PITTSBURGH -- Almost 65 percent of Americans are overweight. If you're one of them, imagine losing up to 13 pounds in two weeks, without feeling hungry. That's what the South Beach Diet promises.

Although this isn't Miami Beach, Pittsburghers are still interested in losing weight.

The cover of the South Beach Diet book promises you'll lose belly fat first. In one recent study, dieters lost an average of 14 pounds while lowering their cholesterol and triglycerides; all without having to count calories.

For lunch, Ellen Peterson is preparing a sandwich without the bread; turkey and mayonnaise stuffed in a lettuce leaf. She's a South Beach Diet success story.

Peterson said, "I lost 20 pounds the first 2 ½ months and maybe a total of 24 pounds in less than three months."

And, she's kept it off 3 ½ years. But, weight loss wasn't Peterson's only goal.

"Both my parents have suffered heart attacks and both have had bypass surgery and so I know I'm a candidate for heart disease. And before I started the diet I actually had high cholesterol. And going to Dr. Agatston and being on the diet, my cholesterol's gone way down," Peterson said.

Miami Beach cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatston developed the South Beach Diet in 1997 for his patients.

Agatston said, "Certainly, one of my purposes originally was to improve the blood chemistries of my patients and prevent heart attacks and strokes."

Now, Agatston is the author of a best-selling book. Sales have been fairly steady at local bookstores. The premise of the South Beach Diet is simple.

"First, to eat the right carbs and the right fats that don't cause the swings in blood sugar and they're also good for you," Agatston said.

In other words, stay away from highly processed carbs like those found in baked goods, and you'll start burning fat, instead of storing it.

One local expert disagrees.
Madelyn Fernstrom said, "The idea that your body will preferentially burn what you're eating is biochemically ridiculous."

The South Beach Diet has three phases.

The first two weeks are the strictest: no grains, starches or fruits allowed. The second phase is less restrictive. You can gradually start eating healthy carbs like fruit, whole-grain bread and sweet potatoes. By phase three, you should be at your ideal weight, and able to eat normally again.

Fernstrom said, "Actually, the South Beach Diet, as a way of eating, is heart healthy. It may save you some calories. But, again, if your caloric consumption is too great, you won't lose weight on this diet, as well."

The South Beach Diet has won the support of the American Heart Association, which has warned against many other popular diets.