The South Beach Diet was working out great for me. I noticed a 7 pound loss in the first 4 days! I could eat as much as I wanted of certain foods, but couldn't eat any carbs or sugar. This meant I couldn't eat fruit! My mom and I were researching the diet and discovered that the body's reaction to this small carb intake could result in some pretty dangerous side effects, such as Ketosis.
We decided to stop the diet for health reasons and are returning to other healthy ways of eating! Though I realized the South Beach Diet isn't for me (as a runner, I also believe that I should be eating some carbs, and fruit has too many benefits to pass up!), I did learn some things:
1. Avoid Foods with Hydrogenated Oil
This is an ingredient found in MANY foods, from coffee creamer to peanut butter to breakfast cereal. It is something to be aware of. There are many dangerous results of consuming foods with hydrogenated oil in them, including heart disease, weight gain, diabetes, cancer and high cholesterol. Basically, hydrogenated oil is a type of trans fat. Many food companies avoid counting it as one though! The best thing to do is read the INGREDIENTS before purchasing or ingesting a food. You may discover that foods you love contain this ingredient! I had to give up my coffee creamer because it contains this ingredient, which sucks, but I would rather have the health benefits of eating naturally and without any artificial flavors or oils! I also believe that giving up the creamer as well as other foods had to do with a significant part of my weight loss.
2. Meals Based On Vegetables & Lean Protein Are More Filling!
It's true! Eating a breakfast, lunch, and dinner that includes vegetables and protein will keep you full longer. This combination helps your body maintain your blood sugar at a stable level so you are less likely to have carb cravings shortly after your meal. Having snacks of vegetables, low-fat cheese, and nuts will also facilitate the steady blood sugar levels. These past few days I've added fruit back into the mix. I'm still not sure how they have been affecting my cravings, but I am certainly enjoying them more after going a few days without.
3. There are Good Carbs and Bad Carbs!
Carbs with a low glycemic index number are better than ones with a high one! The glycemic index (GI) contains numbers that represent how fast and how high a food will raise our blood sugar level after we ingest it. Foods with lower numbers, such as apples, peanut butter, whole-wheat spaghetti, low-fat yogurt, hummus, and most vegetables, will keep you full longer because your body takes more time to break them down. There is a lot to say on the subject of glycemic index, but it is definitely something to be aware of if you are trying to get healthier or especially if you are diabetic.
Check out www.glycemicindex.com/ to get a better understanding of how this system works.
Hope you have learned something new! More info on Glycemic Index to come in the near future!
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