FatLoss4Idiots (formerly WeightLoss4Idiots) was released in late 2004. The diet is based on an on-line generator that will create daily meal plans based on your food preferences. The diet follows a 14 day cycle - 11 days of planned meals, followed by 3 days of "cheat" meals. The diet has been called many things - the "Fools Diet", the "diet for idiots" - and many other condescending terms.
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
| Meal #1: Flavored Oatmeal Meal #2: Tuna Salad Meal #3: Sandwich (any type) Meal #4: Scrambled Eggs |
Meal #1: Banana Milk Shake Meal #2: Chicken Meal #3: Scrambled Eggs [and] Mixed Vegetables Meal #4: Cottage Cheese |
Meal #1: Chicken Meal #2: Fruit Salad Meal #3: Fish Filet Meal #4: Cottage Cheese |
Fat Loss 4 Idiots food is made up of lean proteins, fruit and vegetables, and the sources of fat come from whole foods (such as cottage cheese or eggs). There are some starchy carbohydrates (such as oats and pasta). The day is divided into 4 meals that should be eaten at a minimum of 2 1/2 hours apart. There is no calorie or carb counting, no limit on portion size - Fat Loss 4 Idiots says you "just eat short of being full".
It is difficult to obtain an exact caloric breakdown because meal sizes are based around eating short of being full. An analysis of a typical days meal indicates the diet is high in protein, low in fat, and with reduced carbohydrates. However all the foods listed are good choices.
Fat Loss for Idiots claims 9 pounds lost every 11 days. However this is extremely unlikely (and unsafe). This weight loss is often possible during an induction (typically a phase where you drop out starchy carbs). The weight lost is a mixture of water and fat (and possibly muscle). This kind of weight loss would be difficult to sustain, and would almost certainly be accompanied by a drop in metabolism.
The diet is a budget offering (at $27), and provides little in the way of recipes or ideas on meal preparation. There also appears to be no support of any kind from the site.
UPDATE Nov 2007: Is now priced at $54.
April 6th, 2008
Is this diet worth the money?
April 9th, 2008
Sounds like wasting your money to me
April 10th, 2008
no, this diet is not, i would suggest looking elsewhere
April 16th, 2008
are you kidding me, this diet WORKS. I lost 21 lbs. the first 11 days and 12 the second 11 days.
April 24th, 2008
is it really worth it
April 26th, 2008
you people are crazy every link I find for it, it dont work whats that tell someone.! IT DONT WORK
May 5th, 2008
dont knowbody like ur gay lil diets
who eats that much cottage cheese
May 9th, 2008
John, COME ON…. noone loses 21 lbs in 11 days… does fl4I pay you to surf sites and post that crap?
May 12th, 2008
Hate to say it, but I agree with John. I tried this diet as a cutting diet for martial arts and lost about 15 lbs in the first 2 weeks. I will say that 5 was water, but the rest is majority of fat. I wouldn’t say to do this diet repeatedly, but for a boost from your regular eating plan, it can work. My second try I lost about 8-9lbs and some of that was water weight. Not a long term eating plan.
May 17th, 2008
What is the point of fad diets like this??? why don’t you just try eating the right amount of thr right foods?? there are many websites that tell you how to eat right without doing stupid diets. oh and what is so stupid about fad diets is thatt if you stop YOU GAIN IT BACKK! i mean i should know i had a 400 lb aunt!
May 28th, 2008
it all depends on how much john weighed before he started if he was very big then you can drop your first few stones (or 14lbs for all you yanks), quite quickly
June 2nd, 2008
I’ve used this diet over a few years. I think women lose slower than the males listed above. However, I definetely lost weight but not the 9 lbs (not good anyway)per 11 days. It varied each 11 day period. It stays off for a while until I get distracted for long periods of time (months) with overindulging in eating. I did the diet before a cruise trip lost the weight and maintained the loss with regular cruise eating during the entire week of the cruise.
June 5th, 2008
It does NOT work. In fact it should be called FatGAIN 4 Idiots. Stuck to it religiously, gained weight, despite daily workouts. I also don’t think it’s healthy. Hardly any fresh fruit and veg, not to mention fiber, but piles of protein instead. Save your money, do it the boring old-fashioned way: I lost 70 lbs over eight months on a calorie-controlled diet–precisely the thing that, according to the FL4I site doesn’t work. Wonder why they tell us that…
June 10th, 2008
Dspite, most of you people say, this diet DOES work. My friend did the diet and succesfully lost 9 pounds. My mother did the diet and lost 10 pounds. I did the diet and lost 4 pounds. 4 pounds is not 9 pounds, but i was still very happy with the results. The example menu above, was not what my menu was like. You can select the foods you want. I do not like cottage cheese, so I did not select it. This diet is very easy to follow, and all of us have successfully kept the weight off. I hope I helped any people who inquire the diet! Best of Luck to all in their weight loss journey!
June 15th, 2008
Best Diet, Only thing that worked for me so far
June 15th, 2008
I lost 35 in 21 days. It won’t work if you do not follow it precisely. You cannot eat any sugar at all or to many carbs. But it does work nice and easy. You seriously cannot cheat at all or you will not lose.
June 19th, 2008
Even though I believe that this diet works, I believe its unhealthy. Any high protein diet is unhealthy and has many health risks. I tried this diet and lost 9 lbs in only 4 days. I started feeling a little sick and my eyes started looking week. No, I wasn’t hungry but the absence of other fruits and veggies makes it unhealthy.
June 23rd, 2008
Patricia, are you even reading the same menu, on mine I have alot of fruit and vegies, where did you get your menu from,it is not the diet at all. It is great, I platued and started this diet and my weight came off again, this diet is healthy and works.
June 24th, 2008
I haven’t spent money on the book yet. I am sceptical still, don’t want to throw away good money. But my comment is, if the diet for the most part seems to work, then why not take the good from it and add a few veggies and fruits in moderation and a few carbs and go from there. The sell of the book is the 9 pds in 11 days. Everyone wants quick weight loss but being reasonable and eating a well rounded meal and maybe accepting a slower weight loss makes better sense and you’ll feel and look more healthy. (as in Patricia’s comments)
June 29th, 2008
Some of this information is wrong, or out of date.
The price is $39. That includes unlimited access to the menu generator, no time limit, plus the diet handbook with the 10 rules to lose weight and how to maintain low weight after losing it.
The meal samples shown are NOTHING like the ones generated for me. Mine was very low carb, but very big on fruits and veggies. The 3 “cheat days” gives you the carbs. It’s only meant to be for losing weight, not forever. The person who gained weight was working out — if he read the handbook, he would know that working out is not advised. Walking is the only exercise allowed. (Working out burns only carbs, not fat, which, on this type of diet is counterproductive).
June 29th, 2008
what about the day off diet? my friend is on that and it works for her.
June 30th, 2008
I agree with Geneva …i just bought it this past weekend and there are two days devoted completely to fruits and veggies and it says to walk twice a day for 30 mins.
July 2nd, 2008
How can they guarantee 9lbs in 11 days? Everybody is different…Thats hard to get past
July 9th, 2008
I have tried beyond calaries diet that can be down loaded with the fatlossforidiots diet. I am on day 9 of a 10 day diet and have lost 6Lbs. I know how to diet but had put some weight over the past year through careless eating and didn’t want the Weight Watches slog of 1 to 2Lbs a week. I will be satisfied with another 6Lb loss later and will try another 10 day slot after a few days break. After that I will try to keep my fingers out of the biscuit tin as that is my downfall!!!
July 12th, 2008
I am on this diet, and it is working pretty well. So far, a pound a day. I truthfully don’t know if some of that is muscle or not–I hope not, but here’s the deal: I was VERY skeptical of this diet and paying $40 for it. Don’t pay 40 bucks…just go on the internet and if you type this in long enough, you’ll see a sample diet for the 11 days, for free. Also, since I was skeptical, I compared the diet to what I would be eating normally, and this is betterveggies–you just have to select them from the generator (if you have access to the generator–which you can also get pretty easily, if you look around). The bad thing: not much bread. In fact, only one day of bread–the day you do 3 fruit meals and 1 sandwich. Pretty tough for me. But tons of fruit. On days where you are supposed to eat bacon, for instance, it’ll give you the option of BACON or CHICKEN. So far, most of the “deli meats” I’ve eaten wrapped in lettuce–it feels too weird to just eat a few slices of turkey!
July 17th, 2008
Well this is actually good i lost 15 pounds in 11 days but its just too much of money to spend but its just ok unless i got quite light lool :]
July 18th, 2008
I lost 6 pounds on the first 11 days. This really does work but 9 pounds in 11 days is mostly hype, though it’s possible.
July 23rd, 2008
Does this really work!
i heard it does!
July 29th, 2008
This is a waste of money… it sounds great… but I tried it, and I actually gained about 1-2 pounds..
August 3rd, 2008
oh dear. (Walking is the only exercise allowed. (Working out burns only carbs, not fat, which, on this type of diet is counterproductive).
simple biology lesson. Low to medium intensity exercise will burn fat - whether it’s walking, cycling, rowing, cross trainer…keep your heart rate in the midzone - eg for me aged 30 it’s about 50 bpm max. so go for it!
but interested to try the diet. did well on atkins low carb a few years ago
August 4th, 2008
Im on day 9 of this diet and i have already lost 10lbs….I have stuck to it to the letter. I walk 30 mins most mornings with my dogs and 20 mins on my home treadmill. I have tried every diet going and have not lost so fast even on shakes…..Its just so easy if you choose your food selections wisely then you can experiment with the food choices….Im looking forward to the 3 days off but i have come this far and i dont want to blow it by overeating…
August 11th, 2008
John, you either must be working for this site or you must have weighted over 500 lbs. to loose 21 lbs in 11 days. And if they say that exercise does not help they are full of it. Just my 2 cents.
August 11th, 2008
Amanda Bennett, did you actually get your “uncoditional money back” from them? Since you didn’t loose the 9 lbs? ’cause I don’t believe that either…
August 13th, 2008
I have tried it and I reviewed it. I liked some things and dint like some thing. I wrote a review be sure to read it…it can help you take a decision before you buy,
http://thefatlos4idiots.blogspot.com/
August 14th, 2008
Who ever says that this diet does not work is an ABSOLUTE IDIOT!!!!(NO OFFENSE)
August 15th, 2008
I just finished my first 11 days. I was very skeptical - no support - they don’t tell you who created it etc. But my roommate and I decided to try it for one 11 day cycle. We stuck to it to the letter, absolutely no cheating.
I am 6ft 238 pounds - I did not lose 9 pounds in 11 days, but I did lose 8.2 pounds! I have never been able to take weight off quickly so I was hoping to lose 4 to 5 points. I followed the diet but did not do as much walking etc. as recommended.
It will be interesting to see how this works over the long term.
Roommate is 5ft 10in 185 pounds, wants to get to 170. In one week he lost 11 pounds! Now he is far more active - he works part time as an aerobics instructor - so that probably accelerated his weight loss.
August 21st, 2008
I like this diet okay, but there are some way it could be a lot better. I think if you really wanted to lose weight with this diet you should count calories and make sure you stay in your range. Also, add in calorie shifting with a calculator like this, http://www.naturalphysiques.com/tools.php?itemid=64 And eat carbs on your cheat days so you don’t build cravings.
Good Luck,
Christy
September 5th, 2008
Ridiculous agian, this is simply telling you the obvious that if you choose good foods, proteins and carbs and eat less then you will lose weight, you don’t need to spend money for that advice.
September 9th, 2008
I tried this diet after my forth child it was fantastic I lost 21 lb but and this is a big but when I started to eat normally again I regained my weight and more I am heavier now than I have ever been. Also I nevered suffered with celulite before now I have heaps of it and the weight has all gone back on on my bottom tops of my legs, stomache and breasts. So unless you intend to stick to the rules don’t do it, it will ruin your figure for ever.
September 17th, 2008
this diet is 4 idiots hence the name derrrrr
September 27th, 2008
I havnt tried it yet but i might…
it mite not work but im hoping it will…
please give me your comments!!!
♥♫Jessica♫♥
September 29th, 2008
why pay for this diet when you can do it on your own for free, the key to losing weight is eating right and exercise, this is basically what this diet is doing, dring 8-10 8oz glasses of water every day and eat low calorie, low fat foods, once you get to your goal weight treat yourself every once and a while, once you set your mind to it, its just a matter of getting it done, don’t waste your money on this diet, any of youl watch the biggest loser, do that if you want to lose weight, diet and exercise, its no way around it if you want to lose weight you have to eat healthy and exercise, got it.
October 1st, 2008
Other than the tuna salad, which most likely has mayo (which is high in staurated fat) The diet seems like what the average American SHOULD be eating. Simple, unprocessed foods. It’s probably called the idiots diet because it’s idiotically simple!! Eat right and excercise and of course your going to lose weight!! Don’t waste you money on information that you can easily research for free with your computer! A great site to look on for health news is: http://Www.NaturalNews.com
I personally am a huge fan of this site. My family is very health oriented and I beleive that information about personal health should be free and comunal, everyone should have the opportunity and sense to live a healthy lifestyle. Speaking from experience, if you want to eat right it’s honestly very simple. Take about an hour or so on the weekends to prepare your healthy food for the week (so that you have things on hand, I know how busy and fast paced life is.) put them in zip-loc bags or tuperware and stick them in the fridge so that on your way to work or a meeting or the gym you can grab your lunch or snack and go. Time is one of the foremost reasons most Americans resort to fast-food. Make sure to choose WHOLE foods rather than processed junk. Go through your cabinets and THROW AWAY ALL THE UNHEALTHY FOODS. It’s difficult at first I know, if your hesitant about throwing away somethign you just bought, a great option is to donate all of it to a food bank. Replace your fridge with natural, whole foods. If it has something in the label that you don’t know what it is, DON’T BUY IT. Same goes for if it has High Fructose Corn Syrup, or high amounts of sugar.
October 1st, 2008
One more thing:
!!!!!!!!!!!EXCERCISING IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS EATING!!!!!!!!!!!
October 7th, 2008
This diet is awesome u should try it!!!!
October 8th, 2008
Ithink this diet is so dum that it dosent even work trust me . you should give up and try another diet .
October 15th, 2008
I did this diet and I lost 10pds in 11 days. The diet does work. The problem I had was when the 3 day cheat came around I gained. I am willing to try again but I need to know the rules for the 3 day cheat. I have read you can eat anything yet there is 10 rules to follow do not eat pizza fries etc., So, if someone could help me on this I am sure it will work.
October 27th, 2008
do you know why they say that “this diet (meaning any diet) is guaranteed to help you lose weight, 10 lbs in the first 30 days.”? Because it is a proven fact, that on almost any diet you can lose weight in the first month…if you follow the “correct plan”. Some have more water retention than others and that is why they lose more, and don’t always gain it back…..where as others don’t have that much to “lose” in the first place and hence, “I didn’t lose that much” or “anything”. And I agree with a few of the others out there, if you don’t exercise, 9 x’s out of ten, the weight is going to come back……I know…….”been there, done that, and tried just about everything…..” Reality check, eat healthy and exercise and stay away from the “junk food” that society and commercials are throwing at us every day in the media!!
October 28th, 2008
does anyone know any meal plans from it i cant afford it..
November 3rd, 2008
I don’t know if some of you are not working the program properly, but it works for me. I lost 17 lbs in 11 days and my boyfriend lost the 9 lbs advertised. It could be that I have a lot of weight to loose, but it DID work for me. I love it! I also like the flexibility of not having to write down what I am eating because it is already generated for you. I also like the fact that I don’t have to worry about counting calories and reading labels; I just simply follow the menu. If you do that, it will work for you. Reading the handbook was also helpful. Those of you that are working out strenuously are potentially added on more muscle, which you know weighs more than fat. I lost the weight and did not even do the walking they suggested in the program.
November 4th, 2008
I feel like an idiot for trying this diet and for believing the website’s guarantee. They do not refund your money as promised.
November 11th, 2008
Does anybody know why the price has doubled? Also, anybody that’s already on the plan. Are these meals or what. For example, when it says chicken are you just eating a piece of chicken or that plus some side items? I want to try it but i’m not sure. Please help.
November 11th, 2008
I went on the “Beyond Calories” which was downloaded with “Fat Loss for idiots”. Cost $54. My Husband and I went on it for 3-1/2 months. I lost 34#’s and he lost 28#’s. I loved this diet and the variety of foods you can eat on it. The only thing we did not like was eating 6 meals a day. It seemed like all we did was fix our plates and eat. Didn’t take that long but just seemed like every two hours it was “Come and eat”… I do believe it was worth the money. I have given it out to several people and they all have lost weight. We went off of it at Christmas time last year and I have gained back about half. Only because I love to eat the wrong foods. I do plan on going back on it here in the next few days. I would recommend it.
November 30th, 2008
I just don’t believe you Lisa, a site this popular and long running can’t fail to give refunds and get away with it.
I have started on this program and already (2 days in) lost a bit (but it’s within random variation so far), but even if it doesn’t work for absolutely everybody it sure seems to work impressively for most people.
Things I like (besides it hopefully working for me):
It’s so easy, many diets fail not due to lack of willpower but the effort and time that goes into creating a menu that fits the specs.
I like cooking but it is a chore and these meals require so little effort.
That it is low in starchy carbs but not a low carb diet. (I have had success with them but I have also felt awful and tired)
That it doesn’t tell you what percentage to eat of protein, fat and carbs.
How on earth are you meant to calculate such things?
Meat contains a set amount of fat, you can’t just dial it up or down, if the fat is too low do you just pour oil on?
What if it is too high?
If it is to high despite best efforts do you fix it by eating more of the other 2 somehow? (how?)
And when something says x amount of protein, well it’s very hard to get accurate protein figures for even things as simple as meat.
I also like that it doesn’t require blood tests, or question tests or any other kind of ‘identify which type you are’.
To those who say ‘Just eat healthy’ well I have been doing that and eating organically and I did lose weight at first but just ‘eating healthy food’ and being healthy in other ways is NOT enough.
December 1st, 2008
Another review from an industry insider.
December 17th, 2008
Update, now I lost 9lb the first 11 days and currently I am losing a pound a day for the last 3 days! Woohoo!
Shortly before I did this I tried a low carb diet from an internet doc I trusted but it didn’t work despite feeling terrible and tired and very bored with the food (though mostly tired).
But with this despite being not low carb really works like a dream, I am enjoying the meals, the easyness, the weight loss, I just hope it keeps on trucking because if it does I am going to be over the moon as I reach 220lb in the first quarter of the new year. (at 220lb I’ll be pretty slim and light enough to go skydiving)
Right now I am at 288.4lb, that’s 11.6lb from the approx 300lb when I started. (I did however put on a few pounds by being super bad over the 3 day break)