The Difference Between Atkins Diet and South Beach Diet

Which diet plan should you choose for yourself? Should you choose the Atkins diet or the South Beach diet? Or something else? Well, you that you are not alone in this. With so many different types of low carb diet plans available today, people are really confused about which way to go.

Because these particular diets are two of the most popular low carb diets available today. Everybody at one stage or another try to follow the doctrine of either of these well known diets. Each diet plan is based on a different formula and not all diet plans work for everybody. You should not only learn about the Atkins and the South Beach diet plans, you should also explore a variety of other diet plans and pick up the one that suits you best. Now let us explain each diet plan to you.

The Atkins diet was propounded by Dr. Atkins in 1972. Dr. Atkins advocates a diet which contains a high amount of fat and low amount of carbohydrates. Dr. Atkins is of the option that one should eat things such as red meat, butter, etc. According to Dr. Atkins, you should control the consumption of bread, starchy vegetables, pasta and rice. It must be mentioned that the Atkins diet was not created as a quick fix solution. Indeed, the Atkins diet is meant for somebody who is willing to make a lifetime commitment to lose weight. This is also the reason why the Atkins diet is based on a series of steps.

The South Beach diet plan has been invented by Dr. Agatstone. It is interesting to note that this diet plan was actually created by Dr. Agatstone for patients who were suffering from pre-diabetes and high cholesterol levels. Dr. Agatstone realized that people who acted upon his diet recommendations naturally lost weight. That made the doctor write his famous diet book. Under the South Beach diet plan, one is not allowed to have saturated fats such as those that come from animal meat. Dairy products are also not allowed. However, one can eat fish, vegetables, poultry, eggs, etc. Bread and fruit juice are also not allowed.

There are mainly two major differences between the two diet plans. The main difference is that while Dr. Atkins recommends the consumption of red meat, the South Beach diet recommends against it. Also, while Dr. Atkins recommends patients to count the carb consumption by grams, under the South Beach diet plan, it is recommended that the patients count the carb based on the portion of carbohydrate served in each meal.

Like I said before: you needn't think about whether to choose the Atkins diet or the South Beach diet. You should choose a diet plan to which you are willing to make a lifetime commitment. And once you choose a diet plan, you must be willing to stick to it as well as exercise regularly.