HOUSTON -- Miami's South Beach -- the time of day does not seem to matter, beauty abounds at all hours. Perhaps that's one reason The South Beach Diet has become a best-selling book.

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Why South Beach Diet Is So Popular

News2Houston tracked down the author to find out more about it.

Dr. Arthur Agatston is a Miami cardiologist who developed The South Beach Diet in 1997 for his patients. The latest edition of his book was released last month.

"In my practice and around the country, we watched people getting heavier and heavier," Agatston said. "Good fats actually help you lose weight and prevent heart attacks and strokes."

Agatston said that processed carbohydrates -- white bread, potatoes and baked goods -- cause blood sugar to skyrocket and then fall, making a person even hungrier.

"But if you preempt it with the right snack, you lose weight without being hungry," Agatston said.

The right snack and the right foods include whole fruits and vegetables, fish, low-fat cheese and eggs, according to the doctor.

"It's very flexible, simple and it works," he said.

Mediterranean countries eat a fair amount of fat and have a low rate of heart disease and obesity, Agatston said.

Followers of the diet said that it provides a nice balance and is something a person can live with.

Excerpt From The South Beach Diet

Below is an excerpt from The South Beach Diet, by Arthur Agatston, M.D.

"In the mid-1990s, I became disillusioned with low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets. They didn't work for many of my patients, especially over the long haul. Being a cardiologist, my concern was not for my patients' appearance, of course: I wanted to find a diet that would help prevent or reverse heart disease.

I never found such a diet. Instead, I developed it myself.

The South Beach Diet is not low-carb. Nor is it low-fat. Instead, it teaches you to rely on the right carbs and the right fats -- the good ones -- so you lose weight, lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease and diabetes, and get rid of cravings without feeling hungry.

In one 12-week study of 40 overweight people, those who followed the South Beach Diet lost an average of 13.6 pounds, almost double the 7.5 pound lost by those on the strict "Step II" American Heart Association (AHA) diet. And the South Beach group showed greater decreases in waist-to-hip ratio (belly fat) and triglycerides, and their good to bad cholesterol ratio improved more. Plus, only one person dropped out compared with five in the AHA group.

By choosing the right carbs and the right fats, you simply won't be hungry all the time, and portion sizes will take care of themselves.

Caution: If you have kidney problems, talk to your doctor before starting this diet. If you have diabetes, get tested to make sure that your kidneys are not impaired before starting this diet."

More Information:

Sample Week Two Menu (Same Menu As For Week One) Note: Requires Free Adobe Acrobat Reader
Maintenance Menu Note: Requires Free Adobe Acrobat Reader
South Beach Diet Recipes