The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life

My husband’s doctor highly recommended this book.

If you have never read The South Beach Diet, buy this book instead: It's much more helpful due to the exercise section and latest research on healthy eating and physical activity. If you already have a copy of The South Beach Diet, you need to buy this one as well so you can do the exercises.I'm a big fan of The South Beach Diet. It helped me lose a lot of weight when nothing else worked. I felt comfortable losing the weight and looked great when I was done, rather than like a survivor of starvation. Whenever I gained a bit of weight since then, returning to Phase 1 quickly took it off.But there was a problem: I clearly wasn't exercising enough. In the past, I've done a lot of walking and weight lifting . . . but I didn't get much benefit in terms of medical measures like reduced triglycerides. In fact, eating oatmeal and taking omega-3 supplements does more for my cholesterol level than exercise. I know that I need something different.My eyes opened wide when I got to the section of this book that talked about how moderate amounts of walking (20 minutes every other day) with short intervals of fast movement spaced between moderate walking would do me more good for burning fat than doing all that walking that I used to do at one speed. Now, that sounded great!Between walking days, you do some moderate body toning. Here is where I had some concerns about the book: The photographs show a lot of stress being put on the back. That's not a good idea for me: I have back problems. I'm not quite sure what to do, but I've ordered the DVD to see how these exercises are to be done and hope there will be detailed instructions there for people with bad backs.In this book, Dr. Agatston does a good job of describing the various physical ills in joints and feet that baby boomers develop from the wrong kinds of activity and exercise. He even helped me understand how I create vast shoulder pain when I shovel snow the wrong way . . . and now I know what not to do.If you are under 30, you can probably use this book just as is. If you are older, be careful with the body toning!The remainder of the book is the same wonderful material on eating good carbs and good fats while avoiding bad carbs and bad fats . . . plus the latest validations of scientific research supporting the assumptions underlying the diet. There are lots of phase 1 and phase 2 recipes, and you can buy separate cookbooks if you want more.But the best part of the book comes in reading the personal testimonies. They make the book come alive.Great work!

The South Beach Diet recommends three meals and two snacks per day, and has three phases:Phase 1: 2 weeks—moderately fast fat loss. The main purpose of this phase is to stabilize blood sugar and eliminate cravings. The main restriction in this phase is complete abstinence from starchy foods (grains, potatoes, etc.) and sugar. No fruits, or high-calorie vegetables, are allowed. Meat and dairy are restricted to lean cuts of meat and low-fat dairy.Phase 2: 2 weeks (or longer)—transition phase. This phase reintroduces healthy carbs into the diet, which were completely restricted in phase 1. Healthy carbs are whole grains and fresh fruits (high fiber + low glycemic) as opposed to refined grains, processed junk food, beets, corn, white potatoes, canned and dried fruit, honey, sugar, or jelly. This phase begins by adding one portion per day of healthy carbs plus one piece of fruit per day, and gradually raises carb intake to three portions per day plus three pieces of fruit.Phase 3: Continuous lifestyle. This phase continues where phase 2 left off with the addition of “occasional sinful treats.” In all phases trans fats are off-limits, and saturated fats are minimized.Pros:1. This very simple and conservative approach is easy to follow and does not upset one’s equilibrium. Other more aggressive weight-loss methods lead to the yo-yo effect of fast weight loss followed by the inevitable rebound.2. The book has educational value, teaching important basics of diet and exercise.Cons:1. This diet is not potent enough to take off stubborn pounds or to take off many pounds for those who are severely overweight. This is essentially a list of healthy foods to eat, and unhealthy foods to avoid. For people struggling with obesity, this is insufficient. It merely qualifies as advice for weight maintenance, as opposed to fat-loss strategies.2. No advice is provided for reduction of the number of fat cells, or improving leptin sensitivity, both of which are necessary for long-term fat reduction.