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Does The South Beach Diet Work Or Is It A Sham?
Added: 06/25/2007
 Type: Summary
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Does The South Beach Diet Work Or Is It A Sham?

Most people would jump at the idea of losing 13 pounds or more in two weeks, as the South Beach Diet claims. The question is does the South Beach Diet work or it just another fad diet? When you lose this much weight in such a short time-frame it’s probably not body fat. Instead you’re losing water weight along with some muscle tissue too.

If you’re how the South Beach Diet achieves this you only need to look at the initial phase which instructs you restrict your carbohydrates intake severely. In doing so you will lack essential nutrients and your body may go into “starvation mode” due to the lack of calories. Such dieting has many negative consequences and is very misleading.

Water loss is not healthy, and is temporary and therefore quickly the lose water weight is quickly regained.The downside of losing muscle tissue is that muscles burns a lot of calories, which means that as you lose your muscle your body will burn less calories and store more fat in the long run. This is why studies have shown that most people who lose weight with diets will put it back on, and often more, when they go back to their old habits.

In fact, according the author of the South Beach Diet, you should immediately switch back to the first phase if you end up putting some of the weight back on. Recent studies show if you lose and gain weight through radical changes in your diet this will increase your chances of suffering from a heart attack.

If we were to look closer at the diet and the meal plans it is clear that the South Beach diet is not as healthy as it claims to be. You can eat bacon and cheese but you’re not allowed watermelon because it is a high GI food? The author also takes cholesterol-lowering drugs which cause mental confusion, muscle weakness and pain, radical changes in mood, and other side effects.

The South Beach Diet also claims that French fries and potato chips are a healthier choice than baked potatoes and that this is because of the fat which they are cooked in. However, these foods are high in unhealthy trans fats which, according to experts, are "the biggest food-processing disaster in U.S. history". Another point regarding the meals the diet suggests is that they take a long time to prepare and many of the foods recommended are not cheap and are hard to find in many areas.

Almost 35% of Americans are now obese but despite this the only exercise recommendation is 20 minutes of daily walking. However, this is not at all sufficient especially when you consider that many people have a serious exercise deficiency and walking for 20 minutes does use up nearly enough calories to burn serious fat. This advice is suited to people who are in good shape and just need to lose a few pounds.

Fortunately, despite not being given much attention in the book, weight training is recommended not only because building muscle speeds up your metabolism but also because it helps strengthen bones and tendons which, as the author states, is good news for women suffering from osteoporosis.

So does the South Beach Diet work or it just another fad? Considering the fact that the initial few weeks of the diet is both unhealthy and requires massive willpower to stick to, and the poor nutritional advice regarding carbohydrates and fats, in addition to the lack of focus on burning fat off through aerobic exercise and resistance training I would have to say it is simply a fad diet supported only by the credentials of a cardiologist.
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