South Beach Diet

The South Beach diet gained popularity in the 1990’s and had been one the longest lasting and most reputable ‘fad diets’. It can be seen as a combination of two diets that came before it: Atkins and the GI diet. The central theme of the South Beach Diet is the separation of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods. Similar to the Atkins diet, the South Beach Diet is separated into three phases that gradually allow you to be more liberal with your diet.

South Beach Diet Foods

South Beach Diet meals emphasize a diet plan low in carbohydrates and rich in healthy foods. To accomplish this, you must learn which foods are allowed and which are strictly forbidden. The ‘good’ carbohydrates and fats come from natural, unprocessed sources. You can eat nearly as much as you like, as long as they are deemed good by the South Beach diet plan. While on the South Beach Diet you can still enjoy fruits and dairy products.  The ‘bad’ foods are processed and refined, such as white sugar and white bread.

How Does the South Beach Diet Work?

The diet also makes use the the glycemic index (GI) to determine which foods you can eat. Foods with a higher GI readily augment blood sugar levels, and those with a low GI tend to do so over a longer period of time. By exploiting this fact, you can choose to eat foods that your body processes over a long period of time, leaving you feeling fuller longer and less likely to eat when not appropriate. By combining this strategy with a diet plan rich in generally healthy foods, the South Beach Diet just might be the best diet for you.

South Beach Diet Recipes

Another great thing about the South Beach Diet is that it allows for greater flexibility than other diet plans. Because it uses a general dieting concept with very few strict rules, it can be modified for personal, cultural or economic reasons.

South Beach Diet Plan

Fortunately for dieters, there is an entire empire built around the South Beach Diet. Branded frozen and fresh meals made from South Beach Diet recipes are available from major grocery stores and health food retailers. There are also a multitude of South Beach Diet books, home videos and online resources. The South Beach Diet has been around for longer than most fad diets because it actually works.