The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Another View

Dr. Arthur Agatston's sequel to his smash bestseller "The South Beach Diet" is called "South Beach Diet Supercharged". It is an expanded version of the original, offering more flexibility with food and a critical exercise component to boost metabolism, accelerate weight loss and lead to toning and all-around better health.

The three phase plan in the original South Beach Diet has not changed with this updated version. But old-school South Beach dieters will be pleased to find expanded food selections, recipes and menu plans for Phases 1 and 2. Phase 1 includes more meat, poultry, vegetables, drinks, desserts, soy foods, and good fats. Phase 2 includes everything in Phase 1, plus more fruits, starches, and limited alcohol.

Everyone knows that exercise is a key component of any weight loss or weight maintenance program. So Agatston collaborated with University of Miami exercise physiologist Joseph Signorile, PhD, to develop his program. The key, he found, was interval training.

Supercharged presents a 10-week fitness plan that is actually a three phase workout regimen which advances along with the three phase meal plan. Interval training - which is, literally, stopping and starting - is X minutes walking, X minutes running hard, and back again, etc. Most experts agree it burns more calories than the exercise performed at a steady pace. Supercharged requires a 20 minute walking routing with high-intensity sprints mixed in. On non-interval training days, you're required to perform a total-body toning routine. The book has multiple illustrations to guide you with the exercise, but a Supercharged workout DVD is available as well. Bottom line: the expaned food selection is nice, and the focus on good nutrition is inarguable. The emphasis on exercise is a solid improvement over orginial South Beach.