons): Seeds and dressings
Dieters are also allowed two to six teaspoons of nut butter and oils, depending on their target calorie range.
Four “Container Plans” with different calorie target ranges exist:
- Plan A: 1,200-1,499 calories
- Plan B: 1,500-1,799 calories
- Plan C: 1,800-2,099 calories
- Plan D: 2,100-2,300 calories
Depending on your plan, you’re allowed the following number of containers per day for the different color-coded categories. Beachbody warns users to never consume less than 1,200 calories per day and to round up to 1,200 calories if estimated daily needs fall below that number. If estimated calorie needs are more than 2,300, it’s recommended to round down to 2,300.
Approved Meals: After figuring out how many servings of each food group can be consumed per day, 21 Day Fix followers aim to eat the recommended amount of each container daily. The 21 Day Fix kit comes with a tally sheet that makes it easy for followers to keep track of their daily container consumption. The tally sheets provide six spaces for daily meals and snacks along with eight slots in which dieters jot down their daily water consumption. The 21 Day Fix program recommends certain foods and recipes, but dieters ultimately decide what approved foods to eat when following the program. The 21 Day Fix diet plan delivers a lower-carb macronutrient distribution of roughly 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fat.
Progress Tracking: Those following the 21 Day Fix are encouraged to track their weight loss progress in different ways. Before starting the program, it’s suggested that you take a “before” picture. Participants also use body measurements of the arms, chest, waist, hips, and thighs to gauge how many inches are lost during the three weeks. After completing the 21 Day Fix, “before” pictures and measurements are compared to “after” pictures and measurements to estimate total progress.
Approved and Discouraged Foods
The diet encourages only consuming 21-Day-Fix-approved foods, including lean proteins, vegetables and healthy fats. Though the 21 Day Fix package does not tell dieters that certain foods are off limits, it advises to only consume approved foods. As a whole, the Beachbody organization discourages unhealthy foods like sugary beverages and emphasizes nutrient-dense foods for those following their nutrition programs, including the 21 Day Fix.
When following Beachbody nutrition programs, the following are not recommended:
- Added sugars: Sugary beverages, sweetened yogurts, candy, baked goods, table sugar, etc.
- Refined carbs: White pasta, sugary cereals, white bread, bagels, white rice, corn chips, tortillas, etc.
- Processed foods: Fast food, processed meats (hot dogs, deli meats, bacon), packaged snacks, canned foods packed in syrup, energy bars, etc.
- Greasy and fried foods: Fried chicken, French fries, potato chips, burgers, pizza, deep-fried foods, etc.
- Alcohol: Beer, wine, liquor, etc.
Potential Benefits
- May Help You Lose Weight: The 21 Day Fix meal plan suggests several practices proven to promote weight loss.
- Supports Healthy Eating: The foods emphasized on the 21 Day Fix meal plan are healthful, nutrient-dense foods, including vegetables, complex carbs and lean proteins.
- Containers Teach Portion Control: Using the color-coded containers is an easy way to control portions and may deter dieters from overeating, which may aid weight loss.
- Exercise Is Part of the Program: The 21 Day Fix comes with a three-week exercise program consisting of 30-minute workouts that target different areas of the body.
Potential Downsides
- The Focus Is on Short-Term Weight Loss: As stated in the name, the 21 Day Fix focuses on a three-week, short-term period.
- Beachbody Pushes Dieters to Purchase Supplements for ‘Faster Results’: Within the Beachbody meal plan, dieters are urged to purchase Beachbody products like Shakeology protein shakes and supplements.
- May Be Too Restrictive for Some: At the heart of the 21 Day Fix program are the portion-controlled containers.
- Dieters Determine Their Own Calorie Needs: A major flaw in the 21 Day Fix program is that dieters must calculate their own calorie requirements. Beachbody suggests an arbitrary 750 calorie deficit for all people following the 21 Day Fix, regardless of age, health status or gender.
Additional Beachbody Diet Plans
Beachbody offers a variety of diet plans tailored to different fitness programs. These plans often include portion control, healthy recipes, and guidelines for incorporating Beachbody supplements. Here's a brief overview of some of these plans:
- 21 Day Fix EXTREME Eating Plan: This plan follows the same basic structure as 21 Day Fix, but it tightens the reins considerably. Gone are the treats and alcohol, and the food lists are more restrictive. If you prefer a super-clean diet, the 21 Day Fix EXTREME Eating Plan is a good long-term solution.
- Body Beast Eating Plan: This plan has three phases: Build, Bulk, and Beast. The plan also includes “Mass” and “Ripped” calorie options, depending on how huge you want to get.
- CORE DE FORCE Eating Plan: This plan includes a few performance-boosting modifications to aid your transformation.
- CIZE Eat Up! Eating Plan: If you’re looking for a clean-eating plan with a culinary edge and you want some help building customized meals, the CIZE Eat Up! is for you.
- YOUv2’s Keep It Super Simple (K.I.S.S.) Meal Guide: This guide hardly mentions calories. In week one, you replace snacks with Shakeology. In week two, you’ll continue to drink Shakeology and replace your old breakfast with healthy breakfast choices like those found in the guide, and so on.
- SHIFT SHOP Simple Shift Nutrition Guide: You need to be tough to get the most out of this plan. You also reduce your carbs to about 30 percent and increase protein to about 40 percent.
- PiYo Get Lean Eating Plan: This is one of the most stripped-down plans.
- P90X Nutrition Plan: This is a classic and still a great way to get results if you’re doing longer, tough workouts. Because bulking up isn’t the primary goal, the P90X Nutrition Plan flips the Body Beast script, focusing initially on weight loss. The P90X Nutrition Plan works either with its own portion system or with a detailed menu plan of recipes for 90 days of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks.
- P90X3 Nutrition Plan: This plan reimagines the P90X Nutrition Plan with a focus on flexibility. This includes lifestyle (vegan, vegetarian, grain-free); calorie level; and food measurement (specific or guesstimate).
Meal Plan Examples
Beachbody offers a variety of meal plans to suit different tastes and dietary preferences. Here are some examples:
- Beef Stew Lovers
- Beginners Plan
- Big Lunch, Light Dinner
- Chicken Lovers
- Culinary Adventurers (Parts I, II, and III)
- Pasta & Gnocchi
- Fast Food
- Holidays
- Hot Lunch
- Light and Fresh
- Paleo Friendly
- Pancake Lovers
- Protein Lovers
- Steak and Shrimp
- Surf and Turf
- Taste of Asia
- Taste of Mexico
- Turkey Chili Lovers
Vegan Meal Plans
Beachbody also offers numerous vegan meal plans:
- Vegan Beginners
- Vegan Featuring BBQ Ribs
- Vegan Featuring Breakfast Burritos and Sloppy Joes
- Vegan Featuring Coco Berry Shakeology
- Vegan Featuring Korean Eggplant
- Vegan Featuring Pumpkin and Mushrooms
- Vegan Featuring Risotto
- Vegan Featuring Tacos and Cannelloni
- Vegan Featuring Bolognese
- Vegan Featuring Tuna Salad
- Vegan Hearty Breakfast Lovers
- Vegan Holiday
- Vegan Insta Pot and Soup Lovers
- Vegan Omelet Lovers
More Recent Meal Plans
- Easy Meals for Beginners Meal Plan
- Crave-worthy Comfort Foods Meal Plan
- Back-to-School Classics Meal Plan
- Summer BBQ Staples Meal Plan
- Summer Day Faves Meal Plan
- A Happy Host Menu Meal Plan
- Satisfying Sweet & Savory Round Up Meal Plan
- Get Your Brunch On Meal Plan
- Tastes from Around the World Meal Plan
- The Meal Prep Meal Plan
- Pies, Pizza, & Pasta Meal Plan
- Winter Warm-Up Meal Plan
- Favorite Fall Flavors Meal Plan
- Soups, Salads, & Sandwiches Meal Plan
- High-Protein Lovers Meal Plan
- Cauliflower Lovers Meal Plan
- Bagels, BBQ Chicken, & More Meal Plan
- Burgers, Bowls, & Wraps Meal Plan
- Seafood Lovers Meal Plan
- Delicious Dinner & Done Meal Plan
- Easy Meals for Beginners Vegan Meal Plan
- Mix and Match Vegan Meal Plan
- Taste of the Mediterranean Vegan Meal Plan
- Summer BBQ Staples Vegan Meal Plan
- Summer Day Faves Vegan Meal Plan
- Hearty & Homemade Vegan Meal Plan
- Satisfying & Savory Round Up Vegan Meal Plan
- Get Your Brunch On Vegan Meal Plan
- Tastes from Around the World Vegan Meal Plan
- The Meal Prep Vegan Meal Plan
- Pies, Pizza, & Pasta Vegan Meal Plan
- Winter Warm-Up Vegan Meal Plan
- Favorite Fall Flavors Vegan Meal Plan
General Considerations for Any Diet Plan
Most people can lose weight on almost any diet, especially in the short term. The key is to eat fewer calories than you burn off with physical activity. Some experts say it's ideal to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. Losing a large amount of weight fast may mean that you're losing water weight or lean tissue, rather than fat. But sometimes, faster weight loss can be safe if it's done in a healthy way. For example, some diets include an opening phase to help you jump-start your weight loss.
Before you start any weight-loss diet, check with your healthcare professional or a dietitian.