6 Day Body Makeover Diet Review

Well, given his track record and high media profile, we kinda assumed that this would be a goody.

The synopsis says the right things - eat six times a day, eat foods that will "speed up your metabolism", exercise every day, develop a weight loss mindset...

Then we dug a bit deeper.

This diet promises results in just six days. On the TV show, Thurmond takes a more realistic six weeks to make a significant difference to someone's weight and body shape.

So just what difference can you make to a person's weight and shape in a mere six days?

6 Day Body Makeover Diet Review - How Does it Work...?

48 questions about your past experience, weight gain history, likes and dislikes, body shape and so on are designed to produce a personalised weight loss program for you.

This diet is centred on the theory that your body type determines to a large extent the best way for you to lose weight.

As such, you get a meal plan and exercise regime that is unique to you.

No problem with that so far as most diets are one size fits all and doomed to failure as a result - a 300lb man eating 1,200 calories a day? Forget it!

Thurmond also proposes that certain foods can increase your metabolism, promote weight loss and encourage your body to burn more fat.

Eating these foods in small portions spread over six evenly spaced daily meals is also promoted as a way to keep your body in fat burning mode for longer than eating fewer, big meals.

The meal plans are made up of lean protein, fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and small quantities of heart healthy oils.

However, our 6 Day Body Makeover Diet review would suggest the total calorie intake looks low and well below the 1,200 calories that we'd recommend as the healthy daily minimum.

As you'd expect, exercise also features heavily, with Thurmond recommending up to 60 minutes of low level, aerobic exercise a day, like moderate walking and cycling.

Bizzarely, deep breathing is also promoted as a fat burning exercise.

Goal setting and developing the right mindset are also recommended as is drinking over 2 litres of water a day. Thurmond reckons it burns fat.

6 Day Body Makeover Diet Review - Does it Work...?

Hmm, we're always suspicious of such outrageous weight loss claims!

Sure, you might lose that much weight, but most of it will be water.

There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. To burn 10lbs of fat in 6 days you'd have to burn around 5,834 calories a day - you only burn around 2,600 calories running a marathon!

The diets for each body type he identifies also look very similar to each other and besides, there's little evidence that such an approach works.

Eating fewer calories than you burn off is the only proven way to lose weight.

At less than 1,200 calories a day the diet is too low in calories and would be hard to stick to for long. Even six days may be hard for some.

The diet is also quite restrictive and may be lacking in certain nutrients as a result.

We're also sceptical about Thurmond's advice to exercise gently to burn fat.

Sure, moderate, sustained exercise will burn proportionately more fat than higher intensity exercise, but if it's too low-intensity the cardiovascular benefit will be minimal.

Besides, you won't improve your fitness a great deal through long, leisurely walks.

The fitter you get, the harder you can exercise and the more calories you burn in each workout.

That would be a good thing, wouldn't it?

On the plus side, eating frequent, small meals is a good idea for dieters as it can help to control your appetite and keep your metabolism fired up.

Cutting back on fat, sugar and refined carbs and eating more lean protein, wholegrains, fruit and veg are also good weight loss strategies.

There's some good evidence that protein can boost your metabolism and promote weight loss.

Furthermore, complex carbs like wholegrains and vegetables release their energy gradually, which can keep you from feeling hungry for longer periods.

6 Day Body Makeover Diet Review - The Bottom Line...

It's too low in calories and the dramatic weight loss promised even if achieved, will not be sustainable once you start eating sensibly again.

If you want a more sensible body makeover that will deliver sustainable weight loss, then it may be worth you taking a look at the Total Body Makeover on eDiets...Oprah's trainer comes to you - Bob Greene's Total Body Makeover

Our 6 Day Body Makeover Diet review verdict? Forget it!

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