Dr. Oz's Day-Off Diet

Doctor Oz's The Day-Off Diet Plan is hoping to help millions of viewers burn fat and lose weight in 2016 by giving them ‘New Year, New You' weight loss resolutions.

Featured on the very first Dr. Oz TV episode in 2016 and his The Good Life magazine, he claims it is the diet we have all been waiting for and is built for you without feeling deprived, hungry or unsatisfied. The Day-Off weight loss diet program is characterized by its wonderfully easy-to-follow nutrition regimen that promises to give you great advice and tips to making this work and last.

But can it deliver?  Will it be right for you? Does it work for those 600 people who have tried it already? After all, Dr. Oz has been criticized in the past for hyping weight-loss cures which haven't been clinically proven (to a satisfactory degree) like the Total 10 Rapid Weight Loss Plan, Forskolin and of course Garcinia Cambogia.

Let's review The Day-Off Diet:

— Strategies
— Assessments
— Instructions
— Shopping Lists
— Recipes
— Meal Plans
— FAQs
— Online Community

What is The Day-Off Diet?

First, this plan comes with the simple formula of “six days on, one day off” for dieting.  It's designed around the primary goal of making people stick with it for the long term: it's easy to follow, based on healthy eating nutrition guidelines, and totally sustainable by giving the go-ahead clearance for having a certified cheat day when ‘dieting' all year long.

The fat burning diet is geared around helping you lose up to 7 pounds in your first week and two more every week after for rapid weight loss.

Here's how Doctor Oz's expert team and panel (Mike Berland, Ashley Koff, Joel Harper and Tia Brown) said to use the Day Off Diet:

— Eat From 5 Types Of Food:
— 1.) Non-starchy Vegetables
— 2.) Complex Carbs
— 3.) Protein
— 4.) MonoUnsaturated Fatty Acids for Snacks (MUFA Snacks)
— 5.) Miscellaneous options: Optional Extras
— Avoid Beef And Pork
— Whole Grains Only

Don't confuse the new Day-Off Diet for 2016 with these similar-sounding diet plans.

The Day-Off Diet is not to be confused with the DODO (Day Off, Day On) Diet, which debuted about a year ago.  The DODO is an entirely different animal, involving special pre-fast meals at night, only water for drinks in the evening, and of course…fasting (ugh).

Then there's the equally confusing 3 Day Diet, where you get 4 days off.  This one also goes by the name of the Military Meal Plan.  That one is based on a “chemically formulated” diet that revvs up your metabolism.  The person who created this one claims weight loss of 10 pounds per week!  It's no wonder, either: on your off days (remember: there are four of them), you are limited to 1,500 calories for the entire day.  Enough already…why not just stick to the basics?

The Day-Off Diet is not the Paleo diet, either.  That diet doesn't allow for beans and legumes, whereas this one does.  There are other differences of course, namely that peanut butter is allowed on the Day-Off Diet but not on Paleo since peanuts are technically legumes (get you didn't know that).

Finally, the creator of the Day-Off Diet Plan either has some trademark issues coming his way or it's not a new diet plan at all.  As far back as four years ago in 2012 there was a Day Off Diet circulating the web.  It involved a color-coded system to help keep dieters on track to healthy eating.  Following that plan successfully meant purchasing the plan from an online vendor so you could use the app and learn the diet.

The Day-Off Diet Shopping List

The list of 5 types of food you can eat is nice and simple, but what are the details?  Following are some examples of what's in each category.

— Non-Starchy Veggies: cabbage, asparagus, leafy greens… the more colorful the better (beets, carrots etc). You can eat these in unlimited quantities.

— Complex Carbs: sweet potato, lentils, beans, corn, squash, oatmeal, brown rice etc. Anything with a low Glycemic Index is fine in moderation.

— Protein: chicken, fish, eggs, seafood, lentils, beans, tofu

— MUFA Snacks: health fats like almonds or olives twice a day

— Optional Extras: heart-healthy oil, spices, broth, vinegar, soy sauce

The Verdict

The Day-Off diet plan combines the best of Paleo and other diets based on eating healthy foods.  It wisely leaves behind, however, the odd prohibitions (no peanut butter!) of Paleo.  Equally wise is that it backs off on the meat …Paleo has been criticized for encouraging too much consumption of meat, both for health and philosophical reasons.

The only shortcoming is that so far, there hasn't been much emphasis on exercise.  At this point in time, it should be clear to anyone trying to lose weight that physical exercise is a natural and necessary component of any good plan.   Of course each dieter should exercise according to his or her health and ability.  Whether it's running a few miles or walking up the stairs, everyone must incorporate some movement into the day if a diet like the Day-Off diet plan is going to work.