Expected Weight Loss in the First Two Weeks on the South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet includes three phases, the first of which is meant to reduce cravings for starches and sugars while lowering your overall calorie intake. Each of the three phases accommodates three meals, two snacks and a dessert, providing an average of 1,500 calories per day, according to the American Dietetic Association. Weight loss during the first two weeks is generally more rapid than that experienced in the second phase, although individual experience depends on how well you follow the diet, as well as your energy needs.

Initial Weight Loss

During the first two weeks, dieters on phase one of the South Beach Diet strictly limit carbohydrate intakes and completely eliminate juice and alcohol from their diets. Allowed foods include lean proteins such as seafood, low-fat dairy, soy products and lean cuts of meat and pork. Unsaturated fats and certain high-fiber vegetables are also allowed. The South Beach Diet promotes the first phase as a period of rapid weight loss, predicting a loss of 8 to 13 lbs. during the first two weeks.

Concerns

Low-carb diets generally do produce accelerated weight loss at first, due to a combination of water loss and limited food choices. Further, rapid weight loss may also indicate that you're losing lean tissue as opposed to fat, explains MayoClinic.com. Rapid weight loss is generally not recommended, unless under the supervision of a doctor. However, the first phase of the South Beach Diet can be motivating and, because it is short term, is safe for most people. If you experience ketosis symptoms, however, such as nausea, dehydration or weakness, consult your doctor.

Phase Two

Although phase two is designed to follow the initial jump start to weight loss promoted by the first phase, the American Dietetic Association suggests that phase two may be a healthier approach to weight loss from the beginning. The second phase of the South Beach Diet is designed to produce weight loss of 1 to 2 lbs. per week, a healthier and recommended rate of weight loss in general. Phase two of the diet provides a more balanced eating plan that promotes weight loss with guidelines that are suitable for long-term weight management.

Considerations

Following the South Beach Diet is likely to produce weight loss. Besides the likelihood of losing water weight initially, however, the rate of weight loss depends primarily on the number of calories in and out. The higher your weight maintenance calorie needs, the more weight you will likely lose during phase one of the South Beach Diet, simply due to the fact that the imposed calorie restrictions are low enough to establish a significant calorie deficit. Consult with your doctor about which weight-loss programs are right for you, based on your health needs and dietary preferences.

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Five Most Common Diet Blunders

Tricks of the dieting world

Alright, let’s get right down to business. Sadly, a lot of you are fooled into believing certain things when it comes to dieting. Words carry zero merit if they are invalid and spoken by self-proclaimed experts.

And often, these aren’t experts at all.

Just because someone decides to give up an entire food group and they lose weight, they think it’s gospel and they spew wisdom across the countryside. But I’m not buying it.

Since I mentioned giving up food groups, let’s start right there.

1. Cutting out entire food groups

Sorry, but if you want fast weight loss, you do not need to take measures as drastic as abstaining from entire food groups.

This is quite popular in many diet plans these days, which will remain nameless. You can easily pick them out though.

God designed this earth with all the provisions one would need for survival upon it.

This includes fruits, vegetables, potatoes, berries, nuts and seeds.

In an attempt to smelt away fat quickly, people like to rid themselves of carbs and eat a high protein/high fat diet. From a molecular level, this type of diet will keep your blood sugar levels stable, which is good news. But that’s about where the good news ends.

Depriving yourself of carbs can leave you lying in a heap, fast asleep on the weight bench with drool running down your chin like a baby.

It can also lead to constipation and irritability, which can also lead to social isolation by default.

2. Who wants to hang out with a constipated, irritable curmudgeon?

The bottom line is, your body needs carbs to function properly.

But you need to grow up and learn the difference between good carbs and bad carbs.

Steer clear of the processed stuff like white bread, cookies, cakes, pastries, sweet drinks and yes, alcohol. One or two alcoholic beverages on occasion is fine, but draw the line there.

Stick with complex carbs like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, sweet potatoes, yams and legumes.

All of these carbs are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber.

3. Not eating past 6 o’clock

This is perhaps my most hated diet blunder.

Why in the name of Bruce Lee’s ghost would you not want to eat past 6 o’clock? Holy heck; if this were true, I’d be severely malnourished because I often don’t even get home from the gym until well after 6.

Here’s the deal. Your body needs a certain amount of calories to survive the day. You will often hear this number referred to as resting metabolic rate (RMR).

Your body really doesn’t care when it gets fed as long as you supply it with enough calories to function.

If you’re RMR happens to be 2,200 calories, 6 o’clock rolls around and you’ve only consumed 1,500 to this point, do you really think you’ll get fat if you eat another 500 calories at say, 8 o’clock?

It’s highly unlikely. Eat the bloody food, feel good about it and move forward.

4. Eating too little calories

What happens to a fire when you stop putting logs on it? It goes out, that’s what. Think of your body the same way.

People trying to lose weight often follow a severely calorie-restricted diet. Wrong move!

Much like a fireplace, your metabolism would go dormant if you eat too little.

A slower metabolism means you will not lose weight as fast.

Plus, you will hold on to existing weight like Uma Thurman holds on to a Hattori Hanzo samurai sword in Kill Bill.

Your best bet is to eat small, frequent meals spaced 2 to 3 hours apart through the course of the day. This way you’ll get plenty of calories while keeping your belly satisfied and energy levels high.

5. Low-fat/no-fat nonsense

I can’t believe after all these years, I’m still expending energy talking about the low-fat/no-fat trend. But it is still very much alive and kicking.

Okay, if you buy a package of low-fat cookies, they are going to taste really good. Do you know why? Because they need to compensate for the fact that they took out fat so they load them up with sugar.

Otherwise, they would taste like a sheet of 20-grit sandpaper.

Sugar equals simple carbs and simple carbs have 4 calories per gram. The end result is a cookie that is only marginally less in calories than the original and way higher in processed carbs.

Stay away from these heartbreakers and all other low-fat-no-fat products because they will break your heart when it’s all said and done.

Speaking of said and done, I’m finished.

I have some fitness crime I need to go deal with. Keep these points in mind and you won’t have a thing to worry about.

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Why Dieting Will Never Work If You Don't Know Your Body

Let's face it, at one point or another most of us have had that feeling. We look in a mirror and all we can say is "Wow." What happened? How did we let ourselves get this way? Usually what follows is looking up whatever diet is the new "in" diet so that we can lose the extra pounds. And therein lies the problem. Each of us are different. Our bodies are made differently and we need to understand and respect that. Plus everyone gets into that situation differently. Some people eat too much fast food, some drink too much soda, some have no idea what portion control is and some just need to restrict certain things like fats or carbs. Whatever the reason, you need to figure out the cause before you can come up with the solution.

Fast Food Addict

Do you find yourself always on the go? No time to cook, so you'll just pick something up on the way? You may be a fast food addict. We all know fast food has a huge amount of salt, fat, and additives, but it's just so darn convenient. If this is you, simply eating more food at home may be the answer to your problems. I know how hard it can be to find the time to cook. At one point in my career, I was working 12 hour overnight shifts at a job that was 45 minutes from my house. The last thing I wanted to do in what little free time I was given was to cook for myself, so, I would just grab something on the way home. I put on 30 pounds in six months. If you have the budget for it, consider getting onto a program where the food is prepared for you. There are several out there, just Google them. If that is not an option for you, then you need to find time to cook. My solution was to prepare a week's worth of food on one of my days off. I would make one or two different dishes and refrigerate a few day's worth while freezing the rest. That way, dinner was ready in a couple of minutes while I save a lot of money by not going out to eat. Cooking at home takes a lot of time if you do it every day, however if you spend only one day a week cooking a larger quantity of food, it takes less time overall because not only are you not having to put in the work every day, cooking a larger amount of food only takes a little but more time than cooking a single meal.

Junk Food Addict

Do you crave candy throughout the day? Maybe you go through a soda or two every day of the week. Junk if is always good even if it is never really good for you. If you find it hard to get through the day without craving something that is all but devoid of nutritional value, you may be a junk food addict. While it if OK to eat a candy bar every so often, having one every day is going to lead to problems. If you simply have to satisfy your sweet tooth, and you want to lose weight, you need to make smarter choices. As much as some people seem adverse to it, fruit really is a good choice. It is sweet while also having a good amount of nutritional value. Plus, eating something natural is always preferable to the preservatives and artificial stuff found in candy and soda. If the whole fruit thing is not your style, you can always try dark chocolate. Just make sure to have no more that one piece a day, and make sure it is very dark. I would recommend 80% or more.

Portion Control

One common problem is that people simply don't know what an acceptable portion is. The common misconception is that you just fill up the plate, and your portions just be good. Loading up with a couple pounds of pasta is not the same as having one portion. Portion size is different for all foods, and you should Google "portion size" to get an idea as to what you should be eating. Things that may help at home are a food scale and measuring out what you eat before putting it on your plate. A food scale allows you to see what one portion of chicken or beef you should serve. If you want a six-ounce piece of chicken, you simply put it on the scale and you know you are eating the right amount. Likewise, you can use a simple measuring cup to figure out what a half cup of spaghetti sauce or a cup of vegetables looks like. All of these things can help to get an idea as to how much you should actually be eating for a meal.

Low Fat vs. Low Carb

This one is big because both sides have supporters and both sides have had fad diets associated with them. The main thing here is to remember not to eliminate anything, but simply reduce whatever one you know causes problems for you. I know through years of trial and error that a low carb approach works for me. The only reason I know that is because I have spent many years trying to lose weight, and have tried just about every kind of diet out there. You just need to analyze what you are eating. Do you eat a lot of bread and potatoes with every meal? Do you find yourself craving snacks like crackers and pretzels instead of sweets? Then you may need to watch your carbs to help you lose weight. If on the other hand you are always looking for snacks high in fats, or filled with oil, then going low-fat me be in your best interest. Just keep in mind that you do not want to eliminate anything, just reduce the foods that may be a problem for you.

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