When you read about it, it sounds like you'll be able to snack on tons of junk food and still lose weight.

The fact is, it's all about tricking your metabolism. If you're dieting, your body can start going into 'hibernation' or 'starvation' mode...you retain fat even if you're consuming less. Your body thinks it's never going to see food again, so it holds onto it. This is well-researched. So the Cheat Your Way Thin diet tricks the body by allowing, at certain intervals, a big influx of 'yummy' food, which prevents the body from going into the shut-down mode.

I'm skeptical about fad diets, so I went to e-re-view.com and read what they had to say. They don't 'review' as much as collect what real people on the web are saying (not the supposed 'actual customers' on the sales page, but real people in forums, etc.).

You can read their evaluation at: E-Re-View: Cheat You Way Thin Review

Linda - http://how.best-free-information.com - The "How" Blog

When answering that question, we need to define what we mean by 'work'.  If the diet plan causes weight loss at the cost of other health complications, does that 'work'?  If it doesn't cause weight loss, but increases lifespan (as found in the lab rat study), is that considered 'working'?  If the diet causes weight loss but is non-sustainable or non-viable in the practice of living life, does that 'work'?

A Calorie Restriction Diet Plan drastically reduces the number of calories you intake, but pays close attention to the nutritional value of the few calories you do intake.  Recent studies on lab rats have shown that calorie restriction diets increase the lifespan of the rats dramatically, without any adverse impacts on their health.  The important factor is the nutritients found in the food that is permitted.  For example, simply reducing the number of calories isn't necessarily healthful.  (You could trade a normal dinner for a candy bar...there are less calories in the candy bar, but fewer nutrients.)

In essence, even a program like WeightWatchers could be considered a Calorie Restriction Diet Plan, as it focuses on consuming fewer calories, but the calories need to come from certain foods (to get the nutrition needed for the metabolism).  There's no arguing that WeightWatchers diets are effective.

But other programs, such as 3-Day Diets, or 'crash' diets are also considered Calorie Restriction Diet Plans.  These are typically unhealthy because the amount of reduction is severe and it involves depriving the body of nutrients.  It throws the body for a curve, tricks it into temporarily losing weight.

A Calorie Restriction Diet Plan will only work if it's sustainable. Plans that don't involve accountability and support are likely in trouble from the outset.

Linda - http://how.best-free-information.com - The "How" Blog

But sometimes I'm on the run and I need to eat at a drive-thru.

Contrary to popular conception, the salads at McDonald's aren't that great for you.  At least not by the time you put the dressing on them and all the fixin's.

And I don't know about you, but I'm a meat-and-potatoes kinda guy (which is why burgers and fries are so appealing to me).  A salad doesn't count as 'lunch' in my mind.  A salad is what the restaurant serves BEFORE the meat-and-potatoes meal.

So, I've taken to ordering the Classic Grilled Chicken meal with no mayonaisse.  Then I ask them to substitute a Parfait instead of fries, and get a diet coke.  I ask for a Honey Mustard packet when I get to the window.  I use less than half the packet on the grilled chicken which makes the whole thing plenty juicy and tasty.

It's really quite good.  The sandwich is 7 points for Weight Watchers, plus (maybe) one point for the honey mustard sauce, and 3 points for the parfait if you put the granola on it.

In other words, you're getting a good mix of protein, carbs and fat.  It's satisfying enough to last well until the next meal.  You can give yourself a 'dessert' with the fruit parfait.

So that's how I eat healthy McDonald's food, if I have to order from a drive-thru.