South Beach Diet Vs. the Flat Belly Diet

The latest diet craze often compared to the popular South Beach Diet is the Flat Belly Diet. While both diets require cutting back on sugar, refined flour, and white flour, the methods for weight loss are quite different. One difference is, you do not have to measure foods or count calories on the South Beach Diet, whereas dieters on the Flat Belly Diet are required to count calories with each meal.

South Beach Diet

Since many of us are addicted to carbohydrate foods, the South Beach Diet, created by cardiologist Arthur Agatston, MD, is a low-carb diet that does not count grams of carbohydrates but restricts the intake of highly processed carbs that can get digested too quickly and cause insulin levels to spike and fuel hunger for all the incorrect foods. The South Beach Diet promises to help the dieter control food portion size and choices.

The South Beach Diet is divided into three phases. Phase 1 lasts two weeks and is designed to eliminate cravings and jump-start weight loss. Dieters are not allowed to eat potatoes, fruit, bread, cereal, rice, pasta, beets, carrots, and corn. Phase 2 is intended to produce long-term and steady weight loss. Phase 3 is your eating lifestyle 365 days a year.

In comparison to other low-carb diets, the South Beach Diet's emphasis is on healthy, plant-based fats like olive oil instead of saturated fats like bacon. However, the importance of protein might make it difficult for a vegetarian to follow the diet.

Flat Belly Diet

Editors of Prevention magazine invented the Flat Belly Diet for women who have tried practically everything to eliminate their belly fat. The Flat Belly Diet is based on the premise that the correct foods will help prevent cortisol levels in the body from getting out of control. Cortisol stimulates the body to store fat around the internal organs (belly fat) and can also weaken the immune system.

The Flat Belly Diet requires eating four meals a day that consist of 400 calories each. There are five main components of the diet that can be included in any of the meals but must be kept to the suggested amounts:

1 tablespoon of oil
2 tablespoons of nuts and seeds
1/4 cup of avocados
10 olives
1/4 cup of dark chocolate

The foods incorporated into the Flat Belly Diet contain MUFAs. MUFAs are monounsaturated fatty acids that help to breakdown unwanted stored fat. They are found in certain oils, nuts, avocados, olives and dark chocolate. By eating these foods in the suggested amounts, the body will begin to break the cycle created by the release of cortisol.

Although the Flat Belly Diet says you will lose weight "without a single crunch" the diet also suggests you should come up with a daily workout program.