The Cheater’s Diet

‘The Cheater’s Diet’ is a dietary program which has helped over 15,000 people lose weight, and has been so popular because of its emphases upon helping its users both maintaining a high metabolism, and helping them to not become fatigued by the dietary boredom that many diets create.

The diet focuses on a Mediterranean style of eating, with low calorie foods encouraged throughout the week, however with room for its users to ‘cheat’ and indulge in normally forbidden foods such as chocolate cake, in moderation at the weekends. Dr Rivas who wrote the program emphasised that it is important for dieters to understand the concept of ‘controlled cheating’, whereby they may enjoy fatty foods, but appreciate that they may need to place some restraint on the quantity of their intake.

‘The Cheater’s Diet’ can be a short or long term diet plan, and encourages its users to eat three small meals a day, and two snacks. The foods that are suggested during the week are lean meats, seafood, salads, berries and protein bars, with the dieter being able to enjoy other foods at the weekend. The diet plan provides sample menus with a low calorie intake to give the user an idea of the foods that they should be eating.

The diet further encourages its users to take part in as much physical exercise as possible in order to boost metabolism levels. Particular activities that are recommended are walking, washing the car, and gardening. The diet has consequently proven popular as users with a busy lifestyle do not feel pressurised into joining a rigorous training programme, and can increase their metabolism by adopting a cheap and easy exercise routine.

Some criticism has come of this diet in that the calorie intake suggested for users has been considered much too low and therefore neither suitable for men, or women with a very active lifestyle. Additionally, the diet encourages the user to use artificial sweeteners and other food supplements which many have found have not been effective to those trying to lose weight.

Praise has come of the diet however in being a life-style approach which doesn’t involve the user giving up the foods that they like. Dr Rivas argues that there are psychological benefits derived from allowing the dieter to continue indulging in foods that they would normally eat, if in limitation, and that this in the long-term can promote successful weight loss.

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