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Cardio Case Study

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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 …show more content…

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

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