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You are here: Home / Diet Reviews / The 5 Bite Diet

The 5 Bite Diet

February 16, 2008 by Adria Ali 13 Comments

      taking-a-bite.jpg

     Today, featured on “Extra” was the Five Bite Diet.  Too good to be true??  A diet that allows you to eat whatever you want and still lose huge amounts of weight????  How can this even work?  Here’s the break down of the diet…..

(here’s the link to the video on Extra)

THE DIET BREAK DOWN

  • Eat 2 Meals a day (lunch and dinner).  You can eat whatever you heart desires.  However, you only get to eat 2 meals.  Each Meal should include at least one bite of protein.
  • Drink whatever you want, as long as it doesn’t contain calories.
  • Take a multi vitamin each day
  • Go back to “normal” eating habits once you have reached your goal weight

HOW THE DIET WORKS

  • The premise behind the diet is that eating only 5 bites of anything helps to shrink your stomach.  Having a similar affect as things like stomach stapling.
  • It reduces your calorie intake SIGNIFICANTLY!

The Negative Side Affects….

  • Although America (as a whole) overeats; this is NOT the way to lose weight.  
  • lack of calories not only slows your metabolism; it also causes fat gain.  Your body tends to eat you own muscle FIRST.  Last it will use your fat as a source of fuel because it thinks you are starving (Which you are!).
  • This diet will deplete you minerals, vitamins, and nutrients.  A multi vitamin isn’t a cure all … it is an aid to “normal” eating habits.
  • Lack of calories leads to lack of energy.  With this extreme drop in calorie consumption comes dizzy spell, moodiness, and other complications.
  • When you have reached your goal weight; you can supposedly go back to “normal” eating habits.  HOWEVER, when you’re done eating all your muscle mass and slowing down your metabolism; you won’t be able to eat normally and keep the weight down. 
  • Lack of essential vitamins and minerals causes your body to leach it from your body…. this could have SEVERE side effects.  It could even speed up the aging process (depending on how long you do it). 
  • Drinking whatever you want (including diet drinks) could actually cause you to gain even more body fat during this process. 
  • This diet doesn’t teach you proper eating habits.  When you go back to your “normal” eating habits, you are doomed to gain all the weight back plus some.

     The diet can be viewed at www.theslimmingstation.com.  READER BEWARE!!!!  On “What to Expect Link.”  There is a weight calculator.  It’s supposed to tell you your ideal weight based on your height.  This particular calculator is unusually low.  I am 5′ 6″,  it put my goal weight as 114 lbs.  However, a normal goal calculator averages my weight to be between 140 and 135.  This is definitely an attempt at selling the diet program online! 

dr-lewis.jpg

The Creator of the “5 Bite Diet”…..

      YES he is a doctor, but read his biography (below) carefully….  no where in that bio does it say he’s a doctor of nutrition!

“About:Dr. Lewis

Alwin Lewis received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of California, San Diego. He then attended Tulane University Medical School where he earned his doctorate in 1997.While enrolled in medical school, he simultaneously completed a Master’s Degree from the Tulane University School of Public Health.Dr. Lewis is a diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine, sits on the Pharmaceutical & Therapeutics Committee and the Nutrition Committee at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, and is the founder and president of The Slimming Station (credit)

     Sure this diet might sound logical but to the trained professional (or logical thinker); it is a disaster waiting to happen.  It is the TRUE cause of yo-yo dieting.  People may lose large amounts of weight, only to gain it back in an even greater amount!  These kinds of diet can and will ruin Americans one by one if they give into convenience over true hard work at the gym and smart eating habits.  This could potentially crush dieters just as Atkins has done to many. 

Adria Ali

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Filed Under: Diet Reviews Tagged With: atkins, diet fads, diets, fat loss, goal weight, how the five bite diet works, loss of muscle mass, low calorie diets, nutrition, side effects of low calorie diets, the five bite diet, the negative side effects of the five bite diet, weight loss, yo-yo dieting

About Adria Ali

I am the author of this web page and I have been a personal trainer for over 13 years. I currently hold a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology (exercise science), as well as all of the certifications from National Academy of Sports Medicine. I also have a background in sports training as well as internships in physical therapy and Occupational Therapy. I got into personal training to help people like my mom who struggled with her weight her whole life.


DISCLAIMER: The purpose of FitTipDaily.com is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Comments

  1. Brenda says

    February 17, 2008 at 2:19 am

    Thanks, Dria, for breaking this 5 Bite Diet down. I knew it was too good to be truely effective in the long run. I'll continue to eat my 3 meals and 3 snacks as always and lose my weight the right and healthy way.
  2. weight loss for women over 40 says

    February 17, 2008 at 9:55 pm

    Hi, I like the way you write ..Its really different and interesting ... keep the momentum going ..I hope tis will really going to help me in future.. brilliant. .
  3. M in KY says

    February 18, 2008 at 12:30 am

    A *much* more realistic way to do something like this is what Dolly Parton did (she lost a lot a few years ago)... EAT HALF. In an interview she said she wasn't going to give up fried chicken and mashed potatoes, so she just cut her portions in half. I do this as often as I can stand it, and it works! You still eat all types of food, but less. In my world, 'half' is what should be a normal portion anyway. :-)
  4. Michael says

    February 23, 2008 at 6:52 am

    Thank you for your comments. Clearly Dr. Lewis is trying to make a quick buck. It's scary that a medical doctor is suggesting the consumption of only 10 bite of "anything" per day. Where's the food value in a big mac, bread stick, cookie? There is no mention of exercise and a balanced diet. Hopefully people will see this diet as the con that it is.
  5. punky brewster says

    February 24, 2008 at 3:11 am

    he's a dr and saying not to eat breakfast? and I thought the cabbage soup diet was crazy
  6. J. Bowley says

    March 1, 2008 at 11:40 am

    Adria et al, It appears your comments here are all based on opinion, not based on you trying it out - or do I have that wrong? If you tried it and were disciplined about it, I think your tune would be different. Logically, (I am an attorney) I would probably agree with many things you say here, if I did not know better from experience. I have some information on a few of the comments here from experience - on others, I don't so I won't comment one by one. In regard to the Yo Yo effect. I would have imagined this as well, but in fact, I have not seen this to be the case at all. On this diet, which I did for 2 1/2 months, I lost 21 pounds. I then stopped doing it but kept the ideals of less food is better in mind. So, long term, it did change my portions (and I avoid sugar/corn syrup) and have had less to eat since but one year later from when I stopped, I have lost a total of 23 pounds from my original weight and am right where I want to be (hence 2 pounds more than the original loss when not on the diet). It is not to be done forever, but you have to get that weight off. Regarding the comment about a "quick buck" - if you knew him, you could not say that. I know more people that have done this well before the book was out, (which I have not read) and he just advocates lower weight to his patients who need it. You don't then have to go more often to see him, so no "extra profit" for him in visits. He is my general practioner and has had a regular medical practice for years and continues that. My two cents is that carrying less weight is the key to longevity. As my father always said, (and he was a regular family Doctor who was obsessed with Nutrition - but not a Dr. of Nutrition) Eat to live - Don't live to eat.) In regard to balance, half of the intake has to be protein and half carbs. So all cookies doesn't cut it. Not sure where you got that. The comments by M in KY about Dolly Parton's diet is somewhat similar. If you eat much less (which is not easy) you will lose weight. Dolly apparently knew she had to eat certain things due to her wants, and she did eat them, just in lower quantities. I love to exercise and did so before and during the time I did this diet and was working at a high stress job 60 hours min a week and did not lose my ability to think due to having less food. In fact, I found that after lunch I was much more productive than before as I was not digesting so much food with all the blood in my stomach instead of my brain where I needed it. My sister, who lost 81 pounds has 2 small kids and a full-time job. She is either at work or with them. So, a true cardio workout for 45 min or an hour a day was just not going to happen. Not to mention that she never was into that anyway. Now that she is lighter and much more mobile, she is more active with the kids, but still has no time for going to a gym. My mom lost 40 pounds on it, lives 3000 miles away, did it before the book was out, and has never met Dr. Lewis (so no money there) and is much healthier than she was before and he is thrilled about it. Best of luck to anyone trying to lose weight. No matter how you do it, you have to do it and if you think the 2 months or 6 months or a year of dieting in what may be an extreme manner is bad for you - is it worse than being overweight for 20 years and being on the verge of diabities and other weight related illnesses...?? I dare say not.
  7. Gene says

    May 5, 2008 at 12:43 pm

    Very simple. Calorie intake vs. calories burned. Portion control is nothing new, over-eating and lack of excercise will always lead to weight problems. I have read the book and it makes sense to lose weight, obviously you eat healthy and excercise to maintain your ideal weight after you get to your goal. C'mon people this isn't rocket science and there will always be a sacrifice initially if you want to change anything in your life.
  8. Sheryl Nash says

    January 27, 2016 at 10:15 am

    Sounds like a better option than gastric surgery to me!
  9. Kate says

    June 25, 2017 at 8:43 pm

    It's not scientifically proven that you have to eat breakfast. It's just a preference. I did the five bite diet 2 years ago, lost 68 pounds And have kept it all off. Even after eating normally for the past 2 years. I'm now at my healthiest weight. And couldn't be happier with it.
  10. Brooke says

    September 16, 2017 at 9:05 am

    I don't think this is a long term solution, but it does teach you portion control. Eventually you should start adding in food gradually as long as it's healthy and you'll do it slowly. I did this diet as well and have never gotten sick. After being diagnosed with epilepsy I gained a lot of weight from medication. I did extreme portion control (similar to this) and I lost about 30 pounds. Portion control really is everything and maybe you don't have to do exactly 10 bites per day to lose weight, but exercise portion control. For me, it's the message/premise that makes sense. Extreme portion control. Even in the book the doctor says you can have more than 10 bites per day IF NEEDED. When you do this, just keep building muscle and do cardio. I've done this it works and I'm healthier to this day because of it.
  11. Samantha says

    June 16, 2019 at 3:53 pm

    I've done this it does indeed work. I’m fact, it was the only thing that ever did work for me. I lost 50# 9 years ago and gave kept it off. I counted bites for 6 months. As for your “it slows metabolism” comment, Iif starvation mode was a real thing, anorexics would be fat.
  12. Kesha says

    September 22, 2019 at 7:06 pm

    This diet is no different than what a patient would eat after a gastric bypass surgery. In fact, with this diet, you eat 1 more bite than gastric bypassers. I’m a nurse who worked on the general surgery unit for those who had the surgeries. They were only allowed to eat 3 medicine cupfuls of pureed food, 3 times a day. The thing with the 5 bite diet, you nix the surgery and just eat the same. No risk of infection, blood clots, etc. Please do your research before writing articles like this.
  13. Cher says

    July 26, 2020 at 1:08 pm

    Thank you " lawyer" and " nurse" for the well stated points that needed to be voiced about this "trainer's" article. I also, a nurse, have done the 5 bite diet 5yrs ago and kept weight off. I learned to stop stuffing my stomach ....which this diet shows that we really don't need to do. I am healthier, happier, leaner and find that this diet is the best for quick weight loss and long term attitude change about food portions.

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