LeDiet diet (or Fricker diet)

In a nutshell

Weight loss	Yes
Food Choices	Limited in the first phase, but varied in subsequent phases.
In practice, this means	Easy to follow in the short term. Medium easy to monitor in the medium and long term.
Attention	Contraindication for children, pregnant women, the elderly and obese people with associated problems.

The origins

The foundations of this method were laid in the 1970s in the Department of Nutritional Explorations at the Bichat Hospital in Paris, where Professor Apfelbaum, a nutritionist, was head of the department. Professor Apfelbaum spoke at the time of positive eating and believed to be effective, any weight loss method should correspond as closely as possible to the person’s eating habits.

“A diet should no longer be a series of restrictions, but a set of foods adapted to everyone’s eating habits. Nutritional balance is one of the key factors for long-term diet success.

In 1986, Dr. David Benchetrit, a physician specializing in artificial intelligence and director of the weight clinic, joined Professor Apfelbaum’s team to computerize the concept of positive eating, which required many resources and time to be prescribed. And it is from this association that the LeDietCARE software was born.

This method is for an in-depth analysis of dietary behaviors. Since 2002, the LeDiet method, available on the Internet, is currently the most popular weight-loss method on the web.

The main principles

The objectives are

Long-lasting weight loss.
Avoid the yo-yo effect.

The main lines

First, we must answer a questionnaire on our eating habits that are most representative of a normal week (breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, snacks, snacks, snacks and others) and then choose from six diet classes: LeDiet Express, LeDiet After 45, LeDiet Freedom, LeDiet Anti-cellulite, LeDiet After Baby, LeDiet Senior. Then, the LeDietCARE software performs a complete analysis of our diet and develops the diet that best suits us, while correcting, if necessary, our nutritional deficiencies.

The duration of the diet is only a function of the weight objective to be achieved.

The diet encourages thirty minutes of physical activity per day to help burn fat, as well as drinking plenty of water to eliminate toxins.

He suggests you maintain your eating habits, adjust their frequency and quantity, replace some (the bad ones) and balance others.

Regardless of the regime chosen from the six classes indicated above, it is divided into three distinct phases:

The quick phase. This phase lasts one week for those who have less than 10 kilos to lose, two weeks for those who want to lose between 10 and 20 kilos and a maximum of three weeks when there are more than 20 kilos to lose. A restrictive, but not exhaustive, list of foods to be consumed is provided. The emphasis is on a diet rich in protein and vegetables, but low in carbohydrates and fats.
The total phase. This phase lasts two to four weeks, depending on the objective set. Fats and complex carbohydrates are gradually reintegrated. This phase is also a little less rich in protein.
The final phase. This phase is the “cruise” phase until the desired weight is reached. Weight loss in this phase is about four kilos per month. All foods are now permitted, but consumption must be following the prescribed daily rates.

Table of foods to be consumed or not

Foodstuffs	Phase 1	Phase 2	Phase 3
Meat, offal, eggs	Yes, but only lean meats	Yes	Yes
Fish and seafood	Yes, but only non-greasy fish	Yes	Yes
Tofu, tempeh, seitan	Yes	Yes	Yes
Lean dairy products (yogurt, light fresh cheese)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ordinary cheese	No	No	Yes
Pulses	No	Yes	Yes
Vegetables (except potatoes, corn, peas, avocado, artichokes)	Yes	Yes	Yes
All vegetables	No	Yes	Yes
Bread	No	Yes	Yes
Cereal and bakery products	No	No	Yes
Fruits	No	No	Yes
Oils and fats	No	Yes, but in limited quantities	Yes

Alleged mechanisms of action

For weight loss in the first phase:

A low carbohydrate diet causes the body to turn to fat for energy. By burning fat, the body generates a by-product, ketones, which have an appetite suppressant effect at the beginning of the diet. The body, therefore, burns fat quickly from the start.

For phases two and three:

Because the prescribed diet respects each person’s eating habits, tastes and pace of life, the pleasure of eating is maintained, frustration is low, and motivation is higher. For these reasons, achieving and maintaining a weight loss is more likely. The diet also advocates a balanced nutritional intake which is the basis for sustainable weight loss.

Demonstrated mechanisms of action

For the first phase:

The severe restriction of carbohydrates in the first phase empties the glycogen reserves, which causes a substantial elimination of water. However, the high protein intake of this phase, combined with taste boredom caused by insufficient food variety, reduces appetite. Without looking for it, we consume fewer calories, which, combined with water loss, leads to weight loss.

For the second and third phase:

Weight loss comes from caloric deficiency. Besides, the fact that the diet is personalized and there are no prohibited foods, the chances of following the diet to the goal set bode well.

Typical one-day menu

	Quick phase	Final phase
Morning meal	sugar-free coffee egg ham	tea 3 rusks 2 teaspoons jam 1 dairy product
Lunchtime meal	roast beef asparagus low-fat cheese 0%	raw fennel in olive oil omelet with 2 fat-free eggs leek fondue 30g of cheese 1/4 of a stick
Snack	yogurt 0% 0% yogurt	2 dry biscuits 1 lean dairy product 1 fresh fruit
Evening meal	green beans minced chicken with ginger low-fat cheese 0%	cream of asparagus gratin with 30g of regular cheese 150g of couscous without meat, chickpeas, vegetables, and 10g of butter 1 fruit

Advantages and disadvantages

Satiety

In the first phase, the diet is unaccompanied by a painful feeling of hunger, thanks to the proteins that satisfy and the production of ketone bodies. However,

In other phases where the emphasis is on caloric reduction to lose weight, people who adhere to this type of diet may sometimes perceive starved depending on their level of physical activity. Besides, since all foods are allowed, the impression of a restrictive diet should be less present.

In practice, this means

The basic principles are easy to understand and can be easily applied, both at home and outdoors.

Weight loss

There are currently no scientific studies on the LeDiet method.

However, it is likely that weight loss should be fairly rapid in the first phase and slower in the other phases.

The positive point of this method is the dietary recommendations are personalized because they are generated following an in-depth computer analysis of people’s eating habits. The chances of success in the short and medium-term are therefore higher.

But in the long term, it remains a restrictive diet in terms of quantity, as it requires counting servings and interchanging foods, if necessary, to avoid exceeding the recommended total calorie intake. Also, listening to hunger and satiety signals is not promoted and can, therefore, lead to food rages caused by tenacious hunger. Also, it can be difficult and painful not to be followed by a complete nutritionist in person, due to virtual tracking on the Internet that can be impersonal and demotivating over time.