The South Beach diet is hugely popular among dieters and is considered to be a diet, made by doctors for patients, who want to follow it for a lifetime. Phase 2 of this diet involves controlling the intake of sugar and unhealthy foods, and replacing them with fiber and healthy foods.
A cardiologist, Arthur Agatston and a dietitian, Marie Almon, have worked on the South Beach diet with a few simple ideas. The aim of the diet was to break the hunger cycle, which was caused by the sugar-insulin inconsistency. It is a natural reaction of the body when one goes on a diet, or does not follow one’s regular eating cycle. The entire concept is a bit too elaborate, but the conclusion is that, a person on a diet goes through severe hunger pangs, which makes it difficult to follow a diet.
Another specialty of this diet is that, instead of having normal low fat and carbohydrate intake, this diet makes sure that the person consumes all nutrition in a balanced proportion and tends to replace all bad fat and carbohydrates with good carbohydrates and fat. Thus, as a follower of this diet, all you need to do is, eat good quality food with a certain nutritional balance and in certain quantity. This diet is a really good one and tends to imbibe really good eating habits in its followers.
The diet is divided into 3 different phases that tend to span over different time periods, and at the same time become liberal and more do-able. The phase one, which lasts for two weeks, curtails intake of sugars, excessive fat, and unwanted dietary nutrients such as, excessive proteins and starches. This phase emphasizes on the intake of healthy and fresh food. The second phase can go on as per the dieter’s wish, and involves reintroduction of good carbohydrates and fat in the diet. This phase is made a bit easier to counter the difficulties in phase 1. In this phase, eating in small quantities is necessary and weight loss is very smooth and gradual. The third phase involves the life long refined and reformed diet that you can follow for a lifetime.
Phase 2
There are a considerable number of Phase 2 recipes that are recommended, plus, one can also avail the South Beach Living, the line of food or some similar products, which are meant for people who are following this diet. The meal plan is not that difficult to draft, and there are 4 things one needs to bear in mind – 1, eat foods with proportionate and healthy nutrients, 2, lay emphasis on vitamins, fiber, and healthy carbs, 3, lay emphasis on control of sugar and fat in the diet, and 4, curtail the intake of any unhealthy nutrients, which includes anything from fried foods to alcohol.
Here is a small list of Phase 2 foods for consumption:
Vegetables
Avoid frying or overcooking of vegetables, as it burns or washes away some very healthy nutrients. Apart from that, make sure you control the amount of oil and fat in your meals:
- Cucumber
- Onion
- Tomatoes
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Potatoes (small quantities)
- Carrot (small quantities)
Fruits
Eating raw fruit is extremely beneficial for dieters. Avoid sugar, ice cream, or fruit salad as an accompaniment. Sugared, dried, tinned, and canned foods or even processed fruits is not a good choice.
- Strawberries
- Apples
- Blueberries
- Cherries
- Grapefruit
- Grapes
- Dried Apricots
- Peaches
- Mangoes
- Oranges
- Kiwi
- Pears
- Plums
- Cantaloupe
Legumes, Pulses, and Starches
During the phase 2, you will slowly start reintroducing carbohydrates in your diet. In such a scenario, you will have to take in ‘good’ carbohydrates. Eating ‘whole grain’ products, that do not have flour or soda, or excessive amount of yeast in them. For that matter, fried and too fatty foods should also be avoided.
- Bagels
- Whole grain bakery products
- Popcorn
- Cereals
- Brown rice
- Muffins
- Whole wheat pasta
- Oats
- Bran
- Rye
There are three things that will make this diet a life long success; healthy meal timings, good exercise routine, and disciplined sleep cycles. Phase 2 is gradual, and your weight loss is also bound to be very slow. However, don’t feel disappointed because, you’re losing your weight in the most healthy manner.
