The Pocket Diet
What is the Pocket Diet?
The Pocket Diet was created by George Kashou, founder of the bread company Kangaroo Brands along with Caitlyn E Lorenze a registered dietician. It’s a new way of keeping control over the portions of food that you eat.
It consists of eating 3-5 pitta meals a day depending on their objectives and activity levels. The use of the pitta pockets which hold (2-3 ounces) of food will make it easier for dieters to keep track of and stick to appropriate portion sizes. On the diet you are allowed three snacks in-between the pitta meals which can consist of anything you desire such as yoghurt, raw vegetables, nuts, cottage cheese or fruit. You can consume any food that is healthy but make sure that it fits in a pitta pocket. To help give you a vitality lift as well as helping to decrease overeating later on throughout the day, breakfast is always suggested to be eaten. The pocket diet is not intended to be followed for the rest of your life, it will more likely just to help you understand more about the significance of portion control and how it can help you lose weight, even when you do lose weight while following the plan you can still have pitta pockets as often as you desire.
How much weight can you lose?
Thirty eight volunteers at a hospital called Community Memorial Hospital in Menomonee Falls volunteered themselves to try out the diet for themselves and found that they all lost an average of 8 pound over a six week period. The volunteers expressed that they found the diet very easy to follow and 79% of the volunteers were still following the plan.
Approved foods
Any food can be incorporated into the diet just as long as it all can fit inside the pitta pocket. The most recommended food however to be consumed on the diet would be a lot of whole foods such as lean meats and fish along with breads and grains as well as fruit and vegetables. If possible then processed foods and packaged foods are to be avoided. Instead of going for condiments that are large in calories then stick to going for light mayonnaise as well as mustard or even sour cream.
Pros
• All the meals include all of the food groups
• It approves of consuming up to three snacks a day to aid in reducing hunger pangs.
• It’s simple to follow and it’s not restrictive on foods that are allowed.
• A proven method of portion control is successful in helping to lose weight.
• For people on the go the recipes can be constructed in advance.
• Simple for families as there is no need for special meals.
• The ingredients are cheap to find as well as pitta pockets.
Cons
• For those people who suffer from wheat allergies or intolerances this diet is not recommended for them.
• With eating pitta pockets everyday some people may get board and stop the program.
• For people who are looking for a diet and would do better on low carb diets this would not be
suitable for them.
Exercise
If dieters are not used to physical activity then it’s advised that they start off slow with the exercise gradually easing themselves into it. The best exercise would be flexible exercise as well as cardiovascular exercises.
Sample menu plan
Breakfast
Scrambled eggs in a pitta pocket
Morning Snack
Low fat yoghurt or fresh fruit
Lunch
Tuna salad pitta pocket and fruit
Afternoon snack
Raw vegetables, fruit or nuts
Dinner
Cheese, bacon, and tomato pitta pocket.
1 cup vegetables
Evening snack
Frozen yoghurt
