How it Works: Skinny Switch Secret

The Skinny Switch Secret diet promoted by Rob Nevins promises that you can lose weight while eating all of the foods you want. The diet does not involve pills or powders or any other supplements but instead relies on a concept called calorie shifting.

Avoid Starvation

• Most diets involve dramatic decreases in caloric intake, resulting in fat burning off and a higher metabolism; however, when the body adjusts to lower intakes, it slows the metabolism and conserves fat. The calorie-shifting concept involves mixing up the number of calories consumed each day, avoiding starvation mode.

Method

• Rob Nevins' Skinny Switch Secret is one of a number of calorie-shifting plans. These plans encourage you to eat a consistent number of calories each day for a month. The next week, you lower your target number of calories to consume, but instead of spreading them out evenly over the week, you consume 300 more one day, then 500 less the next. This is also called zig zag dieting.

Warning

• According to Dr. Ira Rubenstein, calorie shifting is just another gimmick and does not work over the long term. "Assuming you resume normal eating after a calorie-shifting diet, you will gain weight and store fat in cells that won't want to give it up the next time," he said.