Loosing Weight With South Beach Diet Phase 1

by Chris Fowler

There are few people who don't know something about the South Beach Diet, but along with knowing some of the facts about it, you probably believe some of the fallacies. Most people think that the diet - which first became popular in the early 2000s - is a low-fat or low-carb diet. This plan doesn't dictate consuming less fat or carbohydrates, however, but choosing the right ones. If you follow the South Beach Diet you'll be making more discriminating food choices, rather than eating less.

The South Beach Diet was originally planned by a cardiologist, not to help people to lose weight, but to allow them to eat more healthily. The diet did what it was meant to - made the patients' hearts healthier - but also had the effect of allowing them to lose weight fast. "Bad fats" and "bad carbohydrates" are not only the ones that cause you to gain weight. Bad carbohydrates are the ones that cause you to become hungry again soon after you eat them, and can contribute to diabetes, while bad fats increase cholesterol and are dangerous to your heart. Unsurprisingly, Phase One of The South Beach Diet eliminates both, meaning no pastry or fatty red meat.

The diet works in phases. Phase One lasts around two weeks, and is the strictest phase: you may not eat any sugars, processed carbohydrates, or even fruit. The aim of this phase is to diminish the hunger cycle - by the end of it, you should not only have experienced significant weight loss, but also feel hungry less often. Phase Two lasts as long as you want it to - it's similar to the first, but less strict, with fruit and some whole-grain carbohydrates re-introduced. Phase Three has no list of restricted foods, but instead dictates that the dieter live by the basic principles of the diet. This is called the maintenance phase.

There are plenty of benefits to The South Beach, the best of which is probably that it stops you from feeling hungry - when most diets do the opposite! Another thing that makes it different is that it makes you healthier. Most diets have bad effects on your health and your metabolism in the long-term, but The South Beach Diet not only boosts your metabolism, it also decreases your risk of diabetes and your risk of heart disease.

More good news about The South Beach Diet is that it allows for a wider choice of foods than most other diets. While the first phase is strict and prescriptive, adherents of the plan are left to make their own food choices after this point, using the lists provided only as guidelines. Snacking is allowed, and eating dessert after dinner is allowed.

It's easy to see why on first glance The South Beach Diet might look like a fad diet - its glamorous name does little to add to its credibility! This diet, however, is something quite differently. Although Phase One provides short-term results, it also works in the long term. It's allowed many followers not only to lose weight, but also to keep it off indefinitely. Rather than taking advantage of the gullible, The South Beach Diet allows people to become better educated about the nutrition choices that they make everyday. It doesn't look like this is a "fad" that's going away any time soon! - 20490

If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy my detailed review on (http://www.DietPhase1.com) Diet Phase 1 at http://www.DietPhase1.com.