Thread: The Cheater's Diet

This diet REQUIRES dieters to cheat. The idea is to lose weight by taking the weekend's off. From Monday through Friday, dieters are expected to eat Mediterranean-style diet for 1,600 and 1,800 calories a day. On the weekends, starting 9am Saturday up to 9pm Sunday, they are allowed to cheat. Suggested foods you can eat during the cheating phase are:

Pizza
Ice cream
Peanut butter
Chocolate
Strawberry shortcake

Paul Rivas, MD, author of the book, says if dieters keep their calories constant during the week and only overeat on weekends, their metabolic rate increases and continues to burn calories at a higher rate throughout the week. Rivas also recommends the use of supplement to boost weight loss.

Somehow, the idea is like calorie shifting huh? So there is no calorie limit during Saturdays and Sundays? Can you eat anything you want?

That's one of the disadvatages of this diet since there is a risk that dieters might overeat on the weekend. The only foods you need to avoid are those that would trigger food binge

Just out of curiousity, why start at 9am on Saturdays? What's the idea on that? Does it matter if you eat before that?

I was just wondering the same thing. Why 9am? why not 6am?

This diet REQUIRES dieters to cheat.

This line really surprised me. lol

To be honest, I don't know why. I guess metabolism works better around that time. It didn't really say why it has to be 9am saturday to 9pm sunday.

Weird huh? Anyway, what are the recommended supplements for this diet?

According to the book, these are the supplements that may help boost weight loss:

1. Green tea extract
2. 5 HTP
3. Mucana Pruriens
4. Yerba Mate
5. L-tyrosine

I only know green tea extract. I haven't heard of the rest. Are there some side effects in taking these supplements?

Here are some of the side effects:

1. Green tea extract - may react to many medications like diabetes meds, Lithium, antiplatelet agents, and many others.
2. 5 HTP - may also react to prescription meds and the National Weight Control Registry referenced this as "possibly unsafe".
3. Mucana Pruriens - side effects ranges from nausea to hallucinations and paranoid delusions.
4. Yerba Mate - possibly unsafe to use during pregnancy
5. L-tyrosine - may cause additive effects with thyroid hormone medications.

Also, most of these supplements lack evidence that it will aid weight loss.