The South Beach diet was developed by Dr. Arthur Agatston. The South Beach diet advocates avoiding "bad" carbohydrates such as processed foods and those made with white sugar and white flour as ingredients. This differs from other diet methods that involve avoidance of all carbohydrates, regardless of their nutritional value.
Phase One
The South Beach diet is performed in three phases. The first phase, lasting two weeks, is the most restrictive phase, especially concerning carbohydrates. During phase one, dieters are prohibited from consuming any baked goods, cereals, pasta, oats, potatoes, yams, dairy products, rice, flour, fruits and beverages containing sugar such as orange juice or soda. Simply eliminating these foods from a normal diet will create a low-carbohydrate diet. This challenges the dieter to find new foods to replace the typical which compose the bulk of many people's diets.
Some examples of replacing carbohydrate foods include making faux mashed potatoes using boiled cauliflower. The cauliflower is boiled until soft enough to mash up. Then roasted garlic and pepper can be added. This recipe gives the person the same satisfaction of eating mashed potatoes without the carbohydrates. Rice can be replaced by shredding cabbage and steaming it. Chicken and vegetables can be served on this rice replacement for tasty stir fries. Bread is something that many people on low-carbohydrate diets miss, but sandwiches can be created by wrapping the sandwich fillings in large lettuce leaves and eating them as wraps. Crunchy sliced vegetables such as carrots, cucumbers, kohlrabies or radishes can be used in place of crackers to eat tuna salad or hummus, which is a spread created from garbanzo beans.
Phase Two
During the second phase of the South Beach diet, dieters can introduce small amounts of fruit, oats, rice or pasta into their diet. Breads are usually still out unless they are whole grain varieties containing no white flour. Even then, bread should be eaten in small amounts. This phase continues until the dieter has reached their desired weight. This phase of the diet is still low in carbohydrates, but substitutions are much more easily made. Oats can be ground into a powder to be used in place of white flour in many recipes. White potatoes are still not acceptable on the diet, but yams can be eaten in place of them. A little ingenuity in the kitchen will go a long way during this phase. For those who are cooking challenged, there are several South Beach diet cookbooks containing easy-to-prepare recipes.
Phase Three
The third and final phase of the South Beach diet begins when the individual's weight loss goals have been reached and involves enjoying processed carbohydrates in moderation while maintaining healthy body weight. Replacing heavily processed carbohydrates and sugars with more natural and healthy ingredients should be second nature at this point. Those who reach the third phase will have gained the understanding that this diet is more than a temporary fix. It is a lifestyle change.
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