The South Beach Diet

Written by Arthur S. Agatston

Narrated by Arthur S. Agatston

For years, cardiologist Arthur Agaston, M.D. urged his patients to lose weight for the sake of their hearts, but every diet was too hard to follow or its restrictions were too harsh. Some were downright dangerous. Nobody seemed to be able to stick with low-fat regimens for any length of time. And a diet is useless if you can't stick with it.

So Dr. Agaston developed his own. The South Beach Diet isn't complicated, and it doesn't require that you go hungry. You'll enjoy normal-size helpings of meat, poultry, and fish. You'll also eat eggs, cheese, nuts, and vegetables. Snacks are required. You'll learn to avoid the bad carbs, like white flour, white sugar, and baked potatoes. Best of all, you'll lose that stubborn belly fat first!

Dr. Agaston's diet has produced consistently dramatic results (8 to 13 pounds lost in the first 2 weeks!) and has become a media sensation in South Florida. Now you, too, can join the ranks of the fit and fabulous with The South Beach Diet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Aug 3, 2004
• ISBN: 9780060783303

Arthur S. Agatston

Arthur Agatston, M.D., is a cardiologist who has served on committees of the American Society of Echocardiology, the American College of Cardiology, and the Society of Atherosclerosis Imaging, where he is a member of the founding board of directors. He lives in Miami Beach with his wife, Sari, and their two children.

Reviews for The South Beach Diet

[Beverly Arnold · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this book. Dr. A. Does a good job in explaining the reasons behind the plan. I bought the original book 20 years ago and followed the plan and lost 35% of my body weight over the course of about a year. I still follow the plan for the most part, but wanted to listen to this version of the book as a refresher. It's a great plan and highly recommend it and this book.

[mary_books · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am losing weight using this diet. The recipes are excellant! My only complaint is some of them require a lot of ingredients, so it can be time-consuming, but they are very healthy.

[strokeboy_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is the same old fad style diet, see my review of the Atkins book. To the the website of the American Heart Association and structure your diet around the food pyramid they recommend.

[kaykwilts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This diet really works when you use it. I lost about 25 pounds. You need to stick with it. Over the course of 2 years I have gained a little back but not all of it. Planning on getting back with the program.

[alexthehunn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I will rate the book high, even though my personal success does not match the rating. I'm willing to accept that the fault is more mine than the book's. This book proposes a low-carb ("right carb") approach to eating. Its thesis is that carbs are what cause most of our dietary imbalances and that fats and protiens are much better and easier to maintain and monitor. It's the carbs that are addictive and pile on the weight. The book has good recipes and easy to follow instructions.

[denverbook · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Recomended, no commanded by my doctor. This is the only diet with which I acutually lost weight (25 lbs.) and kept it off.

[ntempest_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have to admit this diet worked quite well for me the first time around, but I suspect I regained even faster after I "fell off the wagon" than I did with any other diet plan, and frankly, it never worked for me again no matter how diligent I was about following the rules. I'm sure this is a good plan for some people, but for me it is too strict and limiting; I need a more balanced diet where I simply watch all of my intake and focus on eating more fruits and veggies and less naughty desserts. But the book itself was well written, comprehensible, and quite easy to follow, which most likely contributed to its extreme popularity. So I'm rating it more based on that than on how effective it was for me long term. I don't think that was an issue of the diet, but my own personal body chemistry.

[eduscapes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

We're trying this new diet just like everyone else... the only problem for us is no bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, carrots, cake, cookies, popcorn, muffins and worst of all, no beer... what will we eat!?! We made it through our first breakfast, wish us luck!

[eowyna_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It worked for me, when I stuck with it. I have since gained the weight back. But it is a fairly simple diet to stick to.