The South Beach Diet is a popular diet .
It was started by a man named Arthur Agatston and emphasizes on the intake of "good" carbohydrates that are "low glycemic." While most dieters consider this diet relatively safe, they fail to look at the other side of the diet , which can actually cause harm to the body.
First things first, the South Beach diet consists of 3 phases. Each phase has a different requirement and different time is allocated to them. The 1st phase is aimed to eliminate cravings and hence, the dieter is restricted from eating any carbohydrates. The 2nd phase is similar to phase 1, only that now you are able to include carbs slowly back into the diet , The 3rd and last phase is to make you maintain the new diet by making "smarter" food choices.
It certainly sounds excruciating, especially in the 1st phase. Dieters who have tried on this diet usually give up after the 1st phase thus many do not actually like to use this diet as part of their weight loss plan due to the fear of having to deal with the 1st phase. But because of the numerous praises that the South Beach Diet received, there are still quite a number of dieters who would overlook the critics and the unhealthy negative side effects that the diet entails and go forward to embrace this diet .
#1 Bowel disruption
The South Beach diet's first phase focuses on eating foods that are low in fiber. Some failed to realize that fiber plays a very important function in the formation of stools. It also helps to aid in healthy bowel movements and without it, you can actually experience terrible pain due to constipation and it can worsen into a medical condition if not treated properly. If fiber is not present, the dieter might be forced to take dietary laxatives to compensate the lack of fiber and have a healthy bowel movement.
#2 Just a temporary diet
Many other dietitians have concluded that the South Beach diet is just another yo-yo diet which means that the weight loss during the diet is just temporary. Why go on a diet when you will gain even more weight once the dieting stops? Do I want to try it, NO thank you.
This diet is not really worth trying out. There are plenty of better balanced diets out there that allow you to lose weight without eliminating critical food groups and help you to practice healthier eating habits. One such example is the Mayo Clinic Diet that is based on the food pyramid. An ideal diet should be one that allows you to eat all sorts of foods, ranging from vegetables, to meat, and sugar in moderate proportions. Starving yourself from certain foods will definitely do you no good. So please do take a second look at the South Beach Diet before you jump in to embrace it as you might end up worse than before due to the possible negative effects it brings.