It seems that in order to differentiate itself from the rest of the diet plans that look strikingly similar, the book relies on theories that simply don't ring true with any fitness organization or medical expert.
On the Cardio-Free Diet you’re instructed to avoid processed foods (white breads, white rice, cakes, cookies, etc.) as well as fruit juice, soda, cream, whole-milk products, dressings and butter, to name just a few.
What you will eat are the typical healthy foods you might expect on a diet. Some breakfast foods include egg whites, tomatoes, whole-wheat toast, chopped veggies, assorted fruits (like blueberries, bananas or strawberries), low-fat yogurt, Wheaties and cottage cheese. For lunch you might have shrimp, ground lean turkey, mixed greens, grilled chicken breast, stuffed bell peppers, whole-wheat tortilla wraps, canned tuna or veggie burgers. For dinner? Chicken with grilled veggies, pork kabobs, flounder fillet, creamy flounder turkey, chicken tacos and grilled tuna and tomato.
Because the plan allows dieters to eat snacks that are low in calories, you’ll only be eating 100 to 200 calorie portions of any of the following foods: almonds, cottage cheese, roasted peanuts, rolled-up turkey breast with tomato and string cheese.
Cardio kills: That’s the premise of the Cardio-Free Diet from ABC News correspondent, celebrity trainer and fitness expert Jim Karas. He believes that regular heart-boosting exercise, like running, cycling, using an stairclimber or elliptical trainer, “kills your weight loss plan, your joints and your immune system” but doesn’t kill your appetite. The solution: a plan that says "no cardio" and emphasizes strength training and calorie cutting.
The nutritional portion of the diet has four phases -- each lasting two weeks. During all four phases, dieters are instructed to eat three meals a day with three snacks in between. Initially, snacks for women are 100 calories each, while men can eat 200-calorie snacks and 1,200 calories a day total are allowed for women, 1,500 calories for men. In the following three phases, dieters are allowed additional calories for each meal and snack.
Along with the nutritional program, dieters are also told to perform a full-body circuit-training workout three times a week using hand weights and/or resistance bands. You’ll start out doing ten different exercises for one set each and add new moves in each phase after.
Stripped down to its core, the Cardio-Free Diet from trainer to the stars Jim Karas is basically a plan that recommends eating reduced calories and exercising three times a week. That in itself isn’t so bad, it’s when you drill down to the specifics that there are flaws.
On the nutrition side, the diet is basic and somewhat sound, though it’s often contradictory. For example, Karas declares that there are no forbidden foods on his plan, which would lead you to believe you can eat anything but perhaps in moderation. However, in the same chapter a few pages later, dieters are told to minimize or avoid processed carbohydrates, liquid carbohydrates (soda, juice) and salad dressings.
It’s the exercise portion of the book, however, where the most flaws can be found. On the very first page, the author admits that thousands of doctors, exercise physiologists and fitness experts praise the benefits of cardiovascular exercise. Yet according to Karas, all those decades of research is wrong. In fact, despite countless studies performed at hospitals and universities worldwide that show that regular cardiovascular exercise increases your endurance and aerobic capacity, strengthens your heart, reduces your risk of heart disease, diabetes and hypertension -- and burns fat and calories to boot -- the diet preaches that cardio not only doesn’t work, it also “kills your immune system” your internal organs and your entire weight-loss plan.
It seems that in order to differentiate itself from the rest of the diet plans that look strikingly similar, the book relies on theories that simply don’t ring true with any fitness organization or medical expert. They are also theories that the book simply can’t back up. Instead of citing actual studies -- or performing any studies on his own to prove his “cardio kills” theory before making such claims -- Karas refers instead to his own personal to back up his opinions instead.
Is the Cardio-Free diet healthy?
Yes and no. The basic recommendations are healthy in that they encourage dieters to adopt healthier eating habits and exercise three times a week. That said, its diet advice is fairly standard and not unique and could be obtained by other means.
Where it becomes unhealthy according to experts is its anti-cardiovascular approach to exercise. The diet contradicts years of research on the subject and insists that doing any type of cardio is unhealthy for you. Experts agree that any diet that advocates this obscure opinion -- especially one that’s so contrary to countless proven research -- should be questioned.
What do the experts say?
On the nutritional side, it’s not very different from other low-calorie diet plans, but experts still have a few reservations. “The calorie level for men [1,500 to 1,800 calories] is very low, especially if you’re younger or more active,” says Marisa Moore, RD, LD, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. “I find that 1,500 calories is too low for most men, which can make the diet more difficult to follow and stick with.”
It’s rigid structure could make it difficult to follow. “Breaking down every meal into exact calorie counts is incredibly strict and could turn eating into too much of a chore,” says Marisa Moore, RD, LD, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. The diet may be too precise and test the patience for many followers.
When it comes it’s exercise recommendations, experts have a harder time digesting this book. There’s a variety of misleading statements throughout the diet, according to Kirsten McCormick, CSCS, ASCM-HFI, and master trainer at Equinox in Century City, Calif. “The diet is correct when it says that strength training increases lean body mass and raises your metabolism, but that doesn’t mean strength training alone should be done instead of cardio, as the diet insists,” says McCormick, “Cardiovascular exercise is essential for strengthening the heart while it burns calories as well.
Who should consider the diet?
No one -- unless you want an inaccurate version of exercise and cardiovascular health.
Bottom Line
Although the dieting portion of the book is essentially a harmless, though strict, low-calorie plan, the inaccurate claims about exercise and cardio simply can’t go unignored. The Cardio-Free Diet has raised the eyebrows of today’s leading exercise physiologists. The truth is, we would all love a diet where we can eat whatever we want and skip the cardio workouts. So you can buy a book that tells you what you want to hear, or, you can buy a book that tells you the truth -- and this isn’t it.
Checklist
Cost: Average. The menu is mostly made up of lean meats, whole-grains and high-fiber vegetables and fruits, so you probably won’t see a spike in your grocery bill. However, because the program calls for exercise with weights and/or resistance bands you may have to shell out $10 to $50 for equipment.
Meals Provided: No. However, there are mini-recipes for many of the meals recommended.
Diet Duration: The diet is broken down into four phases lasting two weeks each for a total of eight weeks.
Fitness Requirements: Yes. You’ll perform a circuit-training workout three days a week.
Time Commitment: Intense. In addition to your exercise routine, expect to spend considerable time on meal planning as there are very specific recommendations for each meal and snack.
Eating Out: Difficult. The book offers a few suggestions for different types of restaurants but gives more instructions on what you should eat rather than what you can.
Alcohol: Expect to abstain from drinking during Phase One. In Phases 2 to 4, a glass or two of wine is allowed, the book isn’t clear on whether that’s a weekly or daily recommendation.
Vegetarian-Friendly: No. Each day’s meal plan contains either turkey, chicken, shrimp or fish. And because dieters are instructed to strictly follow the plan, there isn’t much freedom for meat substitution.
Strict/Flexible Eating Plan: Strict. You’ll follow a schedule that instructs you on what you should eat for each meal and snack during the eight-week diet.
