The south beach diet is essentially a 3 part diet,the beginning is removing all starches and sugars from the intake.This last from 14 to 21 days,depending on the person,then the slow reintroduction of assorted fruits,vegatables meats etc. for the second week.wk 3 is maint. and excercise. buy the book,it is worth it and it works if you stay on it. One of the things that helps me disperse my 325# I guess is being 6'5".