World of Diets Weighs in on My Diva Diet!

world of diets A Diet Review Encyclopedia


The My Diva Diet creates a lot of anticipation. A diet book written by a retired body builder with several prestigious titles including Ms Fitness San Diego 1993 is going to deliver a mighty punch! Has author Christine Lakatos lived up to her promise of delivering a ‘Woman’s Last Diet Book’? Read on to find out.

Lakatos’ book builds on what she has learnt training female clients for fitness and weight loss. In the beginning of the book, she explains her simple philosophy for the diet program. According to her, women take their fitness and weight loss cues from the wrong people. This prevents them from attaining their weight loss goals. She illustrates using characters like ‘fitness superheroes’, ‘diet villains’ and so on. All along, the author provides effective ‘Diva quotes’ to drive home important principles and nutritional guidelines.

According to Lakatos, women must follow these guidelines to lose weight and become healthy:

1. Adequate liquid consumption
2. Appropriate quantity and distribution of calories
3. High quality of calories to be taken in
4. Balanced food intake
5. Exercise

The diet is divided into 2 phases. The first phase is the reduction phase which lasts for 3-10 weeks. At this time, dieters must consume between 1,200 to 1,300 calories a day. 35% of these calories must be derived from protein, 45% from carbohydrates and 20% fat. Fiber must be had with every meal. Desserts are to be avoided.

The second phase is the maintenance phase, where dieters are allowed to consume 1400-1600 calories daily. Of these, 20-35% may be from protein, 45-65% from carbs and 20-30% from fat.

In both phases, women who are highly active may adjust their calories upwards.

Dieters may take in 5 small meals a day. All processed foods must be avoided. Natural and organic foods are recommended. The author also stipulates that all food taken in must be kosher.

The My Diva Diet plan allows a cheat meal after the first 2 weeks of phase 1. A cheat sheet mentions acceptable foods and serving sizes. In the maintenance phase too, cheating is allowed once a week although dieters may cheat once or twice every month in addition to this.

Not surprisingly, exercise is an important part of the diet plan. Recommended exercises include cardiovascular conditioning, strength training, balance training, corrective exercises and functional training.

My Diva Diet: A Review

This diet plan is exclusively for women. It is based on a number of healthy principles and the author asks followers to alter their lifestyle so that they can become healthy and slim.

Pros:

• Healthy eating based on scientific principles
• Not a quick-fix approach
• Contains a maintenance phase
• 7 different ways are suggested to follow the program
• Provides clear guidelines for portion control
• Includes recipes and menu plans
• Also throws light on the psychological factors of weight loss
• Comes straight from the mouth of an expert

Cons:

• Diet plan is for women only.
• Fairly restrictive
• Recommends the intake of foods that are kosher so it may not appeal to non-Jewish readers.
• Dieters may have difficulty eating out during Phase 1.

In Conclusion

The My Diva Diet is an excellent diet plan that focuses on all the right things. However, some parts of it may seem a little impractical, like eating organic foods. If dieters are willing to overlook these rather small issues, they can benefit from a great diet plan.

MY NOTES:

World of Diets does a great job of reviewing my diet book and fits right in with our other Expert Reviews. Thanks to them and let me explain the "kosher" thing...

I advocate "kosher meats" due to the fact that these animals are free of disease and are slaughtered more humanely –– thus it makes for a healthier food choice and a "fitter" conscience. Pork is not recommended due to it toxicity. And being selective with seafood is due to the fact that some pass pollutants to humans.

For those of you who are not "hip" to the kosher part of my book, you may like the My Diva Diet: Compact Version, where I use the term "animal friendly." www.MyDivaDiet.com