South Beach Diet Foods Phase 1

The South Beach Diet is a weight loss plan that is very unique and cannot be compared to the Atkins Diet. Although they may have similarities, South Beach is low-carbohydrate only during the first phase. SB Diet is easy to follow because foods allowed and not allowed are specified. Also, there are lots of available resources for sample recipes. This diet comprises 3 phases that will teach you to choose the right kind of foods to eat without starving you. Plus, you are sure to lose weight and attain your slimming goals. But before you can start your weight loss program, you have to know the different phases. In this article, the first phase will be discussed thoroughly.

General Description

Phase 1 is the starting point of your South Beach Diet program. It's the shortest but strictest phase of the program since you will be cutting out on carbohydrate intake. This is done to let you get used to eliminating the foods that make you crave causing your weight gain. This phase only lasts for 14 days or two weeks. You eat three meals with snacks in normal food portions. You don't need to count calories or limit your food intake. Other diets require you to cut down on portion size and meals but in this diet you are even advised to eat snacks between regular meals.

You will be making smart choices in your food intake because you will mostly eat lean meats like chicken, beef, and fish. In addition, you can eat vegetables, eggs, cheese, nuts and garden salads with olive oil dressings. You can eat until you feel satiated. It's suggested that you drink lots of water.

Eliminated foods in the diet are bread, rice, potatoes, baked goods, pasta, fruit, candy, cake, cookies, ice cream and sugar. These are considered high glycemic index foods meaning they quickly raise the body's blood glucose level immediately after consumption. You will also avoid beer and alcohol during the first two weeks but most of these foods will be gradually reintroduced in the diet during the last two phases of the program.

Meal Guide

Here are the meal guides for Phase 1:

Breakfast - there is no limit to your protein intake however, you have to choose lean meats found in the foods allowed list. Examples of foods allowed are chicken breast, lean-cuts of beef, tenderloin pork, low-fat cheese, eggs and meat substitutes. When it comes to vegetables, you can eat only allowed foods listed in the food guidelines. In this phase, you are not allowed to eat fruits, milk and starches. But you have the option to use 1 teaspoon of mayonnaise or oil in this meal.

Lunch and Dinner - Just like in the breakfast guide, the amount of protein you can eat is not limited. The minimum consumption of vegetables is 2 cups for each meal. Also, in these two meals you are not allowed to consume milk, starches and fruits. You still have the option to use 1 tablespoon of fats like mayo or oil in both meals.

Snacks - it's imperative that you eat snacks. You can feed on nuts or you have the option to select any protein or vegetable in the food list.

This information will greatly help you in adhering to the strictest phase of the SB Diet. You may feel overwhelmed at first but know that two weeks is only a short time in making the biggest lifestyle change of your life.