Calorie shifting diet/Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet?? Reviews please!

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone had tried this diet. I have done Google search after Google search trying to find an honest, well informed review of this diet and all I can seem to find is what looks like advertising plants trying to disguise themselves as reviews. That might be my first big giant warning sign huh? :)

I am struggle with the last 15 pounds or so of weight I would like to loose (currently 5"5' 145 lbs, goal 131 lbs...started at 190 lbs so believe me I am happy!!). I must say, I'm getting tired of sticking to my 1200-1400 calorie diet and not seeing the scale move any more. From what I have read, this is NOT a long term diet, but maybe a way into making my body let go of those last few pounds? I could think of no better experts to ask about this diet than the people on this site. Reviews/advice please?

I've not heard of the specific diets you mention, but if by "calorie shifting" you mean a diet where you eat very low calories some of the time, then a couple days at maintenance, then a couple days above maintenance, I have heard of that.  One of my C-C friends has done very well with the Johnson Up Day Down Day Diet.  It seems to be safe and nutritionally/scientifically sound, when done correctly, and my friend had great results.  Sorry I can't be of more help.  I looked into it and right now that sort of diet isn't something I can commit to, but that kind of thing, when done properly, can be beneficial.

Good luck!

Hi! Just wanted to let you know I started fat loss for idiots diet 4 days ago. I dont know how much help I will be, as Ive just started. I can tell you that Im 5ft. 4in. and started at 145. I have lost 3 pounds in 4 days and hopefully will lose alot more! The menu is very weird, just a forwarning!! The first day I did this, I had chicken, roast beef slices and scrambled eggs for 1 meal. I dont think anyone would normally put those together! The hardest day so far was my fruit day. Fruit for 3 meals and a deli sandwich for 1 meal. Some of the things I like about this diet is: No limits on portions....you can use ketchup, mustard, bbq, salt and/or pepper, lemon juice on anything unlimited.....you can still have diet pop, tea, low cal drinks unlimited.....and it seems to work! Im going to add you so I can give you a better review once my 11 days is up! (also I dont feel hungry after day 2)

I tried the fat loss 4 idiots, and only made it through 5 1/2 days before i went stark raving mad.  i felt hungry all the time - the idiom of the diet is that you are never supposed to eat until you feel full - always leave yourself feeling satisfied, but that you could eat more - so it could be that i just wasn't eating enough - which led to me being hungry all the time.

it's definitely not a diet that will translate into "real life" when the 11 days are up.  i suspect that once you start eating like a normal person again, any weight lost will come rushing back.  which is why i stopped, and bought the best life diet book, read it, and began that program.  it makes much more sense in the long run.

good luck in whatever you decide to do!  

Thanks for the advice/feedback/reviews. I looked into that Johnson JUDDD diet too. Can anyone verify the claims of increased energy? That claim seems to be counter intuitive. Has anyone chosen the JUDDD diet as a way of life, like they claim it can be done?

I am looking for a way past this plateau I have hit. I have increased my workouts hoping that will help. I have started the 12 week exercise program from calorie-count. I am on day 9 today.

Maybe I just need to take a break from restriction and maintain for a while. I have been on my diet for quite a while and I am mentally tired of the constant daily restriction. I obviously can maintain :) Well...let me restate that. I hope I can when I want to.

Again, only speaking from what my friend talked about regarding his experience with JUDDD, he did have an increase in energy.  That was my main concern; especially in warmer weather, I'll sometimes burn almost 1000 calories if I go for a long bike ride, and I was worried about the deficit that would create if I was on a low cal day.  My friend said that even on his low cal days, he feels very energetic.  He goes running and does other exercises and feels no ill effect. 

It seemed counterintuitive to me, too, but I think one of the main ideas of that diet is that your body will store the food energy you get from your high cal days and then this gives you energy to burn off the surplus.  In other words, it doesn't look at calorie deficit as a day-to-day thing, rather it goes by the long term.

I also think you may be on to something with taking a break.  Once every two months or so, I find that if I give myself an "easy" week, that seems to help me both mentally and physically.  I cut back my exercise from 5 - 6 days per week to 2 or 3 for that week, and also don't worry too much about what I eat (I just make sure I don't go over maintenance.)

Whatever you choose, good luck!  Plateaus are annoying, but they are always temporary if you're doing everything else right. :)

I did the fat loss 4 idiots and made it through round one of it, then took my days off and never made it through round 2. I did lose like 7 or 8 pounds in the meantime, which I gained back eventually. If you are just using it as a kick start to break a plateau it should be fine, but not something that will work long term. The all mixed veggies day just about killed me with hunger pains and yeah...oatmeal and ham together was odd.

I do calorie cycling and have lost 65-70 lbs since June, but I don't go under 1200 calories a day, I average 1829 calories a day over a 7 day period.

I do:

 Sun: 1800 (30 min intense cardio every other Sunday)

Mon: 2000 + 30 min intense cardio and strength training

Tue: 1400

Wed: 2800 + 60 min intense cardio and strength training

Thu: 1200

Fri: 1500

Sat: 2100 + 30 min intense cardio and strength training 

Wow! Congratulations on the weight loss j3n_dot_net! And thank you all for your informed and thoughtful advice. I believe I have done enough research and have received enough feedback on this diet to conclude that I am going to try it, in a more modified form like j3n_dot_net is doing it. The idiot diet, besides having a very offensive name, and the JUDDD diet are a bit extreme for me. Thanks again for all the feedback. Hopefully I can can break this stalemate with my body and get moving in the right direction again :)

Shelly - try upping your calories for a day or two (which is just a less stict form of calorie cycling) - if you are exercising 3 or so times a week (light activity level), CC+ recommends 1500 for your weight/height. I'm at 144 now, only an inch taller, and I usually eat between 1400-1600, probably more on the weekends, plus exercise at least 3 days a week - cardio and weights. I had a month long plateau, and now I'm losing again, but back when I thought I needed to stay under 1400, it was a lot harder to lose. I think your comment about being too restrictive is right. You don't have to jump up to maintainence level (1800-2000, probably, depending on exercise), but just increase a little.

And congrats on losing so much already!

I like how this sounds, maybe moreso once I start maintaing which should be soon