The Perricone Diet Plan

Fish, fish, glorious fish, and plenty of it. The Perricone Weight Loss Diet is a moderate- to low-carbohydrate, fish-focused food plan. The theory that inflammation exacerbates obesity and prevents weight loss is the basis of the plan. Dr. Nicholas Perricone, a dermatologist, originally created his diet for anti-aging, but discovered that it also resulted in weight loss for his patients. According to the diet, you'll lose fat, wrinkles, and years on this plan.

The Perricone Diet specifies a strict 14-day plan for meals, snacks, and supplements. Recommended supplements include fish oil and more than 10 others. If you follow the guidelines closely by consuming fish and fish oil, you may actually smell fishy after a few days on this plan.

These supplements will certainly lighten your wallet, since the signature fish oil supplements cost over $100 monthly. And those are just one of many nutriceuticals you will need to purchase for this diet.

What makes The Perricone Diet a different weight loss plan?

A member of the moderate- to low-carbohydrate family of diets, this one is distinctive for its emphasis on fish and supplements. It also promises unique anti-aging benefits. Although several diets do recommend numerous supplements, the cost of the Perricone Diet supplements can set you back hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars per month.

What is The Perricone Diet?

Begin the Perricone Weight Loss Diet by understanding the dangers of inflammation and learning how omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish oils) can help promote weight loss and keep you looking young. Then you can get to the nitty-gritty of the three steps for weight loss:

• A diet rich in ten superfoods
• Recommendations for over 12 different supplements to be taken daily
• How to live an anti-inflammatory lifestyle through stress relief and exercise

The remainder of your work on the Perricone Diet is to follow the detailed charts about what you can or cannot eat. Essentially you can eat anti-oxidant and omega-3-rich whole foods. You need to avoid anything that's processed or has high sugar content.

Food recommendations include his list of certain "superfoods" that promise superior benefits upon consumption. Most superfoods are protein sources (that is, fish) containing omega-3 or fruits, vegetables, and teas containing anti-oxidants.

The basis for your weight loss is this prescribed combination of intense supplement use, limited food choices, and meal planning. You will spend the better part of your day cooking and packing three meals and three snacks, while swallowing countless pills. Breakfast with the Perricone Diet may be an egg or some Stop the Clock hot cereal (recipe in the book) and fruit. Lunch can include a piece of salmon and a cooked vegetable. For dinner, eat fish or chicken baked with a spice like cumin or miso and a salad topped with lemon juice and olive oil. Another dinner option is a delicious Groundnut Stew of almond butter and tofu, though it takes hours to prepare. For snacks, you'll be eating fruit, almonds or yogurt.

You'll need to make these changes permanent to reap the anti-aging benefits. But you only need to follow them strictly for at least 14 days for weight lost. There are no recommendations for maintaining the weight you have just lost other than repeating the 14-day regimen over and over and over.

What are the weight loss expectations?

The Perricone Diet offers no promised weight loss value, nor does it recommend specific recommendations for daily calorie intake to help you achieve weight loss. Perricone does suggest that after the 14-day plan there will be a noticeable decrease in your weight.

The book includes numerous testimonials from Perricone patients describing their amazing (and pretty much unbelievable) weight loss stories. It also suggests that you should take more fish oil supplements in order to lose more weight.

Is exercise promoted?

Successful weight loss on the Perricone Diet is the result of the anti-inflammatory benefits of exercise combined with an anti-inflammatory diet. You should be active thirty minutes of activity, five days a week. Gradually increase your time spent and intensity level. You should also incorporate stretching, strength training, endurance, and hydration.

Are supplements recommended?

Yes, yes, and yes. For the 14-day plan, fish oil supplement recommendations are 3,000 to 9,000 mg per day. This is up to nine times greater than the normal recommended dosage. You also will need to take more pills such as alpha lipoic acid, Coenzyme Q10, carnitine, glutamine, and lots of amino acids with abbreviated names (ALA, CLA, GLA, DMAE). In general, the Perricone Diet suggests that these supplements increase energy levels, suppress appetite, or provide extra doses of health protecting anti-oxidants.

These supplements can cost you thousands of dollars a year. If you purchase your pills through the Perricone Web site, you will pay nearly $100 for a week's supplements.