The 5 Factor Diet: Can It Work for You?

If you're like most folks, hearing the words "Hollywood" and "diet" in the same sentence leaves you thinking the word "gimmick" can't be far behind. As any serial dieter will tell you, the sheer number of celebrity quick weight loss fixes can make your head spin! Enter stage left: The 5 Factor Diet, the latest weight loss plan reported to help stars like Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore, Eva Mendes, Alicia Keys, John Mayer, Kanye West, and more get their million-dollar bodies.

But is the 5 Factor Diet, from the book of the same name by celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak, just another Hollywood diet gimmick?  Experts are divided on its value.

"I don't see any real science behind the 5 Factor Diet -- no studies to show it works, plus it doesn't seem to address a major problem linked to obesity, which is emotional overeating," says weight control psychologist Abby Aronowitz, PhD, director of SelfHelpDirectives.com.

Others, however, see it as a refreshingly sound and nutritious approach to weight loss, one that can help dieters reign in their appetites and lose extra pounds.

"The 5 Factor Diet puts a new spin on what has been the traditional advice of every major nutrition organization for years," says Angela Kurtz, RD, a nutritionist at New York University Medical Center. "It's a well-balanced eating plan that includes all the food groups, doesn't leave anything out, and in a very subtle and very clever way also helps us change the eating behaviors that caused us to gain weight in the first place."

What Is The 5 Factor Diet?

The "five" in the 5 Factor Diet comes not only from the number of elements each meal should include -- protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, fat, and fluids -- but from the recommended five meals a day, with recipes that contain no more than five ingredients, or take no more than five minutes of prep time and five minutes of cooking time. 

There is also a five-day exercise plan, which -- no surprise - consists of five exercises you do for 5 minutes each. And, there's a "cheat day" once a week, when you can eat anything you like.

Like Kurtz, nutritionist Cathy Nonas, MS, RD, believes this approach hits all the right notes for orchestrating successful weight control for many people.

"This is a healthy plan that incorporates all the food categories in appropriate proportions. The exercise is a combination of cardio and strength training, and you don't need any expensive equipment to do it," Nonas writes in her review of The5 Factor Diet for the American Dietetic Association. 

Aronowitz agrees the diet is nutritious, but still sees some serious flaws in the plan.

"Yes, it's good nutrition, but outside of the Hollywood community I don't believe there is any evidence to show that eating five meals a day is a secret formula to weight control. In the end, it's just calories in and calories out, and it doesn't really matter when you eat them -- and to try to convince us otherwise is somewhat misleading," says Aronowitz, author of Your Final Diet.