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The 2 day diet, created by Dr. Michelle Tony Howell is a plan which combines several dieting concepts. Overall it’s very simple to follow, but if you’re looking to do it, make sure you read this review first as it’ll help you better understand what it’s all about.

How the 2 day diet works:

In this plan, you eat in a Mediterranean diet way for 5 days, while the other 2 are spent on regular low calorie, low carb eating. This plan combines several concepts together:

1. The Mediterranean diet: For 5 days out of the week you will be eating the same way people from the Mediterranean areas eat. We’re talking lean meats, legumes, vegetables, alcohol (in specific limits), fruits, not so much dairy, lots of fish, monosaturated fats which basically means oils such as coconut and olive that thicken when it’s cold and turn liquid when it’s warm.

These oils carry a lot of health benefits which have been noted to help lower blood pressure and improve overall health as well as reduce the risk of diseases. The entire  concept of the Mediterranean diet is all about healthy eating, but not in a traditional way. Rather it’s all about eating foods that are tasty, exotic and provide a ton of health benefits.

2. Standard dieting 2 days out of the week: You will have to follow a low carb approach for this period. This is where it’s going to get a tad traditional. You’ll be able to eat about 1,000 or more calories each day which is fine for most people and it’s only for 2 days, something most people shouldn’t have issues with.

3. Interval Eating. This is pretty major. Interval eating is an approach to eating in a way which mixes up eating routines, more specifically how many calories you consume day after day. If done correctly, your metabolism will increase and help with weight loss.

Although through the 2 day diet, interval isn’t taken to it’s maximum, it still contributes to the weight loss results. In it’s purest form interval eating can help you lose more than 1 pound every single day while being able to eat as much as you want. There’s very few diets that can pull this off. The diet called EODD (Every other day diet) is one of the best and vs the 2 day diet, it just gets faster/better results:

Learn what makes EODD so amazing.

Common Confusion about the 2 day diet:

A lot of people believe the 2 day diet is very similar if not identical to the 5:2 diet, also known as the “Fast diet”. It isn’t. 

In the 5:2 diet, you get to eat anyway you want for 5 days and then basically fast for the other 2. On fasting days, ideally you don’t eat anything. More modern day versions of this diet say you can eat up to 500-600 calories on fasting days, but it depends on the person doing it.

As for the 2 day diet, make no mistake, you ARE dieting for 7 days each week. It’s just that in 5 of those days, you are eating in an exotically limited way, where as on the other 2 days, you are following a standard approach. So in essence, while the concept is similar between both diets, when you examine it further, they are not the same. 

What about side effects?

This plan doesn’t really pose any health issues if you look at it, but if you have ANY concerns, you should always consult with your doctor before trying. 

How much weight can you lose?

Although results vary, the overall weight loss approach isn’t fast for most. You gradually lose weight. Some have reported quick results in the 5-10 pound range within the first week, while others less than 5 pounds. Again it varies. If fast results are what you’re looking for, one diet where results are commonly fast is the #1 rated diet on this website.

Pros:

• Overall solid diet.
• Focuses on healthy eating.
• Good long term approach to weight loss.
• Provides health benefits. 

Cons:

• Not a lot of recipes to stick to this diet in the long run. 
• Could get boring after awhile. 
• Limited portion eating on the 5 days, contrary to people thinking they can eat as much as they want.

2 Day Diet Score:

3 stars out of 5. Pretty good/healthy diet, although limited proportional eating which can get boring after awhile. 

Conclusions:

While there is a lot of potential to this plan especially since you’re eating mostly in a Mediterranean way, it’s still a diet that does limit your proportions. Not to mention that there aren’t really a lot of recipes provided to customize your experience with. In the long run this diet may likely get boring for you. It is however a healthy approach to losing weight and improving health so it’s certainly worth a shot if those are your goals.

Even though it’s not the same as the 5:2 diet, I would have to say that this alternative is actually more flexible even though you do technically fast 2 days out of the week. However on the 5 other days you basically go all out and eat what you want, which in my mind is more flexible. Plus there have been noted reports on the health benefits of fasting, though it’s not for everyone and you should definitely consult with a doctor if you plan on trying it. Just an idea if you’re looking for alternatives.

There is also the #1 rated plan, Every Other Day Diet which is probably the most flexible and provides the best results. Whatever your choice, the 2 day diet is pretty solid and does endorse healthy eating, something that will always get a thumbs up from me. 

In early 2014, Rocco Dispirito released a new plan he calls the Pound a Day Diet to bookstores. This review is going to help clarify if this plan is worth your time. He has written books on dieting before, but this is his most recent.

How the Pound a Day Diet works:

You buy specific foods listed, make meals based on recipes provided and follow the diet plan. If done correctly, on average you can lose about 1 pound everyday as the book promises, that’s about it. The good news is that there are is A LOT of variety in this diet because there will be a lot of foods you’ll have to buy which is good/bad. Good because it won’t get boring and many of the foods and recipes are delicious. As for the bad, well, we’ll get to that in a moment since there are a number of concerns with this plan, particularly:

1. Serving sizes: Meal preparations are designed to feed about 4 people. If you are a single dieter planning on trying the Pound a Day diet, it’s better to either divide up the preparation directions into 4, which is going to get a little annoying, mathematically or try to get other people to do it with you like friends or family. There’s no way you’ll be able to eat all the food you’re going to make. 

2. Difficulty finding some foods: There are going to be a lot of foods listed in the book that are going to be hard to find. Things such as shirataki noodles & monk fruit. Personally I’ve never heard of these foods and odds very few if any stores in your area are going to carry these things. You’ll most likely be able to find online, but there will be a number of foods you’ll have to prepare which leads to the next point…

3. It’s going to get expensive: That is an understatement. It’ll likely cost you a few $100 to buy all of the foods, and that’s just for week 1. The shopping list is going to be huge. Yes there is a variety, but it will come with a price, literally. If you can’t afford to buy all of these foods, then this diet may not be for you. 

How to lose 1 pound a day the easier the way.

Pros:

• You can lose up to 1 pound a day.
• Lots of variety in what you can eat.
• A lot of tasty meals.

Cons:

• Pricey to buy everything.
• Difficult to find certain foods. 
• Serving sizes meant for 4 people.

The Pound a Day Diet Score

2.5 stars out of 5. You can lose weight fast, but it’s very expensive to do. See #1 rated diet.

Conclusions & if you should try this plan:

This is one of the shortest reviews I’ve ever done on a plan and the reason being is that there really isn’t that much to explain except the basics which are this: Yes it works fast, but it’s expensive. That’s really the best way to describe the diet. 

But if there were more to say, it would be this: There is A LOT of variety in this diet and you will certainly be eating and trying out new foods you’ve likely never tried in your life which is great if you’re into that, but all of these things will cost money and a lot of the products will not be easy to get. If you have any type of food allergies, you can omit certain foods of the lists, but even then it’s still going to come out to be a very long list which again translates into a high bill.

Should you try this plan? My answer would be no. And the main reason why is because I believe there are better, much less expensive ways to lose 1 pound everyday and this diet does it and in some cases gets better results. Plus it’s very expensive to try this one.

If you’re seeking fast results, you can still try the original plan and see how it works out for you, but I believe this is a bad investment since sooner or later you will stop doing it and all those foods you purchased will go to waste. I say save your money and focus on better alternatives. What do you think of this diet?

A lot of diets are reviewed on this website to help clarify how they really work and if you should try them. Although in most instances, the #1 rated diet comes out on top, a lot of people want to know if the diet they are interested in is worth a shot.

If there is any plan you want reviewed that is already NOT on this website, simply leave the name of it below. If you also have personal experience with it, please share it as well!

 

The Dash Diet’s approach to health improvement is one of the best, but does it also work well for weight loss? The answer is yes, but the purpose of this plan is more so based on reducing hypertension through proper eating than anything else.

In most cases you won’t lose lose a lot of weight quickly, but it will greatly help you in other areas, health related which will provide long term results. A food list will be provided as well to help give you a better idea of how it works.

How the Dash Diet works:

DASH stands for Dietary approaches to stop hypertension. This is a lifelong plan whose main purpose is to help lower your blood pressure (if you have hypertension). The bulk of this “diet” is to basically eat healthy foods which are low in sodium, the main ingredient which can lead to hypertension.

Foods that are low in sodium are basically fruits, vegetables, lean meats, nuts, grains and basically the typical foods we know to be healthy. DASH has a 2 phase plan which will help you ease into the diet and be able to follow it for life. Here is a summary of each phase:

Phase 1: Lasts for 14 days

In this phase, you will be basically be eating mainly low carb foods and staying away from fruits (for now) or grains (for now) to help the blood pressure improve. You can also eat foods with proteins during this time, such as fish, lean meats and eggs, but as long as each day you don’t go over 6 ounces a day.

Phase 2: Lasts 14 days

Here you include all of the foods allowed in phase 1, but are now allowed to eat fruits and grains, in specific servings a day. Phase 2 will be a lot more flexible and allow for more variety. After you finish this phase, it’s onto the long term (lifetime) plan:

Understanding how the lifetime plan works:

The first 2 phases were meant to help you lower your blood pressure and become better acquainted with how the long term approach to this diet will look. For the most part, it’s going to come down to eating certain food groups from the Dash diet is a specific serving everyday.

Every food you eat will be low in sodium and will thus further help reduce blood pressure. Under this diet, there are 2 options available: The Standard DASH approach in which you can consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium a day and the lower sodium approach which is more for people with very high blood pressure. Here you can’t go over 1,500 mg a day.

Additionally exercise is also highly recommended as it will help further results in the positive direction. It doesn’t have to be much. You can just start by doing simple things such as walking.

Overall, the regular Dash diet isn’t going to force you to starve. Each day you’ll be able to eat up to 2,000 calories and as you progress further into this diet, it’s going to become easier to maintain. For those seeking to lose weight under this plan, a 1,600/day calorie consumption is recommended, but keep in mind that this diet is not a quick fix.

1,600-2,000 should be enough for most, but a lot of the foods you’re going to eat are low in satiety so you may feel hungry at times. If you feel cravings, try to only eat from the recommended food list.

Dash Diet food List:

You will be eating foods everyday from several different groups:

Protein: Eggs, lean meat, poultry, salmon, tuna, sea bass, ect…

It is recommended to only eat organic foods from this list. Furthermore, make sure every meat you eat is lean so as to avoid the fat and extra cholesterol that may be in it.

Grains. Whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, cereal, brown rice.

The basic rule of thumb here is if it’s whole wheat, you can eat it. Everything else likely contains a lot of sodium, white flour, white sugar and other ingredients that will increase blood pressure.

Fruits. Any fruit. 

Stick to organic. You can eat canned fruits, but just make sure there’s no additional ingredients added. In truth, organic is better and there’s less hassle.

Vegetables. Pretty much anything goes here, but some foods on the list include broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, lettuce.

These and fruits should compose the majority of your daily diet.

Dairy. Yogurt (fat free), milk (fat free), cheese (fat free).

Nuts: Walnuts, almonds.

Great source of protein and energy.

Beans: Kidney beans, legumes, peas.

Legumes are probably the best since they contain a lot of health benefits.

Cheat foods (sugar, candy, ect…): You can eat in VERY small portions things such as candy, sugar (preferably brown/raw), soda, ect…

Note: Each food group comes with it’s own specific serving sizes a day which you must follow if you intend on seeing successful results from the DASH diet. For example, all of the foods you’re allowed to eat in the cheat foods list must be done in VERY small quantities. Some recommend no more than 5 servings a week!

Pros:

• Helps lower blood pressure/reduce hypertension.
• Healthy approach to dieting.
• Gets long term results.
• Contains many health benefits.

Cons:

• Not really meant for weight loss.

DASH Diet Score:

 3.5 stars out of 5. Very healthy diet with many health benefits, but not very flexible or a quick fix. If you want something that is healthy and gets fast results, you should try the Every Other Day Diet and that’s because it’s much more flexible:

Every Other Day Diet explained.

 

Conclusions on the DASH diet:

Many of the concepts of the DASH diet aren’t really new. In essence this really is a diet that’s about healthy eating and exercise, with extra emphasis placed on limiting sodium intake. 

The good news is that if you currently have problems with high blood pressure, this diet is perfect for you. You should certainly consult with a doctor first especially if you are taking medication just to be on the safe side. 

However if you do not have hypertension, are relatively healthy and looking to lose weight, this is not the best diet for that. This is.

The DASH diet does help provide weight loss results, but generally they aren’t quick since again the main purpose of this plan is to help lower blood pressure. Weight loss will follow and there some who report losing a lot of it quickly, but this isn’t common.

If you wish to lower your blood pressure and improve your health, the DASH diet is highly recommended. It also provides a ton of health benefits. An overall great healthy plan, not so much a diet. 

If you’re looking to lose weight quickly and don’t have issues with blood pressure, you can take a look at the #1 rated diet as a better alternative. It provides fast/long term results as well as a lot of flexibility.  

Recently it was announced that Tom Arnold, comedian/movie star, lost 90 pounds after having his first child at 54 years old. Stories like these are very inspirational to everyone who is currently struggling to lose the weight and in this post, let’s take a look at how he lost 90 pounds.

When interviewed, Tom said what was most inspirational in him taking the steps needed to fix himself was his son. He weighed nearly 300 pounds when his son was born and realized if he was going to be around his kid longer, he would have to make some serious changes, and so he did.

Tom began using the elliptical every single morning and eating a healthy breakfast that contained chia seeds, a super food which is said to increase in size once you eat it and helps you feel fuller. Additionally Tom also said he stopped eating sugar and bread altogether. 

This in combination with overall healthy eating and maintaining this habit ended up with 90 pounds being lost in a period of 9 months. Not bad at all considering how many people hit a weight loss plateau after a short time of dieting! Tom Arnold proves that when it comes down to it, the traditional approach to weight loss, aka healthy eating + exercise is the formula which always works. 

Anytime a story like this is mentioned, it brings hope to many people who are also struggling with the same problems Tom was and still is. And it is also true that there are much faster ways to lose weight than with the traditional approach, however in Tom’s case, it was the safe method of doing things which was just gradual weight loss and nothing too extreme. With patience and will power, his results are fantastic!

If you are aiming to lose weight right now, one of the best things you can is start here and utilize the 5 tips ridiculously simple, yet extremely effective methods recommended. They will help you start losing weight without adding anything difficult into your daily lifestyle.

When it comes to eating habits, I’m a proponent of gradual change. Most experts recommend cold turkey approaches to dieting or basically cutting out everything you’re doing and starting anew from day 1. I believe this leads to a “backlash” effect since our bodies are so used to eating the way we did before we start dieting and once we try to put them on a new path, they will eventually retaliate and force your body to go back to the way it was before you dieted.

This could materialize in the form of stronger cravings, weight loss plateaus and overall a much more difficult time maintaining the diet you’re on. This results in many yo-yo effects where most people just quit after awhile. 

Now don’t get me wrong. You absolutely should eat healthy and live healthy, but to get there, especially if you’re currently not living the healthy lifestyle, you should transition into it. Start with the 5 tips, then slowly eat less harmful foods and more healthy foods. 

Eventually the body will re-adjust itself and you won’t have the backlash effect. At the same time you will maintain results and live healthier. 

As for exercise? There’s another major component. For those of you who are NOT very active to begin with, start with something simple like walking. 30 minutes a day is a good place to start. Don’t power walk or jog. Just walk. As you become more and more used to it, increase the time/distance you walk. You can also try other activities such as swimming and simple jogging. Whatever you do, start off light and gradually increase the intensity at a comfortable pace! One step at a time! 

And on that note, just remember that when it comes to dieting and improving yourself, one step at a time will accumulate to incredible results, just like in Tom’s case! 

Do you have a weight loss story similar to Tom’s you’d like to share? If so, please leave it below in the comments section.