Weight loss

Overview

The South Beach Diet is a popular commercial weight-loss diet. Heart doctor Arthur Agatston, M.D., created the diet. He named it after a stylish part of Miami. Agatston outlined the eating plan in his best-selling book "The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss."

The South Beach Diet limits some types of foods that have nutrients called carbohydrates. These also are known as carbs. Carbs are a key source of calories that give the body energy. But taking in more calories than you burn off causes weight gain.

The South Beach Diet doesn't tightly limit all foods that have carbs. It just limits the ones that are more likely to cause weight gain. Another version of the South Beach Diet places strict limits on carbs. It's called the keto-friendly South Beach Diet. Keto is short for ketogenic. A ketogenic diet aims to force the body to use fat for energy instead of carbs or protein.

Purpose

The purpose of the South Beach Diet is to change the overall balance of the foods you eat. This change may help you lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle. The South Beach Diet says it's a healthy way of eating.

Why you might follow the South Beach Diet

You might choose to follow the South Beach Diet because you:

• Enjoy the types and amounts of food featured in the diet.
• Want a diet that restricts some carbs and fats to help you lose weight.
• Want to change your overall eating habits.
• Want a diet you can try to stick with for life.
• Like the related South Beach Diet products, such as cookbooks and diet foods.

Check with your healthcare professional or a dietitian before you start any weight-loss diet. This is key if you have any health conditions or concerns.

Diet details

The South Beach Diet features foods that have lean protein, healthy fats and some carbs. The diet mainly includes healthy carbs that give the body steady energy. These are called complex carbs. The body digests complex carbs slowly. Then the carbs turn into sugar that slowly moves into the bloodstream. This sugar is called glucose. It gives the body fuel.

The South Beach Diet includes complex carbs such as:

• Fruit and vegetables.
• Whole grains such as bulgur and quinoa, and whole-wheat bread, rice or pasta.
• Beans, peas and lentils.

The South Beach Diet limits carbs that give the body a short burst of energy. These are called simple carbs. They tend to have less nutrition than complex carbs. And too many simple carbs can lead to weight gain. Some foods that are high in simple carbs include:

• Candy and baked goods.
• Honey, molasses and syrup.
• Regular soda.
• Sugar.
• Cereal that's made with refined grains rather than whole grains.

The South Beach Diet also features foods that have healthy fats. These include plant-based oils, nuts and oily fish. The diet limits sources of saturated fat such as red meat and butter. Saturated fat tends to raise cholesterol.

The South Beach Diet features foods that have lean protein as well. Examples include lean meats, fish, soy and low-fat dairy products.

Carbohydrates

The South Beach Diet recommends that you limit simple carbs, such as candy or baked goods, over time. It also suggests that you choose complex carbs, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables. The diet doesn't ask you to track the percentage of carbs that you eat.

The keto-friendly version of the South Beach Diet does place strict limits on carbs. This version starts with a limit of 20 to 50 grams of carbs a day. In time, the limit rises to as much as 75 to 100 grams of carbs a day. In comparison, a typical eating plan of 2,000 calories a day lets you have about 225 to 325 grams of carbs a day.

Exercise

The South Beach Diet recommends regular exercise as an important part of your lifestyle. It suggests activities such as walking and strength training. Regular exercise can help you reach a goal weight and stay at it.

Phases of the South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet has three phases:

• Phase 1. This two-week phase aims to jump-start your weight loss. You cut out almost all carbs from your diet. That includes whole-grain pasta, rice, bread and all fruit. You don't drink fruit juice or any alcohol either. The goal is to help you stop craving some foods and drinks that can lead to weight gain. These include foods and drinks that are high in sugar. These also include refined grains that have had the nutrients removed, such as white bread and white rice.

  During this phase, you focus on eating lean protein. Your protein choices include seafood, skinless poultry, lean beef and soy products. You also can eat high-fiber vegetables and low- or nonfat dairy. You can have foods that contain healthy unsaturated fats too. These include avocados, nuts and seeds.

• Phase 2. This phase aims to help you lose weight over the long term. You start to add back some of the foods that were banned in phase 1. For instance, you can have whole-grain breads, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, fruits and more vegetables. You stay in this phase until you reach your goal weight.

• Phase 3. This phase aims to help you eat healthy for life. You focus on eating foods with complex carbs, lean protein and healthy fats. But you can eat all types of foods. You just limit those that can lead to weight gain, such as refined grains and sugary foods and drinks.

A typical day's menu on the South Beach Diet

• Breakfast. Breakfast might be an omelet with smoked salmon or baked eggs with spinach and ham. You also can have a cup of coffee or tea.
• Lunch. Lunch might be a vegetable salad with scallops or shrimp. You could enjoy it with iced tea or sparkling water.
• Dinner. Dinner may feature grilled tuna or pork. You might pair the meat with grilled vegetables or a salad.
• Dessert. The diet recommends that you have a dessert that's not sugary after dinner. For instance, you could try sugar-free gelatin. Or you could mix low-fat ricotta cheese with unsweetened cocoa powder, slivered almonds and a sugar substitute.
• Snacks. You can enjoy snacks during the day too. For instance, you could have a turkey roll-up with low-fat cheese.

Results

Weight loss

The South Beach Diet says that you'll lose 8 to 13 pounds (3.6 to 5.9 kilograms) during phase 1. That's the first two weeks of the diet. It also says you'll lose most of the weight from your midsection. In phase 2, it says that you'll likely lose 1 to 2 pounds (0.5 to 1 kilogram) a week.

Most people can lose weight on almost any diet, especially in the short term. The key is to eat fewer calories than you burn off with physical activity. Some experts say it's ideal to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week. The steady pace may be more likely to help you keep weight off compared with fast weight loss.

Losing a large amount of weight fast may mean that you're losing water weight or lean tissue, rather than fat. But sometimes, faster weight loss can be safe if it's done in a healthy way. For example, some diets include an opening phase to help you jump-start your weight loss. These include the South Beach Diet and the Mayo Clinic Diet.

Health benefits

Risks

In general, the South Beach Diet is safe. It's important to follow the guidance in official South Beach Diet books.

Be aware that eating fewer carbs than the diet recommends has risks. A very low-carb diet may put your body in a state called ketosis. Ketosis happens when the body doesn't have enough blood sugar, also called glucose, for energy. So the body breaks down stored fat instead. This causes acids in the blood called ketones to build up.

Side effects from ketosis can include:

• Upset stomach.
• Muscle cramps.
• Headache.
• Frequent tiredness.
• Bad breath.
• Thirst or a very dry mouth.

The keto version of the South Beach Diet says it doesn't require you to reach ketosis or stay in it.