expert advice, meal plans, diet and exercise tips, and
motivational exercises.
Function
Jorge Cruise claims that his 3-Hour diet will
reprogram the body’s BMR and allow people to lose
2 lb a week. According to Cruise, if the body goes too
long without food, what he calls the starvation pro-
tection mechanism kicks in. When this happens, the
body begins to conserve energy, use fewer calories, and
burn less fat. It is true that starvation causes the body
to take action to conserve metabolic fuel. However, as
a review ofThe 3-Hour Dieton the American Dietetic
Association Web site points out, there is no scientific
proof that going three hours between meals causes the
body to think that it is starving or that eating every
three hours will change the BMR.
Cruise also claims that dieters can target specific
parts of the body from which to lose inches. There is
no research to show that this is true, although specific
exercises may build muscle and tone certain spots.
Benefits
The 3-Hour diet benefits dieters by providing a
blueprint for relatively low calorie, balanced meals.
People who are mindless or unconscious eaters often
benefit from eating on a schedule. The 3-hour
approach also helps to curb binge-eating behavior.
Because they are required to eat at prescribe times,
dieters do not get so hungry that they gorge themselves
at the next meal. Nighttime eaters also benefit from
the prohibition against eating three hours before going
to bed. Another benefit of this diet is that it uses
regular supermarket food, which keeps the cost rea-
sonable. There are no required fees to participate.
One common complaint about the diet is that
meal plans and menus are limited unless the dieter
joins the optional fee-based Web site associated with
the diet. Membership to the Web site is sold in 13-week
blocks. Another complaint is that the dieter is strongly
encouraged to buy Jorge Cruisedietary supplements
to take while on the diet.
Precautions
As with any diet, people should discuss with their
physician the pros and cons of the 3-Hour diet based
on their individual circumstances.
Risks
There appear to be few risks to following this diet.Research and general acceptance
The 3-Hour diet did not appear until the mid-
2000s and as of 2007, no scholarly research has been
done on it. There has been some research on the effects
of eating many small meals instead of three large ones
on dieting success. The results have been mildly favor-
able. Many weight-loss professionals support the idea
of distributing calories across five or six meals during
the day.
No research has been done on the ‘‘resetting’’ of
BMR by eating small, frequent meals. The consensus
among nutritionists is that people who lose weight on
the 3-Hour diet do so more because calories are restrict
to under 1,500 a day than because of any specific value
in the 3-hour timing of meals. The timing may, how-
ever, help people to change their eating behaviors in
constructive ways.Resources
BOOKS
Bijlefeld, Marjolijn and Sharon K. Zoumbaris.Encyclo-
pedia of Diet Fads. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press,
2003.
Cruise, Jorge.The 3-hour Diet: How Low Carb Makes You
Fat and Timing will Sculpt You Slim. New York: Har-
perResource, 2005.
Cruise, Jorge.The 3-hour Diet Cookbook.New York: Col-
lins, 2007.
Icon Health Publications.Fad Diets: A Bibliography, Medi-
cal Dictionary, and Annotated Research Guide to Inter-
net References. San Diego, CA: Icon Health
Publications, 2004.
Scales, Mary Josephine.Diets in a Nutshell: A Definitive
Guide on Diets from A to Z. Clifton, VA: Apex Pub-
lishers, 2005.QUESTIONS TO ASK THE
DOCTOR Is this diet the best diet to meet my weight-loss
goals?
Would a multivitamin or other dietary
supplement be appropriate for me if I were to
begin this diet?
Will this diet meet my long-term dietary needs?
Does this diet pose any special risks for me that I
should be aware of?
Can my whole family follow this diet?
Do you have any experience with the long-term
success of this diet?3-hour diet