South Beach Diet
What It Is
If you are wondering who came up with the South Beach diet, it was the creation of a cardiologist named Dr. Arthur Agatston. It was developed for severly overweight heart patients and is now used commonly for dieter that wants to shed a few pounds. Now that you know where the South Beach diet came from, it’s important to understand how it works.

How It Works?
South Beach diet recipes bans unhealthy fats but permits healthy ones, such as monosaturates. In addition, the southbeach diet does not count carbohydrates in grams like other diets; rather it looks at how much sugar is in a carbohydrate. South Beach diet foods that fall low on the glycemic index are called low sugar carbs. These foods do not cause rapid changes in the blood sugar levels and are therefore permitted.

What You Can Eat
This diet plan has three phases. The first phase is called the induction and lasts 14 days. The South Beach diet phase 1 recipes call for the ban of rice, potatoes, pasta, fruit, and baked goods. You should also cut out dairy products and alcohol.

The next phase allow for the reintroduction of certain of the previously forbidden carbs. This stage lasts until you meet you weight loss goal.

The final stage emphasizes maintaining you new lifestyle and food choices to keep the weight off. This is the least restrictive of the three stages.

Disadvantages
While the South Beach diet plan does boast significant results it does have a few drawbacks. To begin with the list of foods that are permitted and forbidden is not as simple as you may expect. You may have to study the plan in detail before you feel completely comfortable planning out healthy meals.

In addition, the Atkins diet is considered to be very restrictive and therefore difficult to stick with. It is not easy for most people to cut back so drastically on the foods they love.

Other Tips
You can look online for free South Beach diet recipes or purchase the book for a complete food list for the south beach diet. You may also find easy recipes for South Beach soup recipes and general south beach diet tips.