The South Beach diet was developed by Arthur Agatston who was a Florida native that practiced cardiology in Miami. The main objective of this diet in his views was to consume good fats and also good carbs. He performed studies on his clients and through the information he gathered from these studies he was able to create this diet to help them achieve proper and healthy weight loss. Once he saw some great results he published a book about the diet entitled, South Beach Diet. Although a lot of people think that this diet is very similar to the Atkins Diet, there are huge differences between the two diets.

Dr. Agatston had a theory that eating bad carbohydrates, meaning foods that have a high glycemic index. Foods that have a high glycemic index are foods that effect a given persons blood glucose levels in an abnormal way. Once a person has eaten a bad carb food, their glucose levels will be adversely affected, making their body not be able to process the sugar and fat in the food properly, thus adding to weight-gain. There is also an adverse effect on a persons body by eating bad fat foods and this effect would be that a person has a higher chance of developing cardiovascular disease. So, in order to cut down on these two non-healthy occurrences in a persons body Dr. Agatston tried to encourage his patients to eat foods that contained good fat and good carbs. Comparatively to many diets, the South Beach Diet is broken down into phases, so that a persons body can adjust to a different type of eating habit, which will eventually help the body begin to lose weight. In all of the phases a person will basically cut out all bad fats. In the first phase, Dr Agatston advises that people should take away all foods that are high in glucose, or high-glycemic carbs, and these foods are bread, candy, sugar, potatoes, fruit, cereals, and grains. Much like the Atkins Diet, a persons body will begin to burn body fat instead of excess glucose found in all of these foods. The dieter will find that they might lose between 9 13 pounds in the first phase which should last about 2 weeks.

Once the 2 weeks are finished, the Dieter should begin Phase II. Fruits, cereals, and whole grains are slowly added back into the diet, but in much smaller portions than before the diet began. A person should still be careful not to eat foods with a high glycemic index, which means any foods that have high sugar content. Phase II should last until the person reaches their desired weight loss that they wanted. Once this happens, then they can transition into Phase III. Once in Phase III the diet will begin to add more servings of whole grains and fruit into the diet, but only three servings each.

Ok, now that the dieter has begun Phase III, it is important to explain how this diet will help them keep the weight off and make sure that they eat healthy from now on. What makes the South Beach Diet so great is that it helps distinguish between good and bad fats, and good and bad carbohydrates.

Good carbohydrates: They always should be high in fiber, or high in good fats, but still low in glycemic index. This all means that they are absorbed and digested slowly into the body. Another difference between good and bad carbs are those with a higher nutritional value than their alternative. Just one suggestion would be eating brown rice rather than white rice.

Good fats: are monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats especially those foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids. Trans fats and Saturated fats are what are considered to be bad fats. What are all of these huge words that are hard to read? Well, here is a quick explanation. Basically monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are fats that have a double bond in their molecular structure making them slower to break down in the digestion process of a persons stomach. Like many other diets, the South Beach Diet makes it almost necessary to change eating habits for a lifetime. This will almost guarantee that weight lost during the beginning stages of the diet will stay off, and overall a persons health will be better due to eating better foods. Basically, stay away from trans fats and saturated fats all together, eat fish which contains omega-3 fatty acids, and eat large amounts of vegetables. Do not eat foods that are overly refined and processed, and meats with a high fat content.

Dr. Agatston suggests that you should always eat until satisfied, that its not how much you eat but the quality of foods that you eat. He recommends eating 6 meals a day: breakfast, lunch, dinner and smaller snacks in between.

A 2004 study of the South Beach Diet by Agatston, et al., reviewed a 1998-1999 trial completed by 54 participants over the course of a year. A 2005 study of the South Beach Diet conducted by Kraft Foods was completed by 69 subjects over the course of just less than three months. Both studies showed favorable results for the groups using The South Beach diet.