The 3 Hour Diet

Best Form Fitness

The 3-Hour Diet - The Promise:
The opposite of those extreme plans that call for fasting, The 3-Hour Diet by fitness expert Jorge Cruise, requires you to eat five times a day, including a tiny dessert. All your favorite foods, including carbs and sweets, are allowed, as long as you eat them on a strict timetable.

Eating small, balanced meals every 3 hours boosts your body’s fat-burning potential, Cruise says.
If you don’t eat often enough, he explains, your body goes into “starvation protection” mode, conserving calories, storing fat, and burning muscle (not fat) for energy. Cruise says that if you eat every 3 hours, you repeatedly reset your metabolism so it stays in high gear, and you burn fat all day long.

His rules around meal timing are:
Eat breakfast within 1 hour of rising.
Eat every 3 hours after that.
Stop eating 3 hours before bedtime.

Stick to the recommended portion sizes. Meals should average 400 calories; snacks, 100 calories; and dessert, 50 calories (like a Reese’s Mini), for a total of about 1,450 calories a day.
He says you’ll drop up to 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks, and 2 pounds a week after that, without losing any fat-burning muscle tissue.
You’ll also curb your levels of cortisol -- the “stress hormone” -- and flatten your belly in the process, Cruise says. And you’ll have more energy and less hunger, because eating every 3 hours keeps your blood sugar levels steady.
That's not proven, though some research suggests that eating smaller, more frequent meals can help manage hunger.

What You Can Eat and What You Can't

On this diet, there are no bad foods, only bad portion sizes. In other words, you can eat whatever you want -- carbs, meat, fast food, frozen foods, sweets -- as long as you stay within your calorie limits and eat at the right intervals.
Meal suggestions included in the book are designed to provide “balanced portions of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.”
Though you can choose your own foods, Cruise does favor lean proteins and flaxseed oil or extra-virgin olive oil.
To keep portion sizes in check, he encourages you to picture a Rubik’s cube for a serving of carbs, a deck of cards for meat and other proteins, and a water bottle cap for salad dressing and other fats.

Dukan Diet

Dukan Diet - Drop 10 pounds in one week and never gain it back. You can do it if you follow the Dukan Diet's rules, claims French general practitioner and nutritionist Pierre Dukan, who created the diet in 2000.
Lean protein, oat bran, water, and a daily 20-minute walk are at the heart of the plan. The theory is that limiting carbohydrates forces your body to burn fat.
Basically, you can eat unlimited quantities of food, as long as they’re on the approved foods list, which includes very few carbs, if any.

You will be eating a lot of protein and oat bran.
The diet has four phases.
During the “Attack” phase (1-10 days), you eat all the lean protein you can handle, plus 1.5 tablespoons of oat bran and at least 6 cups of water daily.
In the “Cruise” phase (which can last several months), you add unlimited amounts of non-starchy veggies every other day, plus an extra half-tablespoon of oat bran.
When you get to the third stage, “Consolidation” (5 days for every pound you've lost), you can have veggies every day, plus one piece of fruit, 2 slices of whole-grain bread, and 1 serving of hard cheese. During this phase, you can also have 1 or 2 servings of starchy foods and 1 or 2 “celebration” meals where you can eat whatever you want.
The final phase, “Stabilization” (ongoing), is all about maintenance. You can eat whatever you like, except for one day a week when you follow the all-protein rules from the diet’s “Attack” phase. In this phase, you also eat 3 tablespoons of oat bran a day and walk 20 minutes every day.
Sugar-free gum, artificial sweeteners, spices, and unsweetened coffee and tea are allowed. As for alcohol, you can have a glass of wine per day during the consolidation and stabilization phases.

The Sonoma Diet

The Sonoma Diet -
The Promise is that you will have a trimmer waist and better health in just 10 days, without depriving yourself. That is the promise of the Sonoma Diet, named for California’s wine country and influenced by a Mediterranean plant-focused way of eating.
Besides losing weight, the plan will help you break your sugar addiction and teach you to how to satisfy cravings with healthy foods.

What You Can Eat: The emphasis is on a cornucopia of flavorful, nutrient-dense “power foods,” including almonds, bell peppers, blueberries, broccoli, grapes, olive oil, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes, and whole grains.

The diet is divided into three "waves": The first wave lasts 10 days and is designed to promote quick weight loss. It is the most dramatic phase of the diet, when you are encouraged to get rid of all processed foods and some fatty foods like chips, butter, and bacon. Other banned foods in this wave include items that contain natural sugars, like wine, fruit, juice, and some vegetables. The long list of allowed foods include lean beef, eggs, asparagus, soba noodles, olive oil, walnuts, and spices.

 In the second wave, you eat the same foods as you did in Wave 1, except you can add some fruit, more veggies, sugar-free treats, and up to 6 ounces of wine daily. You stay with this phase until you reach your goal weight.

Once you have reached your ideal weight, you can jump into the third wave of the program, which focuses on making the Sonoma Diet a part of your lifestyle. You can experiment with different fruits, enjoying full-fat sweets as a rare treat, and adding fitness into your daily life.

The diet utilizes portion management via plate size -- you eat off a 7-inch plate for breakfast and a 9-inch plate for lunch and dinner.

The Sugar Busters Diet

The Sugar Busters Diet- No need to count calories on this plan. You can lose weight with a high-fiber diet made up of the right kinds of fruits, vegetables, proteins, and whole grains. You have to give up refined sugar and flour and make other adjustments to the way you eat. The plan emphasizes foods with a low glycemic index (GI), which help keep your blood sugar levels steady such as meats, cheese, nuts, seeds ect..Foods with a higher GI make your blood sugar rise  such as cakes, cookies, soda ect..

The foods with the highest GI are simple carbohydrates, including white bread, white rice, white potatoes, white flour, and sugar.

No major food groups are off-limits, but you will need to avoid foods with a high GI.

Fruits and vegetables: You can eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but  stay away from parsnips, watermelon, and pineapple.

Grains: Whole-grain bread and pasta, brown rice, and oatmeal are allowed.

Protein: You can eat low-fat dairy like milk, cheese, and yogurt, eggs, nuts, fish and shellfish, and many lean meats, including beef and pork.

Alcohol: You can have moderate amounts of alcohol, preferably heart-healthy red wine.

Sweeteners: Table sugar is forbidden, but artificial sweeteners like Equal, Sweet'N Low, and NutraSweet are allowed. Sugar-free ice cream is recommended instead of cookies and cakes.

Forbidden foods: You will have to give up white potatoes, white rice, white bread, white flour, corn, beets, soda, candy, baked goods, and refined sugar.

The Best Life Diet

The Best Life Diet - The Best Life Diet comes from exercise physiologist and certified personal trainer Bob Greene, who worked closely with Oprah Winfrey for years.
Even though "diet" is in the title, this isn't the sort of diet you can do for a few days for quick weight loss. Instead, it is a way of eating, and living, that helps you gradually change your eating habits so they stick with you for good.
You will go through three phases:

Baby Steps (at least 4 weeks): Prepare your body for weight loss by being more active, revving up your metabolism, getting rid of six "problem foods," and increasing the number of calories you burn.
Get Moving (at least 4 weeks): Keep calories in check by increasing your activity at least one level, understanding emotional reasons for hunger, introducing "anything-goes calories," and portion control.
Your Best Life (ongoing): Add even more activity; cut back on saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar; eliminate trans fats; and include wholesome foods.
What You Can Eat and What You Can't
You will eat three meals and at least one snack a day and drink lots of water.
Phase 1: You will have a fiber- and calcium-rich breakfast every day, healthy 100- to 200-calorie snacks, no eating for at least 2 hours before bedtime, and lots of water. You cannot eat the six problem foods: alcohol, soda, trans fats, fried foods, white bread, and full-fat milk and yogurt.
Phase 2: This phase is all about controlling your portions. You will eat the same types of food as in Phase 1, but you’ll add "anything-goes calories," with the amount depending on your activity level. In short, you have to earn them by being active.
Phase 3: You still keep portions in check, and you shift toward nutritious foods (leaner proteins, fruit, whole grains, colorful vegetables). You'll also focus on the quality of your diet. Everything you eat should offer great taste, vitamins, minerals, and nutrients you need to be satisfied and stay healthy.
The Best Life Diet doesn’t allow alcohol in Phase 1 but allows it in moderation in Phases 2 and 3 as part of your "anything-goes calories."
Limitations: In Phase 1, you cannot have alcohol, soda, trans fats, fried foods, white bread, or full-fat milk and yogurt. In Phases 2 and 3, you may use some of those foods as your "anything-goes calories."
Exercise: Required. You will do cardio and strength training, increasing it up with each phase of the diet. It will take time, ranging from 90 minutes a week to 6 hours a week or more.

The Mayo Clinic Diet

The Mayo Clinic Diet - The claim: You will shed 6 to 10 pounds in two weeks and continue losing 1 to 2 pounds weekly until you’ve hit your goal weight.
The theory: You recalibrate your eating habits, breaking bad ones and replacing them with good ones with the help of the Mayo Clinic’s unique food pyramid.

You start with Part 1- Lose It!! You don’t count calories, and you can snack all you want on fruits and veggies. After two weeks, you begin part 2, learning how many calories you should eat to either lose or maintain weight and where those calories should come from.

In “Lose it!” you will add a healthy breakfast, lots of fruits and veggies, whole grains, healthy fats and at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day. You will ban eating while watching TV, sugar (except what’s found in fruit), snacking (except on fruits and veggies), consuming too much meat and full-fat dairy, and eating out (unless the food you order follows the rules). You will eat  natural or minimally processed food.

In “Live it!” you will use what you learned in the first phase but be allowed to occasionally break the rules. You will also calculate the number of calories you can eat while still losing a couple of pounds a week. Instead of counting the calories in every grain of (brown) rice you eat, you will focus on servings. On a 1,400-calorie plan, for example, you are allowed four or more servings each of fruits and veggies, five servings of carbs, four of protein/dairy and three of fats. What’s a serving? For fruit it’s the size of a tennis ball; for protein, no bigger than a deck of cards. Round out “Live it!” with regular physical activity and you’re set for life.

The diet is heavy on food that’s naturally rich in nutrients and low in fat and calories, and the diet emphasizes fruits, veggies and whole grains. Recommended foods include healthy carbs (think fruit, legumes, vegetables, whole-wheat flour and wheat bran); fiber-rich foods such as nuts and beans; heart-healthy fish such as salmon, mackerel and tuna; and “good” fats, which include avocadoes, almonds, olives and walnuts. Foods to avoid include saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol and sodium.

Volumetrics

Volumetrics - The theory: People tend to eat the same weight, or amount, of food each day, regardless of how many calories they take in. Since some foods are less energy dense than others—that is, they have fewer calories per gram—filling your plate with more of those means you’ll be eating fewer calories without actually eating less food. Low-density foods, which are low in calories but high-volume, help you feel full and satisfied while dropping pounds. Fruits and veggies are ideal, since they’ll fill you up without breaking your calorie bank. (A pound of low-density carrots, for example, contains as many calories as an ounce of high-density peanuts.)

Volumetrics is all about getting more mileage out of what you eat. Food is divided into four groups. Category 1 (very low-density) includes nonstarchy fruits and vegetables, nonfat milk, and broth-based soup. Category 2 (low-density) includes starchy fruits and veggies, grains, breakfast cereal, low-fat meat, legumes, and low-fat mixed dishes, like chili and spaghetti. Category 3 (medium-density) includes meat, cheese, pizza, French fries, salad dressing, bread, pretzels, ice cream, and cake. Category 4 (high-density) includes crackers, chips, chocolate candies, cookies, nuts, butter, and oil. You will go heavy on categories 1 and 2, watch your portion sizes with category 3, and keep category 4 choices to a minimum. Each day, you’ll eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, a couple snacks and dessert. Exactly how strictly you follow Volumetrics is up to you.
Foods high in water play a big role in Volumetrics, since water increases the weight of food without packing in additional calories. Soup (80 to 95 percent water), fruits and veggies (80 to 95 percent), yogurt (75 percent), and yes, pasta (65 percent) are among your best bets.
You’re also encouraged to eat foods similar to what you’re craving: crunchy carrots and hummus, say, instead of chips and dip. No foods are off limits. And if there’s a category 4 favorite you can’t do without, indulge, as long as you make tradeoffs elsewhere.