Southbeach diet

I'm new to this newsgroups thing, so help me here...Is South Beach Diet a
good one, and anyone have any tips?

Greg Snyder wrote:
I'm new to this newsgroups thing, so help me here...Is South Beach Diet a
good one, and anyone have any tips?

I'd like to know what, exactly, "South Beach" *is*. Always been
curious.

From what I can tell from reading the book, it is pretty much a typical
LC diet, except that it suggests eliminating saturated fat under the
claim that it should be intuitively obvious that it can't be good for
you. I don't reacall the statement backed up in the book with any
imperical evidence - just a qualitative opinion. So the author
suggests staying away from things such as ribeye steaks, bacon and
sauge, cream, etc. In other words, it is basically an LC program,
marketed as being a heart healthy program since it says to stay away
from things that the govt says are really bad because of its low fat
bias.

I also found the book to be a very repetitive read as over half of it
is just testimonials from individuals claiming how much better they
feel and how the NEVER eat bread.

"South Beach" is part of Miami, FL. Its a tourist trap area with a lot
of fancy hotels, surf and other novelty shops, much like Myrtle Beach,
SC or Virginia Beach, VA.

I was there last fall when I had time to kill before going on a cruise.
From what I could tell, the author of the book, who lives there, was
being truthfull in that the area is full of eye candy and I saw very
few people who were overweight on the streets which he claimed to be
the case.

Noway2 wrote:
:: "South Beach" is part of Miami, FL. Its a tourist trap area with a
:: lot of fancy hotels, surf and other novelty shops, much like Myrtle
:: Beach, SC or Virginia Beach, VA.
::
:: I was there last fall when I had time to kill before going on a
:: cruise. From what I could tell, the author of the book, who lives
:: there, was being truthfull in that the area is full of eye candy
:: and I saw very few people who were overweight on the streets which
:: he claimed to be the case.

So, that means that the SBD really works, huh?

Greg Snyder wrote:
I'm new to this newsgroups thing, so help me here...Is South Beach Diet a
good one, and anyone have any tips?

My opinion is that the South Beach Diet would be
good for someone who doesn't require serious carb
restriction. The South Beach Diet author is a
cardiologist who is trying to burn the diet candle at
both ends. By that I mean his diet allows moderate
amounts of low glycemic index carbs while at the
same time it restricts saturated fat. It's like
a simplified version of the Zone diet. On paper
it a great diet, but in practice I believe that
it puts people on the edge of a slippery slope
in that after the initial strict (lower carb)
phase it's too loose with the carbs and too strict
with the fat to provide the necessary appetite and
craving suppression that is what really makes the
low carb diets workable over the long haul. Like
the Zone, The South beach Diet is not low carb.
It's closer to what is commonly called a 40-30-30
or isocaloric diet.

If you look elsewhere in this forum you'll find a
thread that has to do with what Will Brink
(a reasonably respected author of diet and exercise
info) calls his "Unified Theory of Nutrition."
It states that calorie balance dictates the amount
of weight lost while macronutrient profile dictates
the composition of the lost weight. Personally,
I agree with that. To lose weight one will always
have to restrict caloric intake and/or increase
activity to lose weight. Diets that are truly low
carb have two important things going for them.
The weight that is lost has a higher fat to muscle
ratio than is had with low fat or isocaloric diets.
Secondly, as mentioned earlier, low carb diets tend
to suppress appetite and reduce or eliminate cravings.
Those two things are very powerful in that they make
it possible for people to stay compliant and achieve
long term goals.

Diets like the Zone and South Beach are what real
low carb diets shift toward in their maintenance stages.

If you don't have much weight to lose, don't care what
the weight you lose is composed of, aren't compulsive
when it comes to carbohydrates, and don't have any real
concerns about the metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance,
hyperinsulinemia or any of that, then South Beach is as
good a diet as any.
--

Bill Eitner wrote:
:: Greg Snyder wrote:
::: I'm new to this newsgroups thing, so help me here...Is South Beach
::: Diet a good one, and anyone have any tips?
::
:: My opinion is that the South Beach Diet would be
:: good for someone who doesn't require serious carb
:: restriction. The South Beach Diet author is a
:: cardiologist who is trying to burn the diet candle at
:: both ends. By that I mean his diet allows moderate
:: amounts of low glycemic index carbs while at the
:: same time it restricts saturated fat. It's like
:: a simplified version of the Zone diet. On paper
:: it a great diet, but in practice I believe that
:: it puts people on the edge of a slippery slope
:: in that after the initial strict (lower carb)
:: phase it's too loose with the carbs and too strict
:: with the fat to provide the necessary appetite and
:: craving suppression that is what really makes the
:: low carb diets workable over the long haul. Like
:: the Zone, The South beach Diet is not low carb.
:: It's closer to what is commonly called a 40-30-30
:: or isocaloric diet.
::
:: If you look elsewhere in this forum you'll find a
:: thread that has to do with what Will Brink
:: (a reasonably respected author of diet and exercise
:: info) calls his "Unified Theory of Nutrition."
:: It states that calorie balance dictates the amount
:: of weight lost while macronutrient profile dictates
:: the composition of the lost weight. Personally,
:: I agree with that. To lose weight one will always
:: have to restrict caloric intake and/or increase
:: activity to lose weight. Diets that are truly low
:: carb have two important things going for them.
:: The weight that is lost has a higher fat to muscle
:: ratio than is had with low fat or isocaloric diets.
:: Secondly, as mentioned earlier, low carb diets tend
:: to suppress appetite and reduce or eliminate cravings.
:: Those two things are very powerful in that they make
:: it possible for people to stay compliant and achieve
:: long term goals.
::
:: Diets like the Zone and South Beach are what real
:: low carb diets shift toward in their maintenance stages.
::
:: If you don't have much weight to lose, don't care what
:: the weight you lose is composed of, aren't compulsive
:: when it comes to carbohydrates, and don't have any real
:: concerns about the metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance,
:: hyperinsulinemia or any of that, then South Beach is as
:: good a diet as any.
:: --

Nice post, Bill.

My local library has three copies of The South Beach Diet and so, I
assume, yours probably does, too. I suggest you borrow the book from
the library and read it. It has some advantages over Atkins in that it
is not as strict and people will likely stay on it and longer.

It proposes three phases. You begin by being Atkins low for the first
two weeks so that your body gets accustomed to low carb. Then you
gradually add in some carbs that are fairly low on the glycemic index.
After a few weeks, you can add in more....that would be the maintenance
phase. At any point, you can go back to the beginning.

You have more variety than the Atkins....so it's easier to do.

Again, try to check it out at the library. Don't buy it until you see
if its something you think you can do.

wrote in message
oups.com...
You have more variety than the Atkins....so it's easier to do.

"Easier to do" is a relative thing . It is VERY easy for me to know I can
eat "meat, dairy, fat, vegetables, greens, seeds, nuts". Were I to tell
myself I can have SOME grains but not others, SOME fruits but not others
(yes, I know that Atkins allows some as time goes on), my personal
temptation would be to push the envelope. I need black-and-white, easy
rules - not because I can't keep track of grey areas, but because the little
devil on my left shoulder tells me, "Well if light grey is ok, then
certainly medium grey would be fine, what's the big deal?" and then..."Well
if medium grey is ok, then certainly dark greay would be fine, what's the
big deal?" So, while I don't presume that my own personal WOE is "easier to
do" for everyone, neither would I presume that a plan with more variety is
"easier to do" for everyone .

That's not, BTW, a criticism; just a clarification because, face it, there's
one in every crowd G.

One of the greatest things about this lifestyle change has been getting to
know so much more about myself than I knew before. Seems there's a lot of
that going around in the low carb community.
--
Sherry
364/296/195 (4/3/05)
http://lowcarb.owly.net

And now that the big medical study showed low fat doesn't have any
benefit in terms of reduced cancer or heart attack risk, the low fat
portion of SB is pretty much kaput.