What is the 5-Factor Diet?
The 5-Factor Diet is found in a book by the same name which is written by fitness coach Harley Pasternak with Myatt Murphy.
Who is Harley Pasternak?
Harley Pasternak is a fitness coach whose clients have included John Mayer, Halle Berry, Mandy Moore, and many other celebrities. He has appeared on television as a nutrition and fitness expert on such shows as The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Tyra Banks Show.
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How much does this diet cost?
The 5-Factor Diet book is obtainable in hardcover for about $17. It is also available as an online membership at the diet's official Web site for around $20 a month. The only further costs for following this diet are purchasing regular grocery store foods or ingredients for recipes, as well as fitness equipment such as a set of dumbbells and a stability ball, which can be found for about $15 each.
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What is the 5-Factor Diet about?
The key rule of the 5-Factor Diet is to eat five meal each day that must be made up of five components: A lean protein, a complex carbohydrate, fiber, a "good" fat, and a sugar-free drink. The food choices Pasternak recommends are based on the Glycemic Index (GI), which rates foods according to their effect on blood sugar levels. (Eating foods with a low GI, as well as high-fiber foods, may help control cravings and prevent overeating by keeping your blood sugar stable.) Pasternak provides some additional key points behind the basis of his diet, including the importance of both protein and fiber as they relate to weight loss and good nutrition in general.
Pasternak says getting regular exercise is 50% of his plan. He says you must do exercises five days a week to get the "full benefit" of the plan. He suggests five exercises, to be done five days each week, that take about five minutes each to do. Photos and step-by-step directions for exercises are provided in the book.
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What is the food like on the 5-Factor Diet?
Each of the five snacks or meals required six out of seven days on the 5-Factor Diet must include what Paternak refers to as "5-Factor Foods" (low-fat protein, low- to medium-GI carbs, fiber, a healthy fat, and water or another sugar-free beverage).
Pasternak says consuming moderate-carbohydrate, high-protein meals will help you stay fuller longer, which diminishes between-meal hunger pangs. An example of a 5-Factor meal would be baked chicken, mixed vegetables with a drizzle of olive oil, a half cup of lentils, and a glass of sparkling water.
There are some specific recommendations among the acceptable foods on the plan, such as choosing white meat poultry over dark and avoiding grapes because of their high ranking on the GI. So it is important that you read the eating guidelines carefully before you begin planning your meals.
Pasternak provides more than 100 recipes in the book, all of which require only five main ingredients and five minutes of preparation.
Each week, there is one day Pasternak calls a "cheat day" when you can eat absolutely anything you want.
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Is the 5-Factor Diet a fad diet? Will it work?
The 5-Factor Diet would not be considered a fad diet because it provides healthful eating guidelines, recommends a variety of foods without excluding any food groups, and is flexible to your own preferences. Additionally, it recommends regular exercise. All of these points are hallmarks of a sound diet plan.
On the other hand, all of the "five of everything" rules does make this diet seem rather "gimmicky." (And the name-dropping on Pasternak's part -- "Halle Berry loves my fajitas!" -- doesn't make it seem less so.)
There is not really any new or exclusive science behind the plan; it's actually just good, common-sense advice about making better eating choices and becoming more active. There is no "weight loss magic" to eating five meals a day, and always being required to eat all five of the "5-Factor Foods" together at one time isn't necessarily any more effective than eating them among different meals or snacks.
Weight loss comes down to calories in/calories out. Whether you eat five or three meals a day, if you burn more calories than you take in, you'll lose weight. If, for example, you completely remove high-calorie and high-sugar foods such as white bread and soda pop from your diet and replace them with whole grains and sugar-free beverages, and you work out most days a week, you are virtually guaranteed to lose weight.
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How long does the 5-Factor diet last?
Pasternak presents the diet as a 5-week plan (again ... Five!), but you will need to stay on it quite a bit longer if you have more than about 10 pounds to lose. It does not provide rapid results, which is actually a plus. You can expect an average loss of one to two pounds a week after the first week. This diet is safe and flexible as a permanent lifestyle.
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Who is the 5-Factor diet for?
If you are looking for a diet plan that provides easy-to-understand healthy eating guidelines and examples of reasonably beginner-friendly exercises, then this diet will work probably work for you.
If you have found diets too be too stringent in the past and have been left feeling deprived, the cheat day will make this diet easier for you.
If you are too busy to prepare meals ahead of time to take to work or school and/or you are not able to eat every 3 to 4 hours, following this diet (specifically, the meal plans) may not be for you.
If you want to learn more about making better food choices, but don't want to follow the plan to a "T," you will still benefit from learning more about the recommended diet changes set forth in this book.
If you have difficulty with emotional eating, this diet probably will not work well for you, as Pasternak fails to address the topic.
If you don't want to cook, you will have to devote time to planning all of your meals yourself instead than using the recipes Pasternak provides. Additionally, some of the foods on the "must-haves" list may not be readily available -- or appealing! -- to you (such as game meats, such as ostrich or bison). Some of the recipes are quite expensive (such as smoked salmon).
If you eat out a lot, you may discover the diet challenging at first, as Pasternak provides only a few examples of dishes to order in restaurants. In time, however, as you adjust to the new eating habits, you'll be able to make appropriate choices and make special requirements when you need to.
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