What is bad about the South Beach Diet?

While the South Beach Diet delivers on its promise to help you lose weight quickly and safely, using this diet method has a few drawbacks. Among the drawbacks is that it offers overweight individuals the opportunity to eat some "forbidden foods" in larger portions and still lose weight. It also has some negative side effects.

Induction

The diet's induction phase, which is the most restrictive phase, lasts for three weeks and severely limits the kinds of foods that can be eaten. Carbohydrate restriction is at its highest during this phase. People on the diet may feel weak and fuzzy-headed, and they may experience headaches and nausea due to low blood sugar.

Ketosis

Many people on the South Beach Diet experience bouts with bad breath due to remaining in a state of ketosis for extended periods of time. Ketosis is a metabolic state in which the body begins to burn fat for fuel instead of glucose.

Long-term Health Concerns

Even though the South Beach Diet is much more lenient regarding the number of carbohydrates it allows in comparison with other low-carbohydrate diets, carbohydrate intake is still greatly reduced from the levels generally accepted as healthy by the medical community. Scientists and medical professionals are studying the long-term effects of low-carbohydrate diets and their potential for contributing to heart disease and certain cancers.

Long-term Success

The South Beach Diet is tough to stick to long term due to its restriction of carbohydrates. While many dieters have early, short-term success, the overall long-term outlook is a little worse than for dieters on other plans.

Critics

Not everyone is a fan of the South Beach Diet. The American Diabetes Association has spoken out about its skepticism of using the glycemic index when it comes to helping individuals lose weight. Also, many medical professionals believe that the initial quick weight loss from the South Beach Diet is mostly due to its diuretic effect and is unsustainable.

Source:

WebMD: The South Beach Diet

Publix: Wellness and Pharmacy: South Beach Diet