How I lost 50 pounds on the South Beach Diet
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The adventurous soul I am though, I gave the South Beach Diet a try...and the first two weeks are extremely Atkins-like. Phase 1, as us people in the plan call it, is very low-carbohydrate, no bread, no pasta, no sugar, no fruit or starch of any kind. (And alcohol was a total no-no as well!) However, it’s different than Atkins even at that phase in that it doesn’t push the high fat as an alternative, either. Lean meats are your friend on the diet, fatty beefs and cheeses aren’t.
The South Beach Diet was formed by Dr. Arthur Agatston, a renowned cardiologist. He took great pains to create a plan for his patients that would help them beat the bulge in a method that would never make them feel deprived. It’s not a low carb diet like Atkins, or even necessarily low-fat or low-calorie. The South Beach Diet is more of a modified lifestyle that teaches you to eat the right carbs, the right fats, and the right proteins–and make it a part of your permanent life plan rather than a crash course into fitting into those too-tight jeans.
As a sugar aficionado, those first few days on the South Beach Diet were a bit intense for me. I felt like I was in a state of perpetual PMS. I wasn’t hungry, I ate my fill of egg whites and fresh veggies and grilled chicken – but what I was going through was hardcore sugar withdrawal. I’m a Sagittarius, and thus possess a soul that demands instant gratification. And while, sure, my South Beach Diet prescribed egg white omelet with mozzarella and mushrooms was very satisfying – darn it, I was used to my morning bagel!
As those initial few days passed, I gradually grew less cranky. I was able to lose 10 pounds, and an entire size, in the first two weeks.
The purpose of Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet is a pseudo detox; you are ridding your body of its addiction to sugar and simple carbs so that you can “retrain” it with the right ones later on. Once that hardcore phase is over, Phase 2 begins. During that phase of the South Beach Diet, you gradually reintroduce your body to starches and fruits – very carefully and slowly – paying careful attention to what particular starches make your metabolism freak out. Refined sugars and starches are naughty now and always. Whole grains, oats, brown rice, sweet potatoes are all fine carbs, and actually, pretty darn good for you if you don’t go crazy with them.
The South Beach Diet is meant to be a lifestyle, not a diet – so, of course, treats will happen. If it’s your birthday, have the cake, (a slice, not the entire sheet!), or indulge in a night of yummy Tex Mex sometimes. I do. The idea on the South Beach Diet, though, is to not use those treats as a crutch. “Oh my God! I ate a brownie! It’s all over. I might as well give up.” That is how people fail on the diet, and that’s how people gain their weight back.
Over the course of about eight months, I was able to lose 50 pounds and went from a size XL misses to XS Juniors by moderating my carbs and fats with the South Beach Diet. I have more energy than I have ever had before, and I’ve learned to not only crave the good stuff – but be repelled by that which is naughty. Do I cheat sometimes? Sure. It’s called living. But I don’t let food control me anymore. I’m too busy enjoying life on the South Beach Diet, which, every now and then, just might include a fresh, hot, slice of seeded Jewish rye.
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