Rotation diet: general instructions for men
Men follow a rotation plan during Week 1 that includes approximately 1200 calories a day for three days, followed by 1500 calories a day for the next four days. In Week 2, you eat approximately 1800 calories a day for the entire week. In Week 3, you repeat the 1200/1500-calorie rotation. You can repeat the menus of Week 1 during Week 3.
It is very important for men to follow the Week 2 menus, which call for an increase in food intake to around 1800 calories. If you do not, you may reduce your metabolic rate. Eighteen hundred calories a day will hardly feel like a diet and the "timeout" it gives you will add to your motivation to return to the 1200/1500 rotation for another quick weight loss. Your weight loss in Week 2 will be less than in Weeks 1 and 3, but the increase in calories helps prevent regaining weight after you finish your diet. This protection is worth the temporary slowdown.
On the average, persons who follow the Rotation Diet exactly as printed will lose over 5 pounds the first week, around 2% pounds the second week, and up to around 5 pounds again the third week. The heavier you are to begin with, the more you can expect to lose, up to an average of about a pound a day for the twenty-one days. And even though the calorie intake for men is higher, men will tend to lose faster than women. Men need more calories than women to maintain their initial weight and they burn more calories in physical activity because they are heavier.