Analyzing Weight Loss 4 Idiots (aka Fat Loss 4 Idiots)
The name "Weight Loss 4 Idiots" will always grate on me. I purchased and reviewed the diet here. Now it's time to analyze it even further.
Deconstructing the Meal Plans
WL4I has no calorie counting or portion restriction. The advice is to eat until satiation - but not until feeling stuffed. This makes the calorie breakdown difficult. The diet generator will create 11 days of basic meal plans based on your food preferences. The 4th day is typically a fruit and veggie day. After the 11 days of meal plans there are 3 days of "cheat" meals. Here is an assessment of my calorie breakdown:MEAL PLAN 1
Meal #1: Chicken
Meal #2: Fruit Salad
Meal #3: Fish Filet
Meal #4: Cottage Cheese
At a guess I would eat 2 chicken breasts, 4 cups fruit salad, 2 cups cooked fish, 2 cups of cottage cheese.
Calorie breakdown: 1,876 total, 33g fat (16%), 159g carbs (32%), 234g protein (52%).
This day very much resembles that of a bodybuilder's "cutting" phase (i.e. reducing fat whilst maintaining muscle). Reduced carb and high protein. But how does this affect the person who is not engaging in weight training? The calorie level is low - but at a good level for fat loss. For me - below 1600 or so cals results in muscle loss. The protein level here is quite high (especially for a sedentary person).
It seems unlikely that a person (who is not actively pursuing muscle growth) could sustain this kind of protein intake.
MEAL PLAN 2
Meal #1: Scrambled Eggs
Meal #2: Chicken
Meal #3: Mixed Nuts
Meal #4: Sandwich (any type)
My calculations this were: 1,768 calories, incl 97g fat, 93g carbs, and 132g protein.
What Is The Outcome?
I think we're getting the picture. This is a lower carb diet - and yes it can work for some people. The combination of caloric reduction, the thermic affect of feeding (i.e. from consuming the protein), will aid in fat reduction.
However - what concerns me is the same thing that concerns me about many diets. This eating is probably not sustainable for most people. This means that at some stage you will return to eating a lot more carbs (and/or a lot more food!) - and on comes a lot more fat. How do you choose to eat for the rest of your life?
The second thing is the higher amount of protein - this is unnecessary except for those engaged in heavy weight training.
Low carbohydrate levels - Now this can be contentious and I'm not going to argue about low-carb vs low-fat. Some people simply eat too much carbohydrate for their activity level. This is not necessarily advocating very-low-carb diets, however some people can benefit from sourcing their carbs from more wholesome sources (such as oatmeal), and not feel the need to eat starchy carbs at every meal.
However not everyone is that sensitive to carbs, and do not necessarily benefit from reducing carbs.
What Can Be Improved On?
Eat some more whole carbs, and reduce the protein. Then you would have a diet that looks quite similar to what I'm eating now! (except I eat about 5 times a day).
Introduce some solid weight training into the mix. Make use of that protein. Increasing your muscle will boost your metabolism further, and help you to prevent relapses.
What About The Rapid Weight Loss?
Weight loss comes from 3 areas - muscle, water, and fat. As many know rapid weight loss (> 2-3 pounds per week) is often due to significant water loss and is also typically a short term thing. This is not to say that some people (often those who are very overweight) can experience continual sustained weight loss for months.What is Water Loss?
Carbohydrates are our fuel source. When we eat them they provide us with the energy for everything from metabolic function to fueling physical exercise. Energy from carbohydrate is stored as glycogen - typically in the muscles and liver. When we reduce our carbohydrate intake (either by deliberately lowering carbs, or an overall calorie reduction) then our body will begin to make use of the glycogen. Glycogen is typically stored with a lot of water - and water weighs quite a lot - as the glycogen is used up - the water is flushed away.
What Good Things Can Be Learnt From WL4I?
Eating 4 times a day - Eating more often keeps energy levels consistent and assists in keeping metabolism high. Good protein sources - Protein is an essential nutrient, however some protein sources can be laden with saturated fats. Skinless poultry, fish and seafood, nuts, cottage cheese etc, are all good choices. Learning to eat short of satiation - There are some people that love logging every food item everyday - but I am not one of them. Understanding when our body has had enough is a useful skill.Coming Off The Diet
As many know, I am not a fan of the "dieting" mentality - the roller coaster of going on and off diets. This is no way to permanently manage your weight and can take a real toll on your thinking and motivation. However there are many situations where a structured eating plan is warranted.In all honesty, if you aren't planning on changing your eating habits for good, then the chances are, you will only gain back the same fat you lost before. So what can you take out of WL4I and use?
I believe the biggest risk of subsequent weight gain will occur if you rapidly increase carbohydrates. Refined carbohydrates are (unfortunately) a staple of the western diet, and quite frankly should be minimized as much as possible (foods like pastries, cakes, doughnuts, white breads and pastas etc.) If you are a person that enjoys lots of carbs then you must be very careful to gradually introduce more carb into your diet - and to watch the results closely.
Learning to make good choices
It is up to us to make good food choices for the rest of our lives - or else this is all for nothing. This doesn't mean you can't enjoy a piece of cake at your kids birthday - or that you can't go out for dinner with friends. It just means that for most of your meals you learn to choose lean proteins, vegetables, whole carbs, and healthy fats. Believe it or not, there might come a time when you actually (gasp!) enjoy it. I look forward to my oats every morning - I can't even remember the last time I ate some sugary cereal.
Be committed to learning and understanding some basics of nutrition. It's a minefield out there. You don't want to be scrutinizing every food label as you walk down the aisle (try doing that with a couple of grumpy kids on hand). It's helpful to be familiar with a whole bunch of foods that are good for you.
Read More
- The Aquavore Diet (Diet Blog)
- Eat The Foods You Love Diet (Diet Blog)
- Meet Greg, 155 Pounds Down! (DailySpark)
- Brad Pitt Gives His Kids Coke for Breakfast! (Diets in Review)
32 Comments
Created / Updated: November 7, 2011
Re: Analyzing Weight Loss for Idiots
A big question about this diet is: Where is the dividing line between "satiated" and "stuffed"? It's much easier if you know exactly how many calories will keep you at the weight you want to be. Anything past that number would put you into the "stuffed" category.
I also find it odd that on this diet you don't eat fruit and vegetables more than one day in four. Some nutrients don't get stored by the body; B vitamins, for example. That's why, if good health is your aim, you need to eat these every day. I would think that, if you planned to do this diet, you'd need to take at least a multivitamin supplement daily.
I agree with you, Jim: The chief fact that the "diets don't work" camp has on its side is that the way people eat on diets is not the way they intend to eat for the rest of their lives. You need a wide variety of foods, and the time to learn how to eat what you want to is while you're dieting. Trying to introduce foods gradually after a diet is like telling an alcoholic, after four years of sobriety, to enter a bar and drink "moderately". I'm here to tell you, it will not happen. (I'll admit that this analogy is not the best one because you can't be addicted to food, any more than you can be addicted to air or water.)
A low-calorie day (to help decrease your fat component faster) followed by a high-calorie day (to get you used to eating your wide variety of food in a limited way) is much more effective for losing weight and keeping it off. Actually, you'll also be losing weight on the high-calorie days because you'll be eating less than before you started dieting.
If you have a set calorie allowance for your high-calorie day, you can divvy up that allowance so that you can eat whatever you want to. And you don't have to log every food item every day; you can set up your structured eating plan before you start.
P.S. I, too, dislike the word "Idiots" in the title. It was years before I could bring myself to open any of the "Dummies" or "Idiots" books, simply because their titles turned me off. The information they have is often first rate, but I wish they'd chosen better titles.
Replyhi am 17 310lb and wont to trie wl4i but don't have a credit card and my mom don't have one so can somebody let me use they user name and password for the wl4i web site
Replyif so send a email to thoughts1212@yahoo.com
ReplyLet me just add that Weight Loss 4 Idiots (yeah the Idiots makes me kinda cringe..) has fantastic advice on how to stay slim once you lose the weight. It is the first diet that I really feel like I could stick to and its also the first diet that I can get excited about doing.
ReplyI have been doing Weight loss 4 Idiots for a month and a half now and let me tell you all......it is FANTASTIC. I am never hungry and have more energy than I have ever had in my entire life.
I have lost 18 lbs with 22 more to go. Piece of Cake!! Pardon the punn..but it is. As far as going back and changing my habits to my old way of eating, NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. Habit is a funny thing.
If you enjoy the habit and you feel great when you do the habit, then you stick with it. Also , I have found that I have become quite creative with these food selections.
Well, I hope this helps anyone considering this diet
It is the best gift I ever gave to myself.
Kris
ReplyI Love it! I am a competative triathlete and have a few extra pounds I had to lose. Nothing seemed to work as my body was always looking for food to replace the work out. I never, for one moment believed the 9lb loss but I liked the setup of the short term, easy to follow diet. This is not a long term thing - good for a few sessions and then your body needs to stabelize before starting again. I lost weight very easily (12lbs) and kept it off for months now. I am going to do another 2 sessions to lose a bit more.. Again, good as short term only as per their advertising - they explain that very well. And I enjoyed the food! (I have never had success with other methods)
ReplyLisa
Hi i've just started the diet,can anyone tell me if i'm allowed to use oil to fry my omlette,if so what did you guy's use?
ReplyI would like to see what a day's menu would be like before I buy one more diet? I've gained about 40 lobs after chemo and radiation and it's murder getting it off. please send replies to:
Replynursedisel@yahoo.com
Hi Stella,
ReplyI used low cholestrol butter to cook my omlette, but thats just becuase I love cooking with it. I honsetly don't think it matters but it pays to try and go for lighter oil or butter. BTW I am on cheat day 3 of third session.30Lb down, WOOOHOOO!! I don't even think of it as a diet anymore, its changed the way I eat and the way I view food. To think of all the crap I let myself ingest before. For me it given me control over my body, who knew common sense could be so GREAT!!! I had a 2 month span between my second session and third and still going strong...I exercise for 45minutes 5 days a week. I believe in what WW4I has done for me...results vary but $27 is nothing compared to what I got
Good luck to all!
Hi there. I have had serious thyroid problems and still am taking lots of thyroid hormones. therefore i have tried about every diet possible but it never worked. Does anyone know if this diet works, having these thyroid problems??
ReplyThis sounds like an excellent short-term solution. Especially good for dropping those last few pounds.
The biggest advantage of something like this is that it gives solid, easy-to-follow meal plans with healthy foods. No "diet shakes" and single kinds of food to eat.
I've lost 70 pounds of fat on my own over the past three years, and I'm at the point where I could use some diet-planning help. Give me a decent meal plan, and I'll follow it. This seems to give exactly what I need. Heck, I won't even need to use their program... With the examples given on this website, I could make my own! :-)
By the way: On the first comment made about this article, Mary Crawford said that food isn't addictive. This isn't true. I myself am a recovering food addict. Any pleasurable sensation can cause an addiction, and food is definitely on that list. Food addictions have many of the effects of other addictions: Feelings of guilt and shame, hiding to consume the substance (food in this case), feeling very unhappy when all the substance (food) has been consumed, being told to "use a little willpower, won't ya?", low self-esteem coming from the associated problems (weight gain and health issues, in this case)... The list goes on. The part I hate the most is that people will just say "It's simple! The solution to your problem is to eat less. If you ate less, you wouldn't be fat!" Their ignorance really shows in those statements.
The thing is, diets won't work unless the person realises they have a food addiction. Most people I have talked to who have shown signs of addiction refused to believe it at first, and I had to disprove every one of their rationales for their overeating. I don't blame them at all; I was the same a few years ago, and the reasons they gave were the very reasons I had used. "It would be a waste of food... I'm just weak... I bought it, I'm going to eat it... There are starving children in Africa... But it's so tasty... I don't have this very often..." The list goes on.
I have found that throwing tasty food away in the sink and running water over it is a great step in feeling empowered.
What I recommend is to do a search for "Overeaters Anonymous". You'll come up with www.oa.org. They have a wealth of information.
ReplyThanks for your time!
Colin
Hi. I am thinking of trying WL4I. Is it really worth the money? I mean, could I lose 15 pounds in a month? Thanks
ReplyI just started the Weight Loss 4 Idiots on Monday and I have lost 5 lbs. I'm having a very easy time sticking to the diet. I'm also very determined. I have seen people mention a maintenance program. Where do you get this? Thanks
ReplyI HAVE TRIED EVERY DIET OUT THERE AND WANT TO KNOW WHO THIS HASN'T WORKED FOR AND WHO IT HAS WORKED FOR. PLEASE BE HONEST BECAUSE I'M DESPERATE BUT WANT THE TRUTH. THANK YOU. I AM VERY SKEPTICAL
ReplyI recently tried this diet and I honestly lost 10 pounds (1 pound more than advertised) in the 1st 11 days. For those of you that have been on the diet longer than the 1st 11 days, does the weight continue to come off at the same rate or does it slow down?? Has anyone experienced any negative impacts?
Reply