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Does Haylie Pomroy Fast Metabolism Diet really work?
My Haylie Pomroy Fast Metabolism Diet review has been sitting in the drafts for over a year. I originally wrote it at the end of May 2016 because I was so excited about my progress, and couldn’t wait to share with you guys. After all, there are so many diets out there endorsed by celebrities, and it’s very tempting to try them out. I tried quite a few of the so-called Instagram-famous miracle diets, from paleo and raw vegan, to low carb, juicing, and keto. Of course they may work for some, but that was not the case for me at all. I saw some progress with a few of those, but it’s not anything I couldn’t have achieved with regular exercise while eating whatever I want. So why didn’t a make this post sooner? Well, because life got in the way and now I need to restart it again.
To make a long story short:
a) Does Haylie Pomroy Fast Metabolism Diet really work? You bet! I lost 20lbs in 28 days following it to a tee. And no, you won’t be starving yourself.
b) I did not put on any weight for about 3-4 months after I stopped the diet. Not even half a pound!
c) There was a very stressful period in my life that lasted about 6 months [basically most of last F/W]. I was depressed, sleep-deprived, and coped with lots of bad food. We’re talking frozen pizza or fast food for dinner almost every day kind of “bad”. I try to keep this blog positive and almost never talk about my personal struggles here, so most of you probably had no idea I was having a rough time.
d) As a result, I gained 15lbs, which still puts me in NET positive for yearly weightloss goals, but now I need to restart Haylie Pomroy Fast Metabolism Diet from scratch.
My original review of Haylie Pomroy Fast Metabolism Diet is insanely long [3600+ words!], so I decided to break it up into separate posts. That makes it a lot easier to read, and you can decide if you want to follow the journey and read the future posts as well.
Disclosure: Consult with your physician before attempting this diet, as it actively engages your entire endocrine system. It’s not called “fast metabolism diet” for nothing, it actually puts your hormones into overdrive.
Haylie Pomroy Fast Metabolism Diet created a lot of buzz lately, mainly because the promise is so grand, so I can’t think of any other diet that compares. Haylie says her clients lose 20lbs or more in just 28 days by following her specially designed meal plan that excludes certain products. I’m no stranger to wacky diets, but this one came highly recommended by very reputable sources [many MDs and several very well-known nutritionists] so I knew I had to try it. Like I said in the beginning, I did lose the promised 20lbs by following the instructions exactly, but it wasn’t easy. I will elaborate on that later.
THE DIET:
In a nutshell, this diet forces you to abandon all processed foods, bad chemicals, artificial dyes and flavorings and such, while eating wholesome food according to 3 phases [low fat/low protein/high carb, low fat/low carb/high protein, and moderate fat/moderate carb/moderate protein].
The meal plan excludes:
- Wheat
- Corn
- Soy
- Dairy
- Sugar
- Alcohol
- Dried fruit & fruit juices
- Fat-free “diet” foods
- Caffeine
Yes, that last one was the hardest one for me, too, because I love my freshly brewed whole leaf tea. However, if I had to choose between caffeine and having the body of my dreams, I’d choose the latter. Fast Metabolism Diet also has a set of rules that must be followed to a tee for it to work. I was not going to argue with the expert here and just followed them like a goat. Here they are:
- Eating 5 times a day: 3 main meals and 2 snacks in between.
- Eating every 3-4 hours, except when you’re sleeping.
- Having breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up. This one was tough because I’m usually pretty slow in the mornings.
- Sticking with the plan for the entire 28 days. Read her book, she explains in detail why it has to be 28.
- Sticking religiously to the foods allowed in each specific phase.
- Following phases in order.
- Drinking half of your body weight in ounces, and adjusting that number as your weight drops. Any herbal teas and flavored water count as extra, and you can only drink them once you’ve met your daily quota for plain water. Crazy!
- Choose organic whenever possible. It’s preferred, but optional [for obvious reasons].
- Protein choices have to be nitrate-free. Those are so hard to find, you guys! I literally had to make my own lunch meat.
- And finally, you must exercise at least once per phase, according to your phase: cardio in phase 1, strength in phase 2, stretches in phase 3.
This looks like a long list on paper, but it’s surprisingly easy to stick to. The diet felt confusing only for the first few days so I had to triple check everything with the book, but 4-5 days in you should have a pretty good understanding of the mechanics and the logic behind every meal choice. This diet actually makes sense, which is more than I can say about some others I’ve tried in the past.
Phase 1 Breakfast: steel cut oatmeal with vanilla and fresh blueberries.
THE CHALLENGES:
1 // I am not a big meat eater, so for me Phase 2 was probably the hardest one in terms of eating. While I powered through it like a champ, I didn’t enjoy all of my food and ate for the sake of the diet plan rather than for pleasure.
2 // On my very first day of Phase 3 I managed to gain weight. Apparently, this is pretty common, and Haylie addressed the issue on her Youtube channel where she said a lot of her chronic dieter [hi! that’s me!] clients have this problem, as well as people with hormonal imbalance. She recommended replacing one serving of grain with a starch each day, like a sweet potato, for dinner, and maybe even do an extra week of FMD after the 28 days are up, but instead of doing Phases 1,2, and 3 in order 2-2-3, do 2-3-2 instead. She also advised to use a lot of spices, herbs, limes and lemons to dress the dishes with, because they will help your body break up the fats better.
3 // This diet got pretty expensive, because I had to shop organic whenever possible. I won’t name numbers since nobody likes to talk money, but our grocery bill that month was almost 4 times higher than usual. This is not a budget-friendly lifestyle, although I admit it is definitely a healthier one.
4 // Going out with family felt very awkward. I constantly had to explain that I’m on a diet and can’t really eat anything on the menu. I also felt bad coming over to my in-laws, because I couldn’t enjoy dinner with everyone. The dates of this diet coincided with Father’s Day and 4th of July, so yeah… This was hard, y’all!
5 // If you hate cooking, or don’t have anyone to cook for you, this diet is going to be hard to follow, if not impossible. The foods you can eat are just too specific, and any deviation from the “plan” results in immediate weight gain the next morning. For real, guys, you HAVE to follow this diet exactly to see the promised results. The book has some good suggestions on cooking in big batches for days or weeks ahead. While there might not be a lot of variety using that method, remember you just have to last 4 weeks that’s all!
I was pretty much the same weight since high school and until I turned 27 and moved to the US: 105-110lbs.
This is what my body looks like right now. I know it’s my own fault, and I plan to work on getting back in shape. Again.
WHY I’M DOING THIS:
Up until I got married and moved to the US, I’ve always been active and fit, but I quickly started gaining those pounds when I had to cook for two people. Also, American culture is very different from what I’m used to. In the US most holidays are traditionally celebrated with large family feasts, and in Russia pretty much the only big meal would be the Christmas or New Year’s Eve dinner, depending on which one your family celebrates. I gained 45lbs in five years! I do not feel comfortable in this weight, and I tried various diets without much success, but finally found my sweet spot with FMD.
FINAL RESULTS:
Here’s where I will finally share my weight with you guys. On day one of this diet the number on the scale showed 150lbs, which is considered overweight for 5’4″ height at 25.7 BMI. Some might say that it’s healthy weight [which my doctor will disagree with], but I assure you my body fat percentage is definitely not at healthy levels. Call it skinny fat if you want. On the morning after the last day of Haylie Pomroy Fast Metabolism Diet, the scale showed 130.1lbs. That’s almost a 20lb weight loss in just 28 days! When I tried to lose weight using traditional methods, I was lucky to shed a pound a week while counting my calories and working out 5 days out of 7, so this is an incredible result for me personally.
Now that I am restarting the diet a year later, I started at 145lbs and during the first week I lost 4lbs, just like the first time. I will keep sharing updates with you, including which exercises I’m using for each phase, what I eat in a day, and maybe a before/after photo if I’m feeling brave. 🙂
Phase 2 Snack: smoked salmon with cucumbers, sprinkled with fresh dill, salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lime. The book also covers vegan options.
WAIT! READ THIS BEFORE YOU GO:
Just keep in mind that you should try to feel beautiful and confident in the body you have right now. Self-love is a state of mind, and not a magical number on the scale. 🙂 You don’t need any diets to feel beautiful, but if this is something you want to do, definitely check out Haylie Pomroy Fast Metabolism Diet book, available on Amazon in digital, hardcover, CD, paperback, and audio. I own the hardcover, and it has a permanent place on my nightstand so I can consult with it daily.
Have you tried any trendy diets? What are your thoughts on weight loss blog posts? Let me know in the comments!
