Does The South Beach Diet Work? Find Out What Real Users Are Saying

Does the South Beach Diet work? What are real users saying? If you want to know the truth about any diet plan, just ask those who are using the plan.

Farther down I give you excerpts from real, unbiased user reviews. But before we get into reviews, let’s take a look at what the South Beach Diet is.

What Is The South Beach Diet?

Dr. Arthur Agatston from Miami, Florida created the South Beach Diet. This diet is a little like the Atkins Diet with a whole different approach. The natural result of this diet is to cut down on carbohydrates, although his diet is not as restrictive as most low-carbohydrate diets.

Dr. Agatston’s approach is to eliminate all bad carbohydrates (such as refined sugar, flour, etc.) and all bad fats (such as saturated fat and tans fat).

Here’s how the South Beach Diet works:

Phase 1
This phase lasts for two weeks and consists of:

• Normal-size helpings
• Meat
• Fish
• Vegetables
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Nuts

This phase includes three meals a day, plus snacks, and encourages you to eat until until you are satisfied. During this time you will lose weight and you body should stop craving sugar and starches. That’s a good thing.

Phase 2
In this phase, whole grains, sweet potatoes, fruits and dairy products and a small amount of red wine, if desired, are introduced into your diet in small portions.

You continue with phase 2 until you reach your desired weight. Actually, on this diet you will never eat carbohydrates the way you used to. Say goodbye to French fries, large plates of spaghetti and chocolate cake. But that’s okay...these things aren’t good for you anyway, right?

Phase 3
This phase is a maintenance phase and expands to include three servings of whole grains and fruit a day, but not a lot.

What Do Scientific Studies Say About This Diet?

The South Beach Diet works differently than the Atkins Diet and has not met with the same resistance as most low carb diet plans.

Two scientific studies were done between 1998 and 2005. The first study used 54 dieters and the other 69 dieters. Both studies showed favorable results.

However, the truth about how well the South Beach Diet works can better be found by finding what users are saying.

Does The South Beach Diet Work? - What Real Users Are Saying

This is always the most revealing part of any diet-plan study. As always, I try to find out what real, unbiased people who have used the plan have to say. This approach can be very revealing, and helpful to you.

Therefore, the following comments are excerpts taken from real users of the South Beach Diet. I did not include “testimonies” from any sales websites, as they can be manipulated and biased. These were taken from various forums or reviews and represent the most common responses.

Here we go:

“This isn't a diet that can promise to help you drop 10 pounds a week while eating all your favorite foods... But it provides a well-reasoned, thoughtful approach to choosing the right foods and living healthfully, with comparatively little trauma, deprivation and grief. It's about using recent scientific research to make our lives better. And so far, I like the results in my life.”

“The South Beach Diet works for me. I have more energy, my weight is declining steadily, my pants are too big for me now, and, I feel great... I am still on Phase II and have lost about 1/3 of the weight I want to lose. I am having little trouble sticking to the diet, except at parties. I do know the right choices to make, and, for the most part, I'm sticking to them.”

“I think The South Beach Diet is too loose in its structure. That is until we get to the second half of the book. That is when it becomes too rigid. The South Beach Diet is a low carbohydrate diet no matter how Dr. Agatston frames this book... My recommendation is to take the money and go buy yourself a nice salad with turkey, chicken, cheese or tofu, a large glass of bottled water and an iced tea with some delicious whole grain bread. Slice the orange for dessert and enjoy.”

“I have been on the South Beach Diet for only five weeks... The diet promises a weight loss of from 8 to 13 pounds the first two weeks. I lost 10. The diet expects you will lose 1 or 2 pounds a week without exercise on Phase 2. I have been beating that so far with an average loss of nearly 3 pounds a week.

The first two weeks were hard but not impossibly so... I miss the pasta and potatoes the most on Phase 2, but not so much that I want to quit the diet. I do know that if I am tempted beyond my self-control I can just go back to Phase 1 for a week or two and lose the pounds I put back on.”

“However as you continue on the South Beach diet it is clear that it is not the Atkins Diet. During the first two weeks you can't have any carbohydrates. The book has an excellent menu for the first two weeks when all carbohydrates have initially been restricted... Overall, I enjoyed this menu... The South Beach Diet works; my wife and I followed the plan and lost weight. She lost 8 pounds in the first two weeks and I lost 5.”

“After several failed attempts at other programs I started the South Beach diet. After the initial 2 weeks the pounds started dropping at 2 pounds per week! I was amazed and ever so happy. I then started getting symptoms of hypoglycemia and it's all downhill from there.”

“The South Beach Diet is the trendiest diet of them all... It does compare itself to Atkin's, but is fully based on recipes and tips, about, well of course, being lower in fat.”

“Two years ago, I tried on a bridesmaids dress for my friend's wedding... I knew I had to do something... So, I did some research on-line and found out about the South Beach Diet. I got the book and followed the plan to the letter. In 2 weeks, I lost 8 pounds. The first two weeks are very strict, but not as difficult as being the fat girl in the wedding party!

In 8 months, I lost 25 pounds and had more energy than I have ever had! Importantly, I was eating TONS of healthy food and snacks all along - NEVER HUNGRY.”

“The South Beach diet is endorsed by Prevention Magazine and "Doctor Phil." It WILL change the way you look at foods, and it wasn't a COMPLETE waste of time. It is healthy, and it works. However, it's a hard diet to stick to.”

“My husband and I tried this before we got married... in the eight weeks it took me to get through the program in its entirety, I'd lost 34 pounds. My goal was 20. And I built muscle!”

Does The South Beach Diet Work? Answer and Summary:

Okay, so does the South Beach Diet Work? The interesting thing that I found in my research was the lack of real negative responses and the lack of super fast results. This plan is far from a quick weight-loss plan. If you want to lose weight quickly, you may want to look at my Quick Weight Loss Page.

Although the Atkins Diet is more controversial and less balanced than the South Beach Diet, the Atkins Diet does appear to give a lot faster results for those who can stay on it.

And about the question, “does the South Beach Diet Work?” The answer is clearly yes. But this plan is best suited for those who want a long term, healthy weight loss plan and do not need to lose weight fast.

To research other diet plans you can go to my Diet Plans Page.

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