The South Beach Low Carb Diet – Is It Really Low Carb?
Many people today are talking about the South Beach low carb diet as a great way to lose weight. While it’s true that the South Beach diet plan is a great way to shed those extra pounds, it’s not strictly a low carb diet. While the Atkins plan focuses primarily on restricting or eliminating carbohydrates in your diet, the South Beach diet plan is focused on adjusting what you eat so that your blood sugar is stabilized.
No Such Thing as a South Beach Low Carb Diet
You will certainly be restricting carbohydrates while you’re on the South Beach diet, and you’ll eliminate them during Phase 1 of the program, but not because the focus is on carbs. Instead, the diet is all about eating foods with a low glycemic index. The lower the GI index, the slower it breaks down, reducing blood sugar fluctuations and the need for insulin.
The upside of this is that you don’t have to stop eating carbs for the rest of your life. You will, however, have to eliminate them for the first few weeks of your diet in order to stabilize blood sugars and jumpstart your weight loss. When you move to South Beach Diet Phase 2, you will be able to add a variety of carbs to your diet. Instead of ignoring all carbs, you will learn how to choose carbohydrates that are slowly broken down in your body. Focusing on these “good carbs” gives you the opportunity to eat a variety of grains and fruits that wouldn’t necessarily be acceptable on a true low carb diet.
The South Beach Low Carb Diet Alternative
The South Beach diet is, in fact, a low carb diet alternative that is more flexible than other low carbohydrate based diets such as Atkins. There are several factors that make the South Beach plan more appealing.
You are encouraged to eat certain “good fats,” such as olive oil, nuts, and certain other polyunsaturated fats. This allows for more flavorful food preparation and some meals or snacks that can satisfy your taste for rich foods without sabotaging your diet.
The South Beach Diet doesn’t demand that you count grams of carbohydrates, which is a serious drawback for most low carb diets. Instead, you keep track of portion size and number of portions. This is a simpler way to keep track and makes it easy to stick to the South Beach low carb diet alternative when you’re dining out or at a party or picnic.
Many complex carbohydrates are allowed in the South Beach Diet that are forbidden on Atkins. This is healthier and avoids Ketosis and other possible complications.
More fruits, vegetables and whole grains are allowed with the South Beach diet’s low carbohydrate alternative to the stricter Atkins plan. You can even eat the occasional sweets and enjoy some bread in Phases 2 and 3 of South Beach.
The label “South Beach low carb diet” is a common mistake, but if you take the time to learn more about the plan, you’ll discover distinct differences. These differences are what make the South Beach diet more enjoyable and easier to follow than other, truly low carb diet plans.
How Does the South Beach Diet Work? A Plan for Long-Term Results
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