Weight Loss & Diet Plans

The UltraMetabolism Diet

The UltraMetabolism Diet: How It Works continued...

After the initial week of preparation, when you purge your kitchen of unhealthy foods, dieters enter a 3-week detox period called Phase 1. During this phase, you eat nutritious whole foods while avoiding those containing dairy, wheat, and eggs. The idea is to determine whether you have any reactions to these common allergens.

Phase 2 is the final phase, and can last for a lifetime. During this phase, foods are slowly reintroduced so dieters can determine how well they tolerate each one. Any food that causes a negative health reaction should be avoided. Alcohol is permitted, but limited to three glasses per week. Coffee lovers are allowed only a half cup daily. They're encouraged to kick the habit entirely and switch to green tea.

You’re advised to eat every 3 hours throughout the day to stoke your metabolism and control hunger -- but not to let anything pass your lips within 3 hours of bedtime.

The UltraMetabolism diet plan also recommends a cocktail of hard-to-pronounce supplements, including quercetin, fenugreek, and N-acetylcysteine. Dieters can purchase these supplements from the author.

''If we lived a perfect life, we would not need supplements but because our diets are nutrient deficient, we need supplements to facilitate metabolism,'' says Hyman.

The UltraMetabolism Diet: What the Experts Say

There is a lot of great advice in the UltraMetabolism diet book. But there is also some offbeat stuff, written in a manner sure to confuse the average reader.

The emphasis on wholesome, unprocessed foods, physical activity, and stress reduction is excellent advice, based on solid science. But the author's use of the terms "toxic" and "toxins" may make readers fear their food supply unnecessarily.

''Nutrigenomics sounds very sophisticated, but it has not been fully researched to make claims about its impact on weight control,'' says registered dietitian Jackie Newgent. ''We need to stick to what we know, like eating whole, natural foods vs. foods that contain lots of things we don’t need.''

She worries that dieters will think they can eat all the organic foods they want because there is no emphasis on controlling portions: ''Even healthy foods can cause weight gain if you don’t control portions.''

On the other hand, says Newgent, ''UltraMetabolism diet is not as restrictive as many diets and can be a realistic approach for some people,'' especially when followed for only a few weeks.

But the idea of avoiding certain foods for the rest of their lives might cause some people to crave the "forbidden fruit."

Newgent also fears the book sends the message that the supplements it recommends are essential to weight loss.

''Supplements don’t accelerate weight loss, and if your diet is complete with healthy foods, the only supplement you may need is a once-daily multivitamin,'' she says.

When it comes to getting regular physical activity, Hyman says you should -- but he also says it’s optional.

''That is so confusing and wrong – all experts agree that exercise is essential,'' says Newgent.