The 3 Hour Diet Review

This 3 Hour Diet review takes a look at a plan based on eating smaller, more frequent meals to keep you feeling full whilst losing weight…so does it work?

The 3 Hour Diet has been written by Jorge Cruise. Cruise has worked as AOL’s weight loss coach and has contributed as a columnist in USA Today and as a consultant on shows like Today and Good Morning America.

As well as the original book, Cruise has written a number of spin offs, such as the 3 Hour Diet on the Go, the 3 Hour Diet Cookbook and the 3 Hour Diet for Teens.

The subtitle to the original book is, “How Low Carb Diets Make You Fat and Timing Makes You Thin”. This piqued our interest…so what’s the diet all about then?

3 Hour Diet Review – How Does it Work…?

Cruise contends that if you don’t eat something every three hours your body thinks you’re starving and slows down your metabolism to conserve energy.The theory behind the diet is that what you eat when trying to lose weight is less important than when you eat.

It also takes muscle tissue and burns that to fill some of the energy deficit caused by lack of food.

Cruise calls this the “starvation protection mechanism”.

By eating small meals more frequently, Cruise contends that you’ll help to balance your blood sugar levels and avoid the need for your body to secrete your fat storing hormone, insulin.

Your body is also less likely to produce the stress hormone, cortisol, which Cruise blames for producing belly fat.

No problem so far. If you’ve read other sections of this site you’ll be familiar with the concept of ‘grazing’, eating small amounts of food often.

This is a strategy that we would certainly endorse and is something that features in our top weight loss tips.

I guess the one area where we would differ with Cruise is on low carb diets.

Cruise contends that low carb diets don’t work and cause people to put on more weight than they lose in the long run.

However, for many people, particularly those dieters who build little if any exercise into their daily routine, cutting back on simple, fast release carbs like sugars and refined starches makes sense. They just don’t need the energy.

A low carb, not ‘no carb’, approach where fast release carbs are replaced with slow release carbs, like fruits, veg and wholegrains will ensure they get a balanced mix of nutrients.

It can also help to avoid the spikes in blood sugar levels that can trigger overeating or a binge.

The book contains some useful tools such as easy to follow diet and exercise plans, lots of recipes and meal planners to ensure a balanced mix of protein, carbs and fat at every meal.

3 Hour Diet Review – Does it Work…?

We would suggest that the basic principle of eating smaller meals every three hours is sound and will help you to rev up your metabolism and burn fat.

The 3 Hour Diet will ensure you eat around 1,400-1,500 calories a day, which is a healthy energy intake that should result in weight loss for most people.

The diet encourages exercise, a vital component of any weight loss program and will certainly result in you eating a wide range of healthy foods.

For example, Cruise follows the food pyramid recommended by most national health bodies in his, “All New Cruise Down Plate”.

What about the weight loss claims? Well, we would doubt whether everyone will lose 2lbs a week on the 3 Hour Diet, certainly not on 1,500 calories a day.

For instance, a man burning 2,500 calories a day might well do as there are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. 1,500 calories a day would result in around 2lbs of weight loss a week.

A women burning 2,000 calories a day would do well to lose 1lb a week on 1,500 calories a day.

The problem with one size fits all diets is that they tend to work differently for different people.

An individually tailored plan like that offered by eDiets would help to solve that problem.

Our 3 Hour Diet review would suggest that you’ll be likely to experience slow, gradual weight loss on this program, which is good.

The longer the weight takes to come off, the more likely it is to stay off Rapid weight loss is never a good idea!

3 Hour Diet Review – The Bottom Line…

Overall, we like this plan. Whilst what you eat is important, when you eat it is equally so.

Our 3 Hour Diet review would conclude that this is a practical, sensible approach to weight loss, which promotes healthy eating and will help to overcome many a dieter’s tendency to skip meals.

It makes you think about what you eat and when you eat it, which is important to establishing new eating and lifestyle habits. You’re not going to keep the weight of without them!

Eating more frequently will help to control your appetite, prevent snacking and stop those energy dips we can all experience mid-morning and afternoon.

Our 3 Hour Diet review verdict? In general, we like it – highly recommended!