Phase three of the South Beach diet is essentially the maintenance phase of the program. This is when you move off the weight loss phase and start to make South Beach a lifestyle eating choice. If you’ve dieted before, you know that maintenance is frequently the most difficult part of any popular diet. This will be true with the South Beach diet as well, but if you avoid going nutty with your food choices in celebration of making goal weight, you will have a much easier time of sticking to phase three and successfully creating a new lifestyle.
I think it is important that once you make goal weight that you don’t suddenly go back to the way you have always eaten, even if you just plan on that being for a couple of days. If you need to treat yourself to celebrate your success, then make that treat a non-food option. Take yourself off to the department store and buy that pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing, but always thought was too expensive. Or buy a new suit and have it tailored to your great new shape. Schedule a vacation for yourself someplace warm and sunny. Heavy, high carb foods are less desirable during hot weather anyway.
So what will you eat on phase 3?
This phase actually looks a lot like phase two, so it won’t be unfamiliar to you. You’ll continue to make choices about the types of cabs you eat, making sure to choose lower glycemic index foods over higher GI ones and you’ll stick to the good fats. What will change is portion sizes and you’ll be able to enjoy a wider variety of foods as long as you stick to the basic guidelines. You can start eating normal sized meals. Just be sure not to stuff yourself. If you eat slowly, you’ll give your body a better chance of letting you know when you are satiated.
If there are occasions that you over-indulge in foods that are not well-suited to the South Beach lifestyle, then it is important to not let that lead you into throwing in the towel. Just get back to the healthy way of eating that you’ve learned all about in the previous phases. And if you do experience some weight gain, you can always return to phase 1 of the program for a couple of weeks to get those few pounds off. The point, really, is to not let your weight creep up over time. Nip it in the bud the moment that you notice.
If you haven’t started South Beach yet and you’re still wondering if it is the right weight loss plan for you, be sure to read my South Beach Diet Review [http://dietinspector.com/south-beach-diet-review/].
If you missed them, you can also read my articles on South Beach Phase 1 [http://dietinspector.com/2008/south-beach-diet-phase-1/] and Phase 2 [http://dietinspector.com/2008/south-beach-diet-phase-2/] to learn more about how this popular diet works.
