Q. I'm really wanting to be fitter and healthier and thought the south beach diet could be the way to go.
A. First of all, you need to buy the book. It explains everything in there. But just a quick overview.... There are 3 phases, the 1st phase you do for 2 weeks. You can eat things like steaks, chicken, hamburger, all sorts of meats, cheeses, vegetables, eggs. No sugar or bread or pasta.It is the strictest part of the diet. But in the first 2 weeks you can lose 8 -13lbs. I lost 12 in my first two weeks. Then after 2 weeks, you slowly start adding the good carbs. Fruits and things that are very low in sugar. After you are down to the weight you want you can go to phase 3. Which is eating things that are low in carbs and pretty much eat the things that are healthy for you. I really like the diet and you will be amazed at how your cravings for sugar will go away! I've lost 35 lbs so far. I would buy the book. There are recipes in it and there is also a recipe book you can buy. Or go to this website http://forums.thesouthbeachdietforum.com/
there is a lot of info on there
What is the south beach diet and the atkins diet?
Q. What the heck are a bunch of diets..I want to go on one of them, which one should i use?Results?Way to lose weight would be helpful too!
A. The South Beach Diet is a fine way of eating if you are close to normal weight and are not addicted to carbs. South Beach allows a higher carb level but fewer protein & fat choices (if you would rather eat beans than beef, this may be a better choice). Atkins (and I) believe saturated fat is a much more healthful fat for fueling the body. If you lower carbs you have to increase fats to fuel the body.
Eating carbs while trying to lose body fat is terribly inefficient. When in glycolysis (burning glucose as fuel) you have to lower your calories (which slows your metabolism) & exercise heavily to deplete your glycogen stores before burning body fat.
The core of Atkins program is converting the body from glycolysis (burning glucose as fuel) to ketosis (burning fat as fuel). Dietary fat levels need to be at >65% of total calories, if not, the body will still remain in glycolysis by converting 58% of excess protein into glucose (via gluconeogenesis).
It takes minimum of 3 days to convert a body to ketosis, (but only one bite to convert back to glycolysis). People feel sluggish the first week but most feel better than ever thereafter.
Simple carbohydrates (sugar, flour, bread, cereal, pasta, potatoes, rice) trigger insulin which can store the calories eaten into fat. The more protein the more the fat burning hormone glucagon is released. The more carbohydrate the more the fat storage hormone insulin is released.
Simple carbs are addictive & can be disastrous to health. The best way to break the addiction is NO carbs for 3 days. Make a huge batch of deviled eggs, eat one every time you want "something" - have huge omelets with bacon, sausage, peppers, mushrooms & cheese. Pork chops smothered with peppers, mushrooms & cheese - pork rinds & dip or tuna/chicken/turkey/egg salad - steaks - a huge sugar free cheese cake. Eat so much you won't feel deprived of anything. By the 4th day, the addiction will be gone & you can start making healthy choices.
High insulin levels promote inflammation, weight gain, hunger & unbalance other hormones. Controlling insulin levels will balance out other hormones & allow human growth hormone (HGH) to be produced naturally so lean muscle will be gained even without exercise. Any exercise will greatly increase muscle mass with high HGH levels.
You can lose more body fat eating protein & fat (don't eat protein alone) than not eating AT ALL. To lose weight fast, eat all you want, but nothing but meat, eggs, healthy oils, mayo, butter & half an avocado a day (for added potassium). Keep the calories high & the fat percentage high, at least 65% of calories. Green vegetables & some cheese will continue weight loss but at a slower pace.
The first 2 weeks eat several cups a day of (mostly) lettuce & celery, cucumbers, radishes, mushrooms, peppers & more variety of vegetables thereafter - add 5 grams per day additional every week (20 grams day first 2 weeks, 25grams 3rd week, 30grams 4th week etc) til you gain weight, then subtract 10grams. That will be your personal carb level (everyone is different & depends on how active you are.)
Start with meat, fats & salads for 2 weeks and then slowly add in more green veg, wk4 fresh cheeses, wk5 nuts & seeds, wk6 berries, wk7 legumes, wk8 other fruits, wk9 starchy veg, wk10 whole grains. You will learn how your body reacts to different foods.
The first week is just water weight but fat is lost thereafter if you keep your calories high enough. Otherwise the body will strip it's own lean tissue for nutrition. Although that may look great on a scale it will make it MUCH easier to accumulate fat in the future (since all that pesky lean tissue burning up calories will be gone). The body won't release fat stores if you lower calories below what it needs. It will slow metabolism to compensate & store every spare ounce as fat. If you continue lowering calories, it will continue lowering the set point, til it can survive off nothing & store fat on anything. The body will only release it's fat stores if it knows there is plenty of nutritious food.
Ground flax seed (2 Tbsp) 1/4 cup water, artificial sweetener, mix in a raw egg - let sit 10 min. to absorb liquid, put some cream cheese in the middle & nuke 2 minutes. Suggested for daily fiber needs.
As long as you have <9grams carbs per hour, you will maintain insulin control & shouldn't gain weight, no matter the calories. Many people gain weight on high carb, do low carb to lose weight & then are shocked when they return to high carb & gain weight. Many people can return to moderate carb levels but very few can really eat all they want of sugar & maintain weight or health.
What website can I go to that has good South Beach diet recipes?
Q. My roomie and I are doing the South Beach diet and we are tired of lunch meat and vegatables. Is there anything else we can eat on Phase I of the diet?
A. Here is some great recipes for stage one. the also have some for phase 2 as well. Good luck!
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