The 5 Factor Diet

Author and Fitness Trainer Harvey Pasternak has been linked with many celebrities such as; John Mayer, Jessica Simpson, Orlando Bloom, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, and Halle Berry.

Pasternak first wrote 5 Factor Fitness in 2004. He then updated and expanded the dietary portion into the 2007 release: The 5 Factor Diet.

What are the 5 Factors?

The 5 Factor Diet is all about fives.

5 Meals per day
5 days a week of exercise made up of 5 phases each 5 minutes long.
Each meal has 5 criteria (see below)

The idea of the "five" is simplicity - but it comes off as rather gimmicky.

Diet Guidelines

The 5 factor is based on eating small but frequent meals. Each should comprise; a lean protein, low-GI carbohydrate, adequate fiber, "good fats", and a sugar-free beverage.

Meal Examples - Snacks

Celery with nonfat cream cheese and pickle wrapped in turkey pastrami
Nonflour toast with nonfat cream cheese, smoked salmon and tomato slice
Turkey breast slices wrapped around lettuce and green pepper strips, with some nonfat cream cheese
Brown-rice cake with a slice of Veggie salami, fat-free cheese, and mustard Beef,
Beef, salmon, or turkey jerky with piece of fruit
Pickled herring with nonfat sour cream
Celery sticks with nonfat French onion soup cream dip.

A Typical Day on the Five Factor Diet

MEAL	NAME	PROTEIN	CARBOHYDRATE
1	Apple-cinnamon oatmeal frittata	Egg whites	Dries apples
2		Nonfat cottage cheese	Apple
3	Curried chicken salad	Chicken breast, nonfat yogurt	Slice of no-flour bread
4		Veggie salami, nonfat cheese	Brown rice cake
5	Lemon salmon	Salmon	Quinoa, side salad

5 Factor Workouts

The exercise portion is critical to the 5 Factor Diet. Pasternak advocates a combination of cardio, strength training (mostly with dumbbells) and bodyweight exercises.

The minimum time for the daily workout is 25 minutes

5 Factor On-line

Recently, the author Harvey Pasternak converted the contents of the book into an on-line subscriber website.

The on-line program provides a number of interactive tools including;

Daily Meal Planner
Activity calculator and journal
Message boards
Customized fitness plan

Pros and Cons

Pasternak is definitely working off the "celebrity pull factor". His diet and fitness plan has proven to be successful with celebrities - but that doesn't apply to everyone as the celebrities consulted Pasternak to work alongside them.

The plan is called a "way of life" but the "fives" seem a little gimmicky to become a life plan.

The approach of eating frequently is not uncommon and can be seen in Body for Life, BFFM, the 3 Hour Diet, and the Abs Diet.

The nutritional advice is sound however.

See the 5 Factor Online

Last updated 17 July 2007