The 5 Factor Diet

Does the 5 Factor Diet work for ordinary people?

The 5 Factor Diet is the newest craze in Hollywood, and though I’m not a Hollywood star or even anyone famous, I thought I would try it. I had tried several different diet programs and none of them seemed to work for me. That may be because I hate water, diet drinks, and exercise. That makes me kind of a poor candidate for any diet if I do say so myself.

For some reason, however, I began looking at things differently—for one thing I was tired of having to shop for clothes in the Plus Size section. It was embarrassing to see slim women all around me browsing through the size 5s and 7s while I couldn’t even get that size over my hips. I knew it was time to do something, but I wanted something that I knew was going to work.

The 5 Factor Diet is based on the premise of eating five meals every day each of which includes a lean protein, a complex carbohydrate, fibre, a “good” fat, and a sugar-free drink. Each of the foods on this diet is based on the Glycemic Index, a process that rates foods according to how they affect blood sugar levels.

It is believed that when blood sugar levels are stable, you do not experience cravings and thus eat less. The program also recommends five exercises that must be performed five times each week but only take about five minutes each to do.

Once I got the book and began reading in more detail, I was actually impressed with one specific part of the five factor diet—each week includes a “cheat” day where you can eat anything you want. This was a plus for me because it meant I would not be deprived of things I enjoyed.

Of course, you have to understand that you can’t overdo it even on your cheating day or you will gain everything you lost that week. It is not a fast weight loss plan by any means, but it does promote healthy weight loss and helps you adapt healthy eating habits leading to a healthier lifestyle.

The average weight loss for the 5 Factor Diet program is about one to two pounds a week, so it took me about six months to reach my goal weight. I achieved that about two months ago and continue to follow the program guidelines in order to make sure I don’t gain the weight back.

The basic premise of the 5 Factor Diet and any diet is to burn more calories than you consume in order to lose weight, and that requires exercise. I have to admit I wasn’t happy with how slow the diet works as I had hoped to have more weight off than I did by the time the holidays began to approach, but I am at least glad the process was steady.

If you’re looking just to lose weight, this is not the program for you, but if you want to make lifestyle changes that will stimulate weight loss, this is a healthy choice.

Review by Candace Brown