Petite Advantage

I've tried many, many fad diets - from Atkins, to South Beach, to Weight Watchers to Sugar Busters.  You name it, I've tried it, researched it, and discovered that it didn't work for me.  The reason it doesn't work is because these diets aren't conducive to a lifelong eating program.  With the exception of one diet plan.

A co-worker introduced me to this book.  Once she told me that she had lost 10 pounds doing the 21 day eating plan, I knew it was worth looking into.  I flipped through her book and by the end of the day, I had bought the kindle version and was headed to the grocery store for some healthy foods!

The reason I love this diet is that everything is planned for you.  It tells you exactly what to eat and how many calories each item has.  I'm the type of person who needs a plan to follow, otherwise I get off track.

The main thing about this diet, however, is that once the 21 days are over, you can use the tools it gives you every day for the rest of your life.  This plan is intended to boost the metabolism of those of us women who are 5'4" and under.  It calls for eating a large breakfast (about 500 calories) and then smaller meals and snacks throughout the day.  Every day you get 1100 calories, and then every third day you get 1600 calories.  I was always, always full and very satisfied with the meals.

Although I still follow the basics of this plan, I am not going to kick start my fitness adventure with this diet this time because I don't have the time for it.  The meals are delicious and I still use some of the recipes.  You can definitely plan ahead and make your meals days in advance (I would prepare all snacks, veggies and fruits on the weekend for the week ahead) but with a newborn, returning to work, and a house to take care of, I just don't have the energy.  Plus I am much more into once-a-month-cooking which I will post recipes for later this month!

When I did the Petite Advantage diet, I lost 11 pounds in the first 10 days. Then I plateaued a bit but in the end I lost 15 pounds total.  Then I went and got pregnant and gained it all back.  C'est la vie!

If any of you readers are on the shorter side and looking for a diet plan (and have some time to devote to it), I highly recommend getting a copy of this book.

Have any of you tried this diet or something similar? What has worked for you?