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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.

In January 2010 He released 5 Factor World Diet which outlines the healthy habits and diets of the world's 10 healthiest countries.

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)
  • 5 cheat days allowed in 5 weeks

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

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
    		•
  • Hundreds of Recipes
  • Personal Recipe Box
  • Shopping List Tool
  • Food Log
  • Cooking Shortcuts
  • Eating Out Guide
  • Custom Fitness Plan
  • Activity Calculator
  • Weight Tracker
  • Online Journal
  • Ideal Weight Calculator
  • Daily Inspiration
  • Message Boards
    		•

The on-line program is available for $5 a week and is billed quarterly to your credit card.

Five Factor Meal Delivery

If you live in Southern California or Canada, Five Factor has a meal delivery service to make dieting the five factor way more convenient.

The program is operated by Sunfare and runs about $450.00 for 7 days of three meals and two snacks per day.

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.

Pasternak now has his own line of snacks including protein bars and potato chips available on QVC.

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

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.

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

Downsides?

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 04 Feb 2010