Timing is everything. Created by diet and fitness guru Jorge Cruise, the 3-Hour Diet is as easy as it sounds.

The overall premise is to eat every three hours from the time you wake up.

The program calls for three meals, a snack and a treat. According to Jorge, you should consume breakfast within one hour of rising and stop eating three hours before bedtime. By doing this, you will lose two pounds a week, he promises. Even better, you will take off that unsightly belly fat before anything else.

If eating around the clock seems undoable, Jorge points out that it is possible. Take the late riser for example.Their eating schedule would look something like this:

10am: Breakfast
1pm: Lunch*
4pm: Snack
7pm: Dinner
9pm: Treat AND Snack

So what do you get to eat? Whatever you want, says Jorge. His creed: there aren't any bad foods, only bad timing and bad servings. In fact, banning your favorite foods only sets yourself up for failure.

With the 3-Hour Diet, you consume bread, pasta, chocolate and fast food. To support his way of eating, Jorge has created the 3-Hour Plate which should look something like this. Fill half of your dish with vegetables the equivalent of three DVD cases. The bottom half should be filled with protein the size of a deck of cards and carbohydrates equal to a Rubik's Cube. Do not forget to top off your plate with one teaspoon of fat the equivalent of a water bottle cap. Jorge provides suggested guidelines to keep you on the right track.

Jorge explains that there is sound research to back his 3-hour philosophy. By eating every three hours, you stop the body from activating its "starvation protection mechanism (SPM)," which cannibalizes muscle. This becomes a problem because lean muscle tissue burns fat and gets your metabolism rolling. Not only does the SPM hinder your metabolism, it also causes the body to preserve body fat. Not a good thing.

With the 3-Hour Diet, Jorge has created four meal plans to choose from: meat lovers, carb lovers, vegetarian and heart healthy.

According to Jorge, consuming small, frequent meals reduces cortisol levels by 17 percent. Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, is beneficial in small doses. However,it's a case of too much of a good thing. In excess, cortisol raisesblood pressure, contributes to blood sugar imbalances, lowers bone density and muscles tissue and suppresses thyroid function. By eating every three hours, it's possible to keep the body in balance.

On average, dieters lose up to 10 pounds in the first two weeks when following the 3 Hour Diet.

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