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The South Beach Diet

By Jennifer R. Scott, About.com

Updated: June 22, 2009

About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board

The South Beach Diet is one of the most popular diet plans of all time. This article will help you understand some basic information about The South Beach Diet.

What is The South Beach Diet?

The South Beach Diet is found in a book by Arthur Agatston, MD, called The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss.

The diet is based on the Glycemic Index, which ranks foods according to their glycemic load .

What is the The South Beach Diet Like?

This diet focuses on a healthy balance between carbs and fats -- good carbs and fats. Highly processed foods like baked goods, sweets, and soft drinks will be off-limits.

Dr. Agatston says decreasing the bad carbs will help you metabolize what you eat more effectively and will also improve insulin resistance, leading to weight loss.

The Fundamentals of Phases

The South Beach Diet is divided into three different Phases. All three Phases include specific allowable foods, meal plans, and recipes.

Phase 1

The first Phase, Phase 1, lasts for two weeks and is the strictest of the three. It is when you will limit the most carbs from your daily diet, including fruit, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, sugar, alcohol, and baked goods.

Continued: Phase 1 and Beyond >>

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