Pen and Paper Diet

Background

When Michael Dow was approaching 270 lbs at the age of 26 and his wife could no longer fit into her size 26 jeans they decided to help each other lose weight. They wanted a plan that would be easy to follow and one that they could stick with in the long term in order to maintain their ideal weight.

After exploring a few ideas and doing some research into calorie requirements Dow created the Pen and Paper Diet. Using the principles outlined in his book his wife achieved an average weight loss of 8 pounds a month and Dow lost 15 pounds and managed to keep the weight off.

Pen and Paper Diet Basics

The Pen and Paper Diet is fundamentally a calorie-controlled approach to dieting. It is based on the concept that the human body requires a specific amount of calories and if that amount is exceeded the result will be weight gain.

Initially dieters are required to write down everything that is eaten in one day. The calories are then calculated to so as to provide an estimate of the average daily calorie consumption.

Dieters then compare this amount to the calories that would be required if they were at their ideal body weight. This is to be the daily calorie allowance.

If the difference between these two amounts is very large dieters are instructed to cut their daily caloric intake gradually until it is possible to eat at their ideal body weight level without experiencing severe hunger or other uncomfortable symptoms.

In order to achieve this dieters must calculate the calories for all foods that are consumed. As Dow explains this is easy with packaged foods as they all contain calorie information on the labels however it may be necessary to weigh and measure all other foods.

As dieters progress they may find that weight plateaus as they adjust to the reduced calorie intake. If this occurs Dow advises dieters to cut their daily calories by 100 calories per day for a month until they are able to achieve their goal weight.

Recommended Foods

No specific foods are recommended in The Pen and Paper Diet. Dieters can eat whatever they like so long as the daily calorie allowance is not exceeded.

Find some low Calorie meal suggestions here.

Exercise Recommendations

Dow believes that it is more important for dieters to learn to eat and drink properly before focusing on exercise. He says that it is better to first lose some weight to relieve the stress on the heart and other organs of the body.

The Pen and Paper Diet advises dieters not to regard exercise as an obligation but rather to have fun exercising and to try different activities until they find something that is enjoyable.

These exercises can be used with the Pen and Paper Diet.

Costs and Expenses

The Pen and Paper Diet retails at $14.95.

Pros

• Calorie counting has been proven to be an effective weight loss method.
• Does not cut calories to an extreme level.
• Makes allowances for different calorie requirements according to age, gender, and activity levels.
• Includes detailed charts and tools for calculating calorie requirements.
• Includes comprehensive calorie information for many common foods.
• Author’s website provides additional information regarding calorie content of many restaurant meals.
• No need to give up favorite foods.

Cons

• Requires calorie counting, weighing, and measuring foods.
• May be necessary to continue to cut calories as the body adapts to the set level.
• No consideration of nutritional quality of food.
• Does not address psychological factors involved in dieting and overeating.

Conclusions

The Pen and Paper diet is a basic calorie controlled approach to dieting that may avoid some of the problems that are commonly associated with these diets because calories are not set at extremely low levels.

By setting calorie requirements at that of the goal weight it is logical that dieters will slowly lose weight until they reach that goal. It is, however, important to realize that the body may adapt to the set calorie level so that it can become necessary to keep on cutting calories or to increase exercise if weight loss is to continue.

The major drawback of the Pen and Paper Diet is that no regard is given to the nutritional quality or composition of the diet, which may hinder the ability of this program to sustain healthy weight loss over the long term.

Visit Michael Dow’s website here.