The Cheater’s Diet

Cheater’s Diet Alleviates Boredom

The Cheater’s Diet by Dr. Paul Rivas and A. E. Tremblay is a refreshing weight loss book that alleviates the boredom of dieting while boosting your metabolism.

The Cheater’s Diet is a realistic weight loss plan for people who crave “forbidden” foods while on restrictive diets. With the Cheater’s Diet you are actually encouraged to eat what you want. You can have pizza, cake, chocolate, or whatever it is that you have been craving. What’s more is that eating these foods, as specified in the Cheater’s Diet, will actually speed up your metabolism and keep your body from going into starvation mode (which is often the cause of plateaus.)

How Does the Cheater’s Diet Work?

The Cheater’s Diet is basically an 80/20 rule. You eat healthy and sensible foods 5 days a week and take the weekend off from the restrictive diet. By doing so you are tricking your body again and again and not allowing it to adjust to the same amount of calories everyday. Your body has to work harder and the result is increased metabolism and better weight loss. It makes your body more efficient at burning calories and losing weight.

The bonus is that boredom is alleviated on the Cheater’s Diet. You can look forward to treating yourself to ice cream, cinnamon rolls, beer and more on the weekend after a week of being “good” on the healthy diet. It is psychologically helpful to know that you don’t have to wait a long time to eat cheat food again. Anyone can make it through 5 days of healthful eating to get their cheat food on the weekend. It becomes something you can look forward to and use as motivation during the week.
The Cheater’s Diet Isn’t Restrictive

Many diets advise you to avoid one food group or another. And while their rationale may make sense, it is not healthful to avoid food groups over long periods of time. Your body needs a wide variety of foods for optimal health.

“The fact is, you can’t live completely without either carbohydrates or fat because your body needs them in order to function,” Rivas states. “They are not your enemies, and trying to eliminate either from your diet completely will leave you with an incredibly monotonous menu plan.” (53)

The Meal Plan for Weekdays
•Avoid sugar, bread (unless whole wheat), saturated fat and alcohol.
•Include protein, fish, nuts, yogurt, fruits and vegetables, good fats (like olive oil) and dairy.
The Four-F Plan
The Cheater’s Diet includes a special section for anyone who wants to lose weight quickly. This plan is recommended for short periods of time, but will produce faster weight loss results.

1.Frequently eat small meals.
2.Fluids should include 8 cups of water per day plus a cup for every 3.5 point over 25 on the BMI chart.
3.Fish is encouraged for meals.
4.Fiber will help keep you full and lower your cholesterol levels.
The Cheater’s Diet is full of weight loss secrets and shortcuts that the lazy dieter in all of us can appreciate.

Tips from the Cheater’s Diet:
•Don’t give up food groups.
•Cheat to alleviate bordeom without feeling guilty.
•Take the misery out of restictive dieting.
•Use supplements proven to aid weight loss.
•Incorporate N.E.A.T activities (nonexercise activity plan) throughout your day.
•Tahe the weekends off and eat whatever you want.
•Don’t allow yourself to binge.

The copyright of the article Cheater’s Diet Alleviates Boredom in Diet Trends is owned by Tracy Rose. Permission to republish Cheater’s Diet Alleviates Boredom in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

The Cheater’s Diet

Most people think cheating is a bad thing, but in the Cheater’s Diet: Lose Weight by Taking the Weekends Off, it’s the secret sauce to successful weight loss. The idea is that all dieters cheat on their diets at some time, but what really matters is not whether you cheat, but how often you do it.

Author and weight loss physician Paul Rivas, MD, thinks if you are physically active, eat healthy meals the majority of the time, and cheat only on weekends, you will lose weight permanently.

The Cheater’s Diet allows dieters to have their cake and eat it too — but only for 36 hours of sanctioned cheating time from 9 am Saturday to 9 pm Sunday. From Monday through Friday, dieters are expected to eat healthfully and get as much physical activity as possible.

If you like the idea of regular exercise, a little “cheating” on the weekends, and following a Mediterranean-style eating plan, the Cheater’s Diet could be the plan for you.

The Cheater’s Diet: What You Can Eat
On the Cheater’s Diet, you’re encouraged to eat a Mediterranean-style diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, low fat dairy (especially yogurt), peanuts, and unsaturated fats.

You enjoy three meals and two snacks each day using the plate method; fill half the plate with fruits or vegetables, 1/4 with lean protein, and the remaining 1/4 with whole grains. Two weeks of weekday menus, along with recipes, are included in the book to help dieters understand the composition of a healthy weight loss plan.

To help dieters keep portions in check, Rivas provides visual associations, such as a portion of lean meat being equal in size to a deck of cards. In addition, the plan encourages dieters to include snacks twice daily from an approved list that includes fruit, nuts, low fat yogurt or pudding, protein bars, low calorie frozen treats, and more. During the week, sugar, bread, saturated fats, and alcohol are not permitted.

Cheating is not optional but required on the Cheater’s Diet, and Rivas suggests foods like:

Pizza
Wine
Chocolate
Peanut butter
Cinnamon buns
Ice cream
Strawberry shortcake
Cheese
Bread
Meat
Nuts
You can choose other cheat foods if you like; the only foods off limits during the cheating phase are “any foods that can trigger a binge,” says Rivas.

Breakfast

Two eggs, any style (cook with PAM cooking spray)
One medium orange or one half grapefruit
Coffee or tea with artificial sweetener and nonfat milk
Lunch

Four ounces tuna packed in water on a whole grain pita or tortilla. Mix with
olive oil or fat-free mayo, or mustard, or lemon with salt and pepper
Tomato and lettuce
A serving of any vegetable
Diet iced tea or water with lemon and artificial sweetener
Snack

One handful of peanuts (fresh, dry-roasted, no salt or oil added)
Dinner

Grilled sliced chicken breast strips
Steamed broccoli and peppers
Wild rice
Snack

One cup hot cocoa, sweetened with artificial sweetener

The Cheater’s Diet: How It Works
In the Cheater’s Diet, the prescription is for a healthy, reduced-calorie diet, along with plenty of physical activity during the week. The real bonus is the opportunity to break free on weekends, when most people tend to splurge and eat those otherwise forbidden foods.

According to Rivas, eating a healthy diet, consisting of three meals and two small snacks during the week, prevents the metabolic slow-down that typically occurs on most restrictive and fad-type diets. Cheating on the weekends is essential to “stoke your metabolism” for weight loss, so that when you go back to your regular weekday eating program, you’re burning optimal calories.

“When you chronically under eat, your metabolism drops,” Rivas says, “but if you keep your calories constant during the week and only overeat on weekends, the metabolic rate increases to handle the extra calories and continues to burn calories at a higher rate throughout the week.” This way, dieters never go through the yo-yo dieting cycle that lowers metabolism and reduces calories needed to keep the body alive.

By allowing controlled cheating (as in eat a piece of cake, not the whole cake), dieters can look forward to enjoying their favorite decadent food or drinks without guilt. Rivas’ theory suggests that being allowed any food during the controlled cheating time strengthens the dieter’s commitment to eating healthfully throughout the week

Rivas recommends a list of unusual dietary supplements (Yerba Mate, L-tyrosine 5 HTP, green tea extract, and Mucana Pruriens) to augment the weight loss process, but adds that “you can also successfully lose weight on the Cheater’s Diet without supplements.”

The Cheater’s Diet: What the Experts Say

The Cheater’s Diet’s overall approach to nutrition is healthful, emphasizing fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats, enjoying pleasurable foods, and physical activity.

“The plan is likely between 1,600 and 1,800 calories, which of course, may be too many calories for a very petite female, or far too few for a muscular male (especially at the level of activity recommended),” says American Dietetic Association spokesman Cynthia Sass, MA, RD, co-author of Your Diet Is Driving Me Crazy, who would like the nutrition information for the recipes and menus included, along with suggestions on how to individualize the plan from its one-size-fits all approach.

My biggest concern with the Cheater’s Diet is that there are no references or research provided to back up the author’s claims, even though he frequently refers to research in the book,” Sass says.

Sass’ apprehension is that no studies have been carried out to test Rivas’ weight loss theory that cheating on weekends boosts metabolic rates. “Studies on people who have successfully lost and kept weight off in the National Weight Control Registry find these individuals do not cheat on weekends, but rather indulge in treats in moderation throughout the week,” reports Sass.

Sass also dislikes the supplement recommendations because, once again, there are no references to document the effectiveness of the supplements in weight loss. “Some of the recommendations are potentially unsafe, with adverse effects for certain individuals, according to the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database (NMCD), and they defy up-to-date science-based references,” adds Sass.

Sass also found it to be a stretch that the cinnamon in a high fat, high sugar food like cinnamon buns would help improve blood sugar and lower LDL cholesterol.

The Cheater’s Diet: Food for Thought
Sass suggests saving your money on the Cheater’s Diet, and instead log onto mypyramid.gov for a much more logical approach to successful weight loss. Her tip: Follow the 2005 Dietary Guideline’s recommendations for small daily splurges (called discretionary calories).

“The general public likes the idea that a diet must include sacrifice, and they mistakenly believe that is what it takes to be successful,” Rivas says. He maintains that the Cheater’s Diet proves that cheater’s win, and the plan will result in weight loss.

If you like this plan’s recommendation of regular exercise, splurging a bit on the weekends, and enjoying a Mediterranean-style diet (minus those unnecessary supplements), you may have found a diet you can stick with for life.

The Cheater’s Diet

The Cheater’s Diet is written by Dr. Paul Rivas, an obesity specialist who has helped over 15000 people to lose weight. He claims that his program addresses the main factors that are important if dieters are to be successful at losing weight: keeping the metabolism high and avoiding dietary boredom.

Rivas says it doesn’t matter whether you cheat on your diet or not, but, how often you do.

Diet Basics
The Cheater’s Diet involves a low calorie diet with a high level of physical activity during the week. Dieters can have the weekends free to indulge in their favorite high calorie snacks and treats.

During the week dieters consume three small meals and two snacks, which has the effect of boosting metabolism. Rivas recommends that dieters adhere to a Mediterranean style of eating and monitor portion sizes carefully.

Rivas states that increasing calorie intake over the weekends serves the purpose of further stoking the metabolism, avoiding the reduced fat burning that typically occurs on low calorie diets. The body doesn’t go into starvation mode, which ensures that weight loss continues even when dieting for long stretches at a time.

Essential to the success of this plan is the concept of ‘controlled cheating’ where dieters may indulge in their favorite treats but still with some restraint. For example a piece of chocolate cake is fine, but not the whole cake.

This allows dieters to enjoy these foods without feeling guilty and can make it easier to stick with reduced calorie diet during the week.

Many supplements are recommended, however, Rivas states that they are not essential in order to experience success on the program.

Recommended Foods
Lean meats, whole grains, seafood, salads, berries, olive oil, nuts, low fat yogurt, and protein bars.

Sample Diet Plan
Breakfast

Scrambled eggs
Half grapefruit
Coffee with artificial sweetener and nonfat milk

Lunch

Tuna with fat free mayo
Tomato and lettuce
Whole grain tortilla
1 cup asparagus
Diet iced tea

Afternoon Snack

One handful roasted peanuts

Dinner

Grilled chicken breast
Steamed broccoli and red peppers
Brown rice

Evening Snack

Hot chocolate with artificial sweetener

The Cheater’s Diet What It Is

Most people think cheating is a bad thing, but in the Cheater’s Diet: Lose Weight by Taking the Weekends Off, it’s the secret sauce to successful weight loss. The idea is that all dieters cheat on their diets at some time, but what really matters is not whether you cheat, but how often you do it.

Author and weight loss physician Paul Rivas, MD, thinks if you are physically active, eat healthy meals the majority of the time, and cheat only on weekends, you will lose weight permanently.

The Cheater’s Diet allows dieters to have their cake and eat it too — but only for 36 hours of sanctioned cheating time from 9:00 am Saturday to 9:00 pm Sunday. From Monday through Friday, dieters are expected to eat healthfully and get as much physical activity as possible.

If you like the idea of regular exercise, a little “cheating” on the weekends, and following a Mediterranean-style eating plan, the Cheater’s Diet could be the plan for you.

What You Can Eat
On the Cheater’s Diet, you’re encouraged to eat a Mediterranean-style diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, low fat dairy (especially yogurt), peanuts, and unsaturated fats.

You enjoy three meals and two snacks each day using the plate method; fill half the plate with fruits or vegetables, 1/4 with lean protein, and the remaining 1/4 with whole grains. Two weeks of weekday menus, along with recipes, are included in the book to help dieters understand the composition of a healthy weight loss plan.

To help dieters keep portions in check, Rivas provides visual associations, such as a portion of lean meat being equal in size to a deck of cards. In addition, the plan encourages dieters to include snacks twice daily from an approved list that includes fruit, nuts, low fat yogurt or pudding, protein bars, low calorie frozen treats, and more. During the week, sugar, bread, saturated fats, and alcohol are not permitted.

Cheating is not optional but required on the Cheater’s Diet, and Rivas suggests foods like:

•Pizza
•Wine
•Chocolate
•Peanut butter
•Cinnamon buns
•Ice cream
•Strawberry shortcake
•Cheese
•Bread
•Meat
•Nuts
You can choose other cheat foods if you like; the only foods off limits during the cheating phase are “any foods that can trigger a binge,” says Rivas.

Sample Weekday Menu
* Breakfast

Two eggs, any style (cook with PAM cooking spray)

One medium orange or one half grapefruit

Coffee or tea with artificial sweetener and nonfat milk

* Lunch

Four ounces tuna packed in water on a whole grain pita or tortilla. Mix with

olive oil or fat-free mayo, or mustard, or lemon with salt and pepper

Tomato and lettuce

A serving of any vegetable

Diet iced tea or water with lemon and artificial sweetener

* Snack

One handful of peanuts (fresh, dry-roasted, no salt or oil added)

* Dinner

Grilled sliced chicken breast strips

Steamed broccoli and peppers

Wild rice

*Snack

One cup hot cocoa, sweetened with artificial sweetener

How It Works
In the Cheater’s Diet, the prescription is for a healthy, reduced-calorie diet, along with plenty of physical activity during the week. The real bonus is the opportunity to break free on weekends, when most people tend to splurge and eat those otherwise forbidden foods.

According to Rivas, eating a healthy diet, consisting of three meals and two small snacks during the week, prevents the metabolic slow-down that typically occurs on most restrictive and fad-type diets. Cheating on the weekends is essential to “stoke your metabolism” for weight loss, so that when you go back to your regular weekday eating program, you’re burning optimal calories.

“When you chronically under eat, your metabolism drops,” Rivas says, “but if you keep your calories constant during the week and only overeat on weekends, the metabolic rate increases to handle the extra calories and continues to burn calories at a higher rate throughout the week.” This way, dieters never go through the yo-yo dieting cycle that lowers metabolism and reduces calories needed to keep the body alive.

By allowing controlled cheating (as in eat a piece of cake, not the whole cake), dieters can look forward to enjoying their favorite decadent food or drinks without guilt. Rivas’ theory suggests that being allowed any food during the controlled cheating time strengthens the dieter’s commitment to eating healthfully throughout the week

Rivas recommends a list of unusual dietary supplements (Yerba Mate, L-tyrosine 5 HTP, green tea extract, and Mucana Pruriens) to augment the weight loss process, but adds that “you can also successfully lose weight on the Cheater’s Diet without supplements.”

What the Experts Say
The Cheater’s Diet’s overall approach to nutrition is healthful, emphasizing fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats, enjoying pleasurable foods, and physical activity.

“The plan is likely between 1,600 and 1,800 calories, which of course, may be too many calories for a very petite female, or far too few for a muscular male (especially at the level of activity recommended),” says American Dietetic Association spokesman Cynthia Sass, who would like the nutrition information for the recipes and menus included, along with suggestions on how to individualize the plan from its one-size-fits all approach.

“My biggest concern with the Cheater’s Diet is that there are no references or research provided to back up the author’s claims, even though he frequently refers to research in the book,” Sass says.

Sass’ apprehension is that no studies have been carried out to test Rivas’ weight loss theory that cheating on weekends boosts metabolic rates. “Studies on people who have successfully lost and kept weight off in the National Weight Control Registry find these individuals do not cheat on weekends, but rather indulge in treats in moderation throughout the week,” reports Sass.

Sass also dislikes the supplement recommendations because, once again, there are no references to document the effectiveness of the supplements in weight loss. “Some of the recommendations are potentially unsafe, with adverse effects for certain individuals, according to the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database (NMCD), and they defy up-to-date science-based references,” adds Sass.

Sass also found it to be a stretch that the cinnamon in a high fat, high sugar food like cinnamon buns would help improve blood sugar and lower LDL cholesterol.

Food for Thought
Sass suggests saving your money on the Cheater’s Diet, and instead log onto mypyramid.gov for a much more logical approach to successful weight loss. Her tip: Follow the 2005 Dietary Guideline’s recommendations for small daily splurges (called discretionary calories).

“The general public likes the idea that a diet must include sacrifice, and they mistakenly believe that is what it takes to be successful,” Rivas says. He maintains that the Cheater’s Diet proves that cheater’s win, and the plan will result in weight loss.

If you like this plan’s recommendation of regular exercise, splurging a bit on the weekends, and enjoying a Mediterranean-style diet (minus those unnecessary supplements), you may have found a diet you can stick with for life.