The 5-Bite Diet can cause you to shed unhealthy, excess weight over a short period of time, but it isn’t meant to be a lifestyle change.
Willing to give it a try for a few days? Here are some important guidelines to follow, meal by meal.
Breakfast
- Dr. Alwin, the creator of the diet, recommends black coffee and a multivitamin for breakfast to extend the fasting state the body enters at night. This allows you to shed more pounds.
- Choose a gummy multivitamin to satisfy your sweet tooth and soothe the hunger pangs. It is also encouraged to take a purified, concentrated omega-3 fish oil supplement daily.
Lunch
- You can eat five bites of any food you choose. For the best results, try to make those bites a mini-meal. You may take three bites of fish and two bites of lettuce, for instance.
- Each bite you eat should only require one swallow. If you must swallow more than once, your bite size is too large.
- You should have at least one bite of protein per day, but two is best. Foods containing protein include meat, nuts, chicken, turkey, beef, fish and tofu.
Dinner
- Same as lunch. Choose any foods and take only five bites. Your foods can consist of hamburgers, ribs, cheesecake, or even cookies… as long as you limit yourself to five bites per meal.
- You’ll probably be feeling hungry at the end of the day, but remember to keep your bite sizes consistent. Remember: one bite = one swallow.
Snacks
- The diet can still be effective if you choose to add a one-bite snack between meals for a total of 12 bites per day.
- Fuel your body with healthy proteins, fruits and vegetables.
Liquids
- It’s crucial to drink lots of fluids. Zero-calorie drinks, including soda, are allowed.
- Alcohol makes us feel great sometimes, but it’s an enemy in disguise when you’re trying to lose weight. Avoid alcohol entirely or cut back for an extended period of time to easily skip empty calories.
- Alcohol also stops the body’s calorie-burning abilities, which slows the metabolism.
- While diet sodas are low in calories and contribute to short-term weight loss, these drinks may cause long-term weight gain as you supplement the loss of calories with other foods.
- Diet drinks may cause symptoms of metabolic syndrome (high blood pressure, high blood sugar, lower than average HDL cholesterol). Also note that many of the sugar substitutes in diet sodas have cancer-causing properties.
Success stories, results… and a word of caution
The purpose of this diet is to help you lose excess weight rapidly, and it definitely works… but remember: it isn’t a permanent solution or something you should practice regularly. A very low food intake for a prolonged period is unhealthy. You aren’t supposed to be starving yourself, you’re practicing portion control.
The 5-Bite Diet functions off the principle of glucose being the body’s fuel. It does not matter what you eat because your body converts the food into glucose. Ease into the diet if necessary by slowly decreasing your total number of bites per day over a course of time until you reach five bites for lunch and dinner.
Whenever you feel light-headed or weak, chew sugar-free gum or drink chicken broth. The first two days will be the toughest. Your stomach begins to shrink in adjustment to the smaller meals by day three. Stay busy with activities you enjoy to help you stick it out until the end.
Other ways to cut calories daily
Here are a few more simple changes you can make to your daily routine that will help you burn extra calories effortlessly.
- Begin every morning with a protein-packed breakfast.
You will burn more calories because of the body’s caloric requirements to metabolize protein, and the power food will cause you to eat less throughout the day.
- Pay more attention to flavors and your body’s sensations of fullness.
Try eating with your non-dominant hand to be fully present in the moment. Not only will you eat slower, but you will feel full quicker as well.
- The saying our eyes are bigger than our stomachs actually has merit.
Switch out your dishes for smaller plates that hold less food. You will consume fewer calories, which means good-bye fat! Proper portion control is vital to create the calorie deficit needed for weight loss.
- Apples are wonderful for helping you feel fuller, stabilizing the blood sugar levels, and suppressing the appetite.
Eat an apple 30 minutes prior to dinner so you will consume fewer calories.
- Perhaps the simplest trick of all is to increase your daily water intake.
You will begin to feel your energy levels increase, improved appetite control and weight loss progress.
- Once again, do not starve yourself — it’s counterproductive.
Your body will only hold on tighter to the sugars, fats and other organic molecules that you ingest.