The Facial Analysis Diet

"I have also seen Eliabeth. I have spent 15 years at the prime of my life 4 stone over weight. In just over 3 months, my life has completely changed and I have lost that 4 stone. I never thought a Facial Analysis diet would work, having tried all sorts, but i nearly cried when I went back after my first week and had lost 9lbs!! That has never happened to me ever. This is purely because you cut out all salt, processed foods and sugar and drink loads of water and eat the foods she tells you to and avoid the ones she advises you to. It's like a dream come true. I have never been happier and have nearly bankrupted myself shopping for clothes that I can not only fit into but in small sizes!! I went from a size 18-20 on top/18 bottom to size 12/14 on top and size 10/12 on the bottom....and it's staying off. The supplements definitely assist this whole process and your feeling of wellbeing so to anyone who really wants to lose any amount of weight, I am living proof this diet works and it doesn't take half a life time to do it either!"
~ Written on 2008-08-15

"I started this Sept. 29th.. so have just done the initial 2 days plus 4 days. After the initial headache from giving up coffee, I feel great and I am in a good mood all day. I have lost 6 pounds so far too! I actually like the food (but I don't follow the day by day). I have the porridge with soaked apricots and prunes daily for breakfast, a potato and salad for lunch and fish or chicken in the evening with steamed vegies. Although I have made the vegie soup which was kinda nice too. I also used the mineral salts, which I think helped. I'll probably use this off and on for the rest of my life. Very nice!
Ok, have done the 2 days plus 7 now, and I have lost 8.5 lbs. Always satisfied hunger-wise. And if you stop and really taste the food and enjoy it, it helps."
~ Written on 2007-10-04

"4 years ago, I went to see Elizabeth. I was about 2 stone overweight and just generally feeling lethargic, bloated, had lots of cravings etc. I found the diet incredibly bland and restrictive, but I somehow found willpower and it worked! I lost 30lbs in 2 months and I felt and looked fantastic! My skin and hair looked great, I was sleeping well, my cravings pretty much disappeared, and I had loads more energy. however, it takes WILLPOWER and you need to be somewhat flexible- I took my jacket potato or chicken breast with me to eat at dinner parties for 2 months! I got used to the blandness of the food and actually like it now! "
~ Written on 2007-01-30

"First things first: If you dont have great will power - dont even think about going on this diet. Its increadibly boring and very hard. This said: I lost 18lbs during the 16 days of this diet!

The facial analysis is self applied; you look at your face and assess the features according to a "tick list" in the book. Such things as a greasy nose and lined forehead make you say, a type A, while a tendancy to dry skin and a sallow complexion may make you an E, etc. Once you have your "type" you then check what you should be eating and what you should be avoiding, then start the diet.

The diet itself is extremely harsh: You dont starve, but its very spartan and consists mostly of very bland salads (who'd have thought eating nothing but lettuce would make you lose weight huh?! And oddly enough - it seems that chocolate, dairy, red meat and white bread feature on the "bad foods" list of every face type, while fresh fruit, veg and lean white meat feature on everyones "good foods" list... hmmmmm...)

There is also the small matter of the specialist foods, such as quinea, which - as the author claims "are not hard to find" ... THEY ARE IMPOSSIBLE to find in all but the most random health shops! And they aint cheap!

Theres an overlying concern I have after reading this book too: Its claim is that you should eat according to your face type, well the "plan" consists of a 2 day detox (one diet for each face type) then a two week core diet which is the same for everyone... so I cant really see that youre eating for your distinct face type if EVERYONE follows the same diet!?

I would say this is a strange & possibly misleading plan, and ideally - because its nothing more than a posh version of the scarsdale diet, Id like to give it 1 star: But I have to be fair, I lost a huge amount of weight quickly so it does do what it says so it gets a begrudging 3, mainly because of the inaccessibilty of it to most people.

If you want to lose weight for something like a reunion, wedding or holiday, very quickly, I really reccomend it. Just be aware that this is really a diet for those with absolute concrete will-power, access to LARGE health shops, and probably best for those with just a small weight loss target and who want to get there fast. I wouldnt reccomend this diet if you have more than 20lbs to lose as its long term use would be most impractical for all but those on a stars salary, no job or social life and who dont like food. At all."
~ Written on 2005-01-23

"After trying many diets and getting poor results, I went to see Elizabeth. The diet she prescribed is in this book. I lost 40lbs in a few months! I have since purchased Elizabeth's book so I can maintain my results and have found the book to be even better than her consultations. In addition to different diet plans taylored to your type, this book explains how the diet works and gives a more diverse menu plan than the strict plan given out in-office.

I do find it annoying that some reviews of this book are spreading misinformation. One reviewer even incorrectly states that poultry is banned in this diet. I have to question if some of the reviewers have even read this book. Elizabeth's base diet consist of porrige or oat cakes in the morning, salad and baked potato (WITH BUTTER!!) for lunch and grilled chicken or fish with a hearty serving of vegetables for dinner. There are many variations available and additional options added later in the plan (including treats!) In addition to being healthy these meals are filling as well! The best part is that there is no need to come up with meal ideas on your own if you don't want to; every recipe you could want or need is included! FINALLY! A diet that actually works!"
~ Written on 2004-05-28