The South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Guide (Revised) . The Complete and Easy Reference for All Your Favorite Foods

I had done the Atkins diet and rebounded, gaining more than I had lost. My doctor and my dentist both recommended the South Beach Diet citing many of their patients who were sucessfully doing it.

I asked my wife if she would go on it with me (easier with two pulling in the same direction.) and weve gotten through the first two weeks induction program (Phase 1) and into Phase 2.

So far, so good. I dropped eleven pounds during the two week boot camp period and am down fifteen in week three.

I really appreciate being able to eat fruits and a wider variety of vegetables. Especially grateful for whole grain breads. I believe that this is an eating program I wont get bored with and can stay until I lose my eighty pound goal.

Its a little early to be writing a review but wanted to encourage those who might shy away from another low carb diet. I think it is a kinder and gentler program than pure Atkins. It certainly has much more variety and easier to stay on.

Please ignore the useless review about hitting the gym by a guy who clearly hasnt read the SBD books. Ive worked out in the gym regularly for 8 years (45 min. cardio plus weight training 4-6x week) but always carried around extra weight because I was addicted to starchy, sugary foods. Once I turned 30, it became clear that exercise wasnt enough anymore, I had to address my eating habits too. This diet is all about breaking that addiction and learning about which foods create healthy blood chemistry, thus causing you to lose weight. It is not low carb, but good carb. I lost 10 lbs the first two weeks.

As I understand it, one of the main premises of the South Beach Diet, is that its not just the amount of carbohydrates and fat that you eat that is important, but which fat (good or bad fats) and which carbohydrates (lower glycemic index).

Thus, I was sutprised to find that the book did not break down the fat in each food by type of fat (saturated, trans, mono-unsat...), and simply listed the aggregate amount. Similarly, it lists the carbohydrates (separating out sugars), but not the glycemic index.

Im a scientific person and was hoping to find more useful numbers in a book that almost entirely consists of numbers.

It starts off with a short explanation of Good Fats andamp. Bad Fats/ Good Carbs andamp. Bad Carbs with a Trans-Fat Hot List. It talks a little about the Glycemic Index and Insulin. Then lists Foods to Enjoy for phases one andamp. two.

I was used to having butter, meat and cheese without worries about the fat content on Atkins. Not so with this diet which is all about balance. It says I can have beans but only some types while others are limited or to be avoided. It goes on to list beverages, types of breads andamp. cereals, cheese, A LOT of the obviouse no nos, fruits andamp. veggies, fats (butter), and meats andamp. seafood. With 8 types of Beef Roasts listed who knew that some should be limited and even avoided. The same goes for ground meats, brisket, and pork. On Atkins plain hotdogs were unlimited but not so with South Beach.

There are so many types of foods that sometimes it can become overwhelming without a little guidance. Its nice to know I can flip to the meat section or the bread section and know exactly what types are good, limited and to be avoided.

One reviewer commented that its all about what kind of donut to avoid which its definitely not. Its about the type of meat, veggie, and fruit along with a portion size. Its a set of guidelines and bounderies for us to live by. It takes a lot of the guessing and mystery out of it. With a family and a full time job I LIKE THAT.

This is the most complete waste of money I have seen in quite some time. I am on the South Beach Diet and doing well. Love the diet. This book however, is loaded with foods to AVOID.... Duh. Like I have to have a detailed list of doughnuts to avoid... I think not. The reviews ahead of this book touted that it would be helpful for those of us finding ourselves in a restaurant or fast food situation. The best it does for the pitiful few of these types of foods it bothers to list is AVOID.... Well, my advice is to AVOID this book and save your money.... Common sense is a much better weapon against carbs and it doesnt cost you as much as this book will. I am going to sell my copy and try to recoup my loss. This is obviously a rush to print, costly little piece of fluff that misses the marks all round. How disappointing to actually see the contents of the book.... AFTER I bought it. Dr. you can do better and you should....

I purchased this book right before the new year. I had just seen the picture of the brides maids dress I was going to have to wear in front of 400 people in a matter of months. It took only a few minutes to read the narrative portion. I then took the thorough listing of foods that were good carbs/good fats and made a grocery list. Between December 27th and May 8th (the wedding day), I lost 30 pounds, dropped 4 pants sizes, and feel healthier than ever. I did not follow a meal plan and rarely used recipes. I just ate the foods that were allowed and didnt eat the ones that werent. I highly reccommend this book.

After hitting 30, I was like many people who gained a significant amount of weight. Probably due to a more inactive lifestyle (sitting at a desk all day), working out at the gym rather than playing sports regularly (allowing for more cheating), just hitting the inevitable slowing metabolism of older age and getting married and eating too much goodfood. During the past 8 years Ive gone from 155 pounds to 180 pounds. I got tired of complaining about how fat I was, buying new pants and not liking the way I looked in the mirror compared to how I used to look when I was more athletic. Also, hearing from old friends how fatwas a real downer.

It takes determination to lose weight and Ive always thought the formula to be relatively simple. eat less calories and burn more through exercise. Its just very difficult to do so it takes that determination and discipline. Sometimes, you get so fed up it just happens and you make that resolution to do so. But, many times you see some results and fall back on the fat bandwagon.

Ive been on the South Beach diet for about 3 weeks. Personally, Ive found this to be the most practical diet out there. Also, the science behind the diet especially regarding insulin and the benefits of the diet for the heart was very interesting. Atkins was way too strict and Body for Life was just impractical with their 6 meals a day routine (the exercise program theory is great, though).

After the initial first two weeks (the strictest) Ive lost about 6.6 pounds. But, Ive done no exercise whatsoever and have eating quite a bit (probably too much) which accounts for the lower than the average weight loss I saw. I was rarely ever hungry. Im feeling great and have more energy cant wait to incorporate exercise into my diet which should get me the last 10 pounds I want to lose.

Im now in the second phase and just purchased this Guide as a complement to the South Beach Diet book. The only complaint I had about the original book is that it was a bit weak in terms of listings of good foods / bad foods. I had many questions as to whether a particular food was good or bad and just made a personal judgment call I wouldnt call it so reassuring. Though it would have been nice to have this included in the original book (and have the book have a bit less testimonials) I would highly recommend it to any one past the first few weeks of the diet. Its small and you can keep it in your bag or briefcase and whip it out whenever (a good case for having it in its own slim volume). Probably, after a few weeks the knowledge in there will have sunk in to let you make those calls on your own. For that reassurance, I think its worth it. The benefits far out outweigh the fairly minimal cost especially since its all about your health.

Good luck to you and hoping all a healthier and happier life.

Having purchased The South Beach Diet, I thought that this would be a fairly comprehensive supplement of foods to avoid and foods which are acceptable. However, the book, which is only slightly over 100 pages to begin with, re-iterates much of what is in The South Beach Diet without the very informative sections about how our bodies process foods and without the specific details of the actual diet program. Unfortunately, the food list was far from exhaustive, failing to include even products like V-8 even though vegetable juice cocktail is included in the suggested breakfast menus. The jacket states that it has 1200 food listings, but that is not 1200 different foods. Many, many items have multiple listings. For instance, 4 listings for canned peaches, depending on syrup. 12 listings for different cookies, all of which are to be avoided, but none of the listings are for chocolate chip which would be a typical cookie. Bottom line. I was disappointed. this is OK book. not sure it is worth USD8.00.

Like some other reviewers who have posted here, I have been on a lot of different diets including Atkins but like The Southbeach Diet the best.When I started on the South Beach Diet, I weighed 198 lbs. and my cholesterol level was 350. M doctor told me that was abt double the normal range and I needed to do something quick. In 10 weeks, I lost 25 lbs, 6 inches from my waist and my cholesterol dropped over 100 points.I told my sister about this program and she lost 12 lbs. during the same 10 week period.We love the South Beach Diet. This guidebook helps make the right food choices and makes the diet program even easier.

The South Beach diet is a healthy alternative to the Atkins diet and allows enough variety in your diet to maintain a healthy lifestyle, not just a diet. This is not a cookbook and offers only a few pages of discussion about the diet itself. Use this book as a supplement to the main South Beach Diet book. The book discusses the basic framework of the South Beach diet, including important information about the glycemic index of certain foods, which play a key role in insulin production and fat gain. The basic premise of the book, according to the author, is to help you consume the right carbs and the right fats and learn to snack strategically.

To teach you how to do this, the book categorizes carb rich foods according to good and poor choices. For example, whole grains, legumes, rice, and starchy vegetables are listed as good carbs, while crackers, pasta, white bread, and processed food products are bad. The bulk of this small paperback is dedicated to lists of foods with their respective carbs, fat, protein, and sugar listed in grams. In short, it is a reference book that supplements the information you get from The South Beach Diet book.

Eating of course, is enjoyable, while dieting is a pain. However, having lost approximately 50 pounds over the past 18 months, I can tell you the pleasure of feeling and looking better is worth the inconvenience. Atkins helped me lose weight, but I could only take so much fatty foods, while longing for the crisp, clean taste of fresh fruit. I also read Dr. Phils book and learned about how my emotions (stress, anger, boredom, etc) effect the way I eat. Trying to diet without understanding why you eat is an uphill battle, so I would recommend you try Dr. Phil and South Beach together.

This guide seemed like the answer to my needs. I wanted something I could keep in the car as a guide for when I go shopping or to restaurants. However, its failing in many respects.

The guide doesnt give you actual net carb counts for items. Instead, it just rates them on good/average/poor, etc. Theres no glycemic index indication or rating. The information for restaurants is very general. I would have liked to have seen charts for popular fast food chains, for example. And given that this is a South Beach branded guide, why oh why doesnt it mark each item with what phase its acceptable for

There are plenty of better pocket guides out there. Id recommend getting an up-to-date version of another guide instead. This one just seems to be capitalizing on a trend without actually providing useful information.

After trying numerous diets and excercise routines nothing has really helped. I have tried the Atkins diet which is a no carbohydrate diet, similar to the South Beach diet, but I gained the weight back in a week after going off.When I tried the South Beach diet I could still enjoy most of the foods I always had before.Most importantly I did not feel deprived or hungry at any time.The South Beach Diet book is an excellent tool to help you choose a meal plan that is healthy, satisfying, and invigorating. Although most low carb diets are known to be unhealthy the South Beach diet does not only restrict you to high protein, low carbohydrate,high fat foods. The South Beach Diet employs the differences between good carbohydrates and bad ones. It explains the significance of sugar, carbohydrates, and fat in ones diet plan. Agatson tells you exactly what to eat, how to cook it, and most importantly what to stay away from. Agatson also gives tips on what excercises to do and how often to do them. He shows how regular excercise can greatly increase your chances of losing weight, and keeping it off. The book also includes true success stories of people who have tried the diet and now live by it. I strongly recommend buying this book because it really helps to have a guideline to follow when trying to lose weight.Plus it really works.

To keep this short, there are many sources of information on good fats and bad fats and what foods contain good carbs and bad carbs. Glycemic indexes are now realized to be extremely important for anyone who is monitoring what they eat for better lifestyle and health. If someone is fairly new to nutrition this can be helpful. There are and have been however, a plethora of these books as well as websites on the market covering this in the last few years. If you need the information it will help you, but think before you plunk down funds to buy what can be obtained for free.

The Good Fats/Good Carbs Guide is a great little companion to The South Beach Diet. Its helpful for quick food references when making food selections. Its geared toward the lifestyle approach of the South Beach plan, listing foods as allowed, good, limited etc. It has helpful suggestions when fast food is your only option and other difficult situations to maintain your healthy eating style.

THE SOUTH BEACH DIET GOOD FATS, GOOD CARBS GUIDE is a well-organized and easy-to-use companion to THE SOUTH BEACH DIET. Ive been on Dr. Agatstons plan since August and have lost 32 pounds. The Guide is an ideal quick reference -- especially for shopping and eating out -- for Phase 3 dieters.

So far ive lost 15 pounds on this diet, and only 5 more to go. My husbands lost 30 so far, but he has a lot more to go.

The best thing about it is because after awhile you figure out what foods work best for you and what treats you can afford to have without gaining weight. Its also good for rebalancing sugar and cholesterol, and easier than atkins and more cholesterol conscious.

Definately recommended.

I just picked this up at our local Wal Mart. As the title indicates, this offers you a guide to the best foods that are low carb in nature and good fats which are typically so lacking in most diet programs.

I love the South Beach Diet. Having been on and off Atkins too, the benefit of South Beach is more carbs and less fat. Protein is about the same. I have more energy with South Beach than with Atkins although sometimes to break a plateu, I will go back on Atkins.

I highly recommend this books along with the South Beach Diet book to help you reach your weight loss goals.

If you are looking for a diet that is easy to follow, does not leave you hungry, is effective, nutritionally balanced, and improves your overall health, the South Beach Diet may be for you. In this companion book to The South Beach Diet book, Dr. Agatston lists many common foods, as well as whether they can be enjoyed in abundance, limited, or avoided completely. While this could have been done with a simple food list, this information is presented in a table that also lists carbs, sugar, and total fat.

The beginning of the book gives a brief overview of the diet, and a discussion of trans fats and why they should be avoided. It also has a discussion of the glycemic index. Although the recommendations in the book are based on glycemic index, glycemic load, and other factors, this information does NOT appear in the tables, purportedly because its not available for all foods. Leaving it out for that reason, even when known, defies credibility.

As followers of this diet know, its not about following the glycemic index, or counting calories or carbs. While the GI may serve as a guideline to let you know where foods fit in, it can also be misleading since some foods with similar GI values may not be of equal value to your diet. All this is explained in the main diet book, which gives a brief list of GI values for common foods. Likewise, we are told that total fat is not the big factor, but how much is saturated or trans fat vs unsaturated fats is important. That distinction is not made in the tables, which list total fat.

If a strict look at those factors is not a necessary part of the diet, then why are they in the table Thats not clear. The portion that describes how to use the guide acknowledges that you need not be a slave to the numbers, but the real advice ultimately boils down to following the main diet book, in which case all but the last column (whether and how much to eat) seems irrelevant.

The other problem is that this supposedly complete book is far from complete. It has too many entries for items that are obviously not allowed on the diet, and few entries for what might be suitable substitutes.

If you look at breakfast foods for instance, youll find bacon and eggs, cereals, and pancakes. Yet you wont find French toast. You may be able to figure it out based on the rules from the diet book, but then why do you need this book Its not as if processed foods or foods prepared from recipes that may vary were left out. There seems to be no rationale for whats included.

If you do look at cereal, you will find a couple of pages of cereals that are limited or should be avoided completely. But do I really need this book to tell me to avoid Frosted Flakes and Corn Pops if I know how the diet works Yet if I look at the myriad healthy cereals in my supermarket, not one of them is listed in this book. The same is true for the ones in natural food stores, even if they are available nationwide.

I might be able to figure out on my own that Uncle Sam cereal is a good choice, but then why buy the book On the other hand, I might find another supposedly healthful cereal, and the label may show me that its whole grain and high in fiber, but has more sugar than I would want. Its foods like these for which I would like the book to give me an idea if its acceptable.

There are way too many common foods left off the list, which is surprising considering the exhaustive permutations and combinations listed for others. I dont need five pages to tell me that all baked and broiled fish is good, but breaded fish is not. If its the recommendation that counts, I dont need a separate entry for tuna, canned, light, in water, and different ones for dark tuna in all its permutations, when ultimately, they fall into the same recommendation as other fish.

The bottom line is that if you stick to the main diet book, and manage to work around the flaws in the way it was written, you wont need this guide. This book might be helpful if you are on Atkins or even Weight Watchers, however.

The South Beach Diet Good Fats Good Carbs Guide is a 138 page companion book to the best selling book, The South Beach Diet.

According to the author, Dr. Arthur Agatston all fats and carbs are not created equal. The good fats and carbs will nourish your body, help you stay healthy and lose weight. Eating the wrong kinds will trigger cravings, decrease your ability to burn off calories and make you hungry.

In this book, Dr. Agatston shows you at a glance which fats and carbs are compatable with The South Beach Diet. Each entry lists a food item, its carbohyrate, sugar and fat grams. Foods are then ranked as limited, very limited or avoid. There are over 1,200 listings.

The beginning of the book gives a quick overview of The South Beach Diet. It describes why we need to select certain foods in order to lose weight and get healthy. Though it does not go into the great detail of the original South Beach Diet book, you could purchase this mini book and learn enough to be able to follow the diet successfully.

The book packs in a lot of information. In addition to the overview, and food ratings there are also shopping tips and meal makeovers. A handy dining out section makes it easier to stay on the South Beach track at your favorite restaurants.
A quick guide also lists what foods to enjoy on each phase of the diet.

The only drawback to the book is though its smaller than a normal sized book (7 tall by 5 wide), its still to large to fit in a pocketbook. It would be nice if it were smaller, making it more portable, thus I deducted one star.
Other than that, the book is a super handy resource, excellent for those following the South Beach diet or concerned about their health.

This companion book to the original South Beach Diet book serves as an excellent resource for figuring out which foods we can have and which we must avoid. Its a food guide, not a full-blown description of the diet. As such, it suits its purpose just fine.
Ive lost over 30 pounds on this diet in the past 3 months, without suffering and misery. The similiarities between South Beach and Atkins are clear to see. So are the differences. South beach is the product of a cardiologist, which is aimed at preventing heart disease and diabetes. Its not just low carb, its correct carbs. It also emphasizes avoiding saturated fats and trans-fats. With all due respect to the late Dr. Atkins and his diet, this one presents a healthier alternative that has proven effective. This isnt the only diet book out there but its a good one with good explanations for those serious about losing weight in a safe manner.

Your Road Map to South Beach Success

Welcome. Im glad youve decided to try the South Beach Diet and have taken the first step toward a future filled with health and vitality.

The South Beach Diet cant be classified as a low-carb diet, a low-fat diet, or a high-protein diet. Its rules. Consume the right carbs and the right fats and learn to snack strategically. The South Beach Diet has been so widely successful because people lose weight without experiencing cravings or feeling deprived, or even feeling that theyre on a diet. It allows you to enjoy healthy carbohydrates, rather than the kinds that contribute to weight gain, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. You can eat a great variety of foods in a great variety of recipes. This prevents repetition and boredom, two obstacles to long-term success. Our goal is that the South Beach Diet becomes a healthy lifestyle, not just a diet. The purpose of this guide is to help you to accomplish this with ease. Read on for more on the principles of the diet, how to use this Guide, and shopping and dining-out tips.

Good Fats, Bad Fats

Fat is an important part of a healthy diet. Theres more and more evidence that many fats are good for us and actually reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. They also help our sugar and insulin metabolism and therefore contribute to our goals of long-term weight loss and weight maintenance. And because good fats make foods taste better, they help us enjoy the journey to a healthier lifestyle. But not all fats are created equal--there are good fats and bad fats.

Good fats include monounsaturated fats, found in olive and canola oils, peanuts and other nuts, peanut butter, and avocados. Monounsaturated fats lower total and bad LDL cholesterol--which accumulates in and clogs artery walls--while maintaining levels of good HDL cholesterol, which carries cholesterol from artery walls and delivers it to the liver for disposal.

Omega-3 fatty acids--polyunsaturated fats found in coldwater fish, canola oil, flaxseeds, walnuts, almonds, and macadamia nuts--also count as good fat. Recent studies have shown that populations that eat more omega-3s, like Eskimos (whose diets are heavy on fish), have fewer serious health problems like heart disease and diabetes. There is evidence that omega-3 oils helps prevent or treat depression, arthritis, asthma, and colitis and help prevent cardiovascular deaths. Youll eat both monounsaturated fats and omega-3s in abundance in all three phases of the Diet.

Bad fats include saturated fats--the heart-clogging kind found in butter, fatty red meats, and full-fat dairy products.

Very bad fats are the manmade trans fats. Trans fats, which are created when hydrogen gas reacts with oil, are found in many packaged foods, including margarine, cookies, cakes, cake icings, doughnuts, and potato chips. Trans fats are worse than saturated fats. they are bad for our blood vessels, nervous systems, and waistlines.

As this Guide went to press, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that by 2006, food manufacturers must list the amount of trans fats in their products on the label. (The natural trans fats in meat and milk, which act very differently in the body than the manmade kind, will not require labeling.) Until then, here are a few ways to reduce your intake of trans fats and saturated fats, South Beach style.

Go natural. Limit margarine, packaged foods, and fast food, which tend to contain high amounts of saturated and trans fats. Make over your cooking methods. Bake, broil, or grill rather than fry. Lose the skin. Remove the skin from chicken or turkey before you eat it. Ditch the butter. Cook with canola or olive oil instead of butter, margarine, or lard. Slim down your dairy. Switch from whole milk to fat-free or 1pct. milk.

Good Carbs, Bad Carbs

Carbohydrates, foods that contain simple sugars (short chains of sugar molecules) or starches (long chains of sugar molecules), have been blamed for our epidemic of obesity and diabetes. This is only partially true, because there are both good and bad carbohydrates. The good carbs contain the important vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that are essential to our health and that help prevent heart disease and cancer. The bad carbs, which have been consumed by Americans in unprecedented quantities (largely in an attempt to avoids fats), are the ones that have resulted in the fattening of America. Bad carbs are refined carbs, the ones where digestion has begun in factories instead of in our stomachs. The good carbs are the ones humans were designed to consume--the unrefined ones that have contributed to our health since we began eating. Unrefined carbohydrates are found in whole, natural foods, such as whole grains, legumes, rice, and starchy vegetables. Theyre also called complex carbohydrates, so named for their molecular structure. Besides being packed with fiber, vitamins, and minerals, good carbs take longer to digest--a good thing, as youll soon see.
Refined carbohydrates, on the other hand, are found in packaged, processed foods, such as store-bought baked goods, crackers, pasta, and white bread.

Refined carbohydrates are made with white flour and contain little or no fiber. In fact, many products made with white flour are advertised as fortified with vitamins and minerals, because the process of turning grain into white flour strips away its fiber and nutrients. One of our South Beach Diet rules is to avoid foods labeled as fortified. Current evidence is that fortification with vitamins does not recreate the benefits of the natural vitamins that have been removed.

Despite the fact that good carbs are a critical part of a healthy diet, the typical American diet is filled with the bad kinds. And when were overweight as a result of a diet laden with bad carbs, our bodies ability to process all carbohydrates goes awry. To understand why, you need to understand the role of the hormone insulin.

Based on the nations no.1 bestseller

Published in January 2004, The South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Guide has sold more than three million copies and has continuously topped national bestseller lists. An essential tool for success, the completely revised and updated guide will feature a new, more user-friendly format and an expanded list of foods, as well as the most up-to-the-minute new information on nutrition and healthy eating to aid the now millions of early adopters.
The new edition will include.
o An expanded nutritional breakdown. total carbs and net carbs, total fat and saturated fat, fiber, and sugar.
o More food listings including meal replacement bars, other convenience foods, healthy fast-food menu items, and beverages.
o FAQs organized by phase and designed to answer dieters most common questions.
o A foreword by Dr. Agatston detailing new research and outlining the changes to the diet.
o Each food listing will now have a recommendation by phase. For example, bananas might be a food to avoid in the first 2 weeks of Phase One but will be a food to enjoy in Phase Two.


About the Author

ARTHUR AGATSTON, M.D., is an associate professor of medicine at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Author of The South Beach Diet, he has frequently appeared on television and has authored more than 100 scientific publications. He lives in Miami Beach where he maintains a private practice.