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Summary: Finally
Review: This diet is so easy. I've seen some success and it's all about good food that seems to incorporate valauable nutrition without all the tons of fat in other low carb diets. Atkins is a frightening diet I stayed away from because medically I know of people who have had painful kidney stones and terribly high cholesterol, bad breath and hair loss from the excessive fat in that diet. If you want to get some great recipes and don't need all the reasons why simple sugars aren't good for you - just get the the cook book. The recipes are wonderful, so easy to follow and yummy.
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Summary: The real book is what your doctor won't or can't tell you
Review: forget these weight loss fad books. You need to know about how to survive in our messed up system of health care!
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Summary: I lost 22 pounds and it was easy
Review: This is a breakthrough approach to lose weight. I feel incredibly energetic and motivated. Haven't felt like this for years. I was eating compulsively because I was angry about a relationship that went sour. After reading this book, I got rid of the junk food in my house and stacked my refrigerator with the right food. Another book mentioned by reviewers, Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Self, helped me to stop sabotaging myself, and showed me how to put my best self in charge of my life and work through painful feelings. I recommend these two books and a healthy exercise program to lose weight.
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Summary: Diet that works
Review: E.D.Hill on Fox News recommended this diet so we tried it. I was interested in this book because it was low fat as well as low carb. In two weeks I lost 12 pounds and my husband lost 9. I am sick of salads but the diet is fairly painless and we are pleased with our weight loss. I would have given the book 5 stars but some of the recipes weren't for us; we don't eat a lot of Mahi Mahi in south Georgia. Ha ha. This book can change your life if you let it.
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Summary: Tried it all...
Review: I've been overweight most of my life, from my teenage years right through young adulthood. I've tried a lot of different diets including calorie counting, the Zone, WeightWatchers, Slim Fast... and probably a few more. I found The South Beach Diet earlier this year and decided to try it. It was completely different from my other diets, and it really sounded like it could work. Plus, the tagline of losing belly fat first was enough to convince me! I went for two weeks with little to no carbs... let's be honest here, I couldn't go cold turkey. In my house, it's impossible. I had a few crackers here and there, but no bread, no fruit and absolutely NO bread. I'm from Philadelphia and I love a good cheesesteak... I literally took the meat and cheese off the roll and threw the roll away at one point in the first week. It was almost liberating. I will admit, in the first few days I didn't feel too hot, but as it turned out, I was going through caffiene withdraw because I used to drink 32oz of diet coke EVERY day and I suddenly cut it from my diet. I'll also note that my mother tried this diet; however she weighs much less than I do, and found phase one very unpleasant. She had dizzy spells and nausea, and eventually had to stop. After the initial two weeks, I felt great. I had energy and I had LOST WEIGHT! FIFTEEN POUNDS to be exact. That had NEVER happened before. It's been five months now since I started the diet, and I have my ups and downs and plateau times... but overall I've been losing weight. I eat fewer carbs and more meats and vegetables, plus every morning before work I walk outside (or on a tredmill if it's raining) for thirty minutes. I feel great, and I'm down a pants size already. I recommend this diet to anyone who's tried it all and feels like they're at the bottom of the barrel. This one really works, and it's still working. Thank you so much Dr. Agatston!
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Summary: Sensible approach to low-carbohydrate dieting after Phase 1
Review: The author is very knowledgeable and I found the SOUTH BEACH DIET to be interesting reading. If your concern is cardiovascular health, Dr. Agatston is your guru. He is not an advocate of high fat low carb dieting, which ignores the link between high fat diets and cancer, etc., so I was comfortable with his approach. However, if you are not seriously overweight and are reasonably active, I strongly suggest you skip Phase I and go to Phase II. Phase I is too restrictive for us and we actually experienced lethargy and fatigue because of the lack of carbs in our meals. Phase II is very sensible and realistic, not that different from the original Weight Watchers or Sugar Busters plan. The recipes are great and I have purchased the SOUTH BEACH DIET COOKBOOK as well.
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Summary: SBD is working for me!
Review: I began the South Beach Diet (SBD) on January 26, 2004. In three months I've lost about 30 pounds and 3 dress sizes! According to friends and co-workers, I look like I've lost a lot more weight than I have. I still have over 100 pounds to go, but I know that I'll reach my goal and maintain because this way of eating will be a lifestyle for me. When I had a wellness exam conducted recently my total cholesterol was 116 (nice and low), my fasting glucose was in the healthy range, my fitness level was higher than expected and the nurse told me to continue with the diet. I love being on "The Beach"!
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Summary: Faulty Science according to Tufts University
Review: This book has some excellent recipes and points people in the right direction for healthy eating in general, and will likely result in weight loss - the premise on which the book is founded however, may well be false according to the scientists at Tufts University. See the May, 2004 Tufts University Nutrition Newsletter for a scientific review of this diet: (...). Here is an excerpt from the Tufts review: "The premise of the book is that many foods high in carbohydrates send blood sugar soaring too high too fast, which then gets the hormone insulin in gear to take sugar out of the bloodstream. But the insulin overshoots its mark, causing blood sugar to plunge and leading to reactive hypoglycemia, which in turn produces feelings of incredible hunger and cravings for more carbs that keep the vicious cycle going...There's just one problem. Unless you have diabetes, blood sugar remains in a remarkably stable range. Yes, it may drop lower after eating a hot fudge sundae than after eating a salmon steak on a bed of lettuce. But, points out Christine L. Pelkman, PhD, who studies blood sugar responses to carbohydrate at the State University of New York at Buffalo, research that has looked at this issue simply has not linked relatively low blood sugar to hunger. "At most," she says, "it's a minor player in the hunger/satiety mechanism, with many other hormones and bodily reactions coming into play." More information regarding the book and some confusing inconsistencies in it can be found in the full review (...)
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Summary: Not exactly revolutionary...
Review: Despite the hype, this book will probably not tell you anything you don't already know (whole foods=good, processed foods/sugar=bad). Still, the approved food lists and menus are helpful for supplying some structure and giving a jump-start to dieting. The information about the glycemic index is also presented in terms that are simple to understand. It's true that if one follows the menu plan exactly, the grocery bill can be very expensive. But Dr. Agaston does note that this is a way of eating rather than a structured diet; as such, menus are flexible. I found many recipes in my vegetarian cookbooks that are economical and fit the South Beach plan. The initial weight loss numbers may not ring true for everyone, especially for those who are metabolically resistant. All in all, though, the South Beach plan appears to be quite nutritious and realistic.
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Summary: So Far So Good
Review: It's a little early to be writing a review, my wife and I have only been on the South Beach program for three weeks. But so far, so good... I had done the Atkins plan a couple of years ago and lost 40 pounds only to rebound and add 60+ lbs. I found it hard to stay on Atkins strictly and got bored with the food choices. My doctor and dentist both recommended South Beach diet and cited several of their patients who had lost fifty pounds or more. After the first two week "boot camp" period (phase 1) I had lost eleven pounds. After three weeks, I am down fifteen. I really appreciate the variety of fruits and vegetables that are permitted in phase two. Not to mention being able to eat whole grain breads! With a wider menu of "legal" items, I am not as bored with this program and believe that I can stay with long enough to drop my goal of eighty pounds. All in all, I am more satisfied and more encouraged with South Beach than anything else I've tried. Till the end...
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