Whether you are a normal person wanting to lose weight and burn some body fat, or a professional athlete wanting to get in the best shape, you can use one of the best and most popular diets in the world: the South Beach diet.
As it’s name says, it originates from the warm and sunny South Beach and it was designed by the by cardiologist Arthur Agatston along with the dietician Marie Almon. It was originally made for preventing heart diseases, but quickly it became popular for losing weight.
It is kind of similar with the Atkins diet, only it is more permissive with the carbohydrates. It is split into 3 phases, each one having allowed and forbidden aliments. The main ideas of the South Beach diet are:
1. You don’t need to measure quantities and calories
2. You must eat very slowly, allowing the message that you are full to get to the brain. So this way you will eat less
3. You need to have 3 main dishes during the day, and to drink a lot of water. But the great part is that you are also allowed to have some healthy snacks between meals.
4. Salads and other dishes are prepared only by using olive oil
5. The carbs that you can eat must come only from whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
Phase 1: it lasts for 2 weeks and is the most restrictive one! In this phase you are not allowed to eat bread, corn, cereals, potatoes, cheese, fat milk, alcohol, carrots or beet.
And now here are some examples of foods that you can eat, a different meal plan for each day of the week:
Day 1:
Breakfast: - 2 boiled eggs or omelet with some ham
- coffee or tea without any sugar
Lunch: - grilled chicken breast
- vegetables salad with olive oil and squeezed lemon or boiled vegetables
Dinner: - grilled fish
- a salad containing tomatoes, cucumbers and light cheese
As snacks between meals you can have some low fat cheese.
As snacks between meals you can have some low fat cheese.
Day 2:
Breakfast: - omelet with mushrooms and low fat cheese
- coffee or tea without any sugar
Lunch: - grilled chicken breast
- mixed salad
Dinner: - grilled chicken or beef
- a few vegetables with olive oil
As snacks between meals you can have 20 hazelnuts or vegetables salad.
Day 3:
Breakfast: - 150 ml of tomato juice
- omelet with mushrooms and ham
- coffee without any sugar
Lunch: - vegetables salad with boiled chicken breast
Dinner: - grilled chicken breast with grilled mushrooms
As snacks between meals you can have some low fat cheese or some pistachio.
Stay tuned for the second part of the South Beach diet (recipes and tips)...coming soon!
Also Read: