The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health for Life by Arthur Agatston, Joseph Signorile Read Free Book Online Page B

than I was.
    I was miserable about my weight. I had been invited to a wedding and told a friend of mine that I didn’t even want to go because I was so depressed about how I looked. She gave me a copy of The South Beach Diet for Mother’s Day. She had been on the diet herself and told me how great it was. I told her that diets didn’t work for me and that I didn’t want to bother with it. She encouraged me to read the book so I would understand why this diet was different and healthier than the ones I had been on before.
    I read the book and I finally learned what I had been doing wrong. I was eating too many starchy carbs—white rice, white pasta, white potatoes, and white bread—and very little protein. I decided to try the diet and see if I could lose the weight before the wedding. I found the diet easy to follow. I started eating lots of vegetables and lean protein, like white meat chicken and lean pork, as well as whole grains, including brown rice, whole-wheat bread, and whole-wheat pasta. I found I wasn’t always starving like I was on other diets. That was the best part for me.
    It was pretty easy to lose the 40 pounds. I was not only eating tasty food, but it was healthy. I now weigh 140 pounds and I’m wearing a size 8 dress! And I haven’t regained the weight.
    Today I follow Phase 3. On the South Beach Diet, you acquire new habits and you learn which foods are healthier for you. I’ve learned to make better choices. I even enjoy some dessert now and then because I can. But I still eat lots of vegetables and lean protein.
    I love myself again. Everyone comments about how great I look and how much weight I’ve lost. I am happy, I have energy for my daughter, and I have regained my self-confidence.
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Supercharge Your Metabolism

    My patient Susan, who was prediabetic, had lost more than 20 pounds on the South Beach Diet. Although she looked and felt a lot better, she wasn’t happy. She still wanted to lose another 5 to 10 pounds but was having difficulty doing so. No matter what she did, she couldn’t seem to lose more weight. She asked me, “Couldn’t I just go back to Phase 1? I had no trouble losing weight back then!”
    I strongly advised against it. Phase 1 is designed for people with cravings and substantial weight to lose, not for someone like Susan, who had only a few pounds left to shed. More important, Susan’s cravings were gone, and her blood chemistries were normal. In cases like hers, cutting back on calories and once again limiting nutritious food choices like fruits and whole grains could be counterproductive and potentially lead to yo-yoing (see Chapter 4 ).
    If Susan wanted further safe weight loss while continuing to follow the healthy eating principles of the South Beach Diet, she had only one option: She had to burn more calories. And the most efficient way to accomplish this was by engaging in the most efficient form of regular exercise. That meant more or better exercise, and that was exactly what Susan didn’t want to hear. She was already getting up at 6:00 a.m. to spend, as she put it, “one long, tedious hour” walking on her treadmill before getting her kids off to school and going to work.
    “Don’t tell me I have to spend more time on the treadmill,” Susan complained. “I just can’t get up any earlier!”
    Susan was pleasantly surprised when I explained that she didn’t have to spend more time exercising to burn more calories. She could actually jump-start her metabolism and burn more calories in less time by making some changes in her exercise routine.
    I told Susan that doing more of the same wasn’t going to work. Her body had become accustomed to operating at her new weight and her current activity level, as often happens after a period of successful dieting. In fact, the most common complaint of dieters is what they call hitting a plateau. I’m sure many of you have experienced it.
    Depending on our intrinsic metabolism, we all have different set