The Cheat to Lose Diet by Joel Marion

  • Hi my name is Lisa. I am new to the forum. I was wondering if anyone was doing this diet? Or if anyone knew about it?

    Many people look at the word "cheat" and think that can't be good but you don't have a cheat day where you go crazy and eat a bunch of stuff. This is a carb cycle diet but you are restricted to particular foods and one day you aren't but you can eat healthy that day. It is sometimes called a refeed.

    This diet has a "priming stage" in the beginning. For the first week you eat just very low carbs, the second week you eat lower GI/GL foods like fruit and legumes, the 3rd week you eat higher GI/GL foods like brown rice, whole grain bread, bananas, high fiber cereals but the foods need to be low fat that week.

    Then after the 3 weeks you have a day when you can eat what you want. You won't lose weight if you eat as many calories as you want. They explain in the book to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks and how much of each. The next day you start the "core stage" which is ongoing until you reach your desired weight.

    That is when you eat LC for Sun, Mon and lower GI/GL for Tues, Wed, and higher GI/GL with low fat on Thurs, Friday, and Saturday is the "cheat" day.

    This diet works with the hormone Leptin. You are not eating the same calories, fat, carbs each day so your metabolism works better since your body doesn't know what's coming like on a diet where you eat just LC or just Low Calories. It kind of tricks your body into working off the fat. When you are losing weight, it's fat that your are losing the most of, not the water weight you lose at the beginning of some diets.

    Anyway, I thought I would put it out there in case anyone is interested. I hit a stall on Atkins and wanted to try something new. I googled this book and bought it very inexpensively online so I got it right away on my computer. It is a very interesting read and he also talks about exercise but he really gives a better reason why this works with science behind it. It's something to check out if you aren't completely excited about your WOE right now. I loved Atkins when it worked for me. I am still doing LC in this diet but I am learning that there are more foods out there that you can eat if you eat them in a carb cycle way.

    Thanks,

    Lisa
  • Sounds too complicated to me. I'll stick to calorie counting, not so rigid and I can eat healthy food. CC also works well for maintaining your weight loss.
  • I agree with bargoo.
  • Quote: Sounds too complicated to me. I'll stick to calorie counting, not so rigid and I can eat healthy food. CC also works well for maintaining your weight loss.
    I'm glad that works for you. You have done well on it. I find that since I started working out with a trainer 3 days a week I need other foods too since my metabolism is changing. Also carb/calorie cycling has you eat healthy food. No rigidity here. There are lots of choices. Just tells you to eat some extra fruit a couple days a week and cut carbs down a couple days a week and lower the fat a couple days per week. Changing it up so your metabolism doesn't get used to the number of calories you give it each day. Pretty simple.

    I just went to the store and got foods that are good for you, legumes, whole grain bread, fruit, oatmeal. It is all good natural healthy foods.


    If anyone else is interested, please let me know. I started on Sunday and lost 5 lbs but since it's the LC week, it was mostly water. With this diet you are able to eat more carbs at times so the weight you lose will be fat.

    Lisa
  • I'm not on it nor have I heard of it. Just wanted to welcome you aboard.
  • Thanks Sunshine. Since no one has really heard of the diet, I guess I will just write down how it's going. Maybe if I get some good results, someone else might want to try it.

    Lisa
  • I haven't heard of it either, but it sounds intriguing.

    I have a problem with being told what to do. So if I were on a diet that specified that I could only eat low carb on a certain day, I'd rebel against that pretty damn quick.

    That's why calorie counting works for me. Having said that, in my calorie counting world I have days where I just feel like grilled chicken, eggs and veges, and other days when I want a good stir fry with noodles or rice. So I wonder whether or not I may already be doing a certain version of this plan, just not formally. Plus I calorie cycle (not deliberately, just feel like eating more some days than others) so this may fall into it too.

    Anyway, welcome, stick around, and let us know how it goes for you!
  • Good Luck on this Lisa, you have done well so far also with your weightloss!
    Welcome to the site also!.

    I'm also doing a diet which noone else really seems to be here - Ketogenic VLCD (also low Carb principles) Is working great for me!

    I think it is always interesting to hear info on different diets, so let us know how you get on as you progress with it
  • It sounds... complicated. But if it works for you, that's great.
    Good luck~<3
  • Quote: Thanks Sunshine. Since no one has really heard of the diet, I guess I will just write down how it's going. Maybe if I get some good results, someone else might want to try it.

    Lisa
    You're welcome.

    With this site, I'm sure there's someone who has heard of this diet.
  • Thanks for the welcomes!!

    I finished my first week of the 3 week priming stage and lost 5 lbs. I started the second week in which you add Low glycemic fruits and legumes yesterday. I had apples, oranges, grapes, and for dessert I made whipped cream with liquid splenda and had strawberries dipped in it. normal dinner, steak but just 4 oz. All in all the calories turned out to be 1318 but I never bothered to do any counting. Just happens when you eat this way you have low calories just eating regular food in regular portion size. What changes is the carbs go up with the healthy fruits and legumes and it changes your metabolism. It was so weird to have oatmeal for breakfast today after not having it forever and I dipped my apple in 2 oz. of peanut butter. The work part is getting protein/fat/Low glycemic carb in you at the meals. The calories just work themselves out. I just hate counting. Well I have a week of this and then I go to something new and fun and different when I have higher glycemic foods and Low fat. I have a week of that and then I end the priming stage. Then it's a couple days of each, each week. Fun and new each day.

    Thanks so much for the welcome.

    Lisa