The 20/20 Diet – All You Need to Know

With so many weight-loss and diet plans on the market today, it’s hard to choose one plan and stick to it. Finding a diet plan that works for you is hard too. Most diet plans that have a starting and an ending date usually crash because once the diet is over, you go back to your unhealthy eating habits.

That’s where Dr. Phil McGraw’s diet plan comes into play. Dr. Phil McGraw is a psychologist and his 20/20 diet plan aims at altering your relationship with food in a healthy way. Thus, there’s no specific ending date for the diet plan and it’s designed to integrate permanent changes in your eating habits.

At the end of the diet, you’ll notice that you just don’t crave junk food as much anymore!

Keep reading to find out more about the 20/20 diet and how it works!

The Science Behind the 20/20 Diet

So, how does a psychologist come up with a diet plan? What’s the theory behind this deal-breaking 20/20 diet?

The diet is divided into 4 phases. During the first phase, specific foods are introduced that are designed to boost your metabolism and keep you full. Once you finish the first phase, you’ll find your cravings for junk food to decline.

The next phases focus on building food options on top of these phases. This helps change the way you think about food and helps you attain a healthy lifestyle indefinitely. This diet plan is designed to change your relationship with food and cravings in such a way that you begin to adopt healthier eating habits.

The diet isn’t that strict, allowing you one or two cheat foods per week. This keeps away cravings and helps you adopt healthy eating habits.

How the 20/20 Diet Works

The 20/20 diet is a simple diet that’s designed to boost your metabolism so that you burn more calories, while feeling full and reducing hunger cravings. The 20/20 diet is divided into 4 phases. Here’s a description of each of these phases:

• Phase 1 – This phase lasts for five days. During this phase, you eat only the 20 foods that Dr. Phil has listed. These include:

1. Green tea
2. Coconut oil
3. Olive oil
4. Almonds
5. Apples
6. Dried plums
7. Chickpeas
8. Leafy greens
9. Lentils
10. Peanut butter
11. Prunes
12. Yogurt
13. Eggs
14. Raisins
15. Pistachios
16. Cod
17. Whey powder
18. Tofu
19. Rye
20. Mustard

During this phase, you’re supposed to eat 4 meals a day, each meal made from a recipe including only the 20 foods listed above. The 4 meals must be eaten 4 hours apart each! You can find many recipes mixing these ingredients to make delicious meals!

• Phase 2 – This phase, again, consists of 5 days. During this phase, you can add new ingredients to your recipes. However, each meal must contain at least 2 of the 20 foods listed above. The meal timing and frequency are the same in this phase too: 4 meals, 4 hours apart each!

Here are a few foods you can add to your diet during this phase:

1. Chicken breast pieces
2. Brown rice
3. Carrots
4. Tuna
5. Oats
6. Cashews
7. Tomatoes
8. Mushrooms
9. Blueberries

• Phase 3 – This phase lasts 20 days. During this phase, you can add new ingredients like avocados, black beans and raspberries to your recipes. The meal frequency stays the same, 4 meals, 4 hours apart per day. Moreover, during this phase, you can also add 1-2 “cheat foods” per week. The quantity of the cheat foods must be controlled, though! For example, if you decide you want cookies, you should only eat a maximum of two cookies! There’s a 100-calories limit on each cheat food.

At the end of phase 3, you need to check your weight and see if you’ve reached your weight goal. If you still haven’t reached your goal, you need to restart the cycle and go through the first three phases again until you’ve reached your goal weight!

After you’ve reached your ideal weight, you can go on to phase 4!

• Phase 4 – This is the last and final phase of the 20/20 diet, and it lasts indefinitely! During this phase, you need to continue the dietary habits of phase 3. Moreover, you should also integrate exercise into your daily routine in this phase. Monitor your weight and BMI regularly during this phase to make sure you don’t relapse!

Other Additional Advice

Dr. Phil also suggests that you drink at least 8-10 glasses of water per day. Drinking water boosts your metabolism and it doesn’t have any calories, so it’s a win-win situation for you!

Other than that, Dr. Phil also suggests that you take high-quality multi-vitamins throughout the diet to make up for any missed nutrients.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’m a vegan. Can I follow the 20/20 diet plan?

Yes, the 20/20 diet plan very and you can alter the recipes so that there aren’t any animal products in it.

I’m allergic to gluten. Can I follow the 20/20 diet plan?

Yes, you can avoid the food items with gluten in them and eat the rest of the items in the diet plan.

My mom is suffering from diabetes and has a history of heart disease in her family. Can she follow the diet?

Yes, the diet is safe in patients suffering from heart diseases, diabetes, and high blood pressure. However, if you’re already on medicines that make you lose weight, you should consult with your doctor first before starting the diet!

Are there any downsides to this diet plan?

A few studies have shown that this diet plan doesn’t provide adequate iron, potassium and magnesium. However, Dr. Phil advises you to take multivitamin supplements during your diet so that you don’t face any mineral deficiencies.

Does it Really Work?

The 20/20 diet plan reduces your intake of processed carbohydrates and junk food. It increases your intake of healthy food items and boosts your metabolism. Therefore, the diet does work, as long as you stick to its main principles of avoiding junk food and eating only healthy food!

So, what are you waiting for? Follow Dr. Phil McGraw’s 20/20 diet plan and see how you drop weight! It’s a flexible diet plan for people of all ages!