The South Beach Diet is one of the better-known weight-loss procedures, and you've probably already heard of it. But do you know the principles and practices which have made it so successful? Although the concept is fairly easy to understand, there are a lot of misconceptions around about this diet.

There is one simple principle at the heart of the South Beach diet procedure. The idea is to identify good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates, and start to introduce more of the former and less of the latter into your diet. Basically, you are replacing the 'bad carbs' with 'good carbs' on a gradual process. As it's a fairly new dieting principle, there is not much guidance around about exactly how to apply this idea to your own life ... so, here are some FAQ and straightforward answers which can help you understand the procedure and make it work for your own weight-loss requirements.

Q: What can I eat while implementing the South Beach Diet plan?
A: You can feel happy about this answer! A great deal of what you can eat on the diet are foods that you are most probably already eating: beef, fish and shellfish, all kinds of poultry, eggs, nuts, vegetables and some cheese.

Q: How often a day should I eat?
A: It's suggested that you should eat three times a day from the foods listed above and plenty of green fresh salads. (Salad dressing should be just olive oil.)

Q: Do I stick to the same diet all the time?
A: No. There are three stages to the South Beach diet. The foods listed above can be eaten during all these stages. But during the first stage, you stop eating a lot of 'bad carbs': ice-cream, beer and other alcoholic drinks (including no-alcohol beer), bakery items like pastries and cookies and candy ... in other words high-sugar foods. You also cut out bread, potatoes, pasta and rice. This phase is not usually very long - measured usually in weeks. Often people find they have got good control over their diet and eating urges by the end of two weeks.

During the second phase, you attain your target weight, so this phase can take different lengths of time from person to person. You continue with the same procedure as in Stage 1, but you occasionally allow yourself a controlled portion of the foods that you cut out in the first stage. This trains your body to exercise control and puts you 'in charge' of your food intake so that you don't eat so much of the 'bad carbs' that you gain excess weight. You don't stop the procedure of Stage 1 - you just introduce occasional portions of the foods you gave up.

Q: What if I get cravings? On the South Beach diet you actually train your body to crave foods that are good for it and which will not cause weight gain - foods that you are allowed to eat plenty of. If you cut out the bad carbohydrates as recommended in Stage 1, and then keep training yourself through discipline to have only controlled quantities of those bad carbs, you can re-train your body to prefer the good carbs. So the answer is to persist during the first two weeks - distract yourself if possible by eating good carbs instead, exercising or going for a walk - and after those two weeks you'll find yourself in better control. Phase 2 is then a cinch!