Lowfat, high carb diets are unsatisfying and cause weight gain instead of weight loss. Low carb diets that encourage you to eat all the fatty protein you want are difficult to stick to, dangerous, and not appealing to most people. The South Beach Diet is a sensible, easy to follow diet, and guess what, it works! In the first two weeks you can lose anywhere from 8-13 pounds, mostly from your belly, without calorie counting, portion restrictions, and very limited carb restrictions.

Phase 1
The first two weeks on the diet will be your biggest challenge but the payoff will be well worth it. The reason for restricting the foods below is to reverse insulin resistance, reduce cravings, and get you losing fast.

Foods to Avoid
Fatty Proteins: brisket, duck, goose, processed poultry, chicken wings & legs, liver, honey baked ham, veal, and other fatty meats
Dairy: all yogurt, ice cream, milk including whole, low-fat, soy, and full fat cheeses
Vegetables: high glycemic veggies like beets carrots, corn, red or sweet potatoes, and yams
Fruit: all fruit and fruit juices
Starchy Carbs: bread, cereal, oatmeal, matzo, rice, pasta, pastries, baked goods, crackers, etc.
Miscellaneous: sugar, beer, wine, or hard liquor

Foods to Enjoy
Lean Proteins: lean cuts tenderloin, sirloin, or top round, skinless chicken or turkey breasts, all types of fish and shellfish, boiled ham, canadian bacon, turkey bacon, whole eggs or egg whites/egg substitutes
Dairy: fat free milk, fat free or low-fat american, cheddar, feta, mozzarella, parmesan, provolone, ricotta, and string cheeses, 1-2% or fat free cottage cheese, diary free cream cheese substitute
Healthy Fats:
peanut butter, peanuts, pecans, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, olive oil, canola oil, flaxseed oil
Vegetables & Legumes: all types of beans, asparagus, artichokes, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, cucumbers, eggplants, leafy greens, etc.
Miscellaneous all spices containing no sugar, broth, vanilla or almond extract, horseradish, I can't believe it's not butter spray, pepper, sugar free hard candy, sugar free chocolate powder or cocoa powder, sugar free jello/gum/fudgsicles/popsicles, coffee, tea, and sugar substitute

A Typical Day on South Beach
The eating plan is simple and includes having 3 meals and 3 snacks a day. You can eat unil you're full and shouldn't feel hunger throughout the day. If you experience hunger your portions are too small. A typical day on South Beach Phase 1:

Breakfast
6 oz vegetable juice cocktail
Eggs florentine
2 slices canadian bacon
decaf coffee or tea w/ nonfat milk and sugar substitute
Midmorning Snack
Celery stuffed with 1 wedge laughing cow light cheese
Lunch
Chef salad (turkey, ham, lowfat cheese on mixed greens)
Midafternoon Snack
10 cherry tomatoes with 1/2 c low fat cottage cheese
Dinner
Orange Roughy in scallion and ginger sauce
Steamed snow peas
Shredded cabbage sauteed in olive oil
Dessert/Snack
Mocha Ricotta Creme

Does It Work?
In a study of 40 randomized overweight volunteers, half went on the American Heart Association Diet and the other half went on the South Beach Diet. The subjects had no knowledge of what diet they were on or where it came from. After 12 weeks 5 volunteers on the AHA diet had dropped out compared to only 1 South Beach drop out. AHA dieters lost a mean weight of 7.5 pounds while South Beach dieters lost a mean weight of 13.6 pounds. In addition, South Beach dieters experienced a decrease in wasit to hip ratio, a dramatic decrease in triglycerides, and their good to bad cholesterol ratio improved more than the AHA group. The South Beach diet is great for weightloss and for your health.

Disadvantages
As you know, all diets including this one have pros and cons. The main problem with this diet is all the lowfat dairy snacks. The book doesn't address options for people who don't like or can't eat dairy because it prohibits soy in the first two weeks. Two options that can make this plan work for you, if you have problems with dairy, are substituting those cheese snacks with healthy nuts, or substituting with a whey protein shake and flaxseed oil. This way you still get a protein/healthy fat snack.

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