Diets have become like fashion, you wake up and there is a new one launched even before you’ve read about the previous one. As long as the diet works for you and helps you lose weight without causing any side effects or muscle deterioration, diets are not bad. However, it is best to eat right, eat healthy and exercise regularly to stay fit. Fad diets help you lose weight quickly, but they aren't healthy. Quicker to lose, quicker to gain back -- this is how fad diets work. We discussed one such fad diet with expert Debjani Banerjee, dietitian PSRI Hospital and here’s what she says about it.
Read: 7 popular fad diets you should not follow.
What is the 5 bite diet?
As the name suggests, the diet involves eating only 5 bites during lunch and dinner and advises dieters to skip breakfast completely. Calorie-free drinks can be consumed all day and popping one multivitamin a day is suggested. The diet was introduced by Dr. Alwin C. Lewis in 2007 in his book, “Why weight around?” and he suggests that both lunch and dinner must include some protein in it.
According to Dr. Lewis even if you eat huge bites of food, your daily intake cannot exceed 900-1000 calories. He says that dieters stop feeling hungry after the third day because the body is habituated to feeling full with the amount of food.
This is an interesting take on eating food slowly and in limits so that you don’t end up overeating. Also, the diet teaches portion control and hence regulates calorie intake. Another advantage can be that you are allowed to eat anything from desserts to meat to carbohydrate-rich foods. Hence, there is no craving for good food.
Cons:
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- The diet demands skipping breakfast, which is the most important meal of the day.
- Though you are allowed to eat whatever you want, but only 10 bites of it per day may deprive the body of the required amount of protein and other nutrients.
- You cannot follow this diet long term and hence the moment you revert to regular eating habits, the weight comes back.
- Fatigue, dizziness and low energy are some of the side effects you will notice with this 5 bite diet.
- Restricting yourself to just 5 bites of food during lunch and dinner may leave you hungry.
For more articles on diet, visit our diet section. For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter. For diet related queries, visit our forum.
