If you are a weight-loss seeker or just have vast knowledge about diet and nutrition, you might know about the famous Sirt-food diet. If you don’t, you soon will.
Created by two nutritionists working privately in the Uk, the Sirt-food diet has gained international attention. Its popularity boosted when international celebrities adopted and endorsed it. One of the major reasons for its popularity is that it allows wine and chocolate. The wine might not concern you much but the chocolate is likely to lure you in.
Today, people follow a celebrity’s advice more sincerely than a professional’s. But this does not undermine the credibility a professional holds. So it is important to review the latest health trends, bust the myths and state the facts.
Table of Content
What Is Sirt Food Diet?
The whole idea of the diet is based on researches on the sirtuins (SIRTS). SIRTS is a group of seven non-essential proteins that regulate a variety of body functions like metabolism, inflammation, and overall life quality and span.
Sirt-foods are all the foods that aid in increasing the amount of these proteins or contains these proteins. This diet encourages all such foods. These foods are loaded with polyphenols (naturally occurring compounds) found largely in fruits, cereals, and vegetables. These polyphenols cause the sirtuins to switch your body’s fat-burning machines, on.
The key to weight loss in this diet is the combination of sirt-foods and calorie restriction. The diet claims to cause rapid weight loss while maintaining muscles and overall health. The effect of this diet on overall health is yet to be determined, due to insufficient evidence.
Top Sirt-Foods
Although a lot of foods contain polyphenols and other sirtuin-activating proteins, certain foods are loaded with these. Such foods are called Sirt-foods and include buckwheat, arugula, chilies, coffee, green tea, medjool dates, red wine, turmeric, walnuts, cocoa, red onions, parsley, extra virgin olive oil, kale, and red chicory.
The sirt-food diet book contains a number of recipes that incorporate all these ingredients. If you take a closer look that all of these foods, except for red wine, are actually healthy.
How Does It Work?
The diet consists of two major phases. The first phase is the ‘hyper-success phase’, which combines a sirtfood-rich diet with moderate calorie restriction. It lasts for 7 days. Then comes the ‘maintenance phase’, where you maintain the lost weight without restricting calories. This phase lasts for 14 days.
1. Hyper-success Phase
This phase aims to jump-start your weight loss. It claims to make you lose 7 pounds in 7 days. Your calorie intake will be restricted to 1000 calories in the first 3 days of phase 1. You are supposed to drink green juices 3 times a day and take one meal each day.
For the rest of the 4 days, your calorie intake will be increased to 1500 kcal. You will be allowed to take 2 green juices and 2 sirt-food meals a day
It is difficult to devise sirt-food recipes on your own so you will have to choose from the recipes given in the SIRT FOOD DIET book.
2. Maintenance Phase
In this phase, you don’t need to focus much on calorie-restriction. Every day you are allowed to have 3 sirt-food rich meals and 1 green drink. You can also have a sirt-food snack or two.
This phase also allows the consumption of moderate amounts of red wine, water, tea, green tea, and coffee.
3. The Aftercare
You are allowed to repeat these two phrases as often as you like. When you are done with your weight loss you are expected to “sirtify“ your diet by incorporating sirt-foods in your regular meals. You can also include sirt-foods in your diet as a snack or a drink. In fact, the diet encourages you to drink green juice every day.
Hence, the diet aims to become a lifestyle rather than a short-lived weight loss program.
Worth It Or Not?
Sirt-food diet has done wonders for many. But to certify a diet as worth it, there is a lot more to take into consideration.
Looking closely at the structure and components of the sirt-food diet, it seems like a healthy eating plan. But it has its potential downsides, too. So you need to consider the following before coming to a final decision
- The calories are way too restricted for many to follow. This calorie restriction can lead to hunger, lethargy, and fatigue. Moreover, eating a calorie-restricted diet with healthy foods, you are likely to lose weight anyway. So you don’t have to commit to such a strict diet.
- All the foods included in the sirt-food diet are healthy and can perform anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. This provides benefits beyond weight loss, but still, it doesn’t justify the need to go for such a change.
- The diet being so restrictive, can also restrict the consumption of due proteins, fats, and carbs.
- The juices recommended in the diet are very low in fibers, compromising your gut health.
- Diet always remains incomplete without good exercise. Opting for such a calorie-restricted diet might render your ability to exercise.
A Nutritionists Verdict
Now that you have reached the end you are likely to have made a decision but I want you to ponder over it again. Will you be able to commit to it? Are you able to afford it? Can you eat all the greens?
Before making a final decision you need to know that this diet will cost you a fortune. Especially if you are living in a country like Pakistan, you will probably fail at the first step i.e. finding the groceries.
Considering the general public in Pakistan, you probably don’t drink red wine and your taste buds are not acquainted with matcha or kale, limiting your options even more.
So the wisest option is to leave the diet to those who developed it and opt for other weight loss options available locally. But if you find yourself fit to commit to the diet you need a personal nutritionist, to monitor all your meals and overall health.
If my writing has lured you out of your decision to go on the diet, you should consider other weight loss options and consult a nutritionist to handle your case.
Book an appointment now, to answer all your queries. You can book an appointment with top nutritionists in Pakistan through Marham by calling at Marham helpline: 0311-1222398 or by online booking facility through the website or Marham mobile app.
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