I regard South Beach as an excellent "gateway drug" to get into low carb.

• He's a cardiologist!
• You can still have grains and potatoes and beans!
• It's "healthy" fats!

Sort of "low carb with training wheels."

Still, I'm one of those people who works best with lower carb, higher fat. I started with Atkins, which turns out to be an excellent plan for someone like me. Climbing the carb ladder taught me I can get to Rung 5, but no higher. Yet, higher rungs is what SBD relies upon!


1 - More salad and other vegetables
2 - Fresh cheeses (as well as more aged cheese)
3 - Nuts and Seeds
4 - Berries, then melons
5 - Dry wine (and other spirits low in carbs)
6 - Legumes
7 - Other Fruits
8 - Starchy vegetables
9 - Whole grains

One has to realize that as the carb levels rise on SBD, and if we start having trouble, it means this hybrid diet is still too high in carbs. SBD doesn't offer an escape hatch backwards into still lower carb... people who think they must have beans and wheat to "eat healthy" could get tripped up that way.