Vitality News Health Articles

The South Beach Diet and Finally Losing Weight

The South Beach Diet as you know, has become incredibly successful after the weight loss and recipe book by almost the same name was published, released and snowballed with rapid speed in neighbor to neighbor events and functions as dieting success ‘before’s and after’s’ were quietly discussed and raved about. The book, specifically, The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss. I’d however suggest buying the South Beach Diet book used since, because of the diet book’s popularity (2nd best selling diet book in the United States spanning the last ten years - as of the year 2006) there have been massive printings, which has resulted in new and used copies for less than a buck, hardcover included.

The now famed doctor behind the diet book is a cardiologist from as you might suspect, Florida, (as in ‘South Beach’) named Arthur Agatston. He created the diet plan after creating a system for his patients out of necessity, not able to find something that lived up to his demanding expectations and emphasized “good carbs” and “good fats”. Often confused with the Atkins Diet, a completely different monster that pushes the philosophy of a low carbohydrate (low carb) diet, The South Beach Diet instead encourages cutting out the bad carbs and bad fats, while substituting each with good carbs and good fats.

Good carbs are defined as (according to Doctor Arthur Agatston) being high in fiber or good fat, and have a low G.I. - also known as the glycemic index, which basically means such foods are digested and absorbed at a much slower rate in your body. But, also recommended is eating fiber or good fat whenever good carbs are eaten in order to slow down the digestion of the carbohydrates. Good fats are defined as poly-unsaturated or monounsaturated fats, while the bad fats being saturated fats or trans fat.

The South Beach Diet isn’t meant to be a fad. It isn’t a one week or one month quick fix answer to shed enough pounds to fit comfortably into a new summer bikini. It was created for the long haul.

Tapping into no b.s. health content and real insight about the healthy living you want to have in your life, is not ‘brain surgery’. No matter your interest: from leading a healthy life to how to eat yourself thinner, you name it. Committing a healthy living need not be sacrificial, or at all life altering if you don’t want it to be, nor must you have to forgo all the flavors, joy and adventure you seek out now as often is the myth.

- Jackie Black