Decoding the 3-Hour Diet Plan

The 3-Hour Diet is not a miracle diet where you diet for just three hours to get in shape. Rather, it requires you to eat every three hours. 

This diet plan was developed by fitness guru Jorge Cruise, who used his own struggle with weight to devise this plan. His career started on The Oprah Winfrey Show in November 1998. His diet plan soon started gaining popularity and in January 2005 he was featured in Oprah’s Magazine. In 2006, Cruise came out with his book, The3-Hour Diet: Lose up to 10 Pounds in Just 2 Weeks by Eating Every 3 Hours! Celebrities including Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez, Lucy Liu, Kyle Richards, Eva Longoria, and Steve Harvey are believed to have followed the three-hour diet plan.

According to the 3-hour diet, the most crucial part of a weight-loss diet is timing. There is no need to count calorie or deprive yourself. All you need to do is to eat small, balanced meals every three hours. When there is a long gap between your meals, your body goes into the “starvation protection” mode, says Cruise. In this mode, your body conserves calories, stores fat, and burns muscle (not fat) for energy. However, if you eat every 3 hours, your starvation protection mechanism is switched off, releasing body fat and preserving fat–burning muscles. 

Cruise claims that by following his 3-Hour Diet, one can lose 2 pounds in a week. This will also help your metabolism to stabilize such that you stop gaining weight. What's more, this will suppress cortisol production. Cortisol is known as “stress hormone” and may lead to weight gain. The 3-Hour Diet also regulates blood sugar levels and so you’ll have more energy.

The 3-Hour Diet Plan

For optimum results, eat your breakfast within one hour after waking up. Check the clock, and eat every 3 hours after that. However, note that you must stop eating 3 hours before going to bed. So if you eat your breakfast at 6 a.m., your lunch should be at 12 noon and dinner at 6 p.m. with snacks in-between—at 9 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m. (if needed).

However, timing is not the only thing. You are to eat foods that support appetite control. The combination of right food and right timing is what stabilizes your blood sugar levels keeps your hunger in check. Although you can eat whatever you like, including carbohydrates and sweets, lean proteins and flaxseed oil or extra-virgin olive oil are preferred choices.

3-Hour Diet: Portion Size

The 3-hour Diet also you to mind how much you eat as well as how often you eat. Portion size is important, although you don’t need to measure out you food. All you need to do is use a 9-inch plate for your meals. Fill half of it with vegetables (or fruit at breakfast) and follow the following guide for portion size of different types of food.

Carbs: One serving should be roughly equal to the size of a Rubik’s cube.

Meat and other proteins: One serving should be approximately of the size of a deck of cards for meat and other proteins, and

Fats: One serving should be equal to a water bottle capful.

For snacks, you can eat snack bars, rice cakes, fresh fruit, yogurt, or nuts. One of your snacks may be a “treat” such as a cookie, candy, or jelly beans.

Another point to be noted is that you should eat a combination of food groups in each meal. Proteins should be eaten with carbohydrates and fat (and possibly with vegetables and fruits). When eaten together, they take longer to digest, keeping you full for a long time.

Drinking sufficient amount of water is also important in the 3-hour Diet. You must drink 8 glasses of water in a day.

The creator of this diet, however, has moved on and is selling a new (trademarked) plan, Simply Fit, which goes beyond a diet regimen to include physical and mental fitness through exercises and positive thinking. 

If you would like to try out the 3-hour diet meal plan, you can purchase the book.