Is Fat Loss 4 Idiots an Effective Weight Loss Plan?

One of the hot weight loss plans right now is Fat Loss 4 Idiots, and it's surrounded by an immense amount of hype, but in reality, this diet (not unlike most diets) is not the silver bullet that it's made out to be, but it is an attractive diet for certain types of dieters. 

Fat Loss 4 Idiots claims that they are the only diet on the market that will help dieters lose 9 pounds every 11 days. To clarify: that's not 9 pounds in 11 days, but rather 9 pounds each 11-day period while on the diet. Obviously, this is a major reason to be skeptical of this diet plan, or at least skeptical that its claims might be exaggerated, even for diets that claim to help you loose weight fast!

When you look into the diet, you begin to understand that this claim is watered down a certain extent due to the nature of the diet. Fat Loss 4 Idiot advocates cheat days, where you are free to eat whatever you crave. Each two-week period, you are entitled to three of these off days.

It's common knowledge that during the first four to five days on a diet, the pounds glide off easily, resulting from eliminating water weight and cleansing your colon. On the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet then, you get the benefit of this initial drop during every two-week period.

Here's how they might play out: begin the diet and lose 9 pounds in 11 days, and gain 3 back during the next 3 days; drop 9 pounds during the second period and gain 3 back during the off days. The final result is 9 pounds lost every 11 days, but a total weight loss of only 6 pounds every two weeks. Of course, even those losses would be very difficult to maintain over the long term, but it does demonstrate how the diet creators justify their claims.

A very encouraging part of this plan is the off days. During every two week period, you spend 11 days on the diet and 3 days off the diet. This is a little-used approach, and is one that is shared by another leading diet, the Cheat to Lose Diet. The principle is that you keep your body's fat burning hormones at full levels with the off days, and because you can satisfy your cravings as often as every two weeks, the diet is easier to maintain over the long-term than other diets that help you loose weight quick.

The diet is also very simple for nearly everyone to use because it spends no time, and I mean absolutely none, informing you about how the diet does what it does. It simply tells you what to eat. On the positive side, this is the fastest, brain-dead-simple way to get started with a diet program; but it is far from ideal for those dieters who are interested in the facts behind why a diet works the way it does. If you are an information consumer, this do-what-I-say approach can grow tired quickly.

A final point to note about the diet is the simplicity of it. It's fast and easy to begin, and it's a low-maintenance plan because Fat Loss 4 Idiots doesn't place much importance on calorie and carbohydrate counting or even portion size; instead, the program constantly encourages you to "eat short of being full."

The major difference between the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet plan and other weight loss programs is that the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet plan is specifically designed to confuse your body so it never thinks it's starving.

You should also note that this is a quick diet loss plan, plain and simple. It's not a weight loss plan and there is no exercise element involved. If your goal is fast weight loss, you are more than likely aware that you will need to incorporate an exercise component (preferably strength training and intervals) to your overall plan.

Fat Loss 4 Idiots, like many other diets, works only if you work it. But Fat Loss 4 Idiots is simpler to work thanks to its low amount of necessary maintenance, regular off days, and easy startup. But you will be wise to stay away from this diet if you want to learn the details under the surface. Personally, I enjoy learning facts, and I need them to stick with a plan. If you're like me, you would be wise to look to another diet plan.