3 Hour Diet

The 3-Hour Diet is a book written by fitness author Jorge Cruise - "The 3-Hour Diet - How Low-Carb Diets Make You Fat and Timing Makes You Thin". The book was released in April 2005 and quickly became very popular. Jorge Cruise is already an established writer with his "8 minutes" series - based around 8 minutes of exercise per day.

There is also a 3 Hour Diet online program available which offers a meal planner, daily coaching by Jorge, and an online community.

What is the 3 Hour Diet?

The basic premise of the 3 Hour Diet is to eat a meal every 3 hours (although the author suggests eating nothing 3 hours before bedtime). The idea behind this is to increase metabolism, and to help maintain consistent energy levels throughout the day.

Jorge Cruise claims a weight loss of 2 pounds per week (without exercise). He does recommend exercise - unsurprisingly this recommendation is for 8 minutes every day!

The diet also addresses emotional "saboteurs" - issues that can derail the program - such as engaging in sedentary activities associated with mindless eating.

What You Eat

Meals are based on a source of lean protein, (generally low-GI) carbs, and healthy fats (the author plugs Flax Seed Oil). The major selling points of the book are the various fast food and frozen food recommendations. This factor appeals to many, as so many of us live such time-constrained lives. The calorie amounts of the suggested daily meals amount to 1450 calories per day.

Sample Meal Plan

3 Hour Diet Pricing

The 3-Hour Diet - How Low-Carb Diets Make You Fat and Timing Makes You Thin retails for $24.95.

The online 3 Hour Diet program is free for 7 days, but then the dieter is charged $5.00 per week which is billed quarterly.

Downsides?

• The 3 Hour Diet is light on substance and heavy on hype. Many of the issues that Cruise explores have already been well-covered in today's diet book market. However, the basic principles behind the book are sound - eat little and often, learn how to incorporate "everyday" convenience foods, and how to plan and set goals. Cruise takes advantage of some of the low-carb "backlash" by claiming that low-carb diets make you fat - a very general and ill-informed statement.
• The book is richly interspersed with positive testimonials (presumably clients from Cruise's fitness trainer/motivator business). However these don't fail to hide the fact that the book contains a number of inconsistencies. It talks about no calorie counting - but then restricts portion sizes to certain calories!
• The 3-Hour Diet is heavy on processed food - which can be of questionable nutritional value.

Recommendations

The 3 Hour Diet is similar to one of the "originals" - Body For Life. However Body for Life has stood the test of time - this diet will probably prove to be a fad. Other options are Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle - similar principles but far more comprehensive and realistic.