Finally Getting Fit

Someone requested that I talk a little more about the South Beach Diet, so I thought I would give a bit of a run down:

The South Beach Diet, developed by Dr. Arthur Agatston, focuses on getting the body to relearn to process the good fats and stay away from the bad fats. That’s putting it simply, though. It also takes into account the Glycemic Index as well to help make a more encompassing diet.

The South Beach Diet claims to not only help you lose weight, but it also helps insulin-related problems, often clearing up diabetic problems as well as helping women with PCOS/insulin resistance to conceive (this isn’t widely broadcast, but weight loss in women with PCOS can help conception).

SBD consists of three phases - the first being the most strict, the second being the diet to get you down to you ideal weight, and the third being the maintenance phase that keeps you around your ideal weight.

The first phase, basically put, helps you kick your addictions to the things that send your blood sugar into flux the most - fruits, breads/pastas, a couple veggies, and sweets. You also cut out a lot of the worse fats like fatty cuts of meat and moderate some of the midline things like nuts and some cheeses.

The second phase is where you start adding back in the things you love the most and ‘need’ to have once in a while. Some people have bread once a fortnight. Others have an apple once a week. The key to this phase is slow reintroduction. And you’ll be surprised what you can live without…

And as I said before, phase three is maintenance. You can add in more things if you like and can cut back if you start gaining weight.

I had a severe addiction to breads, noodles, and sweets, so this diet has been perfect for me so far. I miss things occasionally, but it’s been nice to get out of those bad habits.

What I love best about SBD is that it takes into account that people slip up or that people want to have a nice meal out sometimes and not have to worry. Because of that, they have made a diet that is flexible instead of linear. If you are in phase two or three and stuff yourself on bread and pasta on your birthday, just go back to phase one. You can move back and forth through the phases as you please (after the initial minimum two weeks on phase one).

I’ve also found this diet extremely easy to stick to. Instead of the points system (where I often used the points the wrong way and didn’t get any healthier) this limited my diet. Admittedly, that doesn’t work for everyone, but I never go hungry either. I can have as much as I want off whatever is allowed.

The thing about this diet, though, is that it helps you to eat less, so overeating isn’t a big problem. I’m never hungry and I’m eating all kinds of things I like. I have even discovered a few new things I like. (The ricotta mocha SBD recipe isn’t too bad.)

I don’t honestly know if this is the diet that will make all the difference, but I do know that it works for me on a health level. I’m not eating the breads/pastas/sweets that I used to and now I have more energy, stamina, and feel better all over. This diet may restrict what foods I can eat, but it’s so much more flexible than other diets in important ways that I don’t mind it.

I hope that gives you what information you need. Feel free to ask more question of me. (Or of Google.)