People Are Buzzing About the Warrior Diet—but What Is It? Experts Explain
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Diet trends come and go, but there’s one in particular that’s generating plenty of buzz right now. It’s called the warrior diet, and it’s basically an intense form of intermittent fasting.
It’s important to address this upfront: Nutrition experts aren’t fans of this diet. But, if you’ve seen mentions of the warrior diet floating around online, it’s understandable to have questions about what, exactly, the warrior diet is and who it may be good for. Here’s the deal—and why experts say this meal plan has more cons than pros.
What is the warrior diet?
The warrior diet is a form of intermittent fasting that was created by Ori Hofmekler, a former member of the Israeli Special Forces. Hofmekler published a book called The Warrior Diet back in 2007, but it’s gained more attention over the past few years with the rise in popularity of intermittent fasting.
At a basic level, the warrior diet is designed to mimic the eating patterns of ancient warriors, who didn’t eat very much during the day and then enjoyed feasts at night. Followers of the diet are encouraged to minimize their food intake and follow certain dietary parameters for 20 hours (more on those in a moment) and then eat as much as they want for the other four.
What can you eat on the warrior diet?
It’s a little complicated. Followers are encouraged to follow a three-week plan to start that’s divided into phases, each lasting a week:
Phase One: This is designed to be a “detox,” where you consume things like vegetable juice, clear broth, hard-boiled eggs, and raw fruits and vegetables for 20 hours a day for the first week. During the daily four-hour eating window, you can have a salad with oil and vinegar, beans, small amounts of cheese, and cooked veggies.
Phase Two: During this phase, followers will eat the same things during the 20-hour “fasting” window, followed by an eating window that features salad, lean animal protein, cooked vegetables, and a handful of nuts. You should avoid grains and starch during this phase.
Phase Three: This phase flips between one to two days of high-carb eating (during the four-hour period), followed by days that are high in protein and low in carbs.
Once you finish the three phases, you start them again.
What foods do you need to avoid on the warrior diet?
You can technically have what you want during the eating periods (within the specified guidance), but the warrior diet generally recommends having organic, unprocessed foods, while discouraging processed products. Meaning, chips, baked goods, and pizza aren’t on the menu.
Can you lose weight on the warrior diet?
Yes, you can lose weight on the warrior diet. However, it will be hard to keep it off when you stop the diet, says Jessica Cording, R.D., a nutritionist and the author of The Little Book of Game-Changers. “This promotes having an overeating window,” she says. “It’s not helping someone develop healthy eating habits that will help you sustain weight loss.”
Keri Gans, R.D., a New York City-based nutritionist and author of The Small Change Diet, agrees. “This diet doesn’t teach the user anything about healthy eating,” she says. “It seems more like it is encouraging restricting and bingeing, which is an extremely unhealthy way to fuel our bodies and minds.”
Fans of the warrior diet claim it can reap a lot of the benefits linked to intermittent fasting, like better blood sugar management and decreased bodily inflammation. But it’s important to note that there is no scientific data on the warrior diet in particular, making it hard to say if any of these claims are true.
Benefits of the warrior diet
At its core, the warrior diet “is just one more variation of the very popular intermittent fasting,” Gans says. While experts aren’t fans of the warrior diet, proponents of the eating plan generally point to intermittent fasting benefits as possible perks of being on this diet.
Some small studies have found the following as potential benefits of intermittent fasting (note: not specifically the warrior diet):
It may help with brain health. Animal studies have found that intermittent fasting diets lower levels of inflammatory markers in the body like interleukin 6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha which can influence memory, while other animal studies found an intermittent fasting diet may help lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
It may decrease bodily inflammation. “Intermittent fasting may lower levels of inflammation in the body,” Cording says, noting that inflammation has been linked to a slew of illnesses, including obesity and cancer.
It might help with blood sugar management. Research on blood sugar and intermittent fasting has largely been conducted on people with diabetes. However, one small study found that types of diabetes patients were able to achieve better blood sugar management on an intermittent fasting diet.
Is the warrior diet safe?
Not really. “It’s not enough food to fill you up and the fasting period is interrupted, so you’re unlikely to get the potential benefits that are reported from fasting,” says Scott Keatley, R.D., co-owner of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy.
Keatley has concerns that this restricted method of eating “can lay the groundwork for disordered eating.” It’s also not safe for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, and planning on becoming pregnant due to its restrictive nature, he says.
Gans stresses that the warrior diet is simply another variation of intermittent fasting—and an “extreme” option. “Personally, I think real warriors would be smarter than this,” she adds.
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