The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life (4 page)

I felt that this approach was not only a true departure from the nationally recommended low-fat, high-carb diet at the time but also from the then-popular low-carb, high-fat diet and severely fat-restricted diets. I didn’t want to give my heart patients a high-fat diet that included liberal amounts of saturated fat that might accelerate their heart disease, nor did I want to severely restrict total fat. First, in my experience, patients had great difficulty adhering to such a diet. Second, with a low-fat, high-carb diet, I had seen patients’ good cholesterol decrease and their triglycerides and blood sugar shoot up. Third, I wanted my patients to have the benefit of good fats; studies had convinced me that they were good for both the heart and general health. In addition, having a certain amount of good fat in the diet made the food taste better and improved satiety and compliance.

The First South Beach Dieter—Me!

My interest in finding the ideal diet went beyond concern for my patients, however. In fact, it was a little bit selfish. I had had my own bad experience with the low-fat, high-carb approach and had gained weight due to what I now realize were very poor choices when it came to carbohydrates. I had even developed my own middle-age fat-storage depot where my once-trim belly used to be. Furthermore, I found I was running out of steam in the late afternoon, which often led me to a mad dash to the doctors’ lounge, where I would inhale a low-fat (but sugary) muffin and a cup of coffee to help me make it through the rest of the day. I now realize that this was a sign of reactive hypoglycemia due to insulin resistance and that the refined carbs and sugar I was eating only exacerbated the problem.

So I designated myself as the first candidate for my new diet. I was amazed to observe my belly fat start to disappear in just 2 weeks, and I quickly felt energized. I no longer needed to make those late-afternoon dashes to the doctors’ lounge to hike up my falling blood sugar.

With the confidence and excitement that resulted from my own experience, I recruited Marie Almon, MS, RD, at that time the chief clinical dietitian at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, to help me develop meal plans for each phase of the diet, based on the principles of nutrient-dense, fiber-rich carbohydrates; healthy fats; and lean sources of protein. When this was accomplished, we began counseling patients, explaining the three phases and handing out photocopies of the Foods to Enjoy and Foods to Avoid lists and the meal plans.

I was amazed by my patients’ success. After years of frustration with the low-fat diet, I was now witnessing wonderful results as their belly fat seemed to melt away and their cholesterol improved, triglycerides dropped, and prediabetes and early type 2 diabetes reversed. I was also surprised and gratified to learn that my patients were mailing and faxing their photocopied diet guidelines to friends and relatives around the country. (Of course, this was before e-mail!)

The South Beach Diet Goes Prime Time

Because of the diet’s success, we began sharing our results at national meetings. First we reported consecutive cases, and then we undertook a small clinical trial. We compared our good-fat, good-carb approach to what was then called the American Heart Association (AHA) Step II Diet, which was very low in fat and high in carbohydrates (it has since been supplanted).

Of a group of 60 overweight participants, half went on our diet and the other half went on the AHA Step II Diet. After 12 weeks, five of the low-fat dieters had dropped out, but only one of the South Beach dieters had quit the program. In the end, the South Beach dieters lost nearly twice as much weight as the low-fat dieters and actually had greater improvements in their blood fats. Notably, their blood triglycerides improved dramatically. Just as I had, they lost a lot of belly fat (which was significant when measured by their waist-to-hip ratios; see “Why Your BMI Can Be Misleading” on
Chapter 6
). The low-fat dieters did not have the same success.

In spring 1999, after we presented our results at a national meeting of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans, a Miami TV station asked me if they could offer the South Beach Diet to their viewers. I said fine, and hundreds of South Floridians went on the diet and lost weight. The response was incredible, and the South Beach Diet series became an annual event for the station for 3 years running. I continued to prescribe the diet to my patients, and people urged us to write a book. Its publication in 2003 seems like yesterday.

Scientific Support: The Diet Debates Are Over

In the 5 years that have passed since the publication of the original book, we have received thousands of testimonials documenting people’s good results on the diet. You will find stories like Jen P.’s (above) throughout this book. There have also been numerous scientific studies reaffirming our healthy eating principles, including, notably, the importance of good fats and good carbohydrates. In fact, the latest USDA Food Pyramid, released in January 2005, reflects these same principles.

And there’s much more going on. Food manufacturers are now required by law to list the amount of trans fats on their food labels, and many have simply removed these terrible fats altogether. In New York City, restaurants are currently banned from using most frying oils containing artificial trans fats and will have to basically eliminate artificial trans fats from all their foods by July 2008. Many more cities are sure to follow. When we watch TV today, we see more and more advertisements for whole-grain foods. And the terms
good carbs, good fats
, and
glycemic index
are now common in both the media and our daily conversations. These are all clear signs that the diet debates—and diet confusion—are over.

Here’s just a small sampling of the scientific studies that support our diet philosophy.

Low fat a failure.
In 2006, the Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial reported the results of a 7½-year study involving nearly 49,000 women between ages 50 and 79. One group followed a low-fat diet, decreasing their fat intake to 20 percent of calories. They were informed that the diet was not intended to promote weight loss and were encouraged to maintain their usual energy intake by replacing fat calories with calories from other sources. The other group, the control group, received diet-related education materials and continued to eat a normal, higher-fat diet. Researchers found no benefit to the low-fat diet in terms of cardiovascular health, nor did it reduce the occurrence of breast or colorectal cancer.

Mediterranean diet a winner.
In 2006, a Spanish study (the PREDIMED Study) divided 772 adults at high risk for cardiovascular disease into three groups. One group ate a low-fat diet, while the other two ate a Mediterranean-style diet that, like the South Beach Diet, was rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seafood, lean meats, and good fats. One of these two groups was allowed additional olive oil (1 liter—about a quart—per week), and the other was allowed additional nuts (30 grams—about 1 ounce—per day). The results: Both groups following the Mediterranean diet had better blood sugar, better blood pressure, and better ratios of good HDL to bad LDL cholesterol than those in the low-fat group. Those following the Mediterranean diet also had a reduction in C-reactive protein, a measure of inflammation, in their blood. (You can read about the health implications of inflammation in
Chapter 6
.)

Low-glycemic best against insulin resistance.
Studies comparing the low-glycemic approach to other diets have confirmed our good results. In a 2007 study led by nutrition pioneer David S. Ludwig, MD, at Children’s Hospital Boston, 73 obese young adults were placed on either the standard low-fat diet or a low-glycemic diet. All the participants were tested before the study to determine whether they were high-insulin secretors, which would mean that they would be especially sensitive to high-glycemic foods. These same people would be likely candidates for prediabetes (metabolic syndrome). After 18 months on the diet, the high-insulin secretors lost more than 12 pounds on the low-glycemic diet. Those on the low-fat diet lost only 2.6 pounds. Those following the low-glycemic diet also lost more body fat and, remarkably, did not regain any weight. Both the high-insulin secretors and those with normal insulin response did better on the low-glycemic diet than on the low-fat diet in terms of two important numbers: Their HDL, or good cholesterol, went up, and their triglyceride levels went down.

Support from around the world.
In a 2007 Australian study, researchers at Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney, Australia, reviewed six randomized control trials from Australia, France, South Africa, Denmark, and the United States, comparing low-glycemic diets with other diets. They found the low-glycemic diets to be more effective in terms of overall weight loss and a decrease in body fat. Furthermore, those on the low-glycemic diets had a greater reduction in overall cholesterol and bad LDL cholesterol.

I could cite many other studies, but they all tell the same story. Healthcare professionals universally agree that our focus should be on nutrient-dense, fiber-rich carbohydrates; healthy sources of unsaturated fats; low-fat dairy; and lean sources of protein. The principles of the South Beach Diet are here to stay.

Over the past decade, the South Beach Diet has helped millions of people lose weight. For many, following the diet was the first step toward adapting a healthy way of life. Many of them also went on to engage in some form of regular physical exercise, often for the first time in their lives. (I wish they all had.)

There’s no question that being active is key to maintaining a healthy weight. And the good news is that even the busiest individuals can fit exercise into a South Beach Diet lifestyle. Just as I have learned more about the nutritional value of certain foods in the last 5 years, I have also learned what type of exercise is best for revving up your metabolism and speeding weight loss. And working exercise into your life is a lot easier than you might think. Just turn to
Chapter 4
.