what does it tell you to do basically?
South Beach is not a bad diet, but there's a problem most people don't look at: If you're overweight, there's a reason for it. The reason is simple: You take in more calories than you burn. So the only way to lose weight and keep it off is to make permanent changes in your eating and exercise habits. South Beach is a pretty good eating plan based on sound nutritional science. Here's the question: Are you ready to do South Beach for the rest of your life? If you do a diet for a while, lose the weight, and then go back to the same old habits that made you overweight in the first place, guess what? You're going to gain all that weight back. So the trick is finding an eating and exercise plan you can live with for the rest of your life.
If you want a plan that will take the weight off and is easy to follow (no counting calories, complicated exchanges, cutting out entire food groups, or giving up everything you love), take a look at this plan:
1. You MUST exercise if you want to lose weight and keep it off, so do something every day, even if it’s just a 15-minute walk around the neighborhood. Don’t say you don’t have time for exercise; you have to MAKE time. Yes, it takes time and effort, but you’re worth it, right?
2. Walk as much as you want, but don’t do cardio for more than 40 minutes at a time. If you do, you risk burning muscle instead of fat.
3. If you do strength training, use light weights and do lots of repetitions. That’ll really help you “tone up.”
4. Your diet will make you or break you. You have probably learned bad eating habits over time (most people do). That’s not your fault, but now you have to deal with it. Make a commitment to yourself to unlearn those bad habits and re-learn better habits.
5. Eat breakfast every day within an hour of getting up. People who don’t are 450% more likely to be overweight.
6. Eat six small meals or snacks per day instead of three squares per day or one big meal per day. Your body expends energy digesting your food, so eating smaller portions more often keeps your metabolism running high because you’re constantly digesting food.
7. Avoid these as much as possible:
– Trans fat (any type of partially or fully hydrogenated oil)
– High fructose corn syrup (soft drinks are LOADED with it)
– Fast food
– Junk food
– White sugar, white flour, white rice, white potatoes
– The deadly C’s (cookies, cakes, candy, chips, cola)
8. Build your diet around these trim-body-friendly foods:
– Nuts, any kind (almonds are best)
– Beans/Legumes
– Fresh vegetables (green is GREAT!!!)
– Dairy products (as long as they’re low-fat or non-fat)
– Eggs
– Lean meats (fish and poultry top the list)
– Olive oil
– Whole grain breads/cereals/pasta
– Fresh fruits (anything that ends in “berry” is a winner)
– Tea (green tea or black pekoe tea)
– Cold water or ice water (your body has to expend extra calories to heat it up)
9. Desserts and treats are the exception, not the rule. Having said that, however, (1) you can have a couple of pieces of chocolate every day – just don’t overdo, and (2) Allow yourself one “cheat meal” every week where you eat and drink whatever you want as long as you don’t gorge yourself. That’ll help keep you from feeling deprived and it’ll make it easier to stick with your new healthy eating plan.
Good luck!
Dr. Steven Knope, author of the new book Concierge Medicine, discusses why fad diets don’t work and the lack of research to support their “breakthrough”.
For more HCG Info: