Rating: 
Summary: Good recipes, but..
Review: This book has some good ideas for eating low on the glycemic scale, and the food recipes are very tasty. I did have a low energy problem the first week on the meal plans provided in the book. It's not recommended to start with Phase II of the plan, but I think it would be a healthier beginning, albeit slower in weight-loss.
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Summary: Maximum results with the South Beach Diet!
Review: The diet is divided into three phases. Phase one is the strictest, where certain foods are to be avoided, including starches and carbs, all dairy, fruits and even certain vegetables. Although it may sound like the Atkins diet, Dr. Agatston makes the diet flexible by having the dieter reintroduce fruits and carbohydrates back into the diet after two weeks of phase one. The carbs you can eat, however, will not be the Wonder bread that put on the pounds to begin with (white flour is the worst for your diet!), but multi-grain bread. My only "problem" with this diet is that in phase one, he talks about eliminating all dairy products or vegetables with a high glycemic index, but a few pages later he'll have a recipe that calls for fat-free milk. Oh well. Just go with your instinct on some things and try the desserts - the mocha ricotta creme is great. And the weight loss? About 5 pounds in 2 weeks on phase one.
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Summary: Updated version of ATKINS
Review: Basically the South Beach diet is the Atkins program with some modifications. Sadly Agatston does not give Atkins credit. In fact on page 10 he states, "the Atkins Diet, for instance which bans virtually all carbohydrates and leaves the dieters to exist mostly on protein." Anyone who is familiar with Atkins knows that though Atkins plan does ban carbs for the first two weeks in the induction phase it later allows carbs back into the diet and the individual works up to a carb allowance where he/she will not gain back weight. And yes with Atkins whole grains, pasta and potatos are allowed according to the individuals metabolism of carbs. So this quote indicated that the author was either unfamiliar with Atkins or just twisting things so his own diet was more appealing.Agatston also claims his diet is not low carb. But in the first two weeks you eat very limited carbs and after that you add carbs back to your diet according to what you can handle (without gaining weight) so if you consider Atkins low carb, which does the same thing you will consider The South Beach Diet low carb. You begin the diet with a two week period where you do not eat rice, pasta, bread, fruit, potatoes, etc. After the 2 week period you will according to Agatston lose between 8 and 13 pounds. When your 2 weeks are up, you go to Phase 2. In Phase 2 you add back carbs that are good carbs like whole grains, fruits etc.
You continue to lose and then when you have reached your goal you switch to Phase 3. This is where you eat your foods in normal portions, but live by simple rules. There are two main differences between Atkins and Agatston. Agatston does not suggest you go into ketosis as Atkins does. And Agatston suggest you limit saturated fats unlike Atkins. Other than that, the diet is essentially the same. Agatston suggests eating fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, unproceessed foods and fat etc. just like Atkins. Agatston's book is not well written either. He skips around in the book and doesn't clearly spell out the plan. The reader is left to infer what the diet is as he reads the book. A much better book choice would be to get "Atkins for Life" where everything is spelled out and eat less saturated fat. Agatston also states you don't have to worry about counting calories. Sadly no matter what diet you are on, as I found out the hard way, calories count. The reason low carb diets don't require you to count calories or watch portions is because protein is very satiating and naturally suppresses the appetite. So most folks will not overeat. But there are some who will. And if you cheat just with some carbohydrates and are eating the fats and proteins that low carbing allows you may very well gain weight.
Bottom line calories count. Agatston gives menu plans in the back of his book. These are cut and dried with no substitutions listed. And when you add up the calories, menu plans are approx. 1200 or so. No wonder you will lose weight! One good point Agatston does make is if you add fiber right before you eat a meal in the form of say a spoonful of Metamucil you will slow down the processing of your food and feel fuller. If you want to lose weight, eat protein to help you feel full. Eat healthy fats. Eat unprocessed carbs (fruits and veggies) and eat few starchy carbs (rice, potatos).
And eat moderate portions. Agatston tells you this but its already been said before.
Rating: 
Summary: strong anti-carbohydrates book
Review: After years of encouraging his patients to lose weight without success, Miami Beach cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatston wondered why few could properly diet even with a perilous "Sword of Damocles" threat to their heart. He analyzed various diets and concluded that they were either too harsh or bland to adhere to beyond an initial enthusiastic stage or deadlier than what they were correcting. Cholesterol and other critical indicators remained at deadly levels even for those who tried to stick to the regimen. In response to his assessment, he developed his diet plan testing it on himself (no wisecracks about clients and fools) starting with the avoidance of all carbohydrates including fruits to eventually allowing small intakes of these foods. He felt better, lost weight, and slightly modified his approach. Ho hum another assault on public enemy number two (cholesterol remains numero uno) carbohydrates, but surprisingly this dietary approach is different as individual can use in modification some carbohydrates during phase two. Though the initial withdrawal pain may be difficult, Dr. Agatson feels most people have an early euphoria that carries them for a while through that phase before falling off the wagon. Thus the reintroduction to carbs is to avoid a crash and burn. The key to this book is the author whose energy is catching and his emphasis on meal planning thorough. This is a solid well-written choice that even this reviewer avoided the sugary snack (guilt goes a long way) I normally take when reading. Now if I can do this beyond one book. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: it really really works
Review: i've been on the south beach diet for one week, and i've already lost seven pounds. i get hungry eventually, but not the kind of starving feeling i'd get when i was craving bad carbs. now i'm satisfied after i eat, and i feel much healthier. this book is seriously worth it.
Rating:
Summary: so far so good
Review: Sincere doctor, I lost 8 pounds in the first 2 weeks. If you snack the allowed foods you wont be hungry. There is one thing that I haven't seen anybody mention, and i dont recall seeing it in the book. Your breath will STINK!!!!! You will smell like a dog. Otherwise this is a diet to bark about!
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Summary: Got Me on the Right Track....but Food Plan is Hard to Follow
Review: I followed the food plan for the first four days and felt 100% better by not eating simple carbs. However, I found it hard to buy the ingredients to follow the plan in the sequence it was set up and could find no answer to my question...can you switch days around to use up the meat, fish, etc. before it spoils. It seems like the food plan jumps around a lot and things are mentioned in the book that are not listed in the food plan like are the 15 cashews allowed in Phase one or not? The sugar-free jello was surprisingly good...I hadn't made jello for about 20 years!!! However,I was starving at night after eating the jello and had to have something like the cashews. I feel good that I lost 5 lbs. in 10 days. I want to lose about 15 lbs. at least. I stopped using the meal plans after day 5 and just made meals with no simple carbs. So The South Beach Diet got me on the right track to start losing the weight I needed to lose and I feel so much more energetic and I love how my clothes fit now.
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Summary: Lose Weight Quickly!
Review: I heard Arthur Agatston on television six weeks ago. The diet sounded great so I tried to find the book at my local bookstores. No one had a copy! So I ordered it from Amazon and lost 7 pound the first week! The book stresses a change of eating pattern for life, as a result you'll lose weight. I was never hungry; but there is one down side. During the first two weeks you'll need a lot of time to prepare the recipes and get the ingredients. It is well worth it though! After that you move into a maintenance mode that is easy and quicker to follow.
Rating:
Summary: On the right track
Review: This book is still another design for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss, based on low carbs. While Fast is always appealing, Prudent is better. The book certainly contains helpful information; however, Play Your Carbs Right! by the Brennans is easier to follow and stresses the wisdom of changing one's way of eating as opposed to "dieting." There is no quick "fix" to long-term weight loss where good health is concerned.
Rating:
Summary: Great plan but content is inconsistent
Review: I found the diet helpful and easy to follow, but found some inconsistencies with the book's content and specific diet plans, including: Phase I describes a carefully planned two week menu, but neglects to mention whether or not days can be transposed. Also lists "accepted" foods for Phase I, but does not mention them in the actual Phase I menus. In addition, the text advises the reader to use "real" mayonnaise at all times to avoid sugar contained in low-fat mayonnaise, but then advises using the low-fat version when preparing the recipes. I would have thought an editor would have flagged some of these issues.
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