Eat six times a day and lose up to 10 lbs. in one month. That's the plan from professional diet coach Jorge Cruise, writing at the Good Housekeeping website. Also known as the three-hour diet because the directions encourage you to eat every three hours, the eat to lose program is backed with online structure, tips and recipes. A membership plan also is available.
How It Works
Skipping meals is not effective for weight loss, according to Cruise, who says you need to eat often to lose weight. When you feed your body consistently, it never goes into a mini-starvation mode to preserve body fat. Instead, your metabolism accelerates and burns fat and calories. Eating regularly also stabilizes your blood sugar levels, whereas blood sugar swings are associated with increased hunger.
Features
Many diets include lists of foods you must avoid, and Cruise says these restrictive plans invite failure, according to Diets in Review.com. On the eat-to-lose diet, you can eat anything you want as long as you are reasonable about portion size. At meals, fill half your plate with vegetables, a source of protein about the size of a deck of cards, and carbohydrates about the size of a 3-inch cube. Snacks also can be anything you like but the portion should be small.
Specifics
Your six meals include breakfast, lunch, dinner, two snacks and a dessert at night. Examples provided by Good Housekeeping include a breakfast of one hard-boiled egg, one slice of whole-grain bread and 1 cup watermelon cubes or a protein bar and a cup of low-fat yogurt. Lunch and dinner could include a cheeseburger with a side salad, a beef and vegetable stir-fry, chicken and salad or enchiladas. Snacks might include six saltine crackers, a handful of potato chips or some fruit; and for dessert, a small cookie or four animal crackers.
Beverages
You can drink plenty of water, flavored seltzer water, diet soda, diet iced tea, and decaffeinated coffee and tea on this diet, according to registered dietitians Janis Jibrin and Tracy Olgeaty Gensler, writing for the Good Housekeeping website. It's also okay to drink three cups of caffeinated coffee or four cups of caffeinated tea per day, although the less caffeine the better.
Considerations
This diet may be easier than some since you can eat frequently and you can have all of your favorite foods, as noted by Diets in Review.com. You aren't as likely to get hungry or to feel deprived as you might on more restrictive plans. One difficulty might be the requirement of having to eat during the workday or when you're running errands.
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