The South Beach Diet book became seriously successful when the diet book with the obvious name was finally published and picked up with fast succession among a grassroots following. Each with dieting success stories to tell everyone about, the South Beach Diet book, authored by Doctor Arthur Agatston, The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss, is still growing in readership, but The South Beach Diet phase one continues to confuse readers.

The South Beach Diet phase one is the shortest of phases 1, 2 and 3 of the diet, only lasting for a 14 day period. It was designed to be in your face, kick-start your body and how you think about how you diet from that now on. The myth to readers' thinking and one of the more difficult to grasp parts to Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet, you don't have to limit yourself only eating low carb foods.

In a nut-shell, Phase 1 force feeds you the thinking to: get rid of bad carbs that aren't doing anything nutritionally for yourself, replace the bad carbs that are found in surplus in the American diet with ample amounts of protein, good fats and low glycemic index (G.I.) carbs that entertain your hunger and regulate your blood sugar balance.

Foods that do more harm rather than benefit: fruit, candy, cereal, potatoes, grains, etc. all are eliminated, or the dieter must wean themselves off of during The South Beach Diet phase one. If in doubt, if you should have any confusion, just eat as much salad, greens, and (most) vegetables you want, as they are on target because of their dietary benefit.

It is during this stage that Dr. Agatston believes that your body's resistance to insulin will go down, so depending on your body weight and current health, you may lose 4 to 12 pounds initially, even in the first 2 weeks right off the bat, as your body begins to eliminate surplus body weight.

The major purpose of The South Beach Diet phase one two fold: to test and discipline you into a routine that you stick with that keeps you from being hungry and to plant a seed and the groundwork for a frame of mind that ensures you get rid of the bad foods and move towards the food that drops pounds, guarantee more energy and better your quality of life.