This eating plan is considered a fad diet. Fad diets often promote quick weight loss that is unsustainable and may severely restrict what you eat. They may be harmful and generally do not have long-lasting health benefits. Talk to your healthcare provider before making any major changes to how you eat.
The rotation diet is designed to speed up your metabolism by changing caloric intake week to week, supposedly leading to weight loss. It claims to be less demanding and easier to stick with than diets that require consistent calorie restriction, which can cause you to burn out and give up on a diet altogether. The rotation diet allows all foods, but focuses especially on fruits and vegetables.
There appear to be no peer-reviewed studies supporting the effectiveness of this diet.
How Does the Rotation Diet Claim to Work?
As the name suggests, the rotation diet claims to work by rotating the foods and the number of calories that you consume over a three-week period. This rotation between low- and moderate-calorie days is supposed to increase your metabolism, resulting in a claimed average weight loss of 13 pounds (lb).
What Can You Eat on the Rotation Diet?
Unlike many fad diets, the rotation diet does not place any restrictions on the foods you’re allowed to consume, provided you stay within the calorie targets and eat different foods during each part of the cycle.
Martin Katahn, the author of The Rotation Diet, recommends that women eat up to 600 calories for the first three days, 900 the next four days, 1,200 a day for the entire second week, followed by a maintenance phase in which you return to the 600/900-calorie rotation. For men, the principle is the same, but the numbers differ: 1,200 and 1,500 calories for the first week, 1,800 calories during week 2, and then return to a 1,200/1,500-calorie rotation for week 3.
Foods to Include
Fruits
Vegetables
Whole-wheat bread
Cheese
Skim milk
Meat
Healthy fats
Foods to Avoid
None, though Katahn recommends avoiding artificial sweeteners during the maintenance phase.
Potential Benefits of the Rotation Diet
Katahn claims that the rotation diet boosts metabolism by changing the number of calories and the specific foods consumed over a three-week period. This claim is based on the premise that a diet that’s too strict can cause you to burn out and your body’s metabolism to adapt to the lower caloric intake if you maintain it for too long. There does not appear to be any peer-reviewed research exploring the rotation diet.
Potential Risks of the Rotation Diet
While the rotation diet has not been studied, there are a number of known risks that come with severe calorie deficits and “crash” diets.
Nutrient Deficiencies Severe calorie restriction could lead to deficiencies in essential vitamins, minerals, or macronutrients.
Unsustainable Weight Loss While the rotation diet claims an average weight loss of 13 lb, weight loss from fad diets is often not sustainable and can lead to weight cycling.
Negative Impact on Metabolism Your body may sense starvation due to the severe calorie restriction, and slow down your metabolism as a protective mechanism.
Potential for Disordered Eating Restrictive diets can contribute to unhealthy relationships with food and body image that last beyond the length of the diet.
Interactions With Medications and Health Conditions A calorie deficit could be dangerous if you have certain health conditions, particularly type 2 diabetes, because of the risk of low blood sugar in a calorie deficit; kidney problems, because of water fluctuations that can strain the kidneys; or high or low blood pressure, as changes in hydration and water intake can affect your blood pressure.
Lack of Scientific Evidence The claims of the rotation diet are not backed by robust, peer-reviewed scientific research.
Is the Rotation Diet Right for You?
The rotation diet is considered a fad diet — and fad diets often promote quick, unsustainable weight loss, may severely restrict what you eat, may be harmful, and generally do not have long-lasting health benefits.
You should talk to your healthcare provider before starting any diet, including the rotation diet.
The Takeaway
The rotation diet is designed to speed up your metabolism by changing caloric intake week to week.
Although the diet's claims haven't been backed by research, it is said to lead to weight loss.
Calorie-restricted diets could lead to nutrient deficiencies, low blood sugar, or other complications.
Check with your healthcare provider before you consider starting the rotation diet or any other diet.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Kayli Anderson has over a decade of experience in nutrition, culinary education, and lifestyle medicine. She believes that eating well should be simple, pleasurable, and sustainable. Anderson has worked with clients from all walks of life, but she currently specializes in nutrition therapy and lifestyle medicine for women. She’s the founder of PlantBasedMavens.com, a hub for women to get evidence-based, practical, and woman-centered guidance on nutrition and cooking, hormone health, fertility, pregnancy, movement, mental well-being, nontoxic living, and more.
Anderson is board-certified in lifestyle medicine and serves as lead faculty of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine’s (ACLM) "Food as Medicine" course. She is past chair of the ACLM's registered dietitian member interest group, secretary of the women's health member interest group, and nutrition faculty for many of ACLM's other course offerings. She is the coauthor of the Plant-Based Nutrition Quick Start Guide and works with many of the leading organizations in nutrition and lifestyle medicine to develop nutrition content, recipes, and educational programs.
Anderson frequently speaks on the topics of women’s health and plant-based nutrition and has coauthored two lifestyle medicine textbooks, including the first one on women’s health, Improving Women's Health Across the Lifespan.
She received a master's degree in nutrition and physical performance and is certified as an exercise physiologist and intuitive eating counselor. She's a student of herbal medicine and women's integrative and functional medicine. She lives with her husband in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, where you’ll find her out on a trail or in her garden.
Clark Sarullo is an Atlanta-based actor, writer, and producer. Her entertainment credits include roles in major productions such as Stephen King’s Cell, opposite John Cusack; The Tomorrow War; and various Lifetime network productions. As a content creator, she specializes in health, wellness, and beauty topics, combining her academic background in psychology with practical experience in fitness and wellness practices.
