Tag Archives: south beach diet

Leaning In to Get Lean: Meet the Rare Female CEOs in the Diet Industry

female-CEO

By Shae Blevins

The 2024 Fortune 500 List included 24 female CEOs – the most in history – and the United States elected a record-setting 100 women to the 113th Congress. Women are making their move!

But a lack of female leadership is still evident in the industry that targets American women most: Wellness. That’s the $20 billion industry that encompasses diet, fitness, and weight loss. It’s an industry where 85% of the consumers are women, and the grand majority of executive leadership — from CEOs to boards — are male. That’s right, there are dudes perched at the brands that prominently lead the industry – from the girl-powered Jillian Michaels to the all-inclusive Weight Watchers.

Fortunately, there are a few brands breaking the industry norm with female CEOs. It’s been two years since industry giant Nutrisystem appointed its first female CEO, and the brand is seemingly better for it. And most recently, Retrofit replaced its CEO with a woman. One feather in this hat was lost last December, when Dana Fiser left her two-year reign as CEO at Jenny Craig.

Meet the three shining female stars blazing trails in wellness: (more…)

South Beach Diet vs. South Beach Diet Supercharged

Together, The South Beach Diet and South Beach Diet Supercharged boast of helping millions lose weight and live happier, healthier lives. The South Beach Diet swept the nation in 2003 when the book of the same name was first published by the diet’s creator, Dr. Arthur Agatston. In 2024, the South Beach Diet Supercharged came on the scene. The titles do not work independently; rather, Supercharged is the revised version of the original.

They both have as their core a high-protein, low-carb diet that also restricts saturated fats. The diet works in phases, with each phase geared toward a different goal.

  • Phase 1 is fairly restrictive, but its aim is to eliminate cravings and promote rapid weight loss. Sugars and starches (like bread, pasta, and fruit) are eliminated.
  • Phase 2 reintroduces certain foods while still aiming for patients to lose weight.
  • Phase 3 is the maintenance phase, in which patients are encouraged to keep practicing healthy eating principles for life but may eat most foods in moderation. (more…)

Phase Diets Increase in Popularity With the New Year

With the new year upon us, you may be considering a wide array of diets to help accomplish the healthy living resolution you will soon be setting. Although it seems like endless diet possibilities exist, most are built around similar principles. Some involve strict, automatic changes to your current way of eating while others involve a progression of stages. Although diets that work in stages might seem like a better option than a one-step plan, they too often result in only short term weight loss success.

For example, take the newly launched PINK Method. This diet is a phase diet – one that involves multiple stages of eating behavior. Those who embark on this diet will find that they must first start with the PINK Reset – a short term detox diet that is meant to jump-start your metabolism. This stage of the diet is then followed by the PINK Primary stage where participants are given a little more leniency, but still must follow a fat-fighting diet that reintroduces the body to high-energy foods. After this stage is complete, dieters will then move on to the last stage of the diet where weight management becomes key. As you can see, this progression hopefully leads to a lifetime of dietary changes after a rebooting of the system takes place.

Other diets are similar. Both the 17 Day Diet and the South Beach diet work in much the same way. Although each of these diets has the potential to result in successful weight loss, more often than not, this success is short lived because of how hard  it is to move beyond the strict early phases. Failure to comply with these stages often results in feelings of discouragement, guilt, shame, and failure. Instead, individuals who attempt to utlize these types of meal plans should focus on what they can do in the early stages instead of what they can’t do. Even if an individual is unable to comply to all the rules, many of the small changes they are able to make will have positive long-lasting effects on overall health. (more…)

Prevention Magazine October Features Dr. Oz

Don’t miss October’s Prevention Magazine, featuring Dr. Mehmet Oz helping people get their body in the best shape of their lives.

If Dr. Oz’s prescription for a better bod doesn’t speak to you, one of the other featured health stories surely will. Dr. Arthur Agatston, creator of the South Beach Diet, offers his tips for having a healthier heart. And with breast cancer awareness month right around the corner, Prevention shares new information about a potential cure for this deadly disease. There’s also a guide for a four-week belly flattening workout. If nothing else makes you pick up this month’s Prevention, surely a guilt-free mac and cheese recipe will do it, just in time for fall.

Grab this copy of Prevention Magazine from your newsstand, or subscribe to Prevention Magazine and never miss an issue.

South Beach Diet vs. Atkins Diet

The Atkins Diet, introduced nearly forty years ago, has been credited for beginning the now popular low-carb revolution. Though buzz about low-carb diets had quieted over the past several years,  the Atkins Diet remains a popular way for people to lose weight by eating fewer high carbohydrate foods and more high fiber vegetables.

Newer to the scene is the South Beach Diet, which is less prohibitive than the Atkins Diet and restricts saturated fats, which have been associated with health problems such as heart disease and high cholesterol.

For the purposes of this comparison I am using Dr. Atkin’s New Diet Revolution, the last book actually written by Dr. Robert Atkins before his death and The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and Better Health For Life.

Cost

Both of these books are available online and in stores for less than $20.00. Both the Atkins Diet and South Beach Diet have websites that offer free tools to help dieters count carbohydrates, set goals and encourage other members of the diet community. Both diets offer various packaged foods you can buy at the grocery store that help users stay on track which can increase the cost of the diet for individuals.

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Get Fit for Fall with Popular Weight Loss Plans

With the first day of school already taking place in some parts of the country, and plans starting to be made for Labor Day weekend, it’s clear that summer is about to give way to fall. Checking in with yourself at the start of fall can be a good idea. As active as summer can be, summers like this where the heat seems to break a new record each day can leave us sitting inside just trying to stay cool, never mind working out. With the kids back in school and you back in control of your schedule, there’s no time like the present to re-start your weight loss efforts.

We’ve identified seven programs that, so far this year, really stand-out as leaders, offering their customers healthful, balanced approaches to weight loss and healthful living. Consider these for your fall weight loss resolution.

View 7 Weight Loss Plans Fit for Fall  Slideshow

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US News Ranks the Best Commercial Diets and the Best Diets for Weight Loss

US News Best Diets LogoU.S. News and World Report is famous (and in some cases infamous) for ranking products, institutions and services of all kinds, be it cars, colleges or diets. Yesterday, they released diet rankings in a number of categories, most notably the best commercial diets and the best diets for weight loss. They also created a list for both the best diabetic diets and the best heart-healthy diets, and a list of best overall diets.

U.S. News reports that they spent six month researching diets, and then had a panel of 22 health experts score the diet on seven different criteria. The diet was judged on its nutritional completeness, its safety, its ability to prevent or manage diabetes, its ability to prevent or manage heart disease, short-term weight loss, long-term weight loss and how easy it is to follow.

It’s little surprise to us that Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig topped both lists, as multiple studies have shown these two diets to be effective. Below are the top eight diets from the best commercial diets and the best diets for weight loss.

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The 17 Day Diet vs. The South Beach Diet

When it comes to really understanding different diets, sometimes it’s best to compare it to another popular diet. For example, The 17 Day Diet created by Dr. Mike Moreno is hugely popular right now. But in order to best understand its ins and outs, we thought we’d compare it to another popular diet- the South Beach Diet. Turns out, they have quite a bit in common!

Price

Both of these diets are fairly cost effective in that it just takes buying the book to learn how the diet works. You can buy either diet book for less than $20 on Amazon. When it comes to buying the food required in the diets, the cost is about the same, too, as both emphasize eating lots of fresh produce, lean meats, beans, nuts, dairy and whole grains (in moderation). Both programs also offer branded foods that are not required for success on these diets, but some may find convenient. South Beach offers a line of package foods, such as wraps and meal bars. There is a 17 Day Diet Meal Plan offered through the diet delivery service Bistro MD.

Accessibility

As of now, The 17 Day Diet does not have an in-depth online component (although I’d expect them to add that in the near future), but the website does offer free recipes and a caloric-needs and BMI calculator. On the other hand, the South Beach Diet has a robust online community and program costing $5 a week for your own customized meal plan; tools to track your weight, phase, and diet goals; and 24-hour online support and other online community features.

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Learning Moderation Puts an End to the Dieting Cycle

Heather is the author of Not a DIY Life, where she shares her journey of healthy living, parenting, faith and everything in between. After all, life is not a Do-It-Yourself project.

I’m not really a professional dieter, but I have struggled with my weight most of my adult life. I’ve tried several different “diets,” including a low-fat diet, Atkins, and South Beach. Even though I am losing weight currently, I am not on a diet in the same sense. I am on a journey of healthy living, and that includes learning moderation in all things.

When I was in college, I lost 50 lbs on a low-fat diet with lots of activity and exercise. During that time, I gave up bacon. Oh, how I missed bacon. But it wasn’t “low fat” so I thought that I “couldn’t” eat it. I did not eat bacon for SIX years.

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The Cost of Losing 20 Pounds

Price of Weight LossThere are many factors that go into choosing to sign up for a diet plan, and cost is one of the most carefully considered. Jeanne Lee for CBS MoneyWatch takes a look at this question from a unique perspective: the cost to lose 20 pounds. She calculates the cost per pound lost for eighth different popular weight-loss systems. Most of these diets are meal delivery services that provide balanced, portion controlled foods. On the other hand, Weight Watchers and eDiets are support-only programs provide the customer with tips, goals and meal plans, but not food. These support-based programs are far cheaper per pound lost, but some may find them hard to follow.

In the end, the diet program that’s the best investment is the one that helps you lead a healthier lifestyle and see long-term results. MoneyWatch recommends the diets with proven track records and economical fees.

Flip through this slide show to compare the costs of Medifast, In the Zone Delivery, eDiets, Bistro MD, Weight Watchers, Nurtisystem, Jenny Craig and South Beach Online.

View The Cost of Losing 20 Pounds Slideshow

Undereating Equals Undercutting Weight Loss Results

frustrated dieterFor all those who have tried to lose weight, you know that it is a constant battle. Calories in calories out, low-carb, no-carb, Atkins, South Beach Diet, the Biggest Loser Diet, and this list goes on. There are so many choices, and all we want are results. Some go to extreme measures to lose weight, and in affect, are counter productive. One of the biggest mistakes made on any diet program, believe it or not, is undereating. You may be asking yourself how is that possible? If I take in fewer calories than I eat I’ll lose more weight. Wrong idea.

That may work for maybe a week, but eventually your body will go into starvation mode. Your body will hold onto every single morsel you put into your body, you will stop losing weight, and possibly gain weight.
I have made that mistake many times. The best plan is simply to live in balance. Eat a good variety of foods, and count your calories. Now, how many calories should you be eating? (more…)