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The South Beach Diet Reviewed

The South Beach Diet as you know, has become wildly successful after the diet book by similar name was published, released and snowballed with rapid speed in inner circles as dieting success testimonials were whispered about and fanatically talked about. The book, in question, The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss. I'd suggest purchasing it used since, because of how popular the diet book became (second best selling diet book in the U.S. in the last 10 years - as of the year 2006) there have been over zealous printings, which results in new and used copies for less than a buck, hardcover included.

The doctor now famous and behind the diet book is a cardiologist from as you might suspect, Florida, (as in 'South Beach') named Arthur Agatston. He created the diet plan after creating a dietary routine and meal plan for his patients out of necessity, not being able to find something suitable that emphasized "good carbs" and "good fats". Commonly confused with the Atkins Diet, a completely different beast that includes the philosophy of a low carbohydrate (low carb) diet, the South Beach Diet instead encourages getting rid of the bad carbs and bad fats, while substituting each with good carbs and good fats.

Good carbs are explained as (according to Doctor Arthur Agatston) being high in fiber or good fats, and have a low G.I. - also known as the glycemic index, which basically means such foods are digested and absorbed at a much slower rate in your body. But, also recommended is eating fiber or good fat whenever good carbs are eaten in order to slow down the digestion of the carbohydrates. Good fats are defined as poly-unsaturated or mono-unsaturated fats, versus the bad fats being saturated fats or trans fat.

The South Beach Diet is not meant to be a fad. It is not a one week or one month solution to shed enough pounds to be able to fit into a new summer swimsuit. It was created for the long haul.