I’m in the library a few weeks ago (it still amazes me that I can walk out of a library, books in hand, and not have to pay for them… it’s such a thrifty rush that I feel), and I come across this book called “The 3-Hour Diet”. 3-hours? Are you serious? Has it really gotten to the point where people are so consumed by instant gratification that they now expect to lose weight in 3-hours? Being the utter skeptic that I am with such absurd proclamations, I took the book home… without paying for it! (It just doesn’t get old for me.)
Ok, so it turns out that Jorge Cruise, the author of this book, is associated with Dr. Oz and is all buddy-buddy with Oprah and has an advisory circle of top-notch doctors, nutritionists and dietitians. And of course, he himself was once was fat. I feel like I’ve just stumbled onto a pot of gold. And he’s even good friends with Tony Robbins, so he knows he can succeed and failure isn’t an option. (I wish I was friends with Tony Robbins.) Anyway, so pretty much from the get-go I’m liking what this book has to offer. He starts off with all these horrific stats about Americans being fat and unhealthy. Did you know that more than 300,000 Americans die from obesity-related illnesses a year? And that each day, more than 800 Americans die from problems related to obesity? AND that every five minutes, three people die from obesity-related issues? People are dropping like flies every few minutes because they’re overweight. And obesity is usually created by a particular lifestyle that one can control. Now I know, some people can’t help it, there are medical reasons and thyroid issues causing someone to be obese and I’m very sympathetic towards that. But there are also people out there that are just not making healthy choices. If anyone caught a glimpse of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution when it aired last month, you would have seen a mother of four, all obese, with a deep fryer on her kitchen counter. This deep fryer created almost every meal her family ate. Seriously? C’mon. I can’t take it. Anyway, Cruise then dives right into his 3-hour philosophy and I’ve got to say, this guy is right on. And I’m going to share the secret with you right now. Excited? You should be! This is going to change the way you eat.
The 3-hour diet states that timing is the secret behind weight-loss. Eat every 3-hours and your body will never go into starvation mode, meaning it won’t hold onto to those fat cells because it will never be starved. Eat breakfast and then 3-hours later it’s snack time. 3-hours later is lunch; wait another 3-hours and it’s time for another snack. Dinner is 3-hours after that, and then there is a “treat” after that. A “treat”? Well all right! Plus, Cruise says by following this timing rule, no food is off-limits. It’s not a low-carb diet, or a low-fat diet. Eat away he says, just watch your portion sizes. Keep your calories under control and you should see the pounds melt away. I got to tell you, it works. I now write down in my food journal what time I eat and I keep it to every three hours. Once you start doing this, you really notice that you’re not hungry in between the 3-hours. And once the 3-hours are up, you’re like, “Yea, I’m hungry, I’m ready to eat.” It stops you from the mindless eating. I love this idea. Nutritionally, you’re not depriving your body but instead you’re working with it. You’re learning how your metabolism works and this whole “feast or famine” thing that our ancestors had to deal with, he explains how our bodies still think that way and how we can control it today. So try it. I know you’re all keeping a food journal so now just write down the time you eat and you’re on your way to healthy weight-loss. In just 3-hours. 😉
