Here are some facts. All diets involve starvation of something. If you restrict anything, you are starving yourself from that thing. So we try starving carbs, fat, cholesterol, sugar, etc. That is okay somehow. But restriction of portion size is supposed to be more radical. Why is that?

We expect it is normal to count calories (units of heat) and weigh our food. Is this normal? Normal means you can exist without anything artificial. What you eat, you need to eat and thrive, what you don’t need you don’t eat. No artificial device or measurement should be required.

All diets I have been on, and there have been many, suggest they have the right approach. Really? Then why are there thousands of diets and diet books? Which ‘one’ is right? Why are you alone more righteous than this medical doctor?

More importantly we focus too much on measuring during the loss period and that creates trouble for most of us including anxiety for missing a measurement. We focus on the time of diet as if it was a fixed time game. We don’t focus on outcome as permanent. We expect we will need to diet again to lose a few pounds for an event or the holiday. It is not normal to live this way. To permanent lose weight requires permanent modification of lifestyle to have lasting effects.

The body is simply an organism that consumes food to grow and maintain healthy tissues. The body converts food to sugar which is used by the organs of the body to function well. Everything else that is consumed and not needed is either excreted or stored as fat. On this we can all agree. We are fat (ie we retain too much fat tissue) because we over consume too much of what we don’t need. I hope we can all agree on this, too.

So we have to eat less to weight less?

A note on constipation. When you eat less, you eliminate less often. When you stop forcing too much food through your system, the system gets plugged up. There is no more waste pushing it. So you will get constipation in the first weeks of this program. Once the plumbing is cleared of debris, this is no longer a problem. Your body adapts to the new normal just fine.

Dr. Lewis is a California licensed medical doctor trained at one of the most prestigious medical schools in the US. I don’t think his credentials can be challenged. I don’t think his intentions can be challenged either.

He researched for years the diets we have all tried and failed to keep off weight. He was concerned for the health of his patients who were medically ill due to overweight. He was troubled that they all failed to lose and keep weight off and as a result suffered medical complications. We can all agree we eat too much, and we are getting much sicker as a result.

So Dr. Lewis wanted to find something that worked long term.

In the bypass procedure, the cutting of the stomach’s capacity is not what causes the weight loss. It is the restriction that the smaller stomach capacity makes on the bodies’ ability to eat volumes of food. There are no dietary, mental or other prerequisites for getting bypass surgery in the US. If you are ‘overweight’, you pay the fee and get cut. We have clinics in LA that are thriving doing this very thing as though there are no complications or risks. This practice is, amazing to me, seen as okay by nearly everyone. Why is that? Why are you not as shocked and judgmental about massive unnecessary surgery, as you seen to be about eating 5 bites of food twice a day? Which of the two is really more radical?

If you have not read the book. And you have not. If you have not personally observed a person who begins and maintains this program and who, after attaining desired weight keeps it off, and you have not, how can you possibly pass harsh judgement? What is your proof beyond your skepticism and speculation?

It is your blog and you are free to have an opinion, but be honest. It is just your opinion and not supported by medical evidence.

I was attracted to this program because my friend lost 120 pounds eating this way. He did so in 9 months being monitored by a physician.

He gave me Dr. Lewis’ book. I read it. I did my research. It made sense that this was a more rational approach than surgery. I was over weight, my BP was high and I knew I had to change or suffer as I got older.

I started at 61 years old, 6’3 and 365 pounds. The first three days were a challenge. What diet have you been on that was not? But after the 3rd day something happened. I stopped craving for vast portions of food. I lost weight. I was not hungry. I did not notice it much, but soon my clothes hung loosely. I did not weigh myself often, but I felt better. I had more energy in the morning and slept better at night.

At the end of the first month, I had a routine doctor’s visit. He weighed me and I had lost 30 pounds. He was happy but not knowing about the diet wanted to be sure I was not anemic. He ordered a full blood panel and urinalysis. All came back normal. He suggested I keep going on the plan and he will keep a watchful eye.

Suffice to say I have thus far lost 100 pounds in 7 months. Still eat 5 bites and continue to lose. I have gone from a 54″ waist to a 42″ waist. My doctor has been amazed and is finally reading Dr. Lewis’ book as he has many overweight patients he has been referring for bypass surgery.

I am not hungry. I don’t crave sweets or baked goods as I once did. I eat and feel satisfied with a small portion of food. I cannot eat mass quantities without pain (I have tried and cannot do it). I have stopped snoring (I was nearly recommended for a CPAP machine) and I now sleep like a baby.

I just came back from a cruise and ate without restriction of choices. I just kept the volume down to 5 bites. I gained only a few pounds on the cruise, but they quickly went away when I resumed my home eating.

It is not just me. My wife has thus far lost 46 pounds. She has been removed from insulin injections for T2 diabetes. She has lower BP, too, and feels much better. She is not exhausted after work or sleepy in the early evenings as she once was. We eat way less. Buy fresh foods at the market and always share a small portion when dining out.

We have seen no drawbacks. NONE, and we have inspired many others to go on this program by our example.

It is amazing that people first say they can’t do this program. But they can eat a pound of chocolate or ice cream in one sitting, survive 3 passes at a buffet or snack all day long on sweets and not find that extraordinary.

This is not a diet but a lifestyle change that focuses on smaller portions than ‘normal’ and a metabolic change that wonderfully removes the cravings for snacking. I do not any longer have the urge to eat mass quantities of anything. I deny myself nothing. If I really want a piece of candy, I eat ‘one’, I am satisfied and don’t feel any guilt.

Small quantities are considered the norm in every hospital. Just look at what amounts of food you are served and note that all patients in a hospital lose weight. Why is that?

Have you looked at the portions on any package of food? They are small. I used to laugh as I would eat the whole package marked 4 portions. Those portions are the recommended daily allowance of the American FDA. Is that quackery, too? Turns out they are correct. I now eat the RDA of food. Why is that so bad?

Stop taking a comment or two out of context. The Snickers option is to say that is the correct amount of food and if there is no other alternative food option when you to meal time, you can eat one of those in a pinch. It is not a suggestion to eat candy bars as your regular meal. In fact the whole point is to stop focusing on what you eat altogether and concern yourself with how much you eat.

Even 5 of the largest bites you can force into your mouth is smaller that a typical portion of food in a restaurant. The more you eat per bite, the slower the weight loss. Simple. This is not about parody or exaggeration. 5 bites is about a simple metric for anyone to modify lifestyle and eating habits. Don’t focus on 4,5 or 8 bites. The number is not the message. It is that eating less that makes the weight come off and stay off. Eating 5 bites makes it come off quicker.

Why is any diet necessary? If you eat a normal portion of food, the body will be fine. We don’t eat what the body needs. We eat far more than needed.

Why is any surgery better than a change of diet? It cannot be.

Why is eating liquids, taking pills, getting injections or becoming depending on food shipments and suffering the consequences of such diets and dependencies not as disgusting to you as most have reacted to this 5 bite program. A program you have neither experienced, nor witnessed nor supervised.

I was most impressed by the chart of successful people Dr. Lewis supervised through the program. People of all ages and both genders. Including seniors.

I was most convinced because this Dr had no scheme to monetize this program for himself. He sells no pills, no shots, no supplements, no food. Nothing. He does not want you dependent on him. We should all be so fortunate to find a Dr. like that.

He does offers a support mechanism for US$50 per year on his web site if you wish the support. He will see you personally if you wish person guidance from him, and he will coordinate with any medical doctor who inquires of him. Quacks hide. Not this doctor.

He isn’t getting rich getting you to spend monthly money with him. He is not dependent on month payments from you. As a result, he can recommend a program that will help most lose the weight as fast as practical for them. All other programs want you to lose slowly to keep making those payments and keep you buying their products. Why is there no outrage over that?

On this program, you gain self-sufficiency and your mind and body reprogram itself to eat well enough to thrive. My physician has monitored my health throughout and has been delightfully surprised that I have had such rapid and dramatic positive weight loss. He has seen no negative impact whatsoever.

The biggest outcome for this program contradicts your speculations. Nearly all people who follow it do not regain the weight. We have modified our habits. We don’t feel starved. We have lost fat, not muscle tissue nor organ tissue. Our mental states have never been better. (Getting compliments of how good you looks never gets old).

I now have enough energy and stamina to finally exercise, so I walk and swim as I have never been able to do before. Most obese people simply cannot do any exercise. It is too painful and they have no stamina.

Oddly, why don’t we ask ourselves how many bypass patients re-stretch their small stomach and put weight back on because they have done nothing to reprogram their eating habits.

Nearly every bypass patient regains some or all of their weight after the surgery. Why is there no outrage over that? They still crave food and eat far too much. Worse, they have exhausted future surgical solutions going forward and short of future dietary restraint will continue to be obese.

We can agree that if you have emotional problems you should get help from a specialist to handle that. If you have a weight problem you should find a professional and a program to help you with this physical problem. You should get professional guidance on any medical or emotional problem and this program is not an exception. My wife and I eat this way and my doctor is watching. We are all happy as can be.

I am grateful to Dr. Lewis to have found in the 5 bite diet something so simple, so easy and so cost effective to enable me get to my optimal weight and health.

If after you read the program and learn about it, you can choose to reject it as an informed choice. I would expect however, that you might like the results once you begin.

Now about the video:

Typical Doctor, ain’t got a clue about diet and fitness. He’s a weight of 137 LBS at 6 foot with a BMI of 18.5, even thats not healthy! Little muscle tone = lower metabolism. He states that the diet is healthy, then he recommends taking a multivitamin to get the essential vitamins the body needs….thats contradictory! Any severe calorie deficit will lose drastic weight – this leads to alot of water and muscle loss which slows the metabolism. Those that do the diet will not be able to eat normally again because it would mean more calorie intake which WILL lead to weight gain. He also states that nobody on his diet has put on more weight since he first started talking with them, doesnt mean they didnt put all their weight back on! And, as an Exercise Referral Professional who deals with diabetic clients, i was completely shocked when he encouraged his diabetic patients to eat only snickers bars!! He shouldn’t be in his profession! This is the most ridiculous weight loss program i’ve ever heard of, and i’ve heard of many! The only way to get to a healthy weight for you is through becoming more active and eating the correct calorific amounts for the weight you desire! It is not healthy to lose more than 2 LBS of fat per week. If you didn’t put the weight on overnight then you shouldn’t expect to lose it overnight! The simplicity is: control your eating with the appropriate amounts for you, with healthy options and an active lifestyle.

Regards
Mark

What a goose. Seriously, a super silly goose “doctor” right there.