The South Beach Diet, created in 2003 by cardiologist Arthur Agatston, is a popular commercial diet promoted as a moderately low-carb approach that emphasizes protein and healthy fats. It's named after a stylish part of Miami. Agatston developed the South Beach diet as an alternative to Atkins, because he didn't believe that fruit and whole grains should be shunned as they are on the Atkins plan and he felt it was too high in fat to be healthy. The diet has since grown to encompass an entire lifestyle approach, called South Beach Living, that includes fitness classes, nutrition coaching, meal plans, and an app.
Core Principles
The South Beach Diet is all about choosing "good" carbs and healthy fats. The key to losing weight quickly and getting healthy isn’t cutting all carbohydrates and fats from your diet, says Miami-based cardiologist Arthur Agatston, M.D. It’s learning to choose the right carbs and the right fats. This approach is part of a three-step program Agatston developed to help his heart patients lose weight and lower cholesterol. This change may help you lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle. 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.
High-GI foods, such as those high in refined carbohydrates, including sugar, are avoided. Trans-fats and omega-6 vegetable oils are also avoided, while monounsaturated fats - healthy fats - from foods like olive oil and avocado are encouraged. Emphasizing foods that are loaded with fiber and nutrients, the South Beach Diet promises to help you kick your cravings, jump-start your weight loss, and keep those unwanted pounds off -- for life.
Diet Phases
The South Beach Diet is structured into three distinct phases, each with specific goals and dietary guidelines.
Phase 1: The Initial Weight Loss Phase
This phase only lasts for 14 days, but is the most restrictive of the phases. Phase 1 lasts two weeks. The goal of this phase is to eliminate cravings for refined sugars and starches. South Beach diet phase 1, the weight loss phase, is the strictest of the three phases but only lasts for two weeks.
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During phase 1, which lasts two weeks, most people can expect to lose up to 13 pounds, mainly in water weight.
Like all the phases of the South Beach Diet, phase 1 allows you to eat three meals, one dessert, and two snacks every day. However, phase 1 of the program is the most limited in terms of food choices: You can eat only lean sources of protein, high-fiber vegetables and legumes, nuts, low-fat dairy including certain cheeses, and good-for-you unsaturated oils like olive oil. It's designed to help eliminate your cravings for sugary and processed foods. The goals of this phase are to wean you off all the junk food you’ve been eating, limit choices so you don’t have to overthink your diet, and stop cravings by getting your blood sugar under control. In the first 2 weeks, Phase 1 of the diet, you can expect to lose between 8 and 13 pounds, Agatston says.
Foods to Enjoy:
- A lot of protein, such as beef, poultry, seafood, eggs, and cheese
- Some fats, including canola oil, extra-virgin olive oil, and avocado
- Carbs with the lowest glycemic index, including vegetables such as broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, and eggplant
Foods to Avoid:
- Fruit
- Fruit juices
- Starchy foods
- Dairy products
- Alcohol
Phase 2: The Maintenance Phase
The "maintenance" phase gradually adds back healthy carbs. You’ll be able to add small amounts of whole grains and fruits to your menu, and even be allowed certain types of alcohol. You slowly reintroduce healthy carbs into your diet -- fruit, whole-grain bread, whole-grain rice, whole wheat pasta, and sweet potatoes. Expect weight loss to slow to 1 to 2 pounds a week, on average. The goal of this phase is to hit one’s specific goal weight. Even during the more liberal phase 2, foods like bagels, white bread, cookies, ice cream, honey and jam are still restricted. Even pineapple and watermelon are to be avoided since they have a higher glycemic index than other fruits. Phase 2 results in one to two pounds lost a week.
Phase 3: The Long-Term Maintenance Phase
This final phase is a lifelong diet that you'll maintain for the rest of your life once you’ve hit your goal weight. Phase 3 is about maintaining your weight. There’s no food list to follow. By this time, you’ll know how to make good food choices and how to get back on track if you overindulge once in a while. If cravings return or your eating gets off track, the plan recommends going back to Phase 1 or 2. The goal of this final phase is to take from the previous phases healthier, lower-calorie eating habits that can be integrated into one’s lifestyle from here on out. As such, all foods are technically allowed at this point.
What to Eat
The foundation of the South Beach diet menu focuses on non-starchy vegetables, fish, eggs, full-fat dairy, lean protein, whole grains and nuts. Stick to whole foods as much as possible. No foods are off-limits, but some foods are still limited in portion size. Here's what a typical day on the South Beach Diet might look like:
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- Breakfast: An omelet with smoked salmon or baked eggs with spinach and ham.
- Lunch: A vegetable salad with scallops or shrimp.
- Dinner: Grilled tuna or pork. Instead of regular pasta, try zucchini noodles with a lean protein like chicken breast. Focus on non-starchy vegetables and load up on salads with lean protein, but go light on the olive oil dressing.
- Dessert: The diet recommends that you have a dessert that's not sugary after dinner. For instance, you could try sugar-free gelatin. For a sweet snack, you can have small amounts of sugar-free candy or popsicles, but keep your sugar-free sweet consumption to under 100 calories per day.
- Snacks: You can enjoy snacks during the day too. The plan requires snacks between meals, but they are “the kind that can be thrown into a briefcase or backpack in the morning and eaten on the run," as the book says.
Potential Benefits
- Weight Loss: Although there is little research on South Beach, it does suggest the diet is an effective way to lose weight in the short term. During phase 1, which lasts two weeks, most people can expect to lose up to 13 pounds, mainly in water weight. Many studies have concluded that protein is more filling than either carbohydrate or fat, which might encourage weight loss. There is also evidence that a low-GI diet is more effective than a low-fat diet for weight loss.
- Blood Sugar Control: The South Beach diet may reduce serum triglyceride levels, which are often an indicator of prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes. When combined with decreased consumption of refined starches and added sugar, weight loss will likely bring down blood glucose and can prevent diabetes. In a recent review of studies involving a total of over 1,600 participants with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, low glycemic index dietary patterns were associated with positive diabetes-related health outcomes. Specifically, low-GI diets were associated with lower HbA1c, fasting glucose, triglycerides, body weight, BMI, systolic blood pressure and C-reactive protein (a biomarker of inflammation).
Potential Risks and Considerations
- Restrictiveness: No, the South Beach diet is not easy to follow as it can be restrictive, and there are many rules to remember. However, as you progress through the phases, the diet becomes less restrictive. South Beach’s most restrictive phase calls for broadly limiting most fruit and grains. The diet is a little heavy on fat at the start in phase 1, short on carbs during phases 1 and 2 and low in potassium throughout.
- Nutrient Deficiencies: The allotted two servings of dairy each day do not contain enough calcium for the average adult. Therefore, a supplement may be warranted for most people on the South Beach diet. Like calcium, vitamin D intake might be slightly lower than desired on the South Beach diet. Again, a high-quality vitamin D supplement might be warranted.
- Gut Microbiota Changes: According to recent studies, weight loss incurred via low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets may increase bacterial fermentation of undigested protein in the gut, leading to adverse changes in the composition of the gut microbiota. The company advises that if you're on the program, you should follow its protocol and eat all the food recommended to avoid increasing the risk of serious health problems.
- Carb Cravings: I fail to see how cutting out all alcohol and carbs, even for just two weeks, is going to eliminate cravings. If anything, I would think cravings would increase, to the point that you risk having people go into Phase 2 dying to stuff an entire large pizza down their gullet.
- Questionable Nutrition Claims: However, some of the nutrition claims made in the original South Beach diet book may not hold up. In fact, one review of the book found that only 33% of the 42 total nutrition claims in the book were backed by scientific evidence. We found that over 67% of nutrition facts in a best-seller diet book may not be supported in the peer-reviewed literature.
- Health Concerns: Some experts were concerned it might be too high in protein for those with kidney problems. Blood sugar could drop too low, especially if you’re on diabetes medication. Speak to your doctor before beginning this or any diet plan.
Expert Opinions
While some experts acknowledged that the South Beach diet can help people lose weight, it’s typically only for a short term during the initial phase. “Anytime I see the mention of ‘net carbs,’ the diet plan loses credibility in my book. The term net carbs is not an FDA-approved claim nor does it have the science to back up the idea,” an expert explains. "The South Beach diet eliminates healthy foods, like potatoes, due to their GI, but they are good sources of vitamin C, are fat-free, provide some fiber and blood-pressure-lowering potassium to the diet," says Rosanne Rust, a registered dietitian and author of several books in the For Dummies health series. "While the South Beach diet may be describing itself as a Mediterranean style diet, this is purely a marketing ploy in my opinion," Rust says.
Modified Versions of the South Beach Diet
A modified version of the South Beach diet launched in 2019, the keto-friendly South Beach diet, is even higher in fat and lower in carbohydrates and protein than the original iteration. The plan includes elements of the ketogenic diet - low carbs and high fat - but does not require you to be as strict in limiting your carbohydrate intake, allowing for more variety in the diet. The keto version of the South Beach Diet says it doesn't require you to reach ketosis or stay in it.
Is It Right for You?
The South Beach Diet is meant to be practical and uncomplicated. There’s no need to count calories or figure percentages of fats, carbs, and protein. Your meals are normal in size. Flexibility is one of the diet’s guiding principles. This diet is both vegetarian- and vegan-friendly. Protein alternatives to lean meat include beans, legumes, and soy products. Enrolling in The South Beach Diet Online gives you access to vegetarian-only recipes and meal plans. Gluten isn't banned, but since you're cutting down on carbs, you could certainly ditch those that include gluten. You'll still need to read food labels to be sure.
The South Beach Diet focuses on low-carb, high-protein eating, and it appeals to those looking for rapid weight loss or better blood sugar control. My final words on the matter would be that I can see this being a great option in non-diabetic, overweight individuals looking to drop fat and reduce risk markers associated with excessive weight. I do not at all think counting calories is too much to ask of people, but this definitely appears to be the next best thing.
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