Rating: 
Summary: Will the first 2 weeks ever end??
Review: I have two days left of phase 1 and I am dying for some chocolate or a piece of toast! Abolish the cravings? No way. I went on this diet to get healthy. I could stand to lose a few pounds (I lost 4 pounds) but the idea of "heart health" appealled to me more than the weight loss. I enjoyed reading this book and getting educated about how sugar and carbs affect your system but it was pure torture not having my beloved whole grain bread and chocolate. And NO the mocha dessert did not hit the spot for me. Lunch, snack and dinner were filling but breakfast and snack just never seemed to satisfy my hunger. In a few days phase 1 will be over and I will indulge in some DARK chocolate. I CAN'T WAIT!
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Summary: Exercise? No kidding.
Review: Does Dr. Agatston really need to put that in the book? I think by now everyone should know that exercise is beneficial. This book outlines a dietary science and plan for a healthy body and slimmer waist... and does it well. I hardly think of this as a diet - Slim Fast is a diet - this is a nutritioal blueprint that outlines basic guidelines for healthy eating.I
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Summary: not just a diet but a life style
Review: I bought the SouthBeach diet about four weeks ago. I went on it right away and lost 11 pounds the first to weeks! When you read the book you realize its not just a diet, It teaches you how to eat healthier. Its not just a no carb diet you add into it like fruit later. By Phase three you should be a newer healtier health freak. So far I went from 217 to 203 in two and a half weeks!Norther
Rating: 
Summary: Be wary of this FRUITLESS diet!
Review: I tried my hand at this diet, and I can't say that it worked for me. It may for some, but it's not exactly a sure thing.
Rating:
Summary: Good excuse for doing the diet
Review: The South Beach Diet is a multimedia blitz of various publications, along with website subscription plans, that quickly become redundant, especially since the program is both familiar and simple. But as much as I had tried to follow my grandmother's advice to limit sugar, refined foods, and cheap carbs, I've been more successful since this book. Unlike some of the other publications bearing the name of the same program, author and publisher, this one lays out a complete, totally prescriptive, no-brainer regimen of meals for every day of the program. Simply make a list of all of the ingredients (many of which I'd never heard of), buy them, and follow the script to the letter. Some people may do just as well trusting common sense which, in my case, proved not so common. As far as results, I experienced 5 percent loss of body weight during the first 4 days despite not exercising, and my carbohydrate cravings, for the most part, vanished. By the 5th day, however, I'd run out of pre-prepared meals and time and began to cheat with Snapple Meal Replacements and Zone Bars. The scale immediately punished me for my indiscretions and hasty improvising. The lesson: this isn't jazz; stick to the score.
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Summary: Falling off the wagon
Review: I have just begun the diet and find the first two weeks a challenge, however, I believe this is a good food plan (I do not like the word "diet")and one I can follow for the rest of my life. I was told many years ago by my teacher in a health club I belonged to that I should cut back on bread, potatoes, etc. I am wondering if any of you have slipped during the first two weeks and what effect it had. I will have no problem with Phase 2 but I miss my oatmeal, skim milk and wine in Phase 1. Anxious to hear from you.
Rating: 
Summary: plan is working, but shellfish and cold lunches a problem
Review: I have been having success on this diet. In the first week, I lost an inch in my waist. Also, I haven't have terrible carb cravings (chocolate at 3pm anyone?) But, I have some reservations about the menu plan in the book for Phase I. I am working on ways around it. First of all, I was really dissatisfied with the large number of lunch recipes using crab and shrimp, without including alternatives. As someone who is allergic to shellfish, this has made my lunches pretty boring. Gee, another chicken salad for lunch!!! Also, as someone who started this diet in a cold January in the midwest, I could really use a low-carb soup recipe for lunches. The only soup recipe I see included for Phase I was gazpacho, a cold soup! I have had to turn up the heat to keep from crawling back into bed. Can only drink so much tea!! Salads everyday may be great for people in warm climates but not for us snowbirds. The book also says that you won't be hungry on this diet. That hasn't been the case for me. Even with all the snacks, I have been very hungry about an hour before mealtimes. It has taken every bit of willpower not to eat the whole bag of nuts instead of the 10 (or 20 for pistachios.) But, all in all, I am doing well on it.
Rating:
Summary: inconsistent?
Review: Perhaps I am just confused since I only recently purchased this book along with the Good Fats Good Carbs Guide, but I have already noticed disagreement between the two. For example, the large book state that NO dairy (including yogurt) should be consumed in Phase 1. The smaller reference book specifically INCLUDES yogurt and milk as acceptable options. The result is that I am confused as to whether I should have the yogurt I love during the first 2 weeks...
Again, I am new to the book and my confusion may be cleared up upon further reading, but at first glance, the books do not mesh.
Rating:
Summary: Recent changes to the SB Diet (more dairy now allowed!)
Review: Info below is from The Daily Dish (01/20/04) online newsletter for subscribers to www.southbeachdiet.com: South Beach Diet Updates
The South Beach Diet (SBD) continues to evolve as new nutritional studies and information come out. Recently, the results of new studies have shown that some of the "foods to avoid" may not be as bad for us as the original studies on glycemic index demonstrated. There are also some new, exciting studies about the role calcium plays in weight loss. The end result is that you can continue to enjoy all of the foods recommended for the SBD-as well as adding back in a few of your favorites! Here are the major changes:
Milk:
Old Version:
Avoid all dairy in Phase 1, except for less than 2 tablespoons fat-free = and =, nonfat milk, 1 percent milk, or soy milk allowed with coffee.
New Version:
Phase 1:
Now includes low-fat milk (fat-free and 1 percent), soy milk, and yogurt (low-fat or fat-free plain or vanilla light/lite only) on the Phase 1 "foods to enjoy" list.
Phase 2:
May add light/lite fruited yogurt as a "food to enjoy" in Phase 2. Note: Since the SBD is still low in saturated fat, high-fat whole milk products will remain on the "foods to avoid" lists for all Phases.
Tomatoes:
Old Version:
Limited to one whole tomato or 10 cherry tomatoes per meal in all Phases.
New Version:
Not limited in any Phase.
Onions:
Old Version:
Limited to = per day in all Phases.
New Version:
Not limited in any Phase.
Carrots:
Old Version:
Avoid carrots in Phase 1 and 2; allowed in moderation in Phase 3.
New Version:
Allowed, starting in Phase 2.
Rating:
Summary: Lost 15 lbs. (hubby lost 19+) in 2 weeks & was never hungry
Review: I've lost 25+ lbs. before on Weight Watchers and on NutriSystems but never kept it off for long. This plan appealed to me because I saw a relative lose 10 lbs. in 2 weeks with minimal effort -- i.e., no food diaries, no measuring food, and no hunger. The first 95 pages helped me to learn how bodies digest "whole" foods (like nuts, non-instant oatmeal, certain vegetables, etc.) differently from "processed" foods (especially white foods like white bread, white rice, white potatoes, white pasta). My family has never eaten healthier than we are eating on the SB Diet. Now that I've lost 15 lbs. and my husband has lost 19+, we have the energy to start exercising and will choose an exercise book to compliment this diet book. I can't say enough good things about this book -- I like the fact that we're not "all consumed by food" on this diet -- I don't have to preplan way in advance every morsel I put in my mouth, I'm not buying expensive "diet" foods, I'm not logging everything in a diary, or weighing/measuring every serving (what we ARE doing is merely avoiding the foods on the "avoid" list and eating the foods on the "eat" list). We're now eating a well-rounded diet of whole, non-processed foods and we feel better because of it. I can run into a grocery store and grab a few items for a quick meal "on-the-go" as fast as I can drive through a fast-food joint. Please don't just jump on this diet without reading the first 95 pages of this book first; after doing so, you may choose not to follow the diet but you will learn how bodies digest processed foods vs. whole foods. If you do go on this diet and you're hungry, be sure to eat your 2 snacks and dessert in addition to your 3 meals and don't forget your 8 glasses of water each day! Go for it -- what do you have to lose (except 8 - 13 lbs. in the first 2 weeks!)? Thank you, Dr. Agatston :)
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