How To Plan Your Meals in the South Beach Diet
Figuring out what you are going to eat on the South Beach Diet doesn’t have to be a difficult task. First you have to learn what you can and can’t eat.
Then you have to get into the habit of the two snacks and three meals. The South Beach Diet considers dessert differently than the meals or the snacks, but if you add it all together, you have to get into the habit of spreading your eating into six times a day. This is much better for evening out your blood sugar, rather than eating the three large meals which causes an elevation in blood sugar and then a sudden drop.
So how do you figure out what should be in your meals in Phase One of the South Beach Diet? Let’s break it down:
Breakfast should always include:
Protein – This can be cottage cheese, this is your dairy though, so you have to watch how much you eat. Other proteins that you would not have to think about how many portions. These would be tofu, eggs and meat.
Vegetable – Make sure to have at least one serving of vegetables. A vegetable cocktail juice is a great way to get your morning vegetables. V8 is a popular choice, but you should get the low sodium V8. Making your own cocktail is not difficult if you use a blender. You don’t want to use a juicer because juicers take out all of the fiber while separating the juice from the solids. These solids also contain a lot of vitamins. If you throw everything in a blender with some water, the vegetables will liquefy into a great tasting juice.
Beverage – Have coffee or tea if you don’t do the juice mentioned above.
Lunch should always include:
An approved protein. The size of the serving is not important, but you shouldn’t overeat.
Several vegetables. The best way to do this is to have a salad. It is no wonder that the South Beach Diet book has Phase One lunch recipes mostly as salads. Be careful about the salad dressing, it could have sugar.
Dairy, but only if you want it. Keep in mind that there is a limit on eating dairy.
Finally, you should include a beverage in your lunch. Water is really the best beverage, but you could have coffee or tea.
Dinner should always include:
An approved protein, again don’t overeat. Make it a different protein then you had at lunch.
Several vegetables. You can have a salad again. I personally love salads. Many people aren’t fond of salads and there are a number of different vegetables that you can have for dinner, as well as a number of different way to prepare them. One of my favorite techniques is to dribble a little oil over cut vegetables and put them under the broiler for a few minutes. The outcome is very much like grilled vegetables.
Dairy – You can have the what is leftover in what you are allowed with dairy, but you also may want to save it for dessert, depending on the dessert you choose.
Any calorie-free, sugar-free beverage.
I hope this will help you in the planning of your meals on the South Beach Diet.
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