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Many times the South Beach Diet is confused with Atkins Diet, which is a low-carbohydrate intake diet. However, the South Beach Diet is not a low-carbohydrate diet. It, instead, teaches you what carbohydrates are good for you and cuts the bad ones out. It does take time for your body to stop craving the carbohydrates it is accustomed to consuming. The South Beach Diet is done in phases. Phase One adjusts the way your body reacts to certain foods, such as sugars and starches. This phase is when you will lose the most weight, particularly belly fat. During Phase One, South Beach cuts out rice, potatoes, bread, and pasta. If you eat a lot of these foods, this will be a very difficult beginning. Other foods such as, baked goods, sweets, and fruits are also, off-limits. Phase One lasts for two weeks and during this duration, you will be eating six meals a day and foods that are high in fiber. The idea of Phase One is to rid your body of the “bad” starches and sweets cravings.

During Phase Two, you will slowly introduce whole-grain breads, fruits, and sweet potatoes back into your diet. Weight loss tends to slow down during this phase, but will still continue. Phase Three teaches you maintenance of the diet. You can introduce whatever foods you wish back into your diet, but if you see you are gaining weight, you should take them back out. If you gain too much weight during Phase Three, you can begin at Phase One again and work your way back through the phases.

The plus side to weight loss using the South Beach Diet is that you will lose that first 14 pounds rather quickly. The unfortunate thing is that you can almost never introduce some foods into your diet again, because of weight gain. However, South Beach does teach you the difference between “good” and “bad” carbohydrates, which is a lesson you can use and implement for the rest of your life. It, also, teaches you to eat six small meals a day, rather than three big meals or skipping some. This, in time, is better for your metabolism and will allow your body to burn calories more efficiently when exercising. Your energy levels will, also, heighten, due to getting the right sugars from fruits and the intake from the right carbohydrates.

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