The South Beach Diet has been conceptualized with the idea to develop a healthy diet for chronically overweight heart patients. It works on reducing the bad carbohydrates, while building up the good carbohydrates and good fats in your body. Highly processed foods like pizzas, baked food, sodas and soft drinks etc are bad carbohydrates. The South Beach diet consists of three phases, of which the first phase is more rigorous and lasts for two weeks. The last two phases are more about maintaining the momentum set by the first phase.
The phase1 aims in controlling the urge and developing our will power against the forbidden temptations (yes, I mean bad carbs). By the time you want to switch back to back to your favorite temptations, your body will have developed enough willpower to adjust accordingly without causing any health problems.
The beauty of phase1 is the foods that you eat would increase your metabolism and also build up your insulin resistance. Though it may sound a bit uncomfortable, you have to have the resolve to sacrifice breads, pastas, potatoes, sugar, and baked food from your diet. After all you are doing it for a noble cause-making yourself healthy and building your resistance against diseases.
The first two weeks of sticking to a rigorous diet prescribed in the first two weeks of meat, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, vegetables, cheese, salads, nuts etc will help you lose weight to about 12 pounds. The phase 2 will give you the liberty to add foods from the phase1 to the ‘foods to avoid’ list. That means you can exercise your choice and try to incorporate some of the foods like bread, pasta or fruit in your diet. The phase3 is the last phase of the South Beach diet where you consolidate your heath with a healthy mix of what you love to eat and what you should eat for good health.
