The South Beach Diet book became tremendously successful when the diet book by similar name was finally published and grew with rapid succession among a grassroots following. Each with dieting successes 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, continues to grow in readership, but The South Beach Diet phase one keeps confusing readers.

The South Beach Diet phase one is designed to be the shortest of all phases of the diet, only lasting for a 14 day period. It was designed to be confrontational, kick-start your body and your mindset about dieting from that point on. The opposite to popular thinking and one of the harder to understand parts to Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet, you do not have to limit yourself only eating low carb foods.

In a nut-shell, Phase 1 instills in you the thinking to: rid yourself of bad carbs that aren't providing anything nutritionally for your body, substitute the bad carbs that are overwhelming in quantity in most American diets with substantial amounts of protein, good fats and low glycemic index (G.I.) carbs that satisfy your hunger and regulate your blood sugar balance.

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

It is during this stage that Doctor Agatston believes that one's body resistance to insulin will lower, so depending on your body weight and current health, you may lose 3 to 13 pounds initially, initially in the first two weeks, as your body begins to eliminate surplus body weight.

The major goal of The South Beach Diet phase one two fold: to test and discipline you into a routine that you can manage that keeps you free from hunger and to lay the groundwork for a mindset that ensures you rid yourself of the bad foods and move toward the food that drops pounds, guarantee more energy and improve your quality of life.