The South Beach Diet has become one of the most popular diets in the public market right now. The diet, in addition to the original book that explains how the diet works, has inspired a number of companion books that include a calorie counter and a cookbook. Originally published by Rodale Press and authored by Arthur Agatston, the South Beach Diet has surpassed all of the popular diets that came before it.

The South Beach Diet has three parts, or phases. The first phase lasts two weeks. During the first phase hopeful dieters do their best to eradicate their bodies of insulin resistance by cutting out foods with high glycemic carbohydrates. Instead of eating dairy products, candy and sugars, fruits, grains, cereals and starches (mainly potatoes and bread), dieters try to limit their food intake to vegetables, eggs, meat, nuts and cheese.

The second phase reintroduces fruit, dairy and whole grains back into the dieter's meal plans. Dieters must eat these foods in small portions because the digestive system must be retrained to deal with these foods. The third and final phase of the South Beach diet involves adding three servings of both fruit and whole grains to the daily food intake (in addition to the three balanced meals a day the dieters are already eating).

One thing that sets the South Beach diet apart from other popular diets is that dieters are not required to count calories. Instead dieters are told to eat until they feel satisfied. By the end of the diet, dieters are eating six smaller meals a day (three major, three snacks) and don't have to worry so much about what they put on their plates.

Here is some information about the South Beach Diet you might not have known: Here is some information about the South Beach Diet you might not have known:

Tip #1 The South Beach diet is named after the South Beach area of Miami Florida and was developed by Arthur Agatston. Agatston, at the time the South Beach diet was developed, was a cardiologist who believed that people should eat carbs and fats... good carbs and good fats. A cardiologist advocating carbs and fats carries quite a bit of authority in the dieting world.

Tip #2 Kraft Foods conducted a study of the South Beach diet. The study involved sixty nine research subjects who were studied over a three month period of time. The research study backed up the information that was found by Agatston, who did his own study of the effectiveness of the South Beach diet a year prior to the Kraft Foods study. The results of both studies were favorable.

Tip #3 The South Beach diet promotes eating habits that are low in "bad" carbs and "bad" fats. Examples of the good and the bad of each food category can be found in the South Beach diet books.