It wasn’t all that long ago that the South Beach Diet was the hottest diet plan around. But then, as often happens, other diets started getting more attention. However, you may be surprised to know that the South Beach Diet is still being used by a lot of people to lose weight. It may not be the one getting the most notice, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is whether or not it’s an effective diet for losing weight, and on that count it works very well.

A good place to start is learning a bit about how the South Beach Diet works. It’s a fairly basic concept, but one that other diets have overlooked. What it does is change your cravings. You will retrain your body to stop craving bad food, and start craving good food instead. The other thing the diet does is it slowly lowers the amount of bad fats and carbohydrates that you are currently taking in.

Doing it this way allows you to make the needed changes to your diet without feeling like you are being deprived. That means you are much more likely to stick with it for the long term, and not only can you lose weight, but you will also keep it off. That’s certainly a good thing as far as diets are concerned.

The South Beach Diet has often been compared to the Atkins Diet, but they are not the same. Yes, they are both high protein diets, but that’s where any similarity ends. The Atkins Diet is noted for allowing people to eat as much fat and protein as they want, with the idea that calories aren’t the main problem. But this overlooks the fact that the only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you take in. The South Beach Diet let’s you eat plenty of eggs, cheese, vegetables, beef, fish and poultry, but there are also portion sizes (though these are generous).

The diet is divided into phases which are designed to help you make the transition from unhealthy eating habits to healthy ones. For example, the first phase will help you to get rid of things like white rice and bread, ice cream, alcohol (including beer), and baked goods. Now, that may sound like a tall order, but it can be done if you follow the diet. Remember, one of the aims of the South Beach Diet is to actually reset your cravings. If it helps any, Phase 1 of the diet is made to last for only two weeks.

Once you are done with Phase 1, you move on to Phase 2. You will be able to eat a wider range of foods, but there is no time limit on this second phase. That’s because Phase 2 of the South Beach Diet is meant to be followed until you reach your target weight. But the whole beauty of the diet is that Phase 1 actually sets you up to succeed at Phase 2.

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There is no doubt that the market place is filled with countless programs that claim to be the last word in healthy eating diets. One plan may allow you to eat all of the whole grains and vegetables you want, while the next may all but eliminate them. The problem is that there is no way they can all be right, and not all of them can be wrong; this leads to confusion, and this confusion is often all the excuse people need to not try any healthy diet at all. How are you supposed to tell which ones are good or bad; and which ones should be avoided versus which ones are worth trying?

What may surprise you is that some of the most popular diets are not necessarily the most healthy. The truth is that a lot of them are based around a gimmick of some kind, and the rest of the diet relies on some basic principles found in all healthy eating diets. This creates the illusion that the gimmick makes it work, but the harsh reality is that the gimmick is often the least healthy aspect of such diets.

Still, it’s hard to convince people that a certain diet doesn’t work. There is a lot of psychology that goes along with it, but the simple explanation is that these people are invested in believing their diet of choice works, and that the gimmicky portion is the secret. However, there are many people who don’t resort to fad diets to get healthy. Instead, they develop a well-balanced plan of their own by taking the best elements from several healthy eating diets.

One of the fad diets to make a big splash recently was the low-carb diet. These diets really did work for a good number of people. How they worked, and whether they’re a good long-term option remains debatable, but they did work. The catch is that there are very few people that should b restricting carbohydrate intake to this degree. Sure, it’s a good idea to get rid of the “bad” carbs found in white flour, white rice and sugar, but it’s not a good idea to give up the “good” carbs which are high in fiber and loaded with nutrients that can’t be found anywhere else.

So, a low-carb diet may help somebody to lose weight, but it can’t really be counted among healthy eating diets because it falls short on fiber as well as various important nutrients. But, somebody can take a part of the typical low-carb diet and use it to create some of their own specific plan.

Of course there are tons of other diets that say you should do this or do that, or not to do it at all. But healthy eating plans don’t have to rely on gimmicks, they simply rely on common sense. Instead, it’s just a matter of eating a variety of wholesome foods and keeping them on balance, and in this day and age, that may be the biggest gimmick of all.

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With all of the new diets coming to the market every single day, it’s no wonder that there is a lot of confusion surrounding healthy eating diets. To make matters worse, diets often contradict each other. For example, one diet may tell you to eat all the meat you want, while another practically forbids it. So, how can they both be correct, right? It’s enough to drive even the most educated dietitian crazy, let alone the average person. So, the real question, then, is how can you find which are the best healthy eating diets for you?

First and foremost, you should know that how new a diet is doesn’t tell you how effective or healthy it is. There are new fad diets coming out all of the time. Some work, some don’t and some are downright dangerous. It’s this last group that you have to really watch out for. At the same time, you should also know that you don’t necessarily have to follow any one particular plan, but can combine elements from several diets to best suit your needs.

For example, a diet low in carbohydrates can be just fine for those who have the right insulin resistance and blood sugar level. However, they would have a very negative impact on somebody who needs to have a decent amount of carbohydrates in their diet to be healthy. In fact, it’s possible that eating almost nothing but protein and fat can make feel sick after a couple of days doing it. Whatever the case may be, you need to pay attention to any diet you try, and how it affects you personally.

As long as we’re on the subject of carbohydrates, it should be pointed out that they come in two main forms: simple and complex. Generally speaking, it’s best to avoid simple carbs, which include white flour, white rice, candy and sugar. These are the kind that cause the biggest spikes in blood sugar, and typically have a poorer nutritional profile. Complex carbohydrates include whole grains and some fruits. These are much more healthy and can usually be added to any eating plan (within reason).

If you want to attempt your own healthy eating diets, then there are a few basic guidelines to follow. You can start by reducing or eliminating simple carbohydrates. Then add foods that are high in lean protein, such as the white meat of chicken, fish, and some cuts of beef. Other good sources of protein are nuts and legumes. Next, cut out all trans fats, and reduce how much saturated fat you take in. You can eat healthier fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) without too much worry. The other rule of thumb to stick to is to eat foods as close to their natural state as possible.

Healthy eating diets come in many different forms. As mentioned earlier, some of them are actually quite good. Before trying one, look at it with some common sense and see if it includes a variety of foods. For the most part, any diet that restricts whole groups of foods is going to be harder to stick to, which would only defeat its purpose.

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