How Many Carbs are on the South Beach Diet?

The South Beach Diet requires you to remove all carbohydrates from your diet for the first two weeks, then reintroduce certain foods the next two weeks and then retrain the body to eat healthier the last two weeks. It is a diet that changes your metabolism from burning sugar to burning fat.

The First Phase

• On the South Beach Diet, carbohydrates are eliminated from the first two weeks. Only lean protein, good fats, vegetables and nuts are allowed.

The Second Phase

• The next two weeks of the South Beach Diet consist of eating low to medium glycemic foods and lean proteins, good fats, high-fiber whole grains and vegetables. There is no set number of carbohydrates to adhere to, only a list to choose from. One starch a day increases to two or three servings of starch by the end of the second phase.

Low Glycemic Index

• The low glycemic index is a list of foods that were developed by professor David Jenkins from the University of Toronto. Low glycemic foods do not spike blood sugar levels in the body.

The Third Phase

• The last phase of this diet consists of adding the remainder of low to medium glycemic carbohydrates for two more weeks.

The Final Phase

• The South Beach Diet does not stop at the last two weeks. A person must not return to his earlier eating habits; he must incorporate this new menu as a way to retrain the body to burn fat and to maintain a healthier diet for the rest of his life.