List of Foods Acceptable on the South Beach Diet

The South Beach diet helps people lose weight by encouraging foods that contain "good fats" and "good carbs" rather than strictly outlawing either carbs or fats. A policy of changing lifestyle habits over three phases of the diet makes the South Beach Diet from Dr. Arthur Agaston, M.D. a reasonable choice for lifelong weight maintenance. Avoiding certain foods altogether during the early phases of the diet helps reduce cravings and sets the stage for long-lasting change.

During the first phase of the South Beach Diet, avoid baked goods and eat sugar-free gelatin and ice pops instead. Try sweetening some low-fat ricotta cheese with sugar substitute and adding a small amount of flavor extracts, or enjoy sugar-free fudge pops. Eat only 75 or fewer calories of sweets each day. Drink coffee, tea and diet soft drinks, but limit caffeinated beverages to no more than two per day. Drink plenty of water or calorie-free flavored water. Add low-calorie powdered drink mixes to water as a juice substitute. Vegetable juice is allowed. Use seasonings and condiments that do not contain added sugar. Eat mustard, regular mayonnaise, hot pepper sauce, horseradish, and worcestershire sauce. Make your own salad dressing from canola, flaxseed, olive, sesame or walnut oil combined with flavored vinegar, or use a bottled dressing without carbs or sugar. Eat up to two servings per day of low-fat or fat-free dairy products such as cottage cheese, plain yogurt and cheese. Drink low-fat or fat-free milk or low-fat plain soy milk. Do not use the vanilla or chocolate soy milk. Eat fish and seafood without breading and not fried. Eat lean meat such as skinless chicken, trimmed pork and sirloin. Substitute lower-fat Canadian bacon for bacon and avoid full-fat luncheon meats and breakfast sausage. Eggs work for all three phases of the South Beach Diet. If you are a vegetarian, choose soy products and veggie burgers. The South Beach Diet encourages green vegetables on all phases. Eat avocados, beans, peppers, cucumbers, lettuces, mushrooms, onions and spaghetti squash on all phases of the diet. Even though fruit is banned from Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet, tomatoes are an exception because of their many health benefits.