Atkins vs South Beach

[SEA81]

Hey all, I'm currently on the Atkins Diet (I do best if I eliminate carbs from my diet, except through veggies and some fruit). But I'm wondering how much different it is from South Beach. Which one is best for ultimate weight loss and toning? Thanks!

[shaun]

I don't agree with the principles of the South Beach. For instance, whole grains qualify as 'good carbs' in the South Beach diet, and saturated fat is classed as 'bad fat'. The South Beach basically follows the conventional wisdom on nutrition, and the conventional wisdom is wrong.

I'm against the Atkins diet as well. The Atkins diet advocates grains, industrial oils like vegetable oil, and the quality of the meat is not considered.

Look up the Paleo diet, a much better option.

[Stefano13]

Atkins does not limit vegetable consumption. In fact, you are encouraged to get the majority of your carb intake (12-15 net carbs out of 20 to begin) from vegetables. Also, after induction, certain fruits, mostly berries and melon, are introduced back into your diet. Finally, it does not "encourage the consumption of red meat", it simply gives you a list of acceptable meats and people are free to choose between meat, poultry, pork or skip that altogether and choose fish.

[fitnessk]

I am not really a fan of either. I think you need to cut out or at least down on most processed, fast foods and highly sugary based foods. Otherwise, I think you need a good balance of healthy meat/protein sources, whole grains, vegetables/fruits and such. But i have seen friends lose some decent amounts of weight on Atkins.

[AnonaMoss]

I don't like extreme constriction diets or diets with too many rules. Nowadays, we are all on the go and it can be a pain trying to balance your diet with your lifestyle. I've never tried Atkins or South Beach, but I know about both of them. I would have to choose the South Beach diet. I think the South Beach diet is better because it has more variety than Atkins.

[AvalonX]

I have taken the basics of the Atkins diets and tried to conform it to a more Paleo diet. When I stick to it I see good results. South Beach sounds healthier but newer research suggests that saturated fat is not the devil we make it out to be. As a matter of fact, grains may be a much bigger issue.