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The South Beach Diet: A Doctor's Plan for Fast and Lasting Weight Loss
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ASIN:
0755311299
Avg Rating
[4.0 Stars]
14 Reviews
Pub. 07-Apr-2003;
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£10.99
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Authors/Performers
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Arthur Agatston;
Product Description
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The verdict is in: those simple carbohydrates we've been living on are killing us. For good health, we've got to get our blood sugar under control and stop the incessant cravings. Or so says Dr Arthur Agatston, author of The South Beach Diet. The first half of the book details the science behind the diet. Most of the explanations revolve around why things you thought were healthy--orange juice, wholemeal bread, carrots--are actually evil. To avoid blood sugar surges, Agatston created a modified carbohydrate plan, recommending plenty of high-fibre food, lean protein and healthy fat and reducing bread, rice, pasta and fruit. Major differences from other diets include a lack of concern over portion size and a serious indifference to exercise. Feeling full while on a diet is a beautiful thing, but it seems odd that a cardiologist buries his exercise recommendations in a solitary sentence. The last half of the book covers his three-stage plan; daily diets are mixed with recipes, some of which are from South Beach restaurant chefs. The most restrictive period lasts just two weeks, enough time to stabilise your urges and lose a few pounds; stage two adds fruits and a handful of other carbs, while stage three is meant to last the remainder of your life, with occasional lapses for white bread or birthday cake. While the diet is sound, the book could be better organised. The first half mixes scientific study with anecdote in a seemingly random way, while the mix of meal plans and recipes can be confusing. Still, the recipes are varied and tasty and you'll never feel deprived, unless you currently happen to live by bread alone. --Jill Lightner
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This is an excellent diet plan, and really does work. I have just started it myself and lost 3 kg in the first week, with minimal modifications to my lifestyle.
What I really like about this diet is that for the first 2 weeks my wife is cooking bacon & eggs for me for breakfast each day, and I am losing weight while eating this! Great salads for lunch, stir-fry or salad for tea. Very tasty food even in the first phase.
Contrary to a previous reviewer, there is a reasonable amount of scientific backing given for the diet. Remember this was designed by a cardiologist for heart patients, it is healthy and has been clinically tested. It is not a less strict version of the Atkins diet, rather I see it as the sensible median between the crazy extremes of the Atkins diet, low fat diets and all the other crazy recommendations you get from different people. Here a doctor has taken the good points from all these diets, left out the bad points, and made a sensible diet in the middle where all things are taken in moderation, but some things are more moderated than others (i.e. you CAN have potatoes, bread and those carbohydrates after the first 2 weeks, but must just moderate how much you have - very sensible). It is designed for real people and is easy to follow, and Dr Agatston realises you will want a treat sometimes and allows for that.
I would agree though that the book is not particularly well organised, and could have been written better. The recipes are interesting but are designed by chefs and often are too complicated for normal living. You will need to take the basic principles, allowed & not allowed foods, some hints from the recipes and meal plans given, then use your imagination. This is great though as it allows you to adapt it to your own lifestyle - if you don't eat fish you don't have to for example.
This is the first diet I have found that made good scientific sense and agreed with how I already understood the body to work. I learnt a lot more about my body through reading it and now understand sugar and insulin a lot better.
Highly recommended. As it is not well organised you MUST read the whole book (not all the recipes & meal plans though of course) before starting to ensure you understand it well.;
[Rating: 4 Stars]
I came across the South Beach by accident, but it certainly appeared to be useful - do they all? Lose weight, 8 to thirteen pounds in two weeks, and lose it from around your waist. Too good to be true? I'd never been on a real diet so I thought it was worth checking out - I was sceptical. We (wife and me) were going to a wedding of some very special friends in two weeks time and we both wanted and needed to lose some weight. We bought the book, it has all sorts of encouraging stories, and so we gave it a bash. I also told a couple of people at work about it. We did stick to the diet, which wasn't all that hard to be honest. Ditching alcohol for a fortnight was a real, REAL challenge, but I was interested to see if I could do it - "I can do without drink, although I haven't done for a while..." - maybe you know the idea? First day - lost a pound, second day the same. And I kept losing it, although I had a couple of days when nothing much happened weight-wise. End of fortnight - 9lbs lighter, and from all the right places. Wife and friends at work lost more - typical. Went to wedding - lots (yes LOTS) of alcohol and good food. Weighed myself afterwards expecting to have put on lots of weight and I was not much heavier than the last day of the diet. We were going away the following week, so we stuck to phase one and continued to lose weight. Phase one is supposedly losing a chunk of weight fairly quickly, then phase two is slower weight loss to the weight you want to be, with phase three being 'stay at the weight you want'. It works. I doubt I'll ever be the person they'd want to quote in the book as I use the diet a bit haphazardly - I enjoy the meals, but with a glass of wine or two, or three. I play snooker once a week and have a few pints, but I'm still much lighter than when I started, and I know that I can lose the critical pounds if I have to by sticking with it. Maybe I'll get to the end of phase one and into phase two and really lose the weight I should. Apparently all sorts of other good things will have happened to me health-wise as it's not an Atkins-type weight loss crash diet, but rather a healthier way of eating. It worked and it's working for me (and the others who are trying it, who are really looking good), and it hasn't been a seven day wonder. It's got to be worth a few quid to buy the book, and it's not a bad read on its own. The recipes are better than they sound, and it's not all grim, boring stuff. Give it a bash.;
[Rating: 5 Stars]
My main reason for buying the book was trying to find an alternative to the Atkins. I only wanted to loose 1 stone. I just wanted to get back into my Diesel jeans with a 30 waist that I've not been able to wear for 2 years. But at the same time, my sister reminded me to get my heart checked out as my mother died when she was just 12 years old than I am now (33). This book provided me with the answers to both problems, a way to loose the weight and change my diet forever to something healthier for my heart. I have now lost the stone I wanted in just 8 weeks. I went straight to phase 2 as I didn't want to loose the weight too fast. I now get my 5 portions of fruit/veg everyday. I no longer get indigestion, ever. It does loose a star though for being poorly written. You do need to use a bit of intelligence to work out what he is trying to advocate sometimes. For those that need it perfectly laid out in black and white this could cause a bit of confusion.;
[Rating: 4 Stars]
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