3-Hour Diet
The basic premise of the 3-Hour Diet created by Jorge Cruise is that in order to lose weight, you should be eating every three hours. This includes three main meals, two snacks, and a treat.
According to Cruise, it isn’t what you eat but rather when you eat it. His theory is that, when more than three hours passes between meals, the body reverts to a natural resource reserve state; causing the body to consume muscle and adversely affecting metabolism. To prevent this from happening, Cruise recommends eating smaller meals more often – lowering the levels of fat producing hormones and reducing levels of cholesterol and insulin.
The 3-Hour Diet is not a low-carbohydrate diet. Cruise believes low-carb diets result in long-term weight gain, so his diet includes a balance of proteins, carbs, and fats at every meal. He also recommends exercise as part of a healthy-lifestyle and weight loss plan. The diet lasts for 28 days, during which time you can be fairly flexible in what you can eat, but must plan and strictly adhere to at what times you eat it.
With the 3-Hour Diet, eating out is allowed, as is alcohol on a very limited basis. The diet is vegan-friendly and membership to the “at home” plan includes home-delivered food. Recipes are also provided. Other benefits include guidelines for eating out, motivational messages, support forums, and meal plans complete with menu options.
The 3-Hour Diet seems to focus on people who store excessive fat around their midsection. And while we appreciate the sensible, regular meal approach of the plan, we are a bit concerned about the lack of addressing potential binge eating. Membership to Cruise’s plan is also expensive. You must buy the books and products separately and the packaged meals are costly. Finally, while we appreciate the exercise encouragement, we feel that the eight minute routines suggested are not enough to maximize weight loss and weight-loss sustainability.