Why choose South Beach over Atkins –or- Why choose the South Beach Diet at all?
Written: Feb 20 '04
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Pros: Daily Menu Plans and Wonderful Recipes Included
Cons: May be a tough plan to stick with in our world of highly-refined carbohydrates.
The Bottom Line: The South Beach Diet will help you lose weight if you can stay motivated and follow this low carbohydrate plan. Motivation may be the key difficulty with this plan.
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| bonzobean's Full Review: Arthur S. Agatston M.D. - The South Beach Diet: Th... |
”Hi, my name is BonzoBean and I am a dieting junky.” This would be your cue to show me the love and support of any twelve-step recovery program and say, “ Hi Bonzo ” because I know, you too share my pain (and my hunger!).
I’m also a mom who has had two rather large pregnancies. My first pregnancy resulted in a gain of over eighty lbs and consisted of a diet of good old-fashioned stress-type foods as a result of a high-risk pregnancy. My second pregnancy, although consisting of its own high-stress moments, was much calmer and, as a result, I ate healthier foods and much less of them this time. And, I only gained just over sixty-five lbs (Yipes!) With my first pregnancy, I lost most of my pregnancy weight with Slim Fast and then when that stalled, I joined Weight Watchers and took off the last of that weight including some extra lbs that had been stubbornly clinging to my body. After this baby, I wasn’t as motivated to go back to my shake regimen or counting the points of every morsel that crossed these lips so I started investigating different diets, Atkins being first on my list. While researching Atkins, I stumbled across the South Beach Diet and knew this was my diet du jour.
Why I chose South Beach over Atkins:
I knew the Atkins diet has been receiving some bad press so I started by researching the cons of this diet (which coincidently is how I research most products I am going to invest time and money in). I found out that some seemingly respectable-sounding medical groups were actually being funded by vegetarian-oriented groups (i.e. PETA), which in itself is fine, but sort of slants the veracity of the reports since they are pretty anti-meat eating to begin with. So, I tended to discount the doom and gloom reports and focus more on the difference between South Beach and Atkins.
Primary Difference Numero Uno – Do you know the difference between a good and bad fat?
Yes, good fat is any fat that cannot be found on your hips but makes its way to your mother-in-law’s body instead…no, no, no, that was bad. I apologize.
The main difference between the two diets or “nutritional approaches”, as some like to call them, appears to be how well fats are tolerated in the diet. In the Atkins diet, fat is fat is fat. Butter is equivalent to bacon fat is equivalent to olive oil. In the South Beach plan not all fats are created equal and Dr. Agatston states, “There are, as most people know, the bad fats – the ones that can lead to cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and stroke.” (pg.10). As a result, healthy fats such as olive oil, canola oil and peanut oil are encouraged over the less-healthy saturated fats.
Some other differences that stood out:
The Atkins diet is pretty-pro egg and while Dr. Agatston is able to show that the good cholesterol in an egg may actually outweigh any negative effects of the bad cholesterol due to the fact that the yolk may contain antioxidants that may prevent cancer and heart disease, he also recognizes that too many eggs may not be beneficial for people with certain health issues and recommends egg substitutes when needed. Also the Atkins Diet steers away from carbohydrates altogether whereas the South Beach Diet allows that there is a difference between good and bad carbohydrates. Also, I believe the South Beach Diet follows more doctor-approved guidelines because it relies so heavily on the Glycemic Index with all foods and not just protein-related foods.
What can you find in this book that you cannot find on the web?
One thing I’ve learned is that if you want to find information on ANYTHING, the internet is a valuable tool. However, just because you find information on the web, well, doesn’t mean it is necessarily accurate. I originally started the South Beach Diet with information from just the various websites. However, I started questioning some of the information provided and got tired of going from site to site looking for the “correct” answers. The South Beach Diet by Dr. Arthur Agatston is a neat, tidy place to find not only the basics of the diet, but why this diet was created and what makes it work.
So, what does make the South Beach Diet work?
The greatest part about this diet is that while on Phase One of the diet you are probably going to lose an average of eight to thirteen lbs in two weeks! How is this possible you ask? Well, according to Dr. Agatson, we are “programmed” to store fat as a means of survival in times of famine. However, since many of us in the developed world rarely face times of famine, we keep packing it on and worse yet, we’re eating highly processed carbohydrates. By highly processed, I mean the kind where they take much of the good stuff like fiber which changes how are body processes these foods. We end up storing that weight around our middle sections since our body cannot dispose of those foods efficiently. During Phase One of the plan, you cut out carbohydrates and, almost magically, those stubborn lbs around your midsection come melting off. As you progress into the next phases, you are basically trying to eat foods low on the Glycemic Index. When you eat higher on the Index, rapid changes in blood sugar levels occur which can cause overeating and obesity by making you hungry sooner. By starting out in Phase One of this plan, your body stops craving these high-Index foods.
A little more about Phase One:
So, you know that you have to avoid carbohydrates during Phase One. This means cutting out starchy foods like potatoes and carrots and all breads. Fruit is also to be avoided along with some ‘sweets’ like ice cream, honey and jam, even most dairy is to be avoided. However, you are welcome to eat certain less fatty cuts of beef, poultry, pork, veal, low-fat cheeses, most vegetables, eggs and nuts. You are welcome to have some sweets, up to about 80 calories a day if necessary. The book includes some recipes for ricotta cheese deserts, which didn’t do much for me but I know others have loved. The first few days may be tough as you avoid carbohydrates and some people experience fatigue and grumpiness. After a few days, you find that you no longer crave breads and sweets and your energy picks up again. Phase One lasts two weeks. You could go longer but you’re chances of burning out on this diet increase drastically if you do.
Moving onto the Second Phase:
Phase Two begins introducing more foods back into your diet. Once again you are eating fruit and low-fat dairy products. You may have some breads, cereals and potatoes. You may also have wine again and chocolate. However, you have to reintroduce these sparingly or you’ll find yourself starting to crave these foods again and, VOILA, the diet is lost. The carbohydrates you reintroduce are low on the glycemic index and do not cause you to get hungry quicker provided you eat them in moderation. Phase Two is the long-term portion of the plan when you start losing weight at a slower, steadier pace
Phase Three of the Plan:
Once you reach your ideal weight, you may begin Phase Three of this plan. The book has no list of acceptable foods for this phase because, by this time, you know what you can and cannot have and which foods will set off cravings. Of course, we’re all human and slip up and Dr. Agatston just says to get back on that horse, go to Phase One for a few days and, once that extra weight is off, slip back into Phase Three. Phase Three is the “plan for life” (boy, is it just me or doesn’t that sound ominous?)
What else can be found in this book?
The first two phases contain lists of acceptable foods and foods to avoid along with recipes and menu plans. The recipes are actually really good and some of them were created by some of the top chefs in wonderful restaurants. The menu plans are easy to follow and, perhaps, will help keep you on the straight and narrow. Some of the chapters include:
“Losing Weight, Gaining Life.”
“Good Carbs, Bad Carbs”
“A Brief History of Popular Diets”
“Good Fats, Bad Fats”
“Hello, Bread”
“How Eating Makes You Hungry”
“How to Eat in a Restaurant”
“Back to Cardiology”
“Why do People Occasionally Fail on this Diet”
Remaining impressions of this book:
Readability: This book is easy to read. You, being the typical dieter, don’t really care about the science behind this diet, you just want to know it works. Dr. Agatston does go into some detail about why the diet works but not enough to bore you. The book does not take much effort and is easily understood
Length of Book: The information portion of this book is really only 104 pages and could easily be read within a couple days. The next 180 pages or so are filled with day-by-day menu plans and recipes broken up into the various phases.
My experience with the South Beach Diet:
As promised, I lost eight lbs the first eight days. I have to admit, I was a grumpy mess during the first two to three days but quickly adjusted. I was eating plenty of food and not hungry so I suspect I was going through no-carb withdrawals. I then went out of town for two weeks and gained five of the lbs back. I started Phase One again and lost six more lbs and began Phase Two where I lost, on average, half a lb to a full lb a week for several months. Then, the holidays set in and like any true Mama Bear, my body began preparing for hibernation the best way it knew how, with chocolate! I found it incredibly tough to stick to the South Beach Diet over the holidays and have gained back some of the weight. However, I have been implementing some of the diet’s finer points and have kept the gain to a minimum. Anytime I want to drop up to five lbs quickly, I just go onto Phase One for two to three days and I lose it. On phase one, I found that I was eating more than usual but still losing. Having had success in the past with Weight Watchers, I counted my points and I was eating, on average, ten more points each day than the top of my points range and I was still losing rapidly. I really enjoy breads and cereals, however, and need a diet that allows a little more flexibility even if I need to eat a few less calories in order to enjoy them.
Would I recommend this diet?
This is a tough question for me to answer. I’m a firm believer that any diet has the potential to work if YOU have the motivation and willpower to succeed. I also believe some diets are healthier than others. I think Atkins is a good diet but the South Beach Diet is a healthier diet. I think if you have any health issues related to diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure then this may be the right diet for you. As always, talk to your doctor before beginning this program. If you are interested in this diet, check out the book from your local library, although I’m told the waiting list can be months or just pick up a copy at your local bookstore.
As for me, I picked up some valuable information from this book and am now working on my own custom-made health plan incorporating elements of low-carbohydrate diets, watching how much I eat and exercising three to five days a week to drop the rest of my pregnancy weight. However, I know that every body is different and, if you’re trying to lose weight or just really love chicken, fish and meat, you might want to give the South Beach Diet a try.
Recommended:
Yes
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I think the mistake many of us make is thinking the-state-appointed shrink is our friend.
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