South Beach Diet is a popular weight loss program that consists of 3 phases: Phase 1, the 14-day metabolism reboot, Phase 2, the steady weight loss phase that lasts until you reach your goal weight, and Phase 3, the weight maintenance phase. In this article, we will focus on Phase 2 of the program and explain what this phase involves, what you get to eat, and what kind of weight loss results you can expect.
South Beach Diet Phase 2 Structure
During South Beach Diet Phase 2, you get to enjoy ready-made breakfasts, lunches, and dinners provided by South Beach Diet meal delivery service. In addition to prepared meals, you get to eat 3 snacks you make yourself by combining lean proteins and healthy fats and gradually reintroducing good carbs and fruit into your diet.
Furthermore, the plan requires you to add at least 5 servings of veggies to your meals every day. During week 1 of Phase 2, you only get to eat non-starchy vegetables, like in Phase 1. In week 2, you can start adding starchy vegetables to your menu, as long as you limit their intake to 2 servings per day.
Finally, you get to enrich your meal plan with DIY meals, which are healthy meals you prepare yourself or eat at a restaurant. You can enjoy one DIY breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the week. DIY meals consist of lean proteins, good carbs, healthy fats, and veggies.
In addition to eating and making your meals in accordance with the plan, you need to drink at least 8 glasses (64 oz.) of water per day and stay physically active for at least 30 minutes per day.
What You Can Eat During South Beach Diet Phase 2
Your menu during South Beach Diet Phase 2 includes lean proteins, healthy fats, good carbs, plenty of non-starchy veggies, limited amounts of starchy veggies, and fruit.
You can enjoy such lean proteins like lean beef, poultry, pork or seafood, deli meat, eggs, cheese, and plain Greek yogurt. Allowed healthy fats include avocados, nuts, olives, oils, oil-based dressings, and olive-oil-based mayo. You can also enjoy good carbs like hummus, crackers, bread, pasta, and brown rice and starchy veggies like sweet potatoes, winter squash, green peas, corn, and carrots. Allowed fruit includes but is not limited to apples, berries, grapes, oranges, and dried fruit with no added sugar.
Furthermore, you can have 3 servings of “extras” per day. Extras are meal additions that make your meals tastier but do not contain more than 35 calories and 6 grams of carbs per serving. These include cream, whole milk, half-and-half, sour cream, salsa, balsamic vinegar, and unsweetened almond milk.
Your menu can also include the so-called free foods, which can be enjoyed in unlimited quantities as long as they contain no more than 10 calories and 1 gram of carbs per serving. Free foods include beef, chicken, and vegetable broth, fresh and dried herbs, mustard, low-sodium soy sauce, and all types of vinegar except balsamic.
Finally, you can treat yourself to up to 2 drinks per week. For example, you can have 1.5 oz. of bourbon, gin, rum, tequila or vodka, 4 oz. of dry red or white wine, 12 oz. of light beer or 1.5 oz. of sake. If you are making a cocktail, be sure to use only low-sugar or no-sugar options.
A Typical Day During South Beach Diet Phase 2
Having covered the major guidelines, it is time to get more concrete and see what your day during South Beach Diet Phase 2 would look like. First of all, it must include 30 minutes of physical activity. Next, you must drink 64 oz. of water during the day. Now, let us take a look at the meals.
For breakfast, ladies can enjoy any South Beach Diet breakfast plus 1 serving of healthy fats while gentlemen can have any South Beach Diet breakfast plus 1 serving of lean proteins. If you are having a DIY breakfast, it can comprise 1 serving of lean proteins and 1 serving of healthy fats if you are a lady and 2 servings of lean proteins and 1 serving of healthy fats if you are a gentleman.
After breakfast, you can have a morning snack, including 1 serving of lean proteins for women and 1 serving of lean proteins and 1 serving of healthy fats for men.
Women get to enjoy any South Beach Diet entrée for lunch while lunch for men includes 1 serving of healthy fats in addition to any South Beach Diet entrée. DIY lunches for both men and women can include 1 serving of lean proteins, 1 serving of healthy fats, and 1 serving of good carbs.
After lunch, you get to eat an afternoon snack, which can include either 1 serving of fruit or 1 serving of good carbs. The guidelines for afternoon snacks are the same for men and women.
For dinner, ladies can have any South Beach Diet entrée while gentlemen can have any South Beach Diet entrée plus 1 serving of good carbs. DIY dinners for both men and women include 1 serving of lean proteins, 1 serving of healthy fats, and 1 serving of good carbs.
After dinner, you can eat an evening snack. Both women and men can have a snack consisting of 1 serving of lean protein.
To make sure your body is getting all the nutrients it needs, you also need to add at least 5 servings of vegetables to your meals, with no more than 2 servings of starchy veggies. Of course, you can always throw in a couple of extras or free foods as well and make your meals more satisfying.
South Beach Diet Phase 2 Results
As you can see, South Beach Diet Phase 2 is not highly restrictive. It allows you to enjoy virtually everything in moderation and thus steadily progress toward your goal weight. You can expect to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week on average. The results may vary depending on your adherence to the plan and your level of physical activity. South Beach Diet Phase 2 is perfectly safe and healthy, so you can stick to this plan for as long as it takes to reach your desired weight.