What Is the Dubrow Diet? Everything You Need to Know About the ‘Botched’ Doctor’s Diet Plan
You knew he could fix your flawed plastic surgery. But did you know that Dr. Terry Dubrow also wants to help you shed some extra pounds without going under the knife? The Botched star, along with his wife Heather Dubrow, has written a book that promises to help you “lose weight and feel ageless.” Here’s what you need to know about the Dubrow Diet and whether it might be a good weight-loss plan for you.
The Dubrow Diet involves intermittent fasting
You’ve probably heard of intermittent fasting, or IF. There are different ways to do IF, but all involve not eating during certain periods of the day or during the week. For example, you might finish eating dinner at 7:30 p.m. and then fast for 12 hours until you sit down to breakfast the next morning at 7:30 a.m. Or you might restrict your eating to the hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and then fast for the rest of the day.
Other approaches to IF involve not eating for a full 24 hour a couple of times per week. Or you might dramatically reduce the calories you consume two or three days out of the week and then eat normally on the other days.
If you’re fasting, you’re probably eating fewer calories overall, which is one reason why it can help you lose weight. But IF also appears to have other benefits, like promoting cell repair and improving insulin sensitivity that can aid in weight loss and improve your overall health, according to Healthline.
Dr. Dubrow’s rules for interval eating
In their book The Dubrow Diet, the Dubrows promise “not just unprecedented metabolic control, but also an internal cellular rejuvenation with powerful antiaging effects.” According to them, by embracing “interval eating,” your cells will burn off your stored fat for fuel, insulin and blood sugar levels will stabilize, and chronic inflammation will be reduced. Your cells will also begin the process of autophagy, where they renew themselves and which Dr. Dubrow claims can have antiaging effects. You’ll also have more energy, lose weight, and look better overall.
The Dubrow Diet has three phases. First, you start with two to five days of fasting for 16 hours and refueling (or eating) during an 8-hour window. After the “Red Carpet Ready” phase is the “Summer Is Coming Phase.” During Phase 2, you continue to fast for 12 to 16 hours per day, depending on how quickly you want to lose weight. In Phase 3 (“Look Hot While Living Like a Human”), you fast for 12 hours five days per week and 16 hours a day twice per week, indefinitely.
What can you eat on the Dubrow Diet?
While the Dubrow Diet focuses more on when you eat than on what you eat, there are still some guidelines about what foods are best.
During Phase 1, the rules are most strict. Cookling Light notes that the suggestions are 6 to 12 ounces of lean protein, 1 to 2 servings of healthy fats, ½ ounce of nuts or sees, 1 serving of dairy, 1½ to 3 cups of non-starchy veggies, 1 small serving of fruit, and ½ cup of complex carbs. Water, tea, coffee, and other zero-calorie drinks are allowed, but you can’t drink wine, beer, or other alcohol.
After you complete the first phase, you can add in more fats and complex carbs, and you can drink a moderate amount of alcohol. The food rules stay the same during phase three, but the Dubrow Diet allows for cheat meals, so you can enjoy a slice of cake occasionally without feeling guilty.
Is the Dubrow Diet a good plan?
Scientific research suggests that intermittent fasting can be a safe and effective way to lose weight, notes the Harvard Health blog. As far as the Dubrow Diet specifically, nutritionists interviewed by Health and Cooking Light noted that it focuses on eating whole foods and plenty of vegetables, which is a plus. But they were concerned that the diet was too low in calories and essential nutrients. The diet also focuses more on achieving an attractive outward appearance rather than on improving health.
“Weight loss should be a side effect of developing a healthy, balanced, and sustainable relationship with food,” Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD, Health’s contributing nutrition editor, said. “When body image—getting red carpet ready, getting a bikini body—is the focus, it can lead to an overly restrictive mindset that can trigger under-nourishing, which is not healthy physically or emotionally, and not maintainable long-term.”
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