5 Factor Diet review: it sucks
After reading an article in US Weekly (admittedly not the best source of information about health & nutrition) about a diet that's all the rage in Hollywood, I ordered the 5 Factor Diet book. The sample menu the magazine featured sounded fantastic and easy to follow: who wouldn't be happy with an open-faced burger and sweet potato fries for dinner? The book arrived the other day, and as I thumbed through it and began reading my heart sank. After arguing why all the other fad diets out there aren't so hot, the book finally launches into the guidelines you're supposed to follow for THIS fad diet. And ah, there's the rub.
If your idea of a yummy recipe involves boiling chicken in water (seriously) and then shredding it and baking it in an oven with nothing on it, and then putting all that on a sprouted whole grain no-flour tortilla with fat free sour cream...then this diet is for you. If just reading that made you cringe, then save yourself the trouble because that is a real actual recipe from the book. ("Crispy chicken" enchilada.) You'll have no flour products of any kind, no egg yolks, only skim milk and fat free cheese/sour cream/yogurt. The book actually recommends you saute your vegetables in FLAX SEED. Who does that?!
The recipes are the blandest mess of disgusting I've ever seen in a diet book and they actually made me wish the author hadn't even bothered to pretend that there are palatable recipe options within his guidelines. Who prepares vegetables by putting them in a bowl with a little bit of water and putting that in the microwave? The author, apparently. Considering that I own a steamer, I find it very strange that he'd suggest microwaving vegetables in water. That just drains out the nutrients and leads to a soggy tasteless mush.
Some of the basic concepts behind the diet did appear to make sense, in particularly eating 5 smaller meals with a balance of lean protein, whole grain carbohydrates, fiber, and healthy fats. That sounds good in theory, but the actual practice outlined is anything but good. If I'm going to put in the time to actually prepare all my meals on a diet at home, then I'm going to want something moderately interesting and palatable to eat. There was not a single recipe in this book that I would make, and I'm not actually that picky of an eater.
I've read enough diet books and nutrition books at this point in my life that I feel like I have a good understanding of diet and nutrition. It's actually following the things I already know that is hard: portion control, avoiding saturated fats and trans fats, avoiding overprocessed foods, healthy snacks, and exercise. If only I could actually put it all together and get the motivation to follow it, I think I could have the next big diet bestseller. I'd call it the Common Sense Diet: You Already Know What to Eat. It could be a blockbuster. And it would even have good recipes in it.
The 5 Factor Diet is like a good looking guy who says all the right things, but then you get him home and he has a tiny misshapen penis. Sure, you could still give it a shot but why bother? You already know you're going to have a lousy time.
6 comments:
I'm pretty sure that's a little PR flack at work...so this comment is going bye-bye. Sorry, I don't do astroturfing here.
Thanks, Sara! I've been waivering back and forth as to whether or not I want to jump on yet another fad diet bandwagon. I totally agree with your philosophy...there is no magic diet, it's just plain commonsense. I do actually like the fat free sour cream, cottage cheese and cheeses...but so far they haven't helped too much. Let me know if you can muster up some will power, and then let me know how you did it...that seems to be all I lack, as well. Thanks again! 5 Factors had it 5 minutes of fame, but you've saved me some money. I'll just go out and buy some healthy food with it instead!
Seriously, astroturfers, stay away. I will delete whatever comments you post.
Innnnnteresting. A funny read. Thanks Sara for a good, informative review. I was JUST thinking of starting this tomorrow having read about it in InStyle but now I'm gonna base it on my own balanced recipes/eating....with, most inportantly, the 25 mins of excercise a day. Sensible, reasonable portions, cutting out sugar and the carbs I can do without and I think that's how I'll tailor it to work for me. Gotta get this mess into a swimsuit by mid-Jan for Hawaii!
I've been doing the 5-Factor thing for the past 5 weeks, but I'm not using the recipes. I think they must be for very busy people with less-discriminating palates. I'm all about cooking fresh and relying on packaged stuff as little as possible. That said, I apply the basics (eat fiber, protein, etc. at each meal, five times a day), and I'm really loving the fitness part. I already worked out faithfully 5-6 times a week, but my stomach has never been as flat as it has on his workout plan, and I'm actually working out for slightly less time per week than before.
I don't think there are any secrets to weight loss. Eat healthy, watch portions, workout. Pretty simple. But the exercise program in the book is worth a look in my opinion.
Sara thank you so much. I'm so glad you wrote about this diet. I was about to spend money on this. again thank you, thank you thank you.
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