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3D Diet Plan

Aug 18, 2011 | By Lynette Hingle
3D Diet Plan
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The 3D Diet, outlined in the book "Your Whole Life: the 3D Plan for Eating Right, Living Well and Loving God," by Carol Showalter and Maggie Davis, claims to help you lose weight through the use of the company's faith-based weight-reduction program. This diet's three-phase program, based on the Christian principles of proper diet, discipline and discipleship, shows you how to implement gradual changes into your daily routine that, over-time, positively effect your weight and overall well-being through the course of your life, according to the diet website.

Methodology

You begin the 3D diet by filling out the company's weight history questionnaire to help you uncover past lifestyle issues that deterred you from attaining your ideal weight. For example, you assess what aspects of previous diet plans did and did not work for you, what present motivations now propel you to start eating and living "right" and what obstacles you need to overcome to achieve your weight-loss goals, according to the 3D Christian Diet website.

Then, you calculate your caloric needs based upon your current weight. For example, if you weigh less than 150 lbs., you should eat 1,200 calories per day; if you weigh 200 to 249 lbs., you should eat 1,600 calories per day, and if you weigh more than 400 lbs., you should eat 2,400 calories per day while on the program, according to the diet website. You set a weight loss goal and adjust your caloric intake to match the diet's recommendations as you shed your unwanted pounds. You follow the company's suggested daily food portion guidelines to incorporate unsaturated fats and oils, such as olives and peanut oil; lean, high-protein foods such as lentils and fish; high-calcium foods such as spinach and goat's milk and an assortment of fruits, vegetables and whole grains into your daily eating regimen. You adhere to the company's 12-week spiritual strengthening program, including daily Bible devotions, food journaling and prayer. You also walk five days per week to accelerate your weight-loss efforts, according to the diet website.

Support

The 3D diet website suggests that you enlist a diet buddy, join or start a local 3D group, or utilize the online tools available on the 3D diet website to help you remain motivated and on-task. 3D Diet plan groups, available in 10 U.S. states at time of publication, meet regularly to discuss individual accomplishments and challenges before and during the program. The diet's online support tools include live access to 3D diet counselors, discussion questions for 3D group leaders, additional sources for nutritional information and quarterly health assessment questionnaires to help you record your progress and develop new short- and long-term goals.

Considerations

According to a 2005 report published in the "Journal of the National Medical Association," faith-based weight-loss methods performed on African American women show mixed results. The researchers said they performed the study on African Americans because faith plays a larger role in the black community than it does in others. Although spiritually driven diet practices might enhance weight-reduction attempts, the researchers concluded that more clinical studies must be conducted to validate the addition of faith-based efforts in weight-loss programs.

Warning

Speak with your doctor about the benefits and drawbacks of the 3D diet before you begin the program. Your doctor might suggest that you follow another diet that does not incorporate religious beliefs into a medically proven eating and exercise weight-loss system. Your doctor might also recommend another weight-reduction system that better matches your individual health condition.

References

Article reviewed by GlennK Last updated on: Aug 18, 2011

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