SBD Daily Helpful Hints

Which Spud's For You: How you prepare a potato determines how fattening it is

Baked:

This is the worst way of eating a potato, from the glycemic-index perspective. The process of baking it renders the starches most easily accessible to your digestive system. Believe it or not, that baked potato will be less fattening topped with a dollop of low-fat cheese or sour cream. The calorie count will be slightly higher, but the fat contained in the cheese or sour cream will slow down the digestive process, thereby lessening the amount of insulin that potato prompts your body to make.

Mashed or broiled:

This is better than baked, due to the difference in the cooking process, but also because you'd probably eat them with a little butter or sour cream, and the fat slows the digestive process.

Fried:

Even French fries are better than baked, believe it or not, because of the fat in which they're cooked. But don't be misled-none of these are good choices for someone on the South Beach Diet.

Potato type:

The type of potato you eat is also a big factor in all of this. Red-skinned potatoes are highest in carbs. White-skinned are better. New potatoes, better yet-in every vegetable or fruit, the younger when picked, the lower the carb count. If you must indulge, do so sparingly. And try sweet potatoes instead of white.

Staying Regular

Cutting back on grains (i.e., fiber) causes some South Beach Dieters to experience irregularity.

To relieve the problem, it’s important to drink eight glasses of water a day. Dr. Agatston also recommends taking fiber supplements before meals, such as Metamucil or Benafiber, which not only improve bowel function but also decrease the glycemic index of the meal. Another suggestion: Take Milk of Magnesia at night. You should also try to increase your fiber intake to between 30 and 60 grams a day. According to Dr. Agatston, our ancestors consumed over 100 grams of fiber per day, while modern Americans average only 20.

Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth

Looking for sweet treats that won’t sabotage your diet? Sugar substitutes such as aspartame and saccharin are fine on the South Beach Diet. So is Splenda, a natural sugar substitute made from sugar cane.

Here’s what Dr. Agatston recommends for satisfying your sweet tooth:

Sugar-free gelatin

Ricotta cheese with vanilla or almond extract and mixed with a sugar substitute

Sugar-free fudgsicles

Sugar-free hard candies

Sugar-free Popsicles

Sugarless chewing gum

Chocolate powder, no-added-sugar

Sugar-free, caffeine-free carbonated sodas

Sugar-free, caffeine-free drink mixes (like Crystal Lite)

Strategic Snacking

It's important in Phase 1 to eat snacks between meals. Snacking on foods like low-fat cheeses, cold veggies, or nuts prevents drops in blood sugar, which leads to cravings. Once these cravings occur, people tend to overindulge in high-glycemic, high-calorie foods to satisfy them. According to Dr. Agatston, it takes far fewer calories to preempt a craving than to satisfy one. Eat a healthy snack one to two hours after your meals, or one hour before your cravings usually occur, and your blood sugar levels will remain steady. Once the "detox" process is complete and your cravings are under control, you may not need to eat as frequently.

Who Loses Fastest?

Why do some people lose more weight, more rapidly, than others on the South Beach Diet? According to Dr. Agatston, people who gained their excess weight as adults and whose weight gain is largely around the belly, lose weight fastest. Central obesity, where excess weight is concentrated around the midsection, is a warning sign for present or future heart problems. If you’re losing weight at a slower-than-expected pace, don’t despair. Research shows that toorapid weight loss can cause you to lose lean body mass-not just fat-which can decrease your metabolic rate and increase your risk of plateauing and yo-yoing as you diet. Slow and steady weight loss is more likely to result in permanent weight loss.

Don't Skimp On Salt

If you're feeling tired, achy, or just plain sluggish, try adding salt to your diet to help maintain body fluid. When cutting back on carbs in Phase 1, it's possible to lose body fluid and experience dehydration, as well as hypoglycemia (too-low blood sugar). Once the body adjusts, however, energy levels increase. Until then, Dr. Agatston recommends getting plenty of fluid (eight glasses of water a day), eating low glycemic carbs, and adding salt to your diet to restore energy.

Spice Up Your Diet

What's the key to dieting success? We've found that the most successful dieters are the ones who try every recipe imaginable and take advantage of all the foods and ingredients permitted. They also make interesting use of herbs and spices - especially the more intensely flavored ones, such as horseradish, hot peppers, garlic, cinnamon, and nutmeg.