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Rotation Diet for Metabolism

One of the reasons most people avoid a new diet is they have to give up their favorite foods. The idea of restricting what they can eat and how much they can eat does is just not appealing. Diet plans that offer people the chance to continue eating their favorite foods are usually the most popular. The rotation diet falls into this category. Like any diet plan, however, it has both benefits and drawbacks. No diet should be undertaken without first consulting a physician.

  1. What Is It?

    • The rotation diet entails reducing the number of calories consumed daily without lowering metabolic rate. Basically, people on the rotation diet can eat whatever they want, but in intervals. The diet starts off by restricting calories, but gradually builds up.

    The First Week

    • The first three days of the diet focus on low-calorie intake. Men are limited to 1,200 calories a day, while women should take in no more than 600 calories. The next four days of the rotation diet bring the calorie restriction down, meaning you are allowed more calories. Men see the number of calories they are allowed to consume rise to 1,500 a day, and women see a boost to 900 a day.

    Week Two, Three and Four

    • The second week eases the restrictions even further, giving people the ability to take in more calories. Men are allowed 1,800 calories a day, and women are allowed 1,200. Week three is a repeat of the first week. The fourth week is a free week. Dieters may go back to their usual eating habits. After the four weeks, dieters repeat for as long as they want to remain on the diet.

    Diet Guidelines

    • Because low-calorie intake diets can lead to headaches, hunger pains and other side effects, the diet encourages snacking on "safe" foods. These include cucumber, lettuce, spinach, asparagus, zucchini, pineapple, apples, cantaloupe, oranges and grapefruit. Caffeine and alcohol are permitted, but they count toward total caloric intake. The diet encourages moderate exercise, bans artificial sweeteners, and restricts portions to the USDA standards for servings sizes.

    Benefits of the Rotation Diet

    • The rotation diet does not constantly restrict calories. The promise of the free week is a great motivator for many people to push through the tougher weeks. Also, many other diet plans ban caffeine and alcohol, which is seen as a drawback many people. The big draw to the rotation diet, however, is the body's metabolism is unaffected during the diet. This means that metabolism is unlikely to drop if someone quits the diet. It is a diet that focuses on eating habits, more than major lifestyle changes.

    Drawbacks

    • The intense calorie restrictions at the outset of the rotation diet make it unpleasant to some, and is arguably not always very healthy. Plus, the promise of the evolving restrictions often is not enough for people to undertake the diet. The free week is also seen as somewhat of a negative, based on how it is handled. Many people have a tendency to exaggerate their eating habits during this period to make up for what they see as a severe lack of food. This means that weight gain is actually a distinct possibility during this week.

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