charles's Full Review: Arthur S. Agatston M.D. - The South Beach Diet: Th...
With the ongoing epidemics of obesity that our nation is going through, it's time that somebody, a renowned cardiologist who has seen the ravages of heart attacks, cholesterol and insulins step up to the plate. Step up, he did! Dr. Arthur Agatston is the right MD to bring us an easy-to-follow, no-nonsense book on dieting. It's not just one more book that comes on top of the hundreds of thousands diet books claiming to have the magic cure-all touch. Dr. Agatston was already known and liked among his peers. After all, he had developed a cardiac imaging device that helps predict future heart attacks. After seeing the misery and fumbles of his patients, he decided to help them with The South Beach Diet, a breakthrough book on dieting.
Why the South Beach Diet Title?
A glitzy title that is different from other diet books
For one thing, images sell a lot. If you have never been to Miami's South Beach, you may not know how profiles, great food from various ethnic cuisines, fashion, hard bodies mix together to create this exotic group of people who have no problems displaying their assets. South Beach is the place to people watch and get seen. It's the new Venice Beach in its heyday. This is not to diminish the continuing popularity of Venice Beach on this side of the country. As I am at it, I should mention Santa Monica Beach which is my favorite hangout. Any way, most of the people you see on South Beach count themselves as followers of this cardiologist, Dr. Arthur Agatston. The South Beach Diet is his way of saying to this group of "hotbods" to maintain their great physique. And to those who are his patients, he is saying, "come along, let me show you the way."
What should you expect to get out of the South Beach Diet?
If you forget everything that is said and written about this book, just remember that this book is not a low-carb and low-fat one. The South Beach Diet rather teaches you to mix the right carbs and the right fats--that is to say--the good ones- with the bad carbs and bad fats. A clear example would be Dr Agatston's push to combine the good with the bad as found in dipping whole wheat bread into olive oil instead of using butter. After all, what contributes to the book's appeals and enthusiasm are its earthy and conversational tones. It's like one of these old family doctors' visits. There is nothing in the book that will scare anybody away. In the South Beach Diet, you will find lots of meal plans and simple recipes that you can easily apply to your own meal preparations.
After going through the book, I realized what some nutritionists and psychologists have long suspected. Making appeal to the dieter's cognitive realms will get things done faster. Dieting starts in the brain.
Furthermore, based on his expansive experience at Miami Beach's Mt Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Arthur Agatston has long realized that despite their popularity, the currently available diet programs were not meeting all of his patients' dieting needs. In some of them, he found dangerously high levels of blood sugar and cholesterol. He was touched by the non-stop recurring battles of his patients with the monster of weight gain.
The South Beach Diet's Proposed Solutions To Obesity
Get started. Get healthy by losing weight with the 3 phases mentioned in the book
Phase 1: Banish all your cravings. It's very restrictive, but hang in there. During phase 1, you will eat normal-size helpings of meat, chicken, turkey, fish, and shellfish. You will have plenty of vegetables, eggs, cheese and nuts. You'll have salads with real olive oil in the dressing. You will have three balanced meals a day. It will be up to you to eat to satisfy your hunger.
Stay away from these food items for the first 14 days:
Say no to bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, baked goods. No fruit. No candy, cake, cookies, ice cream or sugar. No beer or alcohol of any kind. Keep in mind that you will be able to consume them after phase 1. For a few seconds, I was thinking that a regular guy's meals and beverages were taken away!
Phase 2: Re-introducing Carbs: (great news!) Banished Foods Get back into your life while still on diet.
By now, you'll have noticed some weight loss largely due to the fact that you have limited some of the foods that caused old bad urges. They tended to make you gain and store fats. After losing up to 13 pounds in Phase 1 over a 14-day period, you will decide however long you want to say in phase 2 by the number of pounds you want to lose. Bear in mind that in this phase, you have been allowed to re-introduce either bread, pasta, rice or potatoes etc. It all depends on your taste.
Phase 3: A Diet For Life
By now, you will have been feeling so great about yourself. Your friends, family members and co-workers will have congratulated you on conquering your personal urges. You will become a new "hardbod." You will be glad of your new status. You will be glad to change your wardrobe. You'll be able to do things you'd never dreamed of. It comes without any pain that you want to apply these dieting techniques to your life for ever.
As you have discovered the key and secret to modifying your physical attributes, you will have let your mind control the matter.
Congratulations to you! You have conquered yourself! Just know that you have just added many happy and healthy years to your heart.
Good carbs (vegetable, fruit, grains, olive and granola oils, salmon, tuna) to you and your family!
Consume the following in phase 2: fruits, berries, some bread, pasta, whole wheat bread with selected carbs.
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Get a copy of my book, The Long Lost Garden Of Eden: Fruit Consumption as the Foundation of the Ultimate Diet Revolution. It's available at www.amazon.com, www.bn.com; www.borders.com
Remember that dieting requires knowledge. It's a cognitive endeavour.
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