Author: Ian McAllister
The South Beach diet (invented by Dr. Agatston) is the first of three major diets for the gourmands or gourmets that want to continue to enjoy eating what they like. My own diet takes the best elements from these three. The one that started it off was the Atkins diet. The Mediterranean diet is another one for the bon vivant. If you want a free or cheap diet this is not for you.
One research project turned thinking about carbohydrates upside down. The project was after Dr Atkins time, and not considered by this plan. It showed that carbohydrates eaten for breakfast don't make you put on weight like later meals.
South Beach Kick Start
People go for fast diets because they know that their will power won't last long-term. Both the Atkins and this diet have a short kick-start period when you eat normal sized meals but are as low carb as possible.
Phase 1 - the kick-start period lasts for two weeks. Suggested foods are dangerously out of date. There is so much pollution in all the oceans now that all the fish have dangerously high levels of mercury in them. Dr. Agatston also suggests shellfish, which are now filtering pollution out of the water and concentrating it, so that you are getting a double dose of mercury and poisons. It is a shame, because fish and shellfish used to be so healthy, and they are certainly tasty.
Phase 2, some foods are slowly reintroduced. You should maintain phase 2 until you lose your desired amount of weight.
Phase 3 is for the rest of your life. It is all about maintaining your ideal weight with a healthy balanced diet. If your weight starts to climb again, simply return to Phase 1. If you go to a big celebration meal, return to Phase 1 for a few days. It's easy.
What I like about this Diet is that it abandons the old myth that fat makes you fat, and it has a much more liberal approach to carbohydrates. It's important to note that some people do better with more carbohydrate in their diet and some do better with less, so the Atkins diet may not suit the former.
You are encouraged to use low glycemic index carbs which is good, but bear in mind some exceptions. Purified fructose has a low glycemic index but will make you obese. If you buy manufactured food it is often loaded with refined fructose, and that is bad for you, but the other phytonutrients in a banana prevent the fructose from being deadly. Chocolate also has a low glycemic index, as do refined fruit juices but will make you fat.
My own modification to the diet is to eat all my carbohydrates in an enormous raw breakfast. It took some time for my stomach to stretch to accommodate the size of my breakfasts. (Oh, yes, my weight stays in the middle of the ideal weight for height range.) I also avoid grains like the plague, which means that breads and cakes are out, and so are breakfast cereals. Potatoes are OK if you eat the skins and throw away the rest.
Food Sensitivities
Pasteurized milk products are notorious for creating food allergies. Casein used to be heat treated to make knife handles. Pasteurization of casein makes casein as indigestible as knife handles. Homogenization breaks milk particles small enough to be absorbed directly into the blood, which causes even more problems. Raw unhomogenized milk products are better.
Peanut sensitivities can kill you, but they are recommended in this diet. If you must eat peanuts get the Valencia variety which is grown in hot dry areas not conducive to Afflatoxin molds. I eat a lot of peanut paste myself. I watch it being ground so I know that there are no additives.
Undesirable Aspects
Dr Agatson falls prey to the confidence trick about saturated fat. It has been shown repeatedly that it is more healthy than unsaturated oils, but the media tell you the opposite. You can lose weight in some cases simply by changing your cooking oil to coconut oil, without making any other changes.
Unfortunately you will have to find a good source of coconut oil among all the foul-tasting rubbish that is out there. If you live in the USA try tropicaltraditions.com and if you are in Perth, W.Australia try Michael's Oil Supply (92714510) and tell them Ian McAllister sent you.
This diet also fails to warn about the fact that unsaturated oils produce deadly trans fatty acids when heated in the presence of oxygen. That means that even Olive oil, which is wonderful when used in cold meals, is dangerous when used for frying or roasting. Margarines are even worse because they have been heated in the presence of a platinum catalyst for many hours, and have even higher levels of trans fatty acids.
Aspartame, the sweetener recommended by Dr Agatson is now recognized as a health hazard. I recommend the dried, powdered herb from Paraguay, called Stevia, which is about five or ten times as sweet as sugar and so far seems to be healthy. You can also buy Steviocide which is an extract about a thousand times as sweet as sugar, but I don't trust refined products. In any case, how are you going to measure out one thousandth of a teaspoonful of steviocide?
This eating plant still subscribes to the cholesterol scam. We need cholesterol in our brains and elsewhere. Statins lower cholesterol making you more stupid and increasing your risk of cancer.
The section on exercise doesn't go far enough for some people. If you weigh 600 lbs you won't be able to go for an aerobics workout. I walk for an hour each day, which is fine for someone who is already the correct weight.
Conclusion
This is a good diet if you make changes to avoid the problems with the south beach diet mentioned above. It is a great approach to how to lose weight. Just remember that the "one size fits all" approach rarely works with humans, or any other animal for that matter. The Atkins diet might suit your metabolic type better, though I prefer my modification of that diet.
