In this article: The Three Hour Diet: Does it work? Exercise moves: Eight minutes to burn extra Do these exercises Mon., Wed., and Fri. Do these exercises Tues., Thurs., and Sat. Fitness questions? Ask Jorge Cruise. Visit Jorge's Web site

The drawing is now closed. Thanks for entering to win Jorge's book. If you wish to purchase the book or find out more about it, click here.

Jorge's no-fail diet plan for you

Our new FitSmart contributing editor reveals the secrets of his 3-Hour Diet. Plus: An exclusive set of simple exercises to help you reach your goals.
By Michele Hatty

TIME & BALANCE MEALS

"By eating every three hours, you're never hungry, and you constantly reset your metabolism."

USA WEEKEND FitSmart columnist Jorge Cruise turns people on to strength training as a way to get fit and lose weight. But he keeps getting asked for a smart, easy way to manage eating habits, too.

So, tapping experts and a lot of cutting-edge research, Cruise has created a plan that he says allows people to eat favorite foods, including breads and other carbohydrates, while safely losing, on average, 2 pounds a week. Details are in his new book, "The 3-Hour Diet" (HarperResource, $24.95), which hits stores Tuesday. Today, he gives USA WEEKEND readers an exclusive preview.

"My 3-Hour Diet is about uncovering the buried concept of timing -- the fact that when you eat is critical to weight loss," Cruise says. "By eating every three hours, you're never hungry, and you constantly reset your metabolism."

Three is the magic number, he says, because "by going more than three hours between meals, the body turns on its natural 'starvation protection mechanism' and starts to burn muscle. By eating every three hours, your metabolism stays revved and your body burns fat instead of muscle."

A perfect day might be:
-- Eat breakfast within an hour of waking, say at 7 a.m.
-- Have a small snack at 10 a.m., eat lunch at 1 p.m., and snack again at 4.
-- Have dinner at 7 and a treat (think one Hershey's miniature) shortly after. And no eating three hours before bedtime.

Timing isn't everything, of course. Cruise created what he calls the 3-Hour Plate to help you eat a balanced diet and the right portion sizes. For the three main meals of the day, he suggests you serve up easy-to-visualize portions.

So picture this on your plate, morning, noon and night: carbs the size of a Rubik's cube, protein as big as a deck of cards, fat to fill a water bottle cap, and a combination of veggies and fruit of the same volume as three DVD cases stacked on top of one another.

Cruise's plan is what's been missing in the often extreme world of weight loss, says Yale University School of Medicine's David L. Katz, M.D., a nationally recognized nutrition expert with a particular interest in preventing obesity and related diseases. Katz, who met Cruise professionally in 2003, wrote the foreword to "The 3-Hour Diet." "Most bad diets," he explains, "reinvent what people should eat: Eat low carbs, eat only carbs, eat just rice, eat just grapefruit. And that is silly. People need to eat in a way that is good for their health, and this diet promotes that."

Is it legit to eat every three hours? "There is a strong argument for it," Katz says. "We have good evidence that if you take in the same food and same total amount of calories but simply spread them out into smaller meals, you use less insulin, and the hormones that tend to trigger appetite are at a lower level."

For his part, Cruise wants dieters on the low-fat and low-carb roller coaster to enjoy food again. This plan, he says, "is a way of life, not a temporary fix."

Done regularly, "these moves will increase your lean muscle mass, which will help boost your metabolism to its highest level," Cruise says. "Plus, they'll create sexy contours in the arms, legs, abs and butt."
Do these complementary exercises in pairs to create a perfect single-day workout. "I recommend doing the upper- and lower-body moves together and the torso moves together," Cruise says."Both sets should be followed by the power stretch." Doing them back-to-back without resting will take about eight minutes total.
Even the exercise-averse will love these moves, he says, because "they are easy to fit into your day, require no equipment and work for people who want to stick with a healthy lifestyle for the long haul."

Go to top

Do these Monday, Wednesday, Friday: upper and lower body

V Push-Up
Works shoulders, chest, triceps.

Plant feet hip-distance apart. Bend forward at the hip to place hands on the floor 2 to 3 feet in front of your toes. Keep abs drawn in, head tucked like you're holding an orange between your chin and chest (you should look like an upside-down "V" from the side). With hands slightly in front of your shoulders, inhale as you bend your elbows, and lower chest and shoulders toward the floor. Hold at the bottom for 1 second. Exhale as you push back to starting position.
Do 12 repetitions.

Single-Leg Chair Bridge
Works butt, hamstrings, and the muscles that stabilize the inner and outer thighs.
Position a sturdy chair against the wall, and lie down on a mat with head away from the chair. Place palms flat on the floor and one heel on the seat of the chair, the other leg extended straight over the chair. Exhale as you slowly contract the back of your upper leg to push your butt toward the ceiling. Hold for 1 second. Inhale as you slowly lower your butt to the starting point. Complete 6 repetitions; switch legs and repeat.

Go to top

Do these Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: Core strength
Abdominal Pull
Works abs and lower back.
Sit on a mat on the floor with belly button drawn in to support lower back, legs slightly bent, heels just above the floor and hands behind your butt for support. Exhale as you slowly raise your heels and bring your knees toward your chest. When your thighs and abdomen create a 90-degree angle, hold for 1 second. Inhale as you slowly return to the starting position.
Do 12 repetitions.
To increase difficulty: Straighten legs in the starting position; keep heels just off the floor.

Standing Crossover
Works obliques, hip flexors and shoulders.

Stand tall, with feet hip-distance apart. Keep feet and knees pointed straight ahead. Start with arms up at 90-degree angles, with palms facing each other. Exhale while bringing left knee up and rotating right elbow forward; try to touch knee with elbow. Inhale while returning to starting position. Repeat with left elbow to right knee. Alternate sides until you complete 12 total repetitions (6 on each side).

Go to top

Do every day
The Jorge Stretch

This efficient power stretch hits 10 muscles at once!

Sit on the floor with your left leg straight in front of you, foot flexed. Bend your right leg and put the sole of your right foot against the inside of your left thigh. Your legs will look like the numeral 4. With your left hand, try to touch either your left ankle or your left toes. Hold it for 30 seconds, then switch to right side and repeat.

Go to top

So, does it work?

That's what people ask about every new diet plan. So we partnered with ABC's "Good Morning America" to test the 3-Hour Diet.

Our guinea pigs: two "low-carb refugees," women who lost lots of weight on restrictive diets, only to gain all of it back -- and then some. Cheri Moulton (left), 5 feet 3 inches and 153 pounds, and Tanya Pierre-Creer, 5-foot-8 and 211, both of San Diego, have been on the diet since January.

Tune in to "Good Morning America" March 28 to see the results.

Cover and cover story photographs by Tim Mantoani for USA WEEKEND. Grooming by Barbara Farman, Cloutier Agency.