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The last half of the book covers his three-stage plan; daily diets are mixed with recipes, some of which are from South Beach restaurant chefs. The most restrictive period lasts just two weeks, enough time to stabilize your urges and lose a few pounds; stage two adds fruits and a handful of other carbs, while stage three is meant to last the remainder of your life, with occasional lapses for white bread or birthday cake. While the diet is sound, the book could be better organized. The first half mixes scientific study with anecdote in a seemingly random way, while the mix of meal plans and recipes can be confusing. Still, the recipes are varied and tasty, and you'll never feel deprived, unless you currently happen to live by bread alone. --Jill Lightner

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When Dr. Agatston set out to develop a palatable, safe diet to ensure the long-term health of his chronically overweight heart patients, he also caused an overnight sensation among South Beach's body-conscious beachgoers. Why? With Dr. Agatston's plan, you shed pounds fast-right from the waistline and belly. His scientifically proven program offers immediate results, helping dieters shed 10, 20, 30 pounds while radically changing their blood chemistry, reversing diabetes, and lowering high cholesterol. The diet works in three stages to change your metabolism and then maintain it, with a healthy assortment of meat and fish, cheese, healthy oils and nuts, vegetables, and even small amounts of carbohydrates and sweets. And it does all this without the dangerous long-term effects of the Zone, Atkins, or other severely restrictive diets, which is why The South Beach Diet earned the support of the American Heart Association, which has warned against many other popular diets. The diet will show you how to: -Shed pounds-without breaking a sweat (no mandatory exercise) -Banish frustrating cravings in 2 weeks -Forget willpower-diet relies exclusively on the physiology of appetite and metabolism