The Five-Day diet was created by Adele Puhn, a nutritionist who claims following the program will reduce your cravings for unhealthy foods by stabilizing your blood sugar. Puhn's plan is based on the principle that it takes five days for this to occur, beyond which you should also experience weight loss, a boost to your energy and an improvement in your overall health. Always talk with your doctor before beginning a new diet program.
How It Works
Following the Five-Day diet requires careful planning because the timing of your meals and snacks is very strict, and if you don't follow it exactly as Puhn advises, you will have to start from the beginning. You must eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking, consume lunch before 1 p.m. and eat dinner by 7 p.m. In addition, you will eat one or two snacks between meals to prevent going longer than three hours without food. Once your blood sugar has stabilized, you can include indulgent foods at certain times. By following the guidelines, you should experience a reduction in cravings for sugars, starches, caffeine and alcohol.
Foods
On the Five-Day diet, breakfast should contain protein and complex carbohydrates, lunch and dinner should be a combination of protein and vegetables, and snacks are specific fruits and vegetables, such as apples, celery and melon. Other foods that Puhn recommends include egg whites, chicken breast, turkey, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, peppers, oranges, oatmeal and strawberries.
Exercise
Since Puhn's plan is designed primarily to help you stabilize your blood sugar, exercise is not included in the program. However, if you also want to lose weight, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day to promote this. Choose an activity you enjoy to increase your motivation and make it easier to stick with. Always discuss a new exercise routine with your doctor before starting it.
Considerations
Puhn's Five-Day diet is pretty restrictive, which may make it difficult to stick with long term. After the five days required to stabilize your blood sugar, you can eat more recommended foods, but if you get bored eating the same foods all the time, you may give up before you have reached your goal. Not only are you more likely to gain back any weight you lose after returning to a normal eating pattern, but completely eliminating entire food groups from your diet puts you at risk of nutritional deficiencies. If your main goal is to get your blood sugar stabilized and reduce cravings, you may find success with this program, but for weight loss, the diet is too restrictive for long-term use.
Member Comments