What You Need To Know Before Going On The Sirtfood Diet
SHARE
@thesirtfooddiet
By now, you’ve probably heard and seen a lot about the sirtfood diet. Yes, it’s that trendy eating regimen that celebrities like Adele and Pippa Middleton have adopted. That, alone, makes jumping on the bandwagon tempting, but you need to know the facts before going all in.
So…what does “sirtfood” even mean?
The term was coined by nutritionists Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten. It refers to food high in sirtuin activators. Sirtuins are a type of protein that protects the body from inflammation, keeps metabolism high and even burns fat.
Goggins and Matten designed the diet to include about 20 foods that are most effective in activating sirtuin.
What can you eat and what’s off limits?
Some people are drawn to the diet because it allows you to have chocolate and wine while “losing weight,” but the eating routine is much stricter than headlines lead on.
The founders have created a list of food and juice recipes that you can consume on your sirtfood journey. But be warned: not everything is as exciting as your chocolate bar or Pinot, which are fair game. Here’s the rundown:
- Apples
- Citrus fruits
- Parsley
- Capers
- Blueberries
- Green tea
- Soy
- Strawberries
- Turmeric
- Olive oil
- Red onion
- Kale
- Celery
- Arugula
- Coffee
There’s a line of pre-made sirtfood meals and green juices, but most of us don’t have unlimited funds to finance the weight loss endeavor, so if you’re like us, you’re whipping up recipes instead.
Do you need any other tools to start the diet?
Yep. You’re going to rely heavily on sirtfood juices, so you’ll need a juicer. Don’t have one? You can invest in a cheap one, but if you’re not into that either, then we don’t know what to tell you. The sirtfood website also recommends purchasing matcha powder for your juices and buckwheat for your meals.
How does the diet work?
The website outlines the two phases of the diet. Carefully read over the guidelines on the front page for tips on meal and juice prep. The site says that if you follow these phases strictly, you can lose seven pounds in your first seven days alone.
Phase One: Seven Days
For the first three days, you’ll have three sirtfood green juices (refer to the site for recipes) and one full meal of sirtfoods. You should consume about 1,000 calories a day.
On days four to seven, you’ll increase your caloric intake to 1,500 a day by drinking two sirtfood green juices and eating two sirtfood meals.
Phase Two: 14 Days
The website says this phase is the most important in stabilizing your fat loss. You will eat three balanced sirtfood meals a day, plus one sirtfood green juice.
The two phases can be repeated to see greater results, and the website suggests keeping the foods you ate in the first two phases in your meal rotation after the three weeks are up. That’s so you don’t bounce back to your pre-sirtfood diet body.
The Bottom Line
You’re going to be following a strict diet plan only eating from the list of approved foods for at least three weeks. No food group is entirely off-limits. The one exclusion is refined sugar, which makes sense. Most of all: you should expect to significantly cut your caloric intake, and the website recommends regular workouts to accompany your three-week stint.
Reviews of the diet are mixed — though most of the feedback we came across appeared negative. Some adherents responded favorably to the regimen.
Ultimately, you have to decide whether this diet is for you, and you should consult your doctor to make an informed decision. Ask yourself whether this sort of eating routine would benefit your body. Knowledge is power, friends. Make an educated choice.
Next on
