Birchall Diet

Birchall Diet Background

Birchall Diet is the diet plan developed by Stephen Birchall, a computer specialist. The diet plan was developed keeping in mind that it should not be overly complex. According to Birchall, a diet that tells you what to eat and when may not necessarily be the diet for you. It works on a simple principle – reduce food intake to lose weight.

Birchall developed this diet as other diet plans failed to impress him and more importantly lose weight. Being a computer programmer, Birchall used his analytical skills to develop the Birchall diet that works on the principle of educating the body on what it needs and in what quantity.  The diet aims to educate people to eat less without dieting being torturous on the mind and the body.  More importantly, the diet does not include exercise as part of the plan to lose weight. Birchall himself was unable to exercise due to his busy schedule. The diet primarily concentrates on losing weight by eating food you enjoy without the need to exercise.

Birchall Diet Basics

The Birchall diet plan is neatly explained breaking down the main elements of the diet into simple explanation. The plan concentrates on how the diet should ideally work and what one should do to lose weight. The Birchill Diet uses the body’s own mechanism to control weight. The principle is simple.  You can eat the usual food that you eat otherwise but in smaller quantities. Over time, your body realizes the smaller quantity eaten regularly and gets accustomed to the diet. The biggest advantage of the Birchall Diet is that it allows you enjoy the food you like without necessarily having to change your diet to something you would generally avoid. However, the book does suggest including fruits, vegetables, and reducing chicken and meat quantities from the diet to reduce weight.

Birchall Diet recommends prolonging the hunger pangs one generally fills and then eating in small quantities. The diet is also devoid from feeling satisfaction and urges people to avoid filling their stomachs when they eat. The diet is healthy, as it does not intimidate people with plans, recipes or daily and weekly checks by a dietician. Nor does it force people into paying for gym memberships or even taking time off from their busy schedule to exercise. It works with people’s existing schedule and existing eating habits. People need to reduce their portions to lose weight.

Exercise Recommendations

The primary idea behind the diet is that you should be able to live a normal life while on a diet. For those with busy schedules, it is almost impossible to find time for exercise while most of us would chose not to exercise. Many diet plans recommend exercising along with the diet for optimum weight loss however; the Birchall Diet is clearly aimed at people who would rather keep their weight under check then go all out to get the perfect figure.

Recommended Foods

Other than high intakes of fruit and vegetables, there are not other foods recommended in the Birchall Diet.

Cost and Expenses

The Birchall Diet retails at $13.49. Besides that, there are no additional costs involved. However, as the diet does recommend including fruits and vegetables in the meal it may amount to an additional cost for people who do not include greens in their diet or have a minimal intake of the former.

Pros

• Easy to follow. The diet does not make people buy any expensive nutritional products or spend money on getting a gym membership
• You can continue to intake your favourite food items without having to undergo the torture of eating what you don’t like
• The plan is perfect for people who avoid or cannot exercise
• No need to count calories
• The plan is flexible allowing for a wide variety of food items without explicitly avoiding anything.
• Great for people with sedentary lifestyle
• The plan is healthy. It allows people to chart their own diet plan without the need for changes in lifestyle to reduce weight
• The plan ensures changes in the way the body intakes food as the decrease in portion overtime make the body realise that it has to work with low quantity which ensure utilization of the existing reservoir of fats within the body

Cons

• Does not include a meal plan. This maybe a problem for people who cannot avoid overeating and need a set plan to lose weight.
• There are no recipes mentioned in the book either. This could be a bit of a problem as the book suggests including fruits and greens but does not give a daily meal plan or which fruits to have and when.
• Sometimes the book says to include fruits and vegetables whilst following the philosophy of not recommending any particular category of food items

Conclusions

The Birchall Diet is a simple diet plan, which eliminates the need to follow a plan, buy expensive weight loss pills, avoid food, eat what you do not like, and more importantly exercise. The plan is suited for people with sedentary lifestyles where eating less is perhaps the only way to ensure a control of the waistline.

The recommendations in the book are logical and sensible. Most dieters will lose weight by decreasing portions. It is also suited to a vast majority that is looking for a quick fix way to reduce weight without gaining it back again quickly.

Many dieters who require guidance and a bit of push may not be successful when following the Birchall Diet plan. Then there are others who need a specific approach or a set food plan for optimum weight loss results. However, one cannot argue with the fact that Birchall is a healthy option sans the costs involved.

See also

The Birchall Diet: A No Pills – No Frills Diet That is Easy to Follow
By Stephen Birchall