diet and health

I've always been intimidated or annoyed with diet books -they are sort of like reading manuals, which I also hate. But this book is concise and really easy to follow, and the fact that the diet is so restrictive and unambiguous in the first two weeks makes it easy to stay on track. They key is that you are allowed to each as much as you want as long as you stay away from the sugars and the refined-foods carbs. But, you still end up eating a lot less than you used to because you aren't hungry. I can't say that at first I wasn't finding it hard to resist a huge pile of pancakes, but I was losing about a pound a day and that is an amazing motivator. Also I found that my energy level for my cardio workouts was down at first. I'm a victim of the high tech world and I've gained 25 pounds in the last six years. I'm going to South Beach in a few months, which was a great motivator to loose weight, and I'm achieving amazing results with this book. All my pants were loose on my after the first four days - it's like after all this time my body is saying "thank you!" for eating right and is rewarding me with rapid weight loss. This is a healthy diet that encourages the consumption of food in a satisfying quantity in its most natural state - not overly processed or refined or sugary. It's the type of food we are meant to be eating.

As most Americans not living in caves know, millions use low-carb diets because they actually work. The South Beach Diet combines the weight-loss oomph of the trail-blazing Atkins Diet with common-sense efforts to lower saturated fat, increase fiber and add variety for long-term success.

The Atkins Diet holds that severely restricting sugars and starchy carbohydrates - those that cause the blood sugar to spike, in turn causing strong insulin response and a subsequent appetite once blood sugar is driven down - lets the body easily burn both fat reserves and dietary fat. The SBD employs this principal for the two-week first phase. Author and cardiologist Arthur Agatston says most people lose 8 to 13 pounds here, and this was true for both my wife and me. (I am a former Weight Watchers leader, by the way, and for years adhered to the carb-rich food pyramid promoted by health authorities and WW. As I aged, it grew harder to lose weight even if I followed it rigorously.)

The SBD expands on Atkins in its second phase, wherein low-glycemic carbs - those that, by dint of greater fiber or low sugar, don't raise blood sugar as much - are reintroduced moderately to the diet, along with some fruits. You use some whole-wheat pasta as side dishes, rather than entrees; you eat certain high-fiber cereals with yogurt for breakfast. We started having red wine with dinner. Weight loss slows to perhaps a pound a week. The effect Agatston has found, distinct from the fat-burning Atkins phase, is that selecting and controlling carbs while eating plenty of protein and beneficial fats, limits appetite and provides satisfaction such that dieters continue weight loss without too much effort.

Recognizing that boredom ultimately foils most dieters, Agatston obtained creative recipes from Miami's trendy South Beach chefs. Their nouvelle-cuisine style helps embellish the chicken breasts, flank steak, fish, eggs and salads common in the menu. I never used so many fresh herbs before, and enjoyed it.

The first weeks are a major commitment. You must buy and chop many fresh vegetables - the garnish on the entrée, two side dishes, a salad, a veggie wrap for snacks. The recipes aren't difficult but have many ingredients. With a full fridge and preparation necessary for six meals and snacks daily, you must stay on track, else the vegetables spoil. I found the first few weeks cost me an extra hour daily as I labored to make dinners and prepare the next day's lunch and snacks so that my wife could take them to work.

After that, it eases up. Snack choice broadens to items requiring little prep. Knowing the basics, dieters can make suitable dishes without fretting whether the cilantro is fresh.

Subsequent editions of the book should deal clearly with serving size. Agatston sometimes says to eat as much as you like, and at others pushes portion control.

Studies so far indicate Atkins-style dieters don't suffer elevated blood cholesterol despite a rich diet. Agatston splits the difference, sometimes using eggs and at other times egg substitutes. He uses plenty of bacon while encouraging leaner meats such as skinless chicken, fish and lean beef cuts. But this seems mostly cautionary, as both weight-loss and blood chemistry seems to accommodate higher-fat selections as long as you stay on the diet. Agaston is wise, however, to realize that because most dieters get lax over time, they may then seriously hurt themselves if they haven't acquired dietary habits lower in saturated fat and cholesterol.

Science awaits a unified theory linking degree of carbohydrate restriction, rate of weight loss, appetite, dietary intake and exercise - telling me, say, that if I consume X blood sugar or less per pound of body weight, I am in the Atkins phase, and if I consumer between X and Y, I'm in the SBD phase, and should limit portions in Z fashion. It seems that SBD's phase two, allowing more sugar and carbohydrate than phase one, is more sensitive to proper serving size and exercise.

Agatston's glycemic indexes are so far the best I've found for the American market. But for long-term use, more extensive ones are needed listing common processed foods and finished dishes, plus every conceivable fruit, vegetable or grain. Also, future editions should reference the newer "glycemic load," which combines the index with amount eaten to measure total blood-sugar impact, help dieters better monitor their intake.

The book is easy to read, with a few pages of hard information in every chapter followed by personal anecdotes you can skip. There are dozens of recipes, weeks worth of menus, and food lists showing what's in and what's out in each phase. With new low-carb products hitting the market every day - I love the low-carb Klondike bars - you may well succeed with this diet.

Leaving aside the editing and layout of the book, I have had success following this healthy diet. That's what mattered most to me.

My weight before starting SBD Phase 1 was 152. I am 5'4" and want to weigh about 135. I followed Phase 1, eating only food from the allowed list. That's basically lean meats, low or no-fat cheese, eggs, veggies, nuts. It was fairly easy to stick to - especially because I could have nuts or cheese as snacks. Grilled fish, lean steak, some veggies and I had a dinner that I enjoyed. Eggs for b'fast. The purpose of Phase 1 is to end your cravings for sugar and carbs. It did that for me.

At the end of Phase 1, I weighed 144. A loss of 8 pounds.

Then, we went on vacation in Europe for 4 weeks. I tried to eat healthy foods but also had a small ice cream almost daily. Because of the diet I made much better food choices than I normally would have, although I also had pasta and bread (and the ice cream). I had fresh veggies, veggie soup, salads and fruit often, and meat when we could afford it. At the end of 4 weeks, I had lost 5 more pounds. I'm at 139 now and on Phase 2.

This is better than I have ever done on a 'diet' before, especially considering the 4 week vacation. I'm feeling very healthy and am loving being a 'normal' size again.

I am ignoring some of the information in the book (like the GI Index) as it makes things confusing and it's not necessary to understand it. I follow the food lists and find that I can make a wide variety of meals that even my husband will eat. I'm not finding myself focused on food all day. The internet has some great support groups for this diet. I can eat in restaurants with no problem.

I have high cholesterol, so am hoping to see that come down. That would be the best news of all.

But ultimately, the success of this, or any new way of eating is up to you. Just like I did, you have to CHOOSE to walk past the Cheetos isle, drive past KFC and turn down the mashed potatoes at granny's house. For me, these choices were made easier by the allowance of nuts and cheese as snacks.

After Phase 1, you can add many foods back in (slowly), keeping an eye on your size so you know when you have gone "too far".

If you try South Beach Diet, I wish you much success. It's working for me! So far!

UPDATE: It's August 23rd and I'm holding my weight (136). I'm not eating nearly as much sugar, potatoes, bread and processed foods as I did before SBD, I'm feeling great and my husband is delighted! This new way of eating is not difficult!! My biggest tip is, don't buy stuff at the store that you shouldn't be eating. And, there ARE things that you can get occasionally that are good and a 'treat'. For example, look in the health food isle and you'll find Tostita's has organic chips with no trans fats and very low sat fat. Have that with salsa or avacado dip.