Calorie shifting is a rapid weight loss program that asserts that you can manipulate your body's metabolism, at will, to burn your body's fat stores, simply by varying the types of calories that you consume at each meal.

How does calorie shifting work? Effectively, by shifting your calorie consumption from meal to meal, you are simulating a nutritional deficiency in your body, which in turns triggers your body's metabolism to respond how it normally would if your body really were being deprived of certain nutrients: It begins to burn your body emergency fat stores.

You are simulating this condition, because by the time you withhold certain nutrients from your diet and your body begins to react, you will be reintroducing that same nutrient back into your system, while you begin to withhold another nutrient. So all this time, you are never really depriving yourself of any food, because you are constantly eating a variety of foods.

This is how you are able to sustain rapid weight loss for long periods of time safely and effectively.

While on this diet, you can expect to lose at least 9 pounds every 11 days. That is just shy of 1 pound per day!

What are the basic rules of the diet?

1. You can eat as much food as you desire at every meal, until you are fully satisfied, but not until you are too full.

2. You must drink at least 10 glasses of water every day.

3. You must space your meals out by at least 2.5 to 3 hours each day.

4. You must eat exactly FOUR FULL MEALS every day.

What kind of foods can you eat on this diet?

You will be eating foods from all four food groups while on this diet: breads, fruits, vegetables, meats, and dairy products. And you can eat them in unlimited quantity until you are satisfied, during your four daily meals.

Isn't too much rapid weight loss unsafe for your body?

Most dietitians and nutritionists will agree that indeed it is unsafe to lose weight this rapidly for sustained periods of time. That is why the calorie shifting diet also incorporates one very important rule:

You are required to take a mandatory 3-day break from the diet every 2 weeks. During this 3-day break, you are allowed to eat ANYTHING you want, as long as you do not overeat at each meal.

By taking this break, your body will have a chance to rest and stabilize from the rapid weight loss you will have been experiencing.

Not to mention the added benefit, that you get to reward yourself with a 3-day break every two weeks!

Here's one hint: If you start the diet on a Monday, your 3-day breaks will fall on every other Friday through Sunday! You can take every other weekend off from the diet!

And you will still lose about 18 to 20 pounds per month!