South Beach Diet-Super Charged????

greeneyes490

I have just heard about the new super charged south beach diet (read an article in woman's world magazine) and it sounds good and incorporates some carbs etc....has anyone tried either the regular south beach diet or the super charged? I am looking for something that will give me that kick to get me going.....i get discouraged when i don't see results etc....but any info on either diet would be much appreciated...thanks in advance.

greeneyes490

I have just heard about the new super charged south beach diet (read an article in woman's world magazine) and it sounds good and incorporates some carbs etc....has anyone tried either the regular south beach diet or the super charged? I am looking for something that will give me that kick to get me going.....i get discouraged when i don't see results etc....but any info on either diet would be much appreciated...thanks in advance.

zen68

Here is little something on the topic

By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
The South Beach Diet by cardiologist Arthur Agatston has been wildly popular since it arrived in 2003 and promoted a diet that cuts back on artery-clogging fat and processed carbohydrates. But the honeymoon may be over with Agatston's latest book.
The South Beach Diet Supercharged, just out, is drawing fire from several top national exercise researchers. The book, which he wrote with Joseph Signorile, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Miami, features an interval walking plan that promises to burn many more calories than moderate walking and to keep on burning calories all day.


SOUTH BEACH: Recipes from this and 5 other popular diets
WALK IT OUT: Get a pedometer and count the steps to benefits

Not so fast, critics say.

These claims are exaggerated and don't reflect the latest scientific research, says Timothy Church, director of preventive medicine research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Baton Rouge | University of Miami | University of Pittsburgh | Arthur Agatston | Pennington Biomedical Research Center | Phase | Physical Activity
People do burn more calories when they exercise at a higher intensity, Church says. Those using the book's interval program may burn a few more calories than if they'd walked at a steady pace, but they won't burn "far more calories," and they won't burn calories for hours afterward as the book promises, he says.

The idea that caloric afterburn lasts all day is outdated, Church says. The latest studies suggest that for the type of exercises described in the book, the post-exercise caloric expenditure is small and only lasts for about 15 to 30 minutes, he says.

The Agatston plan

Part of the book's premise is that Agatston's walking program of about 19 minutes a day, several days a week, will help "supercharge" metabolism and increase weight loss. It alternates walking at "revved up" and "supercharged" paces with "easy" and "moderate" ones.

"With interval training, the higher the intensity of the exercise, the longer the afterburn; that is, you will continue to burn more fat and calories after you've completed your exercise session," the authors write. "This means you'll burn more fat and calories while you're going through your daily activities, and even when you're resting."

The book does not define the walking speeds but says that moderate is "a brisk but not fast pace" and supercharged is working "at your absolute top level."

So, for instance, on one day of Phase 2, a person warms up by walking two minutes at a moderate pace. Then he walks for 30 seconds at a supercharged pace and then 60 seconds at a moderate pace. He repeats that 10 times and finishes with two minutes at an easy pace. Short walks like this one are done three or four times a week with strengthening exercises on the other days.

The criticism

Church, co-author of the exercise book Move Yourself, supports interval work for improving fitness and training athletes, but he says Agatston's 19-minute interval program will not burn more calories than walking at a steady pace for 60 minutes, as the book and promotional materials state.

Church estimates that a 200-pound person would use 140 to 150 calories doing Agatston's "supercharged" program for 19 minutes compared with 400 calories walking at a moderate pace (3.5 miles an hour) for an hour, the amount of time recommended by government guidelines for weight control.

John Jakicic, director of the Physical Activity and Weight Management Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh, tested a portion of Agatston's theory.

He monitored the caloric burn of a 180-pound person walking on a treadmill — following the "supercharged" portion of Agatston's program — and found the exerciser burned 141 calories in 19 minutes (walking intermittently up to 4.2 miles an hour). The exerciser burned 113 calories when walking a moderate pace (3.2 miles an hour) for the same amount of time. So, the interval exercise expended about 28 additional calories, which is about 25% more than would have been expended at a steady pace, Jakicic says.

"What he (Agatston) is saying isn't wrong, but he's just inflating the impact."

Any extra effect his program has on weight loss would be minimal when you consider that you have to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound, he says.

As for the "afterburn," the exerciser's metabolic rate returned to pre-exercise levels within 10 minutes, Jakicic says. "During those 10 minutes, the added energy expenditure was 13 calories above what would be expended if no exercise had taken place."

Research suggests that the most significant portion of the afterburn from this type of physical activity lasts for about a half an hour, and the number of calories burned is small, he says. "The majority of calories are burned when you are doing the exercise."

The defense

Agatston told USA TODAY that his program is based on his personal experience and that of his patients. He reviewed the research and believes this interval approach is the best way to improve fitness without injury and burn more calories in less time.

He says his goal is to encourage people to move periodically at a "revved up" pace and then slow down to a moderate pace to recover. "This allows you to do higher intensity than you normally would be able to sustain, and over time you will lose a lot more weight."

Agatston says the authors "didn't overstate afterburn. At most, you can nitpick some of what we say."

Signorile says he didn't actually calculate how many calories are burned in the Supercharged program. Even so, he says, "You are going to be able to get greater caloric output per unit of time with this workout."

Agatston says his program will be helpful to busy people. "When people say they don't exercise, the most common reason they give is lack of time, and here you can accomplish more in less time.

"Interval training is more efficient, and over time you will burn more calories. That's my point, and I absolutely stick with it."

IndigoElectron

I've done the regular SB Diet and found it quite good. People often confuse it with Atkins but it's quite different really - it focuses a lot on fresh veg and low fat protein. It worked well for me but I decided to switch to calorie counting after I found this site, as it gives me more flexibility. I also found that my calorie intake on SB was too high for my needs, which is another reason I changed.

There are some good forums on the net for those people doing SB, if you're thinking of trying it I'd take a look at them.