Does “Fat Loss 4 Idiots” Work?

Fat Loss 4 Idiots is an online dieting program that makes a pretty big claim. If you’ve visited their website or have seen any of their ads, you have certainly seen their now-famous slogan “Lose 9lbs in 11 Days”.

Is this really possible? Is it even healthy? Or is the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet just another one of the dozens of fad diets that spring up every year? The brief Fat Loss 4 Idiots Diet Review below will help you answer these questions and more. It should help you make an informed decision about whether this diet is a good fit for you or not.

CONTENTS AT A GLANCE:

WHAT IS THE BASIC IDEA BEHIND THE FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET?

DOES THE FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET ACTUALLY MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT?

WHAT ABOUT KEEPING THE WEIGHT OFF?

THE FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET IS NOT FOR EVERYONE

WHAT DO YOU GET IF YOU PURCHASE THE FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET?

FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET GOOD POINTS

FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET BAD POINTS

FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET REVIEW SUMMARY

 

1. WHAT IS THE BASIC IDEA BEHIND THE FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET?
The Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet uses an idea called “calorie shifting”, where you continue to eat a normal amount of food every day, but spread it out over 4-6 small meals instead of the standard 3. You eat until you are satisfied, not until you are stuffed. This is supposed to trigger the release of fat burning hormones, stripping away a small reasonable amount of fat daily.

This is different than the traditional low-fat approach (eat as little FAT as you can), the low-calorie approach (eat as little FOOD as you can), and the low-carb approach (eat as little CARBS as you can).

The website correctly points out why the traditional approaches don’t work. Low-fat often fails because when people believe they are eating the “low fat” version of a food, they end up eating more of it. Low-calorie fails because eating less forces your metabolism to slow down. A slower metabolism means your body is burning less energy, and therefore less fat. Low-carb diets fails because they are very restrictive, increase cravings, and are very hard for most people to follow for more than a short while.

The Fat Loss 4 Idiots approach is to keep you eating a normal, healthy amount of calories (so your metabolism doesn’t slow down) and a normal, healthy amount of fat and carbs (so you don’t feel hungry and have to deal with urges to cheat and “pig out”).

The basic approach is to eat specific, normal, nutritious foods (all available at your local grocery store) spread out over 4-6 meals across the day. The diet runs for 11 days, followed by a rest period, followed by another 11 day cycle if you need or want.

Another basic idea in the program is that whatever shift you make in your diet, over time your body will adjust to it, and the new diet can quickly stop having an effect . To deal with this, the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet “switches gears” several times, changing the foods and the schedule. As well, after 11 days, you get a break where you are allowed to return to your normal way of eating. These built in “cheating” days and changing the patterns of eating are supposed to keep your body guessing. The idea is that if your body doesn’t get a chance to adjust to the new diet quickly, it will keep shedding fat daily.

Click Here to Visit the Fat Loss 4 Idiots Diet Site

2. DOES THE FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET ACTUALLY MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT?
Before trying the diet, I wanted to make sure that I would not be losing out on key nutrients (protein, carbs, fat, vitamins etc). I have tried diets in the past that called for various types of restrictions and special foods but found that many just made me feel really drained and unhealthy. As you will see ,if you use the program, the meal plans do use a variety of foods from all the major food groups, and you are not told anywhere that you should force yourself to eat way less than your body and hunger demands. You are told to eat “until satisfied” at each meal, as opposed to eating until you are stuffed, which is what most people who have weight problems unconsciously end up doing meal after meal.

I was glad to see that the diet used a variety of foods and did not ask for any extreme restrictions. But in the back of my mind I wasn’t sure how I was going to lose any weight without drastically decreasing something . The only restrictions asked for are the obvious ones you need to have in any diet (eg .avoid excessive sweets, avoid heavily processed foods, avoid drinking lots of soda etc.)

I followed the diet for 11 days, eating pretty much as instructed (did cheat just a bit) and exercising very lightly (just going for walks). It took a day or two to get used to eating the smaller meals and eating more often, and also to learn to judge the difference between “satisfied” and “stuffed” but by day 4 the new schedule felt normal.

By day 3 or 4, I really didn’t feel like I was “dieting” any more. I had cut out the obvious bad foods (the sweets, the cans of cola, etc) but I felt like I was still eating enough food. I wasn’t getting really hungry between meals (like I have with all the traditional diets I have tried) and I always knew that the next meal was only 3-4 hours away. The whole thing felt so “non-diet” that I really wasn’t sure If I was going to lose any weight.

By day 7 I knew for sure that it was working. I hadn’t weighed myself yet, but I could feel that I had lost weight.

On day 11, I weighed myself and had lost 5 lbs. Not the 9lbs or 10lbs from the slogan or all the ads, but I’m not complaining.

After the allowed “cheating phase”, I continued with the diet for another 11 day cycle and lost another 4lbs. All in all, I lost 9lbs over a period of about a month (3 and a half weeks).

I have recommended the diet to a couple of family members and friends. The ones who were serious and who actually stuck to the diet plans had similar results – between 8 to 14lbs over a period of 3-4 weeks.

I think it’s fair to say that “9lbs in 11 days” is probably overly optimistic and probably comes to close to being unhealthy. In fact the program does say that if you are losing more than a pound a day, you need to go off the diet and back to your regular way of eating for a couple of days. Around 10lbs over about a month is a more reasonable expectation.

Click Here to Visit the Fat Loss 4 Idiots Diet Site

 

3. WHAT ABOUT KEEPING THE WEIGHT OFF?
It’s great when a diet actually works, but if you can’t keep the weight off, why even bother in the first place? The fact of the matter is that if you go back to your regular old eating habits, the weight is going to come back. It is pretty obvious when you think about it. No diet program is even going to talk about that in their advertising though.

Losing the weight over a month was great. But the biggest benefit I see in the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet program is that it has taught me smart eating habits that are NOT hard to maintain. I’ve learned to eat in a new way that has become a habit and doesn’t leave me feeling hungry and miserable.

Once you reach your target weight, you have to find a happy medium between how you used to eat and how you ate during the 11 day cycles. If you can find that happy medium you should be able to maintain your new weight. If you go back to your old habits, the weight will obviously come back.

4. THE FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET IS NOT FOR EVERYONE
If you can’t commit to at least 11 days of eating in the way you are instructed, don’t bother with this diet. You will just be wasting your money.

As well, if you don’t have regular access to the internet, this diet is not for you, as all your customized diet and meal plans, progress tracking etc, is done online through your account at their website. So you will need to access the site once every day or two to work with your customized plan.

If you are the type of person who needs another person to watch over you and motivate you, this program is not for you. You are expected to go through the information (presented very simply and briefly) and then follow the customized plan by yourself. It’s not complicated or difficult, but some people need a human coach to help them along. If you are one of those people, a better option for you would be a Weight Watchers or similar program.

If you are looking for a program that talks a lot about how to exercise, in addition to the diet, this program is not for you. While the program does suggest light exercise and thinks it is important (eg. walking), it does not go into detail about different exercise options and programs.

And lastly, if you are not committed to making some permanent changes in your eating habits after the 11 day cycle(s), you will absolutely find yourself gaining the weight back. The changes you have to make are not huge (not the drastic changes most fad diets ask for) and they can become habit pretty easily. But, nevertheless, you have to make a commitment to learning and maintaining some new eating habits. There is lots of advice on the site on how to do this but, again, if you can’t make this commitment, you will be wasting your time and money.

5. WHAT DO YOU GET IF YOU PURCHASE THE FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET?
You get access to the member’s area of the site, where you will find all the information needed to make the diet work. They leave out all the science and tell you only what you need to do.

Based on factors like your weight, food preferences, etc the Diet Generator program will create a customized meal plan for you. The program takes care of counting the calories, the fat, the protein, the carbs, etc. You just make the food and eat it according to the schedule given.

You can then track your progress on the site. I think this is why they call it Fat Loss for IDIOTS – all the complicated meal planning and calorie counting, nutrient counting is taken care of for you. You don’t even have to think about it. Just eat the simple meals according to the schedule given.

If you decide to order, you will notice an upgrade option at the checkout that offers you an ebook with additional dieting information for $16.95. I don’t know what that is, but I’m sure it is not something you need to make the diet work, to lose the pounds, or keep the weight off. My friends and I have done fine without it, so I wouldn’t bother with the upgrade.

Click Here to Visit the Fat Loss 4 Idiots Diet Site

6. FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET GOOD POINTS

The meal plans makes sure you are getting all the nutrients your body needs. You will not be starving your body or constantly feeling hungry or tired.
The foods you are asked to eat are all normal, everyday foods available at any grocery store
The meal plans give you a lot of choices (there are options for vegetarians too
The diet is really easy to follow. All the thinking and details are taken care of for you by the Diet Generator
The price is cheap. There are no expensive foods or supplements to buy.
If you don’t like the diet, you have 60 days to get all your money back

7. FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET BAD POINTS
You are probably not going to lose “9lbs in 11 days”. Think 10lbs over 3-4 weeks
You must have regular internet access to use the program
There is no human supervision or coach to guide or motivate you through the program. You have to provide the motivation yourself. For some people this may be a problem. If you are one of those dieters, consider Weight Watchers or some similar program.
The meal plans can get a little boring but keep in mind you are not going to be on the diet forever. Once you are at your target weight, use the new habits you have learned to create your own happy medium between how you used to eat and how you ate during the 11 day cycle

8. FAT LOSS 4 IDIOTS DIET REVIEW SUMMARY
Overall, I think that the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet program is an easy to follow, unique approach to dieting. It isn’t like traditional dieting and doesn’t feel like traditional dieting. For this reason, you do have to have an open mind and follow the diet for the whole 11 days as instructed. If you use it, don’t judge it too quickly. Wait the 11 days, follow the plan, and weigh yourself at the end. If you do that, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

As well, I think it is important not to buy into the advertising hype and expect too much too soon. Don’t expect to lose 10lbs in a week or 10 days. There may be some people who get results like that, but I’m willing to bet that most don’t. If you expect about 10lbs over a month, I think you are less likely to be disappointed.

And lastly, any one who has dieted before knows that the most important ingredient in any diet is committment. You have to commit for the 11 days, and you have to commit to making some permanent change in your eating habits after the 11 days. If you can’t or won’t, this or any other diet will simply be a waste of time of money.

I hope my Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet review has helped you answer some of the questions you have had. Please feel free to post any questions/comments below. Good luck with whatever diet you choose to pursue!

Click Here to Visit the Fat Loss 4 Idiots Diet Site