The South Beach Diet (4 page)

The principles of the South Beach Diet are not difficult to comprehend, but in order to get the most out of the diet you also need to understand what comprises the foods you eat and how those foods fit in with the diet’s principles. That’s the purpose of this guide: to tell you what you need to know about more than 1,200 different foods and dishes.

Of course, we don’t expect you to sit down and read this from cover to cover, as though it were a hot, new page-turner. So how can you get the most out of it?

One smart way to begin is just to browse the sections that hold some particular interest for you. If you love bread, for in stance, we present four pages of information on various kinds. If you’re a true blue carnivore, you can turn to the section on meat and find nine pages on how your favorites stack up.

You can also use this guide when planning meals. It’s easy to flip from one category to another. We want to make it as effortless as possible for you to put together a healthy and delicious lifestyle, meal by meal. We’ve designed this book to be portable, so you can take it along when you’re shopping for groceries or carry it to your favorite restaurant.

Foods are listed in alphabetical order, by category. For a serving of each, we give the following information:

Portion Size

On the South Beach Diet, you don’t count calories, but that doesn’t mean calories don’t count. Be mindful of how much you’re eating, especially when it comes to certain foods like nuts, where it’s easy to eat two or three times the recommended portion size, and whole grain breads and other starchy foods that are reintroduced in Phase 2.

Total Carbohydrates

Although we provide this information, the South Beach Diet does not make you count carbs. I feel that learning about good carbohydrates is more important than tracking grams of carbs. By paying attention and eating the right carbs, you’ll eat healthfully and lose weight.

As I’ve said before, the best carbohydrates are the unprocessed ones—those that provide fiber and are nutrient dense. These include whole fruits and vegetables and whole grain breads, pastas, and rice. Avoid refined carbohydrates that are packed with calories, sugar and/or fat, and usually offer very little nutrition: candy, pastries, white bread, instant rice, sugared cereals, and the like.

Total Sugar

Research shows that the average American presently eats about 33 teaspoons of sugar a day—per person! That’s be cause many foods and beverages contain white sugar, corn syrup, and high-fructose corn syrup as one of their primary ingredients. All of these contribute to weight gain and should be avoided. Natural sugars, like those found in fresh fruits and low-fat dairy products, do not have the same effects on the body. That’s why we recommended eating a variety of these foods in Phases 2 and 3.

Honey, molasses, and pure maple syrup are also natural sweeteners. They should be avoided in Phase 1, but may be used sparingly for flavoring in Phases 2 and 3. Brown sugar, while still a natural sugar, is processed by the body in the same way as white sugar and should be avoided.

Total Fat and Saturated Fat

We’ve also improved the information about the fat in foods. As you probably know by now, bad fats (such as saturated and trans fats) not only cause weight gain, but also can be hazardous to your overall health. These so-called “bad” fats clog your arteries and promote heart disease. But there are plenty of good fats, like the monounsaturated fats found in olive oil and canola oil, and the omega-3 fats found in fish, flaxseed, nuts, avocado, and green leafy vegetables. Starting with this edition of the guide, we give figures for both total fat and saturated fat for each food. The South Beach Diet doesn’t ask you to count fat grams as part of your weight loss program; but for the sake of your heart health, keep your daily saturated fat intake below 10 percent of your daily calorie intake. This means that if you consume 2,000 calories a day, you should limit saturated fat to 20 grams or less.

We don’t measure what are known as trans fats, which are used in many processed foods, for a very good reason: They’re bad for you in any amount. In a packaged food, if you see “partially hydrogenated” before any of the first three ingredients, put that item back on the supermarket shelf.

Fiber

Fiber is a mainstay of the South Beach Diet. Dietary fiber, or what our grandmothers called “roughage,” is the portion of edible plants that is not digested or absorbed from the small intestine. Most fiber comes from the structural parts of plants: the outer skin, stems, and leaves.

Plant foods commonly eaten by man include a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes (dried beans, peas, and lentils), nuts, and seeds. Removing dietary fiber is one of the worst things that one can do to a carbohydrate food, and it’s the main way modern food processing turns a good carbohydrate (unrefined) into a bad carbohydrate (refined). We recommend that you look for at least 3 grams of fiber per serving when you eat foods like breads, rice, or pasta. To make sure you get the most fiber out of your whole fruits and vegetables, leave the skin on when possible.

Which Phase and How Often

The South Beach Diet is a three-step plan, going from the strictest early phase to the most liberal third one. As a result, some foods that are forbidden during the first 2 weeks are allowed later. Other dishes are out of bounds even during Phase 2, but are permitted in the third (maintenance) stage. We now tell you during which phase each food in this guide can be eaten, using four basic terms for each food: Good (G); Limited (L); Very Limited (V); and Avoid (A). Foods termed
Good
may be eaten regularly;
Limited
means it should be eaten no more than once a week;
Very Limited
means once every 2 or 3 months; and
Avoid
is pretty self-explanatory. We also use the term
Allowed (a)
for things like sparkling water or some sugar substitutes. Just to be clear, not all foods marked
Good
are created equal. Some foods, like non-starchy vegetables, can be consumed in larger portions than foods such as whole grain breads and low-fat dairy products. Use your South Beach Diet common sense.

But it’s possible that the foods you are buying in your supermarket are different than what we’ve analyzed for this guide, even if it’s the same
type
of food. So remember to read those labels! Watch out for canned foods thickened with cornstarch or other starches, powdered mixes that contain trans fats, and sugar additives like high-fructose corn syrup.

These recommendations are guidelines, not hard and fast quantifiers, because so much depends on you as an individual. How often you might eat something is governed by which phase of the diet you are on, how much weight you’re trying to lose, your body’s own metabolism, and so on. The best way to use this guide is first to consult the allowable food lists for whatever phase you’re on, and refer to any specific eating recommendations. Certain categories of foods like whole fruits are identified as “good” because they are, in fact, good, healthy foods; but if you’re in Phase 1 of the diet, you still need to avoid them entirely. When you reintroduce more good carbs in Phase 2 and beyond, do so with discretion, paying attention to how your body responds. The South Beach Diet is not just a way of eating; it’s a way of thinking about food. Once you understand its principles, you’ll always be able to make the right food choices.

As we learn more, there will likely be changes in future editions of this book. To keep abreast of all changes and recommendations for the diet, visit www.southbeachdiet.com updates regularly.

BEANS AND LEGUMES

Beans and legumes are excellent sources of soluble fiber, which delays stomach emptying time, slows glucose absorption, and can lower blood cholesterol and assist weight loss. Beans are also an excellent source of protein for vegetarians. Soy protein, found in soybeans and soybean products, lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol. We recommend liberal consumption of these healthy foods.

Avoid canned beans that contain brown sugar, lard, or molasses.

BEANS/LENTILS

SOYBEANS

SPROUTS, BEAN

BEVERAGES

Most carbonated beverages are pure sugar and a source of empty calories. Diet sodas are okay in moderation, but water is the best choice for quenching thirst and hydrating your body. Both coffee and tea are major contributors of caffeine to our diets. Too much caffeine can cause a drop in blood sugar, leading to hunger and cravings. Try and limit your caffeine intake to 1-2 cups of caffeinated coffee or tea a day. Flavored coffees and mixes can be a source of hidden sugars.