The South Beach Diet and Exercise: For Greater Results, Faster

Over the past ten years, the words South Beach diet and exercise weren’t often used in the same sentence. That’s because the original plan did not emphasis physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Of course, it was always mentioned in the South Beach diet plan that you could lose more weight if you were active, but exercise was not the focus of the diet. The new “Supercharged” South Beach diet corrects that omission, suggesting that you take at least a 20-minute walk every day to boost your metabolism. And why not? Exercise helps you slim down overall, builds muscles, gives you more energy, helps you sleep more deeply, and helps your cardio system function better.

As with any diet program, the more you exercise, the greater your results.

The New & Updated Version

While the original plan formulated by Dr. Agatston in 2003 did not offer much in the way of workout examples, there is now a South Beach diet exercise program featured in the new book, South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life. Written with the assistance of exercise physiologist, Dr. Joseph Signorile, Agatston offers a coordinating diet + exercise program for each of the three phases. The book is illustrated with examples on how to do the 27 strength training exercises, and for further information you can buy the new South Beach diet exercise DVD/Video.

A Variety of Activities and Exercise

For the South Beach diet and daily exercise to truly become your new lifestyle, you should strive to do both every day so that it becomes second nature. People who exercise on a regular basis would no more skip a walk or a workout than they would skip brushing their teeth or miss a meal. It doesn’t take long for the South Beach Diet exercise plan to become a common aspect of your everyday life – you just have to start.

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Even if you have a busy schedule, you can find ways to incorporate walking for exercise during your day, or maybe schedule going to the gym before work. Strength training (weight lifting) is a wonderful way to burn calories and tone up the flab and only needs to be done for about 30 minutes, 2 or 3 times a week. This should be part of your exercise program in addition to your daily walk.

Dr. Agatston recommends that you also add a mild form of high intensity training to your South Beach Diet exercise routine. He suggests doing cardiovascular exercise that can increase your heart rate to about 60% to 85% of its maximum rate. Such cardio workouts include spinning classes, swimming, a game of tennis, or any running activity. Not only does it help with weight loss, cardio workouts condition the heart and lungs as well as provide other health benefits including stress reduction, strengthening the immune system, and so much more.

Yard work and house work are also ideal to get you off the couch and moving. Even if you aren’t an athlete, virtually any activity that gets you going helps with your metabolism and burns more calories. Walk the dog (he’ll love it too!), walk along the beach, walk the 10 blocks back to your office – walk everywhere. You’ll find that once you start exercising, you’ll get addicted to the pleasure of it and will want to do more.

The Goal of the South Beach Diet

Adding exercise to the South Beach Diet is the best way to get past the weight loss plateaus. Within a few weeks, you’ll be able to fit into clothes that were too small and have been stored away. You’ll be surprised at how well they fit again. Once your “slim” clothes are out of the chest and back in your closet, it will be the chance to get rid of the fat clothes. Give them to charity so you won’t have them available in case you put “a few pounds” back on. Never again! The goal of the South Beach Diet exercise program is to eat healthy and have an active lifestyle. You’ll stay slim as a result. It is a reward you give yourself that will last for the rest of your life.

Understanding the South Beach Diet Guidelines

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