Lose Weight Fast on the Southbeach Diet

Tired of the scale going up, up, up? Do you want to lose weight fast with little hunger and lots of energy? The South Beach Diet helps you to do both, quickly and with ease. Many dieters have struggled with being overweight because their intake of refined sugars and "white"…white flour, white rice, white bread, white pasta…causes them to store fat. Even on a low calorie regime, these high-glycemic foods fight against them.

Dr. Arthur Agatston, author of “The South Beach Diet Super-Charged: Faster Weightloss and Better Health” explains that increased levels of insulin are a direct cause of an increase in fat. Consistent ingestion of insulin-stimulating foods cause weight gain and can even put your health at risk.

The South Beach Diet was first developed by preventative cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatston with the purpose of improving the health of his many heart patients. To their delight, they were finding that they were losing weight with a certain amount of ease while improving their health. Hunger subsided and energy increased. Along with pounds, inches were melting away. Who could ask for more?

A great benefit of South Beach is that, after the initial two weeks of a stricter Phase One regime, foods of greater variety are re-introduced. With good choices and moderation, the lost weight can be kept off forever and your daily menu will be diverse, delicious and delightfully healthy.

A quick view of the three Phases of The South Beach Diet:

South Beach Diet Phase1: for two weeks only, follow this strictest of phases. It is a very low carb diet utilizing primarily protein, good fats and carbohydrates that are the lowest on the glycemic index. Beef, fish, seafood, poultry, pork, low fat lunch meats, low fat cheese, nuts (in moderation), eggs, tofu, fats and low carbohydrate vegetables and beans are allowed. One of the dessert "delicacies" acceptable even on South Beach Diet Phase 1 is a sugar-free fudgesicle.

Here is a rich peanut butter & fudgesicle recipe, Phase 1 approved, that will make you forget that you are on a diet: PEANUT BUTTER FUDGESICLE DELIGHT (also known as South Beach Diet Faux Ice Cream)

South Beach Diet Phase 1 Food List

South Beach Diet Phase 2: the second phase of the diet has more variety. Weight loss slows up a bit but this phase is designed for the long-haul. Dieters are encouraged to gradually add healthy carbs back into their menu while monitoring weight loss. If weight loss has stopped altogether, you may want to pull back a little bit on the carbs. In addition to the Phase 1 food list, you can now add back fruit at a gradual pace along with some whole grains, brown or wild rice, low fat milk and yogurt.

South Beach Diet Phase 2 Food List

South Beach Diet Phase 3: “normal” eating is restored, minus the unhealthy choices. "White" such as white flour, white refined sugar, white rice is banned forever! If you start to gain weight, return to either Phase 1 or Phase 2 briefly to bring things back under control.

South Beach Diet Phase 3 Foods

There are several popular low carbohydrate diets, in addition to The South Beach Diet, that you may want to consider. All of them promise quick initial loss of pounds and inches, almost no hunger and a reintroduction of a wider variety of foods that will allow the dieter to remain healthy and maintain their new slim figures.

Here are some of the low carb weight loss plans and their differences:

Atkins Diet The Atkins Diet begins with virtually all protein. Very little in the way of even vegetables is allowed in the two-week Induction Phase. Following those two weeks, slow introduction of vegetables and eventually low glycemic fruits and whole grains is encouraged.

The Atkins Diet also has a product line of shakes and protein bars that can be used on all phases to help make the diet more diverse and palatable for those with a sweet-tooth.

Carbohydrate Addict's Diet: Formulated by Dr. Richard and Rachael Heller, this low carb diet is all about timing. The basic plan consists of three meals per day without snacks. Two meals should be high protein, very low carb. The third meal (most often this will be lunch or dinner) can be anything you wish. This is called the "Reward Meal". The dieter is encouraged to select a variety of healthy foods but is not restricted in this area. As long as the meal is eaten within a one-hour time period, even rich desserts or high calorie cream sauces are allowed. Want a hot fudge sundae with real ice cream, fudge, whipped cream and a cherry on top? You can do it, and lose weight, as long as it is within that one-hour time frame. The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet premise is that the addiction to carbs has to be broken, and that can be done using 23 of the 24 hours of the day.

The Dukan Diet This diet is relatively new to the U.S. Dr. Pierre Dukan, a French physician, developed this diet quite accidentally as he tried to help a very obese patient to lose weight. The man could not limit portion sizes of meats --which he loved--so the doctor told him to each as much as he wanted of meat, only. Surprisingly, he was happily losing weight. The refined version of The Dukan Diet starts with 1-10 days of a very strict, protein-only phase. This is called the "Attack Phase". The variation in his approach is that 1-2 T of raw oat bran must be included with one meal. As the dieter loses weight, he or she can gradually add back healthy carbs until "normal" eating is resumed. If one day per week is followed as an "Attack Phase" day, Dr. Dukan promises that you will never regain the weight you lost!

Sinea Pies is a freelance writer for a popular parenting magazine and professional blogger on Ducks 'n a Row. Please feel free to leave a comment or subscribe to her RSS feed to be updated on new hubs and articles that she publishes. Click for more: Sinea's profile