5 Factor Diet

The 5 Factor diet is the newest diet/weight loss craze in Hollywood. Celebrities are swearing by this plan, which was created by Harley Pasternak. With the number five as the basis, the plan centers around five meals a day and five workout sessions containing five exercises each.

Participants eat five meals each day. They need to be low in fat and calories. Protein is included in each meal in the form of lean cuts of meat. Any carbohydrates in the meal need to rank low on the glycemic index scale. Lower glycemic numbers add up to a more stable blood sugar level.

Fiber is also a component of each meal. There are two types: soluble and insoluble. The insoluble fiber will wash out of your system but it will also take a bit of the fat from the meal along with it. That's a great bonus. Drinking water before a meal helps you consume less food. Water flushes out the body. Think of it as giving yourself an internal shower.

Each meal takes five minutes to prepare and has no more than five ingredients. Sounds impossible, doesn't it? Most people probably don't actually time the preparation of their foods and preparing the meals may take longer. The most important thing to remember is to prepare your food with care in order to be sure it turns out correctly. Another tip for cutting back on the time it takes to put a meal together is to prepare the foods ahead of time.

With this diet plan, meals should not be skipped. Going for a long period of time between meals causes the body to store fat instead of burn it. Starvation mode kicks in and the body will fight you for those fat deposits that you want to get rid of. Eating several times a day, like the 5 Factor Diet advises, increases metabolism and fat loss.

The 5 Factor diet has a built-in "cheat day". One day a week participants can eat favorite foods that they have eliminated from their diet due to the plan's requirements. Although the diet allows for this exception, the principle of five meals a day and the components of each meal should still be enforced.

The exercise portion of the 5 Factor diet includes activity five days a week for twenty-five minutes a day. Dieters can visit the 5 Factor diet website for exercise plans and suggestions. The plan was developed for celebrities that need to get in shape in a hurry for appearances and movie roles, but has been passed on to the rest of us.

The website contains sample meal plans, menus, dining guides, customized eating and exercise plans, journals, and much more. Dieters are not left to their own devices with this with this particular diet plan. There will be a learning curve, as with just about any diet plan, as you get started but that is no reason to quit.

A few drawbacks, but definitely not reasons to avoid the 5 Factor diet include:

• Those of us who are not celebrities probably won't have access to a personal chef, but meal planning ahead of time will aid in helping find the time to prepare 5 meals a day.
• Most people also don't have access to a personal trainer and can't visit Harley for a personal training session.

The plan lasts for you guessed it, five weeks. After that time, participants have a grasp of the principles of the plan and hopefully have lost their cravings for high calorie and high fat and sugar content foods. The cheat day helps dieters to stay committed to the plan during the five week period.

Todd Wesley is helping men and women shed the extra pounds by introducing them to the TRUTH behind weight loss. Lose Weight Now!