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Rating: 5/10 C+ While it's true that eating small meals every few hours is a great way to increase metabolism and keep insulin levels steady and this book really emphasizes that concept. But some of the other dietary advice (like recommending fast food and M&M's as snacks) is not nutritionally sound.
Overview of The 3-Hour Diet by Jorge Cruise
The 3-Hour Diet by Jorge Cruise is about eating small meals every 3 hours to prevent the "SPM or starvation protection mechanism" from kicking in which slows your metabolism and causes your body to hang onto fat. According to Cruise, this diet requires: "NO deprivation--meaning you can eat carbs; NO calorie counting, NO pills, NO surgeries, and NO required exercising."
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are each 400 calories, with two 100 calorie snacks and one 50 calorie treat. The daily caloric intake comes to 1,450 calories (more calories are allotted for those over 200 pounds) which is fairly low especially for men.
But instead of calorie counting, Cruise has invented the "Visual 3-Hour Plate"™ which has you visualize your protein serving as equal to a card deck, fat serving as equal to a water bottle cap, carbohydrate serving as equal to a Rubik's Cube, and Vegetables/Fruit serving as equal to 3 DVD cases. Or you can use Cruise's list of serving sizes for common foods in all food groups.
Criticism for Jorge Cruise's The 3-Hour Diet
Cruise is correct in the concept of eating frequent small meals is a great way to lose weight as it keeps blood sugar levels steady and increases your metabolism. Just by following this advice alone, many Amazon readers reported losing weight. People also loved the fact that they could eat whatever they wanted.
Cruise also gave some other helpful tips like:
1. Plan your meals ahead of time and prepackage them into containers with the allotted caloric amounts.
2. Replace your self image of "Fatso" with a new name tag like "Sexy Mama" and tape it to the fridge. You are what you think you are!
3. Be aware of emotional eating and use a journal to express your feelings.
4. Use goal setting, success contracts, daily visualizations and daily meal planning to keep on track.
Criticism for Jorge Cruise's The 3-Hour Diet
1. “NO calorie counting” is untrue.
There is portion control and calorie restriction of every meal and snack.
2. Cruise contends that people should be allowed to eat whatever junk food they want because otherwise they will feel deprived and will binge.
People feel deprived when they can't eat the foods they are addicted to but once they overcome their addiction, the craving disappears. You wouldn't tell a recovering alcoholic to drink any alcohol he wants so he doesn't feel deprived. The same goes for junk food addicts. I used to be a sugar addict. I overcame it by getting it out of my diet. You can too.
3. Much of Cruise's nutritional advice is downright scary!
Sample Menu From The 3-Hour Diet (page 64)
Breakfast: McDonalds Egg McMuffin, milk and an apple. (Pearsall's comment: Please read Fast Food Nation before you ever go to another fast food joint!)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Cheese Cannelloni. Side salad with nonfat dressing. (Cheese and pasta are nutrient poor)
Dinner: potato, chicken and green beans.
Snacks for the day: Chocolate Bar, Oreo Cookies and M&M's (Jorge, please tell me you're joking!)
Freebies: Diet Coke, coffee, nondairy creamer (All toxins)
Of these suggestions I agree with the chicken, green beans and apple. The rest is laughable. And to actually encourage people to eat chocolate, cookies and diet soft drinks is criminal!
According to Cruise, no food is off-limits--white bread, white rice, bagels and other refined carbs are acceptable. When in fact, these foods are horrible for you. They contain no nutrients and no fiber and will dramatically raise blood sugars. And the research shows that diet drinks actually cause more weight gain than regular sodas so this is not a "freebie".
4. You are encouraged to eat salmon and flaxseed oil as the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
In reality, the best forms of omega-3 fats are krill oil, cod liver oil and fish oil because most salmon and other large fish are heavily contaminated with mercury. Unlike fish oil, flaxseed oil requires an enzyme that most people are deficient in so this is not the best source. Cruises' nutritional knowledge is limited.
5. Nothing new in this book.
Experts have long recommended grazing but Cruise acts as if he alone invented the idea. One of the biggest criticisms of Amazon readers is that his concepts were "rip-offs" of other popular (and better written) diet books such as Body For Life and The Zone.
6. Many Amazon readers cited that The 3-Hour Diet is basically a marketing campaign for his website and product endorsements.
There is a great deal of promotion for his other books, videos, and joint venture partners such as Penta water, and Precor treadmills, etc. Readers are also encouraged to visit Jorge Cruise's website jorgecruise.com. However, the reviews on Amazon.com contained many complaints that paying for a membership to his website was a total waste of money.
7. Readers are encouraged to set a timer so that they eat every 3 hours whether they are hungry or not.
I disagree with this suggestion because I think it is more important for you to learn to listen to your hunger signals to tell you when to eat. The timer method is too artificial.
In summary, The 3-Hour Diet contains some good advice (already listed here so you don't have to buy the book) but also lots of bad advice. This is why you need to learn to be your own weight loss expert.
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