Rating: 
Summary: A nice book but not good for Old People
Review: When i bought this book, it was an inspiration for me to drop some of my old lady pounds. I was going to Florida to visit my two daughters, Denim and Rain, in the Florida penetentary. Whilst I was packing, I had the idea to drop a few pounds so as to fit in my purple tent like Old Woman swimming suit better. So, I bought this book. Some of the dieting techniques were unrealistic and too much to ask of an Old Woman like myself. It was a better book for younger people. The Atkins diet has worked better for me in the past. It helped me accomplish my goal of losing 30 pounds, classifing me as one hot Old Lady!
Rating: 
Summary: Works for me...so far
Review: Leaving aside the editing and layout of the book, I have had success following this healthy diet. That's what mattered most to me.My weight before starting SBD Phase 1 was 152. I am 5'4" and want to weigh about 135. I followed Phase 1, eating only food from the allowed list. That's basically lean meats, low or no-fat cheese, eggs, veggies, nuts. It was fairly easy to stick to - especially because I could have nuts or cheese as snacks. Grilled fish, lean steak, some veggies and I had a dinner that I enjoyed. Eggs for b'fast. The purpose of Phase 1 is to end your cravings for sugar and carbs. It did that for me. At the end of Phase 1, I weighed 144. A loss of 8 pounds. Then, we went on vacation in Europe for 4 weeks. I tried to eat healthy foods but also had a small ice cream almost daily. Because of the diet I made much better food choices than I normally would have, although I also had pasta and bread (and the ice cream). I had fresh veggies, veggie soup, salads and fruit often, and meat when we could afford it. At the end of 4 weeks, I had lost 5 more pounds. I'm at 139 now and on Phase 2. This is better than I have ever done on a 'diet' before, especially considering the 4 week vacation. I'm feeling very healthy and am loving being a 'normal' size again. I am ignoring some of the information in the book (like the GI Index) as it makes things confusing and it's not necessary to understand it. I follow the food lists and find that I can make a wide variety of meals that even my husband will eat. I'm not finding myself focused on food all day. The internet has some great support groups for this diet. I can eat in restaurants with no problem. I have high cholesterol, so am hoping to see that come down. That would be the best news of all. But ultimately, the success of this, or any new way of eating is up to you. Just like I did, you have to CHOOSE to walk past the Cheetos isle, drive past KFC and turn down the mashed potatoes at granny's house. For me, these choices were made easier by the allowance of nuts and cheese as snacks. After Phase 1, you can add many foods back in (slowly), keeping an eye on your size so you know when you have gone "too far". If you try South Beach Diet, I wish you much success. It's working for me! So far! UPDATE: It's August 23rd and I'm holding my weight (136). I'm not eating nearly as much sugar, potatoes, bread and processed foods as I did before SBD, I'm feeling great and my husband is delighted! This new way of eating is not difficult!! My biggest tip is, don't buy stuff at the store that you shouldn't be eating. And, there ARE things that you can get occasionally that are good and a 'treat'. For example, look in the health food isle and you'll find Tostita's has organic chips with no trans fats and very low sat fat. Have that with salsa or avacado dip.
Rating: 
Summary: This is "Atkins for Dummies"
Review: Believe me, it is a waste of your time and money. This is really a mis-match of cut and pastes from Atkins diet program. It is a cheap shot at Atkins diet. It is not well written, the menus don't follow Dr. A.'s advice, and doesn't have any references for the studies quoted and sited (I wonder if that is because so many cut and pastes were done that Dr. A. didn't know which references to use). How could the publisher let this book slip a way?!
Rating: 
Summary: This diet is a great start.
Review: The book does a great job of explaining the initial phase 1 and I felt things worked out well. I lost about 5 pounds in the first 2 weeks. I felt the other 2 phases weren't as descriptive as the first so I took the good Doctor's advice and bought another book, "Good carbs, bad carbs". This book is also a great book and it goes into much more detail about what is happening inside our bodies when we eat certain foods. These 2 books have helped me to start eating healthier, losing weight, and improving my health by lowering my cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure. The 2 books together have worked well to help me understand the process much better and for the first time in my life, I can see how a healthy lifestyle can taste great. "Good carbs, bad carbs" also explains how too much exercise and too little food can exhaust you and actually cause your body to reverse the process and gain weight. I give both books 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Easiest and most satisfying diet ever
Review: I'm 52 and have had a slight to moderate weight problem my entire life (about 25 lbs.) Have been on many diets and always lost weight but never could make it a "lifestyle change". This is so simple - I think some those who have given negative reviews are reading more into it and making it more complicated than it is. Who cares if it is a little like the Atkins diet in the first couple of weeks - at least I don't have to do any carb calculations!! I've been on it for 5 weeks, have lost 12 pounds and have lost my usual cravings for candy, cookies, and chocolate. I am able to totally ignore the Krispy Kreme donuts in the employee lounge. You don't have to eat the menu plan - those are just suggestions for people who don't have any creativity when it comes to cooking. Just eat the things on the allowed list and don't eat foods on the "may not eat" list and make sure you eat your snacks and eat enough at mealtime to satisfy you. Yes - once in a while I feel hungry because I've been too busy to eat what I should - so I just catch up by eating allowed foods. Up until now I've always been a "carboholic" and it's really an odd feeling to not need that. I find the Atkins plan too complicated. I have found that most people doing the Atkins plan don't really follow the "rules" but modify it to suit their needs, and I've never met anyone who has stayed on it permanently - so, to each his own!
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Summary: Lost 12 pounds in 8 days-and dont feel hungry
Review: I am like many a veteran of many diets, and ulimately, the real reviews should be written 3 years after beginning the diet. The book is purposefully extremely concise, and the diet rules are simple. It promotes healthier eating by stresing lower fat protien, and allowing for veggies and other varied items in the first two restrictive weeks-so you don't feel like this diet is making you unhealthy. That being said, if you are overweight and have ultimately failed at Atkins and the other diets, this one realy takes all the mistakes learned from the other diets, and pulls it all together.
Rating:
Summary: Atkins Dieter Converted
Review: I like the South Beach Diet better than the Atkins Diet. Although both are low-carb based and both work, the South Beach Diet is less fat friendly.
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Summary: AYURVEDA and the South Beach Diet
Review: I use the South Beach Diet along with the diet in the book, AN ELEMENTARY TEXTBOOK OF AYURVEDA by Frank John Ninivaggi, M.D. of Yale Medical School. Both are like the Atkins diet----and work great!!!
Rating:
Summary: This works !!
Review: I cannot believe the negative reviews for this book ! I've been on this diet for a few weeks and the weight is literally falling off of me ! Aside from that I feel fantastic and my skin looks better than it ever has.
I had done a lot of reading on Atkins - and speaking as someone with a Biochemistry degree, these diets are NOT the same.
I would thoroughly recommend The South Beach Diet, it's easy, healty and it works !
Rating:
Summary: Good Carbs/Good Fats
Review: Great book, great program. Healthy, liveable, few rules, tasty food. No calorie or gram counting, no portion measuring. But there are misconceptions evident even in the reviews - did the reviewers actually read the book?? No, you don't have to give up your carbohydrates - you have lots of carbohydrates from day one on this program. But they're good carbohydrates with a lower glycemic index. And Dr. Atkins is most definitely given credit (pg 22). But as a cardiologist, Dr. Agatston has seen the latest research concerning eating saturated fats and steers his patients and participants on this diet toward leaner meats and unsaturated fats for good reasons. He gives other doctors credit too - from Pritikin to Ornish, those who bucked the system. And he gives an interesting history of the diet system - how we got where we are in this country believing that very low fats and very high carbs was the way to go. Dr. Agatston has taken the next giant step and come up with a healthy, rather simple and effective diet that is unlike anything we've had before. This one is the real deal.
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