Could Weight Loss be as Easy as 80 Bites a Day?

I’ve heard a lot of theories on weight loss: counting calories; avoiding grains and complex carbohydrates; calculating fat content, sugar content, and measuring carbs against fiber.

However, counting the number of bites you take per day was a new weight loss idea to me.  Furthermore, the idea of quantity,  no matter what you’re eating, definitely throws me through a loop.

Dieting doesn't have to be hard. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

80 Bites Diet for Weight Loss

The 80 Bites Diet is a 12 week weight loss program, accessible online at their web site and through a downloadable iPhone app.  During the 12 weeks, the program takes you through each week, step-by-step, not allowing you to move ahead of yourself and getting overwhelmed.

The 12 week program is split into 4 sections, each containing 3 weeks of tips and education on the 80 Bites way of losing weight.

At first, the idea of 80 bites per day seems odd.  Why only 80 bites?  Why as much as 80 bites?  What if those 80 bites are horribly unhealthy, vs. 100 or more bites of salad?

It’s more than just the number of bites per day, however.  While the diet has you focus on that number at first, it also teaches you powerful habit and lifestyle changing techniques such as how to practice mindful eating, how to chew your food in such a way that it helps you lose weight, and how to alert your body that it’s time to stop eating.

It’s not all about the food, either.  It’s also about exercising and finding balance.  While the 80 Bites seems like a rigid diet at first, it turns into a balanced, full lifestyle change for health and wellness that will eventually become easy to follow.

My favorite part of the diet: Increase water intake for health and weight loss.  Water is essential to life, and the more water you drink, the better you feel.  If you replace sodas, fruit drinks, and other flavored beverages with water, you will feel better, healthier, and lose weight.  Additionally, many people confuse the feeling of thirst with a feeling of hunger. They eat when they really just need to drink.

My least favorite part of the diet: The focus on quantity the first 3 weeks.  I honestly disagreed with the idea that counting bites is any better than counting calories or points or whatever other system.  Also, if you’re still hungry after your 80 bites, you should eat. That’s my opinion.  Don’t starve yourself, EVER!

However, there are a few upsides to this system.  What if you have a few left-over bites at the end of your day, and you really want to have a taste of the apple pie, chocolate ice cream, or pizza?  Well, go ahead and indulge!  But only with those few bites that you have left that day.  This allows you to satisfy the craving without going off your diet, limiting your bites so you don’t over-indulge.

So much of the time, diets fail because the dieter feels as if she has deprived herself of those little treats, like when a  co-worker has a birthday party with cake or a few bites of pizza at her child’s birthday party.

Everything in moderation. That’s my philosophy on food.  Additionally, finding a balance and achieving a lifestyle change over a dieting existence is the best way to lose weight without dieting.

How does the 80Bites Diet Work?

According to the 80 Bites Diet, 80 bites is all you need to get the nutrition and food you need to survive and thrive.  Reducing your bites to 80 per day will help your stomach shrink which curbs hunger and leads to healthy weight loss.

Disclaimer: I have not tried this diet personally.  I read through it and examined the information and facts, but the diet itself doesn’t interest me for myself.  The idea of counting my bites every single day isn’t something that I could stick with.  Additionally, not every diet will benefit every person. What works for one person won’t necessarily work for someone else, and there are a lot of factors that go into it.  Also, don’t try any diet without first talking to a medical professional.

If it sounds interesting, though, and you want to give it a go or just check it out and see if it’s something that could work for you, there’s a way for you to do that without spending a penny.

80 Bites Diet Giveaway!

Usually priced at $49.95, you can win free access to the 80 Bites Diet system online through the giveaway on this site!

Entry into the giveaway is easy.  Just follow the instructions below and you’ll be entered to win!

Giveaway begins at 12:01 AM EST on Tuesday, March 20th and will continue for 2 weeks.  A winner will be announced by April 10, 2012 and notified via email.  All participants in the contest will be sent the discount code upon completion of the giveaway.

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