The
South Beach Diet
By Arthur Agatston, MD
The same
old low-carbohydrate diet fools the gullible consumer again
The New York Times #1 best seller is now the
South Beach Diet � this is a small step in the right direction away
from the hazardous Atkins Diet � which means on this diet you are closing
your arteries and losing your bones at a slower rate. But like all
similar diets � both the low-carbohydrate and the calorie-restricted diets
� you will likely regain all your lost weight before the year is out. What
continues to amaze me is that desperate people continue to buy the same
low-carbohydrate and/or food-restricted diets simply repackaged in a new
best-selling diet book.
The
secret
to the success of this diet is you will be eating only the �good�
carbohydrates and fats, and avoiding the �bad� ones, according to Dr.
Agatston. The diet is supposed to cause permanent weight loss, stop
cravings, and improve the cardiovascular system. You don�t even have to
exercise daily.
The
truth
is this
is a combination of the Atkins diet (phase one) followed by a high-fat,
high-protein, semi-starvation diet, like the Zone or Sugar Busters diets
(phase two). The text tells the reader, �Our diet is distinguished by the
absence of calorie counts; percentage of fats, carbs, and protein; or even
portion control� � essentially, �Don�t even think about limiting the
amount you eat.� However, the menu plans say otherwise � you are
severely restricted in your choice of foods in phase one and in the kinds
and amounts of foods in phase two in order to lose. If you start to gain
weight in phase two or three, the solution is to return to the tried and
true very low-carbohydrate, high-protein phase one of the diet. This is
the only portion of the diet that has any chance of working at least
temporarily � and also the unhealthiest phase of the diet. The foods
served are the very ones condemned by heart associations and cancer
societies worldwide as causing the deadly and debilitating diseases � like
heart attacks, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis � among people living in
affluent nations.
The
first phase,
lasting
2 weeks, is to �change yourself internally,� to stop the physical cravings
that rule your eating habits, according to Dr. Agatston. Actually, the
effects will be those expected from any low-carbohydrate, high-protein,
high-fat (Atkins-type) diet. Following the recipes results in a diet that
contains about 50% of the calories from protein (range of 30% to 80%), and
about 40% fat; leaving about 10% for carbohydrate. Even the desserts are
high in protein (30%) and fat (50%). In actuality, the diet may turn out
to be even lower in carbohydrate and dietary fiber because many people
fail to eat the green and yellow vegetables allowed � rather focusing on
the steak, chicken, and fish portions, containing no carbohydrate or
fiber.
Dr. Agatston promises 8 to 13 pounds of
weight loss during the first 2 weeks. Why not? � All similar diets
accomplish this goal. The lost weight is mostly water, glycogen
(stored sugar), and at most 4 pounds of fat the first 2 weeks. Some
of the water loss is due to the diuretic effects of all that protein; the
remainder of the water is lost while using up stores of sugar mixed with
water, known as glycogen.* Although the first phase of the diet does
not insist on a state of ketosis (a condition of almost total carbohydrate
starvation) for success, like the Atkins diet does, there is a good chance
that many followers will restrict their intake of carbohydrate
sufficiently to go into this metabolic state � causing even greater water
loss, along with suppression of their appetites. Losing that much
water weight is a great incentive for believing in the powers of this book
and going on to the next phase.
*The body requires glucose (sugar) for
certain cells like red blood cells and kidney cells, and the brain prefers
glucose. When insufficient amounts of carbohydrate (sugar) are in the
diet, the body relies upon its stores, glycogen, found mostly in the
muscles and liver. About 2 pounds of sugar are mixed with 4 pounds of
water � both are released when glycogen is burned for fuel to nourish
these vital tissues during this self-imposed period of deprivation.
The
second phase
of the diet works by restricting calories, primarily by restricting some
of the more usual junk people eat, like highly refined flours and sugars;
and their famous combinations � mixed with fat � like cookies, cakes,
pies, candy bars, and donuts. The meal plans also restricts calories by
using typical �portion control� methods, allowing �1 poached egg,� �� cup
cottage cheese,� �4 whole wheat crackers,� �1 whole English muffin,�
��counting out 15 almonds or cashews...� etc. If phase two fails then the
dieter is to return to phase one.
Phase
three
is essentially anything you want to eat, but hopefully some of the eating
habits from phase one and two have stuck. If phase three fails then the
dieter is to return to phase one.
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Brief Summary of the South
Beach Diet
Phase 1 � First 2 weeks (basically a
low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat (Atkins-type) diet. You
can follow it longer if you choose for faster weight loss after 2
weeks.
Allowed: meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese,
and vegetables with liberal use of olive oil.
Forbidden: Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta,
baked goods, fruit, alcohol (including beer and wine).
Fed as three �balanced� meals
Promise: 8-13 pounds of weight loss
Phase 2 � Followed until you hit your target
weight.
Allowed: Add back the foods you love, like
the �good� carbohydrates � fruit, whole grain bread, whole grain
rice, whole wheat pasta, and sweet potatoes (no white potatoes).
Meals are still high in fat, protein, and cholesterol.
Promise: 1-2 pounds lost/week
If phase 2 fails, you then return to phase 1
to get back on track.
Phase Three � for the rest of your life.
There is no allowed or forbidden foods list for phase 3 � you can
eat whatever you want. If phase 3 fails, you then return to phase 1
to get back on track. |
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High Protein Diets Are a Health Hazard
In common with almost all successful diet
books, this one tells you �good news about your bad habits.� You can
still eat all the steak, chicken, eggs, and Canadian bacon you desire, and
on occasion, chocolate cake. Believe it or not, these are recommendations
from a cardiologist. The fact that the author himself takes statin drugs
to lower his cholesterol (like Mevacor, Lipitor, Zocor, etc.), fish oil,
and aspirin to prevent a heart attack � penance for all that sinful food?
� makes me believe he clearly understands the life-threatening effects of
what he is doing. Every cardiologist knows this, and you would think Dr.
Agatston�s fellow cardiologists knew all about The South Beach Diet
when they wrote their report on high protein diets two years before the
book�s publication.
According to the Nutrition Committee of
the American Heart Association (AHA) report in the
October 9, 2001 issue of the journal Circulation,1
high protein diets are hazardous to your health and are
ineffective. They wrote, �High-protein diets typically offer wide
latitude in protein food choices, are restrictive in other food choices
(mainly carbohydrates), and provide structured eating plans. They also
often promote misconceptions about carbohydrates, insulin resistance,
ketosis, and fat burning as mechanisms of action for weight loss � These
diets are generally associated with higher intakes of total fat, saturated
fat, and cholesterol because the protein is provided mainly by animal
sources. In high-protein diets, weight loss is initially high due to fluid
loss related to reduced carbohydrate intake, overall caloric restriction,
and ketosis-induced appetite suppression. Beneficial effects on blood
lipids and insulin resistance are due to the weight loss, not to the
change in caloric composition � High-protein diets are not recommended
because they restrict healthful foods that provide essential nutrients and
do not provide the variety of foods needed to adequately meet nutritional
needs. Individuals who follow these diets are therefore at risk for
compromised vitamin and mineral intake, as well as potential cardiac,
renal, bone, and liver abnormalities overall.���High-protein diets may
also be associated with increased risk for coronary heart disease due to
intakes of saturated fat, cholesterol, and other associated dietary
factors.
Hopefully you have learned that the only
eating plan that results in permanent weight control, natural relief of
hunger, and great health is the one that was designed through millions of
years of evolution � a diet of starches, vegetables and fruits (See my
July 2003 newsletter). This is confirmed by the fact that an ongoing
study (the National Weight Loss Registry) of successful dieters with an
average weight loss of 60 pounds, maintained for more than 5 years, found
nearly all of these people follow a low-fat diet and exercise.2
Unfortunately, only a few people learn the truth � the masses wait for the
next best-selling diet book to regurgitate the same old nonsense to them,
and that�s why they continue to fail and remain fat.
Reference:
1) St. Jeor, S. Dietary protein and weight
reduction: a statement for healthcare professionals from the Nutrition
Committee of the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Metabolism
of the American Heart Association. Circulation 2001 Oct
9;104(15):1869-74.
2) Wing R. Successful weight loss
maintenance. Annu Rev Nutr. 2001;21:323-41.
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