Customer Reviews

The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss

5 star:		(408)
4 star:		(173)
3 star:		(86)
2 star:		(69)
1 star:		(72)

 

 

I'm 52 and have had a slight to moderate weight problem my entire life (about 25 lbs.) Have been on many diets and always lost weight but never could make it a "lifestyle change". This is so simple - I think some those who have given negative reviews are reading more into it and making it more complicated than it is. Who cares if it is a little like the Atkins diet in the first couple of weeks - at least I don't have to do any carb calculations!! I've been on it for 5 weeks, have lost 12 pounds and have lost my usual cravings for candy, cookies, and chocolate. I am able to totally ignore the Krispy Kreme donuts in the employee lounge. You don't have to eat the menu plan - those are just suggestions for people who don't have any creativity when it comes to cooking. Just eat the things on the allowed list and don't eat foods on the "may not eat" list and make sure you eat your snacks and eat enough at mealtime to satisfy you. Yes - once in a while I feel hungry because I've been too busy to eat what I should - so I just catch up by eating allowed foods. Up until now I've always been a "carboholic" and it's really an odd feeling to not need that. I find the Atkins plan too complicated. I have found that most people doing the Atkins plan don't really follow the "rules" but modify it to suit their needs, and I've never met anyone who has stayed on it permanently - so, to each his own!

I started The South Beach Diet with Phase Two and I continue to lose weight steadily. This diet has balanced my cravings for foods high in sugar. I no longer obsess over food or when I can eat again. The South Beach Diet is not based on fads. It is not about eating a diet of fatty meat products, drinking glass after glass of water, eating expensive prepared foods, preparing time consuming recipes, counting calories or counting points. It is about eating familiar, unprocessed foods that are accessible in all grocery stores and all restaurants. Dr. Agatston has researched and developed a diet that is simple and logical. That's why it works.

I can only tell you my personal experience with this diet and you can take it from there. I have tried several diets and they never worked because you couldn't stay on them long plus I stayed hungry all the time. I counted calories and exercised for two years and only lost 20 pounds and then stopped losing for months. With this diet, I have lost 27 pounds in 6 weeks and am still losing. The best part is that I can see myself doing this the rest of my life. The first few days is a little hard but you get excited because you will be amazed at how little you get hungry. I ate three large meals a day plus two snacks. I definitely had plenty to eat. Best part is that although I occasionaly have dessert, I don't crave them! And like the book says - I lost weight in my belly first (I am a forty-plus year old woman). It might not work for everyone - no diet does but this one is healthy and worked for me. It's worth a shot if nothing else has worked for you - trust me!

Info below is from The Daily Dish (01/20/04) online newsletter for subscribers to www.southbeachdiet.com:

South Beach Diet Updates
The South Beach Diet (SBD) continues to evolve as new nutritional studies and information come out. Recently, the results of new studies have shown that some of the "foods to avoid" may not be as bad for us as the original studies on glycemic index demonstrated. There are also some new, exciting studies about the role calcium plays in weight loss. The end result is that you can continue to enjoy all of the foods recommended for the SBD-as well as adding back in a few of your favorites! Here are the major changes:
Milk:
Old Version:
Avoid all dairy in Phase 1, except for less than 2 tablespoons fat-free = and =, nonfat milk, 1 percent milk, or soy milk allowed with coffee.
New Version:
Phase 1:
Now includes low-fat milk (fat-free and 1 percent), soy milk, and yogurt (low-fat or fat-free plain or vanilla light/lite only) on the Phase 1 "foods to enjoy" list.
Phase 2:
May add light/lite fruited yogurt as a "food to enjoy" in Phase 2. Note: Since the SBD is still low in saturated fat, high-fat whole milk products will remain on the "foods to avoid" lists for all Phases.
Tomatoes:
Old Version:
Limited to one whole tomato or 10 cherry tomatoes per meal in all Phases.
New Version:
Not limited in any Phase.
Onions:
Old Version:
Limited to = per day in all Phases.
New Version:
Not limited in any Phase.
Carrots:
Old Version:
Avoid carrots in Phase 1 and 2; allowed in moderation in Phase 3.
New Version:
Allowed, starting in Phase 2.

I bought this book because in addition to wanting to lose a little weight, I really wanted the healther long-term lifestyle Dr. Agatson describes in his book. I just finished the first 2 weeks, and I've lost 8 pounds and an inch off my waist but more importantly I've drastically changed my eating habits for the better. In order to simplify the cooking, my husband agreed to participate, and he's very pleased too -- lost between 10 and 15 pounds but more importantly he's really lost his cravings for food between meals and after dinner. SBD is not just a diet, it's a lifestyle change.

In late 2003 I began to think it was time for a change. Being middle aged and approximately 120 lbs over weight(scary), I looked into all the current diets, ie The Zone, Atkins (yuck), Weight Watchers (been there, done that) and settled on South Beach. With a family history of diabetes, stroke, and hypertension, it sounded the most sensible to me and was geared towards my particular eating problems. I started January 15, 2004 and to date I have lost 60 pounds and still counting. Within one month all the tingling in my hands and feet went away. Within 2 months my blood pressure went from 165/110 to 110/80. How's that for results? The first phase was the hardest but after I settled into the routine of it all, I am happy to say it's been pretty easy. I don't wake up tired anymore and have 10X more energy throughtout the day. I excercise 3-5 per week. I eat bread, fruit, whole grain pasta and yes, sweets. I just don't eat it all on any given day. I try not to have bread and fruit in the same meal. I miss white rice but you can have brown rice in limited quanities. Sometimes I fall off for a party or special event but I've learned to get right back on my eating plan the next day! There is no measuring or counting. I do this all day everyday by making choices. I make my own lower carb yogurt and eat fresh fruit and veggies all day long. I feel healthier than I have EVER felt in my life. You avoid high sugar fruits such as pineapple and watermelon. I have almost totally ellimanated processed foods from my diet. Now tell me people, what is so evil about all of this? This eating lifestyle has changed my life. Eight months in and still going strong. This book has helped me save my life and I hope it will help you too.

First off, I can't really give the diet less than four stars, because it is a month into this diet and I have lost 18 pounds (of a goal of about 40 lb) and my husband has lost over 30 pounds (of a goal of 90 lbs). This diet is not Atkins; it allows a far larger palette of foods. We feel we've done well and not felt deprived, though, because we've gone somewhat beyond what the book says in black and white and made some of our own decisions. In general, the book espouses a diet low in saturated fat, one that avoids refined carbohydrates and uses limited portion sizes for unrefined carbs. It recommends a high fiber content and regular small meals as a way to keep from feeling hungry, and that does work. Because carbs aren't cut out entirely, we feel we can stay with this way of eating indefinitely. We haven't followed the menu plans, but we feel we have followed the "spirit" of the diet. And that is my main problem with the book. The editor needed to have made sure that the "spirit" was more easily accessible. Nobody wants to have to study a diet book to "get it." Rules are restricting, but some of us number-heads want easy methods for decision-making.

Among my other problems with the book:
The author uses glycemic index to determine which foods are okay and which aren't. Glycemic index is an experimentally-determined value. Not all foods have been tested, and the tests vary as to whether healthy or diabetic subjects were used. This leaves lots of foods in a limbo of "who knows"? I think he could go out on a limb, though, and suggest similar foods based on their contents of simple carb, complex carb, fiber, etc.
The summary lists of "allowed" or "to avoid" foods for each phase of the diet is too limited. The lists should give the general guidelines used to decide what makes or doesn't make the list, especially with regards to meats and other proteins after Phase 1. A guide as to what is acceptable "whole wheat" bread (e.g., #grams fiber per #grams carb or something similar) would help, too. (Our doctor suggested 4-5 grams of fiber per 100 calories of bread, for instance.)
Coucous is recommended, even though it is a food with a high glycemic index... and that number is on a list in the book! Some editor should have caught that, but the South Beach website still gives menus with coucous on them. (Although many think it is a whole grain, couscous is a form of semolina pasta, a South Beach no-no.)
Whole grains, and especially delicious fast-cooking whole grains such as millet, quinoa, buckwheat(kasha), and bulgar aren't given much attention. Once in Phase 2, reasonable portions of these grains fit very well into that "hole" on the plate where the potatoes and pasta used to be.
The author allows legumes in the first two weeks, but they rarely show up in the Phase 1 menus. If you miss your "starchy" side dish, these fit the bill even in Phase 1. A small (less than 1 cup) portion of black beans with tomato, bell pepper, and "Latin" spices is a satisfying, fiber-rich side... the internet has recipes that are easy and the mixtures freeze and reheat well. (And by the way, we did not have any problem with gas on this diet, even with the added beans and raw vegetable salads.)
The chapter on why the diet might fail you is inadequate. It lists the problems, but gives essentially no help in overcoming them. It may as well be titled, "Why Many of You Won't Lose Weight Unless You Buy Dr. Phil's Book"
The allowed meats for Phase 1 make it a bit of a rich person's diet: the breast only of chicken and turkey, tenderloin of pork and beef, Canadian bacon. Even canned tuna is not cheap unless you like the kind that tastes like cat food. The same goes for ham. The Phase 2 and Phase 3 "allowed food" and "restricted food" lists don't mention meats... are the Phase 1 meats what we get forever?

My husband has also said he would have died on this diet if I had not been home finding interesting ways to prepare meals within the limitations of the food "palette." Still, in a form, this book worked for us. Grocery stores are picking up the trend and offering high-fiber, low-carb versions of stand-bys such as tortillas and even pasta. Unless you need help with issues surrounding your eating that go beyond menu choice, this book is worth a try.

I WAS 149, 5'4'' 39 yrs; Since our daughter was born 3 years ago I was just going up and up, I didn't want to see 150!! After 6 weeks on South Beach Diet my husband and I lost 15 pounds; It was my first diet; My mother started 2 weeks earlier and lost as of today 18 pounds (after 8 wks)at 65 yrs. Mother tried many diets and liked this one a lot and the idea of following a daily menu from breakfasts to dinners & snacks; The first 2 weeks are a bit difficult but its great to see within 7 days that we are really melting! Grocery shopping cost: much higher with all those fresh veggies, spices & meats, for 2 its $50-80 more a week-we followed exactly the menus; But I heard any diet is expensive; The recipes are great but time consuming; Plus getting lunches ready for work I felt I was always in the kitchen! Today we are still following Phase 2, we like it; I sometimes borrow recipes from phase 3 dinner or we switch breakfast; We like those chocolate treats for desert too; We really liked SBD and being now at my pre-pregnancy weight I feel so much better; It worths putting the time & energy in the kitchen; The recipes are so good.
That was in 2002!
Today in 2005 after going back to 149 pounds I gave south Beach a 2nd try. I lost less, 5 pounds but I kept it down by having very ligth lunch- salads, veggie soups- and an afternoon snack -like the ones suggested in the south beach diet- and I kept the weight down after 6 months.
its a lifestyle change for life...

This is a wonderful way of eating! You name the diet - I've done it (yes, Atkins too). I lost 7 and 1/2 pounds the first week and I'm sticking with it. You truly lose your cravings (and I was a pretzel and popcorn person not to mention gummi bears!) Yes, you do need to plan your day but it's not a big deal. I truly like the no pressure of measuring at first - eat until you're satisfied - not stuffed so you're not stressing out about ounces. The first couple of days of any new way of eating is difficult but it's worth it - you'll be happy that you did.

I have a degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Illinois. I have worked in hospital dietetics. This diet is soundly based on current nutrition science. I removed 14 diet and cook books from my bookshelves after I read this one. All of my knowledge did not help me with the cravings that undermined my motivation for healthy eating. The sound principles in this book, that I am currently applying to my life, have defeated the cravings that made my excess weight an embarrassment to me. One of the greatest surprises to me was how "not hungry" I am. I had no idea of the degree to which my carb choices were making me suffer (hunger, cravings) until I found out from experiencing the difference on this diet.

It is not appropriate to consider this diet to be a modified Atkins - there are some very important differences.

I would have liked to have had an outline of the daily diet plan, but there was a benefit to having to look through the daily menus that were provided. Everyone is going to have to figure out how to adapt this diet to their own food preferences (does any one else get indigestion from green peppers?). Reviewing the daily menus in order to understand the general rules helped me to open my mind to healthier food choices and to create ideas for my own recipes. I suspect that an outline of the daily diet was omitted for good reasons - one of which may be that having to count and keep track is one of the things that causes diets to fall by the wayside.

Any one who desires the benefits of normal weight, avoiding adult onset diabetes and the consequences of heart disease will love this book. This is not another fad diet - it really is a healthy, practical eating lifestyle.