Leena Watts
The South Beach Diet is a commercial diet plan created by Dr Arthur Agatston. Unlike other diets, it doesn't focus on counting calories but instead on eating real, whole foods. The diet is split into three phases, with the first phase being the most restrictive in terms of carbohydrate intake. During this phase, you will only consume about 10% of your daily calories in the form of carbohydrates, or about 50g of carbohydrates per day for someone consuming 2,000 calories a day.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Counting calories | The South Beach Diet does not focus on counting calories |
| Carbohydrates | Carbohydrates are restricted but not counted in grams |
| Carbohydrate counting | Carbohydrate counting is not required in phase one or two |
| Carbohydrate percentage | Phase one: 10% of daily calories; Phase two: 27% of daily calories; Phase three: 28% of daily calories |
| Carbohydrate grams | Phase one: 50g per day; Phase two: 135g per day; Phase three: 140g per day |
| Fats | The diet recommends consuming 10-15% of calories from saturated fat and increasing healthy fats |
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What You'll Learn
The South Beach Diet does not focus on counting calories
The South Beach Diet is a commercial diet plan created by Dr Arthur Agatston. It involves a progressive set of three phases that start by restricting many carbohydrates and slowly reintroducing foods as you progress through the diet. Phase one of the South Beach Diet has the most restrictive carbohydrate intake of all the phases. During phase one, you will only consume about 10% of your daily calories in the form of carbohydrates, or about 50g of carbohydrates per day for someone consuming 2,000 calories a day. However, this limit is not enforced, and carbohydrate counting is not required.
During phase two of the South Beach Diet, carbohydrate consumption rises to about 27% of your daily caloric intake, or about 135g of carbohydrates per day if you are on a 2,000-calorie diet. As in phase one, there is no carbohydrate counting, so the percentage of carbohydrates in your diet may vary slightly from day to day. Phase three of the South Beach Diet, the maintenance phase that you are intended to follow for the rest of your life, typically involves a diet with about 28% of the daily caloric intake from carbohydrates, about 140g of carbs for a 2,000-calorie diet. Because the third phase of the diet does not restrict any foods, this limit may vary widely.
The South Beach Diet is a little different from other low-carb diets like the Atkins diet. For instance, the Atkins diet may require consuming 16.7% of calories from saturated fat, according to the Atkins diet website. Meanwhile, the South Beach Diet recommends consuming only 10 to 15% of calories from saturated fat in lieu of ramping up consumption of healthy fats. In addition, the South Beach Diet doesn’t shy away from some types of carbs: “South Beach in the long run encourages a diet that includes complex carbs — whole grains, beans, lentils, etc. — and fruits,” says Natalie Stephens, RD, at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
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Carbohydrates are restricted, but not counted
The South Beach Diet is a commercial diet plan created by Dr Arthur Agatston. It involves a progressive set of three phases that start by restricting many carbohydrates and slowly reintroducing foods as you progress through the diet.
The diet does not focus on counting calories, but instead on eating real, whole foods. It encourages the consumption of "good" carbohydrates (those that are less processed or refined, like whole grains and legumes) and "good" fats (healthy unsaturated fats, including omega-3 fatty acids).
Phase one of the South Beach Diet has the most restrictive carbohydrate intake of all the phases. During this phase, you will only consume about 10% of your daily calories in the form of carbohydrates, or about 50g of carbohydrates per day for someone consuming 2,000 calories a day. This limit is not enforced, and carbohydrate counting is not required, but the limits on what type of carbohydrates you can eat and the emphasis on protein sources and fats in the recipes and menu suggestions make rising too far above this limit unlikely.
During phase two, carbohydrate consumption rises to about 27% of your daily caloric intake, or about 135g of carbohydrates per day if you are on a 2,000-calorie diet. As in phase one, there is no carbohydrate counting, so the percentage of carbohydrates in your diet may vary slightly from day to day.
Phase three of the South Beach Diet is the maintenance phase that you are intended to follow for the rest of your life. It typically involves a diet with about 28% of the daily caloric intake from carbohydrates, about 140g of carbs for a 2,000-calorie diet. Because the third phase of the diet does not restrict any foods, this limit may vary widely.
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The diet has three phases
The South Beach Diet is a commercial diet plan created by Dr Arthur Agatston. It involves a progressive set of three phases that start by restricting many carbohydrates and slowly reintroducing foods as you progress through the diet.
Phase one of the South Beach Diet has the most restrictive carbohydrate intake of all the phases. During this phase, you will only consume about 10% of your daily calories in the form of carbohydrates, or about 50g of carbohydrates per day for someone consuming 2,000 calories a day. Carbohydrate counting is not required, but the limits on what type of carbohydrates you can eat and the emphasis on protein sources and fats in the recipes and menu suggestions make rising too far above this limit unlikely.
During phase two of the South Beach Diet, carbohydrate consumption rises to about 27% of your daily caloric intake, or about 135g of carbohydrates per day if you are on a 2,000-calorie diet. As in phase one, there is no carbohydrate counting, so the percentage of carbohydrates in your diet may vary slightly from day to day.
Phase three of the South Beach Diet is the maintenance phase that you are intended to follow for the rest of your life. It typically involves a diet with about 28% of the daily caloric intake from carbohydrates, about 140g of carbs for a 2,000-calorie diet. Because the third phase of the diet does not restrict any foods, this limit may vary widely.
The South Beach Diet is a little different from other low-carb diets like the Atkins diet. For instance, the Atkins diet may require consuming 16.7% of calories from saturated fat, according to the Atkins diet website. Meanwhile, the South Beach Diet recommends consuming only 10 to 15% of calories from saturated fat in lieu of ramping up consumption of healthy fats. In addition, the South Beach Diet doesn’t shy away from some types of carbs: “South Beach in the long run encourages a diet that includes complex carbs — whole grains, beans, lentils, etc. — and fruits,” says Natalie Stephens, RD, at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
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It recommends eating good carbohydrates and good fats
The South Beach Diet is a commercial diet plan created by Dr Arthur Agatston. It involves a progressive set of three phases that start by restricting many carbohydrates and slowly reintroducing foods as you progress through the diet. The diet doesn't focus on counting calories, but instead recommends eating 'good' carbohydrates and 'good' fats.
'Good' carbohydrates are those that are less processed or refined, such as whole grains, legumes, beans, lentils and complex carbs. The diet doesn't limit carbohydrates to a specific number of grams per day, but the percentage of your diet that comes from carbs is typically lower than the 45 to 65 per cent of daily calories recommended by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. In phase one of the diet, you will only consume about 10 per cent of your daily calories in the form of carbohydrates, or about 50g of carbohydrates per day for someone consuming 2,000 calories a day. Carbohydrate counting is not required, but the limits on what type of carbohydrates you can eat and the emphasis on protein sources and fats in the recipes and menu suggestions make rising too far above this limit unlikely.
Phase two of the South Beach Diet sees carbohydrate consumption rise to about 27 per cent of your daily caloric intake, or about 135g of carbohydrates per day if you are on a 2,000-calorie diet. There is no carbohydrate counting in this phase either, so the percentage of carbohydrates in your diet may vary slightly from day to day.
The South Beach Diet recommends consuming only 10 to 15 per cent of calories from saturated fat, in lieu of ramping up consumption of healthy fats. 'Good' fats are healthy unsaturated fats, including omega-3 fatty acids.
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It suggests eating complex carbs, whole grains, beans, lentils, and fruits
The South Beach Diet is not about counting calories. Instead, it focuses on eating whole foods, including 'good' carbohydrates and fats. The diet recommends eating complex carbs, whole grains, beans, lentils, and fruits.
The South Beach Diet is split into three phases, with the first being the most restrictive. In this phase, you will only consume about 10% of your daily calories in the form of carbohydrates, or about 50g of carbohydrates per day for someone consuming 2,000 calories a day. However, this limit is not enforced, and carbohydrate counting is not required.
Phase two of the diet sees carbohydrate consumption rise to about 27% of your daily caloric intake, or about 135g of carbohydrates per day if you are on a 2,000-calorie diet. Again, there is no carbohydrate counting in this phase, so the percentage of carbohydrates in your diet may vary slightly from day to day.
The third and final phase of the South Beach Diet is the maintenance phase, which you are intended to follow for the rest of your life. This typically involves a diet with about 28% of the daily caloric intake from carbohydrates, or about 140g of carbs for a 2,000-calorie diet. Because no foods are restricted in this phase, this limit may vary widely.
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Frequently asked questions
No, the South Beach Diet doesn't focus on counting calories. Instead, it encourages eating whole foods and 'good' carbohydrates and fats.
The South Beach Diet is a commercial diet plan created by Dr Arthur Agatston. It involves three phases that start by restricting many carbohydrates and slowly reintroducing foods as you progress.
'Good' carbohydrates are those that are less processed or refined, like whole grains, legumes, beans, lentils and fruits.
