Fat Loss for Idiots

About a month ago in early December one of my close friends asked me what I thought about the Fat Loss for Idiots diet. Although I had heard of the diet I hadn’t really looked into what it was all about too much up until that point.

For her sake I checked out the diet and learned more about it by doing a lot of research on various websites, reading forum posts and online reviews and talking to others who had tried the diet.

This Fat Loss for Idiots review is based on that research and on the information I was able to gather from people who had tried the diet. After researching the diet for my friend she did decide to try it so I have also included her experience here as well.

The Fat Loss for Idiots diet has been around for awhile now, although it’s name has changed several times. You may have heard it referred to as “The Idiot Proof Diet”, “Weight Loss for Idiots” or “Fat Loss 4 Idiots”. As far as I was able to determine the diet itself has not changed - instead just the name changed. So without further ado, here is my Fat Loss for Idiots review.

How Does Fat Loss for Idiots Work?

The Fat Loss for Idiots diet works in two ways. First, it uses something called the “shifting calories theory”. Let me try to explain briefly how this works and why it is important. One of the flaws with many diets is that they do not provide your body with enough calories and as a result your body goes into “starvation mode” and your metabolism slows down to try to conserve energy. Basically your body thinks that it is a time of famine because you stopped feeding it so it tries to hang onto the fat that you have since it doesn’t know when your next meal is coming.

This is bad news for a couple of reasons. For one, if your metabolism slows down it is a lot harder to lose weight since you will burn fewer calories during the course of a normal day. Not only that, but when you go off the low-calorie diet that threw your body into starvation mode your metabolism will still be sluggish which means that it will be very easy to gain back any weight that you did manage to lose on the diet. This is the major reason that so many of us wind up yo-yo dieting for years.

The shifting calories theory used by Fat Loss for Idiots is different, though. Basically, what the diet does is vary the number of calories that you eat each day and the types of food that you eat to keep your body from going into starvation mode. This keeps your metabolism from slowing down which not only makes losing weight easier, but also makes it easier to keep the weight off when you eventually go off the diet and resume eating normally.

The second way that the Fat Loss for Idiots diet works is by maximizing your body’s own fat burning hormones to work at their optimum level. Each time we eat our bodies release both fat burning and fat storing hormones. The Fat Loss for Idiots plan was designed to maximize the fat burning hormones while at the same time minimizing the fat storing hormones, making it easier to lose weight.

The diet itself runs in 11 day cycles. Between each cycle you get 3 days off that are called “cheat” days where you can eat what you want and don’t have to stick with the diet.

How Much Weight Can You Lose on Fat Loss for Idiots?

The makers of Fat Loss for Idiots claim that you can lose 9 lbs. in 11 days on the diet. Based on my research it seemed that this was close to true since most people who tried the diet averaged weight loss of between 7-10 lbs. the first 11 days they were on the diet.

Some people reported gaining back a couple of pounds during their cheat days while other did not. This makes sense since anytime you start a new diet some of the weight that you lose will be water weight. I also noticed that the people who gained back weight on their cheat days went gung-ho and *really* cheated eating tons of junk food which could partly account for why a couple of pounds crept back on. The people who cheated in moderation and made healthier food choices on their cheat days seemed to have better luck keeping off all the weight they had lost which makes sense.

What is the Fat Loss for Idiots Meal Plan Like?

Although not extremely low carb, the Fat Loss for Idiots plan seems to lean toward being a lower carb diet. There are no portion restrictions and there is no calorie counting involved. Instead, the diet instructs you to eat until you are almost full.

I like this because it is a tactic that you can use to continue maintaining a healthy weight once you have gone off the diet. Many of us fall into the trap of eating until we are stuffed so if you can learn this one trick instead it will go a long ways toward helping you keep the weight off. I also like that it is easy to follow since there is no need to spend a lot of time counting calories or weighing food, both of which can make a diet harder to stick to if you have a busy schedule or often eat on the go.

One of the cool things about this diet is that it generates a customized meal plan specifically for you based on the foods that you enjoy. I also like that all of the foods are easy to find and can be purchased at any grocery store. This also makes the diet easier to stick with since you won’t have to trek all over town looking for a certain type of food or special order pre-packaged meals like a lot of other diet plans. Not only that, but the food is all cheap, too, which is a nice bonus if you are on a budget.

On the Fat Loss for Idiots diet you eat 4 meals a day and drink a lot of water. This is good both because it keeps you from feeling hungry and again helps keep your metabolism from slowing down.

My Friend’s Fat Loss for Idiots Results

As I mentioned before, my friend decided to go ahead and try this diet. She started it two weeks ago and has made it through her first cycle of the diet plus her cheat days. During the 11 days of the diet she lost 8 lbs. and then gained one back on her cheat days. She wants to lose 20 lbs. so she is starting another round of the diet tomorrow. Her only complaint about the diet is that she has trouble drinking as much water as they recommend. Other than that she said that so far it has been easy to stick with and that she hasn’t felt hungry at all (a big change for her since she usually has a lot of trouble with feeling hungry on diets).

UPDATE, Feb. 6, 2008: I figured I would update you on my friends progress with the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet. She completed 3 rounds of the diet and lost 22 lbs total. She says she feels great and has tons of energy and is confident that she will be able to keep the weight off. When she was telling me about the diet she mentioned that she was really pleased with how it had taught her to stop eating before she was stuffed which is something she plans to continue into the future to help maintain her weight loss.

She said that she probably could have lost more weight on it but that she cheated a few times and did not walk as often as she should have while she was on it. She gave the diet a big thumbs up, though, and also wanted to be sure that I mentioned that this is the only diet she has been on in years where she has actually lost weight and not gained it back immediately after she went off the diet.

My Opinion on Fat Loss for Idiots

I think the Fat Loss for Idiots diet has a lot going for it and I would recommend it if you are looking for a way to jump start your weight loss and drop some pounds quickly. It is easy to follow, easy to stick with, gives really fast results and seems to work for most people who try it no matter whether they need to lose a little or a lot of weight. It’s a low cost diet plan with affordable food and they offer a no questions asked money back guarantee so if you don’t lose weight you can get your money back. You can’t beat that.

If you decide to try the Fat Loss for Idiots diet I’d love it if you would come back and “weigh” in with your opinion on it!

Just click the button to the left to learn more or get your own customized meal plan.

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