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5 day miracle diet
5
Day Miracle Diet
5
day miracle diet
By Adele Puhn, M.S. (Ballantine Books, 1996)
Credentials:
The author is a New York-based nutrition consultant.
The 5 Day Miracle Diet
Promise: Eating the right types, textures, and combinations of foods at specified
times will maintain a state of "good" blood sugar and eliminate the
cravings that make you overeat, according to Puhn. On the 5 Day Miracle Diet Pounds
will steadily melt away while you feel more energized, mentally focused, and healthy.
The
5 Day Miracle Diet Program: Make sure your watch has a timer: This plan demands
strict attention to eating intervals. For breakfast, you must eat a serving of
protein and one of starch within 30 to 45 minutes of waking up and a "hard
chew" snack (a raw, crunchy vegetable, apple, or pear) within two hours of
breakfast. Eat a second hard-chew snack or have lunch within two hours of your
first snack. Lunch should be a protein and a vegetable (a large salad or a stir-fried
or steamed dish). On the 5 day miracle diet after lunch, maintain your sugar level
by eating one or two more hard or soft (fruit with a high-sugar content) chews,
spaced no farther than three hours apart. Dinner consists of vegetables and proteins.
On alternate days, women can add a small portion of whole grains, starchy vegetables,
potatoes, or beans -- if they didn't have starches for lunch. Pasta, dairy products,
nuts, certain fruits (such as bananas, grapes, pineapple, mango, cherries, dried
fruits), breakfast cereals, desserts, and alcohol are limited.
The 5 Day
Miracle Diet Pluses: The plan recommends that you keep a journal detailing what
and when you eat -- an excellent way to evaluate calorie intake and monitor portion
control.
The 5 Day Miracle Diet Pitfalls: The author claims that calories
don't count on this diet, but your stomach may disagree. A three-day sample menu
for women averaged a measly 825 calories a day. Unlike other carb-bashing diets,
this one is so restrictive that your protein intake is also likely to be borderline.
Puhn also lists spinach, soy milk, tofu, and farina as rich in calcium, but in
truth, the calcium in spinach is poorly absorbed by the body, and unless fortified,
the rest are low in calcium.
