Jorge Cruise is famous for his "8 minutes" series. A renowned fitness trainer, Cruise has capitalized on the popularity of short workout routines. The 3-Hour diet is a logical extension to his fitness routines, bringing in a diet regime to suit the average consumer. Note: Sometimes the author has been erroneously called George Cruise.
Eat Every 3 Hours
The 3 Hour diet is all about meal frequency. By eating every 3 hours, blood sugar levels will be more consistent and the bodies metabolism will remain in a heightened state.
For most people this will equate to about 5 meals per day - breakfast, lunch, and dinner - with two snacks in between. The 3-Hour diet addresses processed and fast foods - and much of the sales pitch of the book is about being able to lose weight and still eat some "junk" foods.
Food groups should always be combined - i.e. protein should be eaten with carbohydrates and fat (and fruit and vegetables where possible). Cruise recommends drinking 8 glasses of water per day.
3 Hour Diet Plan
Breakfast
McDonalds Egg McMuffin, 1% milk & apple
Lunch
Lean Cuisine Cheese cannelloni, side salad with nonfat dressing
Dinner
1 small baked potato, 3oz grilled chicken, 1tsp butter, 1 cup green beans
Treat
12 M&M's
Sample Snacks - Pria Double Choc bar and Nabisco 100 calorie Oreo cookie snack
Freebies - 1 diet coke, 1 coffee, 1 non dairy creamer
Another example
For breakfast, a ham and cheese omelet, bread and lots of fruit.
Three hours later, a Pria bar. Three hours later, a lunch of beef enchilada, rice and a salad with regular dressing. Three hours later, a snack like fruit or a few cookies. Three hours later, dinner; salmon, rice, veggies, and three hours later, dessert, like chocolate mousse.
Diet, Exercise, and Eat Often
The principles of correct nutrition, appropriate exercise, and frequent eating are an effective strategy for losing weight. However the 3-Hour diet tries to be too popular at times. The book describes a method to pick appropriate portion sizes - rather then rigidly counting calories - but later goes on to restrict portion sizes to certain calories!
The by-line of the book also criticizes low-carb diets claiming that they do not work. This is a cheap shot as low-carb diets do work for some people (particularly those who are carbohydrate sensitive).
The 3-Hour Diet will be useful to many who are just beginning the journey of understanding nutrition and weight management - but it is only a beginning.
Many feel that the inclusion of so many processed foods is a sell-out - as healthy nutrition often includes only the most un-processed foods. Weight loss and nutrition are two separate but related issues. Fast food should always be a last-resort food - not a daily staple.
However for many people a diet like this is far more approachable than one that suddenly restricts food or calls for dramatic changes.
3 Hours to a Better Body?
The author makes some outrageous claims - such as "burn 2 pounds of fat per week, with belly fat first". Such a comment is completely false, as it is not possible to spot reduce body fat - it will burn off from all over the body, and is different for each person. Also, as is most weight loss diets, the body will eventually plateau - and many diets such as the 3-Hour diet seem to conveniently ignore this pattern.
The Three Hour Diet will be popular, but in the end offers very little in new science or nutrition.
