One of the hot diets currently is Fat Loss 4 Idiots, and it’s shrouded by a veil of hype, but in truth, this diet (not unlike most diets) is not the silver bullet that it’s made out to be, but it is a solid weight loss plan for the right type of dieter.

Fat Loss 4 Idiots claims that they are the only diet on the market that will help dieters lose 9 pounds every 11 days. A clarification: that’s not 9 pounds in 11 days, that’s 9 pounds each 11-day period while on the diet. Obviously, this is a significant reason to be wary of this diet plan, or at least skeptical that its claims might be dubious, even for a fast weight loss diet!

When you look into the diet, you begin to understand that this claim is dampened due to the nature of the diet. Fat Loss 4 Idiot advocates cheat days, where you are free to eat whatever you desire. Each two-week period, you are to take three of these off days.

It’s common knowledge that during the first four to five days on a diet, the pounds melt away, resulting from cleansing your colon and shedding water weight. On the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet then, you get the benefit of this initial loss during every two-week period.

So this might look a little like this: begin the diet and drop 9 pounds in 11 days, and gain 3 back during the next 3 days; lose 9 pounds during the second period and gain 3 back during the off days. The final result is indeed 9 pounds lost every 11 days, but a total weight loss of only 6 pounds every two weeks. Of course, even those figures would be very difficult to maintain over the long term, but it does illustrate how the diet creators approach weight loss.

A very positive part of this plan is the off days. During each two week period, you spend 11 days on the diet and 3 days off the diet. This is an effective, but little-used approach, and is one that is shared by another innovative diet, the Cheat to Lose Diet. The principle is that you keep your body from entering starvation or conservation mode with the off days, and because you can satisfy your cravings as often as every two weeks, the diet is easier to stick to than other fast weight lose diets over the long-term.

The diet is also very easy for everyone to implement because it spends zero time, and I mean absolutely none, educating you about how the diet works. It simply tells you what to eat. On the plus side, this is the quickest, drop-dead-simple way to get started with a diet program; but it is far from perfect for those dieters who are interested in the facts behind why a diet works the way it does. If you are an information consumer, this do-what-I-say approach can grow tired quickly.

One last point to note about the diet is the simplicity of it. It’s fast and easy to start, and it’s a low-maintenance plan because Fat Loss 4 Idiots doesn’t place much importance on carbohydrate and calorie counting or even portion size; rather, the program constantly encourages you to “eat short of being full.”

The major difference between the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet plan and other weight loss programs is that the Fat Loss 4 Idiots diet formula is specifically designed to confuse your body so it never thinks it’s starving.

You should also note that this is a diet, plain and simple. It’s not a weight loss plan and there is no exercise element involved. If your goal is fast weight loss, you are likely aware that you will need to add an exercise component like strength training and intervals to your complete plan.

Fat Loss 4 Idiots, like most other diets, works if you work it. But Fat Loss 4 Idiots is easier to work thanks to its low amount of necessary maintenance, regular off days, and easy plans. But you will be wise to stay away from this diet if you want to see the magic behind the curtains. Personally, I like facts, and I need them to stick with a plan. If you’re like me, you would be wise to consider another diet plan.