Can I Lose Weight on the Body Reset Diet?

 

 

In 2013, Harley Pasternak created the framework for the Body Reset diet, explains Candace Pumper, a staff dietitian with the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.

Pasternak is a celebrity fitness trainer who currently stars on “Revenge Body with Khloe Kardashian” on the E! network and is a regular contributor to “Good Morning America” on ABC. He has worked with a slew of high-profile celebrities, including Ariana Grande, Megan Fox, Kim Kardashian, Halle Berry, Eva Mendes, Jessica Simpson, Alicia Keys, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga, Kanye West, Amy Schumer, John Mayer, Adam Levine, Seth Rogen, Katy Perry and Bono.

This low-calorie diet lasts for 15 days and is broken into three separate phases, each lasting five days. The diet mostly involves drinking smoothies before incorporating solid food back into your diet.

During phase one, for exampleexample, you only drink smoothies for your meals – white smoothies for breakfast, red for lunch and green for dinner. During phase two, you drink two smoothies per day and replace one meal with solid food, such as a salad, sandwich or stir-fry. Phase three swaps out one of those remaining two smoothies per day for another solid meal.
The idea is that by eating (or drinking, as the case may be) a low-calorie, plant-based diet made up mostly of audifort smoothies over the course of 15 days, you can train your body to use energy more efficiently and burn calories faster, even while you're asleep. By combining this approach with resistance exercise three days per week, the idea is that you'll set yourself up for long-term, sustained weight loss.

  • Vegan or vegetarian friendly. Recipes can be easily modified for a vegan or vegetarian diet.
  • Gluten-free friendly. Recipes can be easily modified and still follow a gluten-free diet.
  • Halal friendly. Recipes can be easily modified and still follow the diet.
  • Kosher friendly. Recipes can be easily modified and still follow the diet.

How Does It Work?

  • Drink three smoothies per day (that contain about 270 to 325 calories each) in the first five days.
  • Replace one smoothie with a solid meal (during days six through 10), such as a salad or veggie stir-fry.
  • Replace two smoothies with a solid meal on days 11 through 15.
  • Use the book “The Body Reset Diet” by Harley Pasternak as your guide. 
The Body Reset Diet is meant to be just that – a sudden reset to how you’re eating by eliminating all solid foods and replacing them with healthy, low-calorie, plant-based smoothies.

“The creator of the Body Reset Diet curated this eating pattern for people who are looking to lose weight quickly,” says Gaby Vaca-Flores, a registered dietitian and founder of Glow+Greens, a nutrition and skin care consultancy based in Santa Monica, California. “Rapid weight loss is a result of calorie restriction and increased physical activity.”

In the first five days of the diet, you’ll consume three smoothies and two snacks per day:
  • White smoothies contain milk or Greek yogurt, a good source of protein.
  • Red smoothies are full of fruits to give you a burst of energy.
  • Green smoothies are comprised of vegetables to keep you full at night.
Those following the Body Reset Diet are also encouraged to exercise. However, rather than going to the gym every day, Pasternak recommends walking at least 12,000 steps every day. How you get those steps in doesn't matter – you can do them all at once or spread them out over the course of the day.

The best way to achieve this goal is to make little changes in your life – by getting off the bus or train one stop early, for example, and walking the rest of the way to work, or parking further away and taking the stairs, not the elevator.

Pasternak also recommends doing at least five minutes of resistance exercise at least five days per week or doing light resistance training for five minutes, three times per week. Resistance training helps build muscle and has been shown to help prevent arthritis, diabetes, obesity and more – plus, you can do it easily at home.

Pasternak's routine alternates between a few different exercises – the reverse fly, dips, planks and hamstring curls. You'll do 20 of each, resting for 10 seconds before moving on to the next one. Exercise beginners will do the circuit one time, intermediates twice and veteran gymgoers three times. The full instructions for each exercise are in "The Body Reset Diet" book.
Can I Lose Weight on the Body Reset Diet?
You’ll probably lose weight on the Body Reset diet. There isn't any clinical evidence behind the diet, but sticking to smoothies full of fruits and vegetables will likely result in a calorie deficit, which would help you drop some excess pounds. How quickly you lose weight and whether or not you keep it off, however, depends on what you’re eating, and the types of solid foods you add back after that initial period of deprivation
The diet also shares tenets with vegetarianism. Vegetarians tend to eat fewer calories and weigh less than their meat-eating counterparts, as well as consume more fruits and vegetables. Diets high in fruits and vegetables are linked to better overall health.

“Supporters of the Body Reset diet claim that one of the main benefits to the diet is motivation,” Vaca-Flores says. “Early and rapid weight loss is rewarding for many people and can keep them motivated to continue losing weight, unlike other diets that promote gradual weight loss.”

Another benefit of this diet is that it can boost your intake of whole food. Whole fruits and vegetables are prioritized in this diet, and that offers some health benefits, especially if those foods are replacing ultra-processed sugary or refined foods.


Short-Term Weight Loss


Short-term weight loss is likely with the Body Reset diet because, for most people, you’ll be significantly reducing the number of calories you’re eating for more than two weeks.

Long-Term Weight Loss


Long-term weight loss on the Body Reset diet is less certain because as you add back solid foods to your daily diet, your calorie intake will increase. You’re likely to gain back whatever weight you lost on the smoothie-only portion of the diet once you reintroduce solid foods.

Weight Maintenance and Management


No research has been conducted specifically into the Body Reset diet, so the long-term outcomes and strategies of weight-loss management haven’t been clearly defined. In addition, this diet is intended only to be 15 days long, and thus, not an effective solution for long-term weight management.
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