South Beach Diet Introduction

The South Beach Diet is a diet that concentrates on balanced eating, integrating good carbs and good fats into your diet. It consists of 6 smalls meals a day; breakfast, lunch, dinner, 2 snacks, and desert. To call this a "diet" seems unfair, as it really becomes more of a way of life.

I started the South Beach Diet at the recommendation of my doctor. I have IBS and had no sign of relief. My doctor recommended this diet to me because the principles of this diet are low GI and high fiber, both of which help minimize the symptoms of IBS.

The great side-effect to this was immediate weight loss. I lost 25lbs in 6 weeks! Of course I also incorporated exercise to my program, which also helps with IBS, Stress, and of course weight loss. Nothing crazy, just walking on the treadmill for 30-45 minutes and very light weights 4 days/week.

I maintained my weight loss for over 4 years. SBD is a forgiving diet, with 3 phases that help you stick to it's principles, even when you fall of the wagon! It gives you the tools to get right back on.

Phase 1: Phase 1 of the SBD is the strictest phase of the diet. It last for 2 weeks and cuts out breads, baked goods, fruits, rice, cereal, potatoes and other items I will list for you later. Many of these items will be added back in during Phase 2. This is to help reset your body so that you can process sugars and carbs more efficiently, cleanse your body of toxins, and reduce or eliminate your cravings. And as a bonus, most people lose between 7-13lbs! This sounds very limited, however, there is a long list of things you CAN eat while on phase 1 that will make this very enjoyable.

Phase 2: This is the phase where you will start to add items back into your diet and continue your weight loss. You will add them slowly at first to minimize shock to your system and to be able to monitor what triggers cravings. There are numerous things to eat in this phase; however, we will tweak things a bit to keep them low GI. For example, instead of white potatoes we'll choose sweet potatoes or yams; instead of white bread we'll choose 100% whole wheat. Weight loss slows down a bit here to about 1-2lbs per week which is a healthy rate.

Phase 3: This is the maintenance phase where you are no longer on a 'diet' but living a normal way of life. If at any point you should fall into bad habits you can jump to phase 1 or phase 2 to get back on track.

I will post recipes, ideas, information and tips I have to help you on your journey with the South Beach Diet. It has done wonders for me, I wish you the same success!