A diet that includes chocolate, red wine and coffee? A diet that doesn’t involve counting calories, syns or smart points? A diet that doesn’t involve fasting 2 days a week and yet claims to bring many of the same benefits as the 5:2 diet? A diet where average weight loss is 7lb in the first 7 days? Sounds just a little bit too good to be true? I felt I had to check the Sirtfood Diet out…
This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
Regular readers of this blog will know that I am on a mission to improve my diet but without compromising on Easy Peasy Foodie’s main principles – that food should be simple and hassle free to make, but above all delicious!
I first heard about the Sirtfood Diet back in January and it has had me intrigued ever since. It is a diet that is being hailed as the next 5:2 and has a whole heap of celebrity endorsements. The Sirtfood Diet is not just about losing weight (although that is supposed to happen!) but also about improving general health and well-being, longevity and disease resistance.
So I decided the only sensible thing to do for a food blogger like me was to give it a thoroughly good trial and see if the diet is as good as it claims to be…(and I promise I wasn’t motivated by the coffee, red wine and chocolate…honest! 😉 )
What exactly are Sirtfoods?
Sirtfoods are a recently discovered group of nutrient rich foods which seem to be able to ‘activate’ the body’s skinny genes (also known as sirtuins), in much the same way as fasting diets do, with the same range of benefits, but without the common downsides of fasting diets, such as hunger, irritability and muscle loss.
By eating a diet rich in Sirtfoods, it is claimed that participants will lose weight, gain muscle, look and feel better and maybe even live a longer and more healthy life.
The top 20 Sirtfoods
Lots of foods contain sirtuin-activating nutrients, but some contain more than others. In their book The Sirtfood Diet*, the authors of the diet list the 20 best Sirtfoods.
The top 20 Sirtfoods are: birds-eye chillies, buckwheat, capers, celery, cocoa, coffee, extra virgin olive oil, green tea, kale, lovage, medjool dates, parsley, red chicory, red wine, rocket, soy, strawberries, turmeric and walnuts.
What is The Sirtfood Diet?
The Sirtfood Diet was created by nutritionists Aiden Goggins and Glen Matten. They were so interested by the potential of Sirtfoods, they created a diet based around maximising Sirtfood intake and mild calorie restriction. They then tested this diet on participants from an exclusive London gym and were amazed by their findings. Gym members lost an average of 7lbs in the first 7 days, despite not increasing their levels of exercise. Not only did the participants lose a substantial amount of weight, but they also gained muscle (usually the opposite happens when dieting) and reported significant improvements in overall health and well-being.
So how does The Sirtfood Diet work?
The diet is split into 2 phases. Phase 1: the 7 day ‘hypersuccess phase’, which combines a Sirtfood-rich diet with moderate calorie restriction, and Phase 2: the 14 day ‘maintenance phase’, where you consolidate your weight loss without restricting calories.
Phase 1 of the Sirtfood Diet
During the first 3 days, calorie intake is restricted to 1,000 calories (so, still more than on a 5:2 fasting day). The diet consists of 3 Sirtfood-rich green juices and 1 Sirtfood-rich meal and 2 squares of dark chocolate.
During the remaining 4 days, calorie intake is increased to 1, 500 calories and each day the diet comprises 2 Sirtfood-rich green juices and 2 Sirtfood-rich meals.
During phase 1 you are not allowed to drink any alcohol, but you can drink water, tea, coffee and green tea freely.
Phase 2 of the Sirtfood Diet
Phase 2 does not focus on calorie restriction. Each day involves 3 Sirtfood-rich meals and 1 green juice, plus the option of 1 or 2 Sirtfood bite snacks, if required.
In phase 2 you are allowed to drink red wine, but in moderation (the recommendation is 2-3 glasses of red wine per week), as well as water, tea, coffee and green tea.
Is there an eating plan for the Sirtfood Diet?
Yes, in The Sirtfood Diet Book* there is a helpful chart telling you what you can eat on each day and when. The book has all the recipes you will need for the first three weeks. There is a meat/fish option and a vegetarian/vegan option for every day. Almost all the recipes are gluten free and there are dairy free options every day too, meaning this is a diet that will work for most people.
What happens after you have finished the Sirtfood Diet?
The Sirtfood Diet is not designed to be a one off ‘diet’ but rather a way of life. You are encouraged, once you’ve completed the first 3 weeks, to continue eating a diet rich in Sirtfoods and to continue drinking your daily green juice. Since launching their original book, the authors of The Sirtfood Diet* have gone on to release The Sirtfood Diet Recipe Book*, with recipes for lots more Sirtfood-rich main meals, as well as recipes for alternatives to the green juice and more hints and tips for following the Sirtfood Diet. There are even some recipes for Sirtfood desserts! The authors of The Sirtfood Diet suggest that Phases 1 and 2 can be repeated as and when necessary for a health boost, or if things have gone a bit off track.
So, does the Sirtfood Diet work?
Well, it does according to their many celebrity endorsements. The second book has endorsements by David Haye (Heavyweight Boxer), Lorraine Pascale (TV Chef and Food Writer), Jodie Kidd (Model), Sir Ben Ainslie (Olympic Gold Medallist) and a whole heap of other celebrities who all claim that the Sirtfood Diet has helped them lose weight, build muscle and look and feel great. Though my favourite endorsement is definitely the one which is simply attributed to a wife of a participant and which reads ‘Thank you! My husband is looking extra hot.’ 🙂
However there is a bit of me which is slightly sceptical – maybe the diet works for a celebrity who has one-to-one diet coaching and no doubt a personal trainer too. But will the Sirtfood Diet work for an ordinary person like me? Well, there is only one way to answer that question. I decided to follow the Sirtfood Diet for 3 weeks, doing both Phase 1 and Phase 2, and report back on how it goes…
Want to know if the Sirtfood diet worked for me? Check out my Week 1 Report!
Or why don’t you join me? The Sirtfood Diet Book* is widely available and contains all you need to know about the diet. And if you want more recipe inspiration there is The Sirtfood Diet Recipe Book* too which contains lots of extra recipes as well as more advice and tips.
Sirtfood Green Juice Recipe
The Sirtfood-rich green juice is a major part of the Sirtfood-diet, so I thought it would be helpful to include the recipe here. Even if you have no intention of following the diet, the juice is packed full of nutrients and would be a great addition to a regular diet. One important thing to note: I have researched carefully and you absolutely need to make this in a juicer, NOT a blender (or a Nutribullet or food processor or anything else other than a juicer). I have tried both ways out and can report that the blended version is a nasty tasting sludge, the juiced version is a reasonably nice tasting juice!
According to the books, the green juice will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge, so it’s well worth making up a big batch to save time. My plan is to make my juices up the night before, so when I am super busy in the morning, all I have to do is pour the juice and drink it!
The Sirtfood Diet Green Juice
Ingredients
- 75 g kale
- 30 g rocket
- 5 g parsley
- 2 celery sticks
- ½ green apple
- 1 cm ginger
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ½ teaspoon matcha green tea
Instructions
- Juice all the ingredients apart from the lemon and the matcha green tea.
- Squeeze the lemon juice into the green juice by hand.
- Pour a small amount of green juice into a glass and stir in the matcha. Add the rest of the green juice into the glass and stir again.
- Drink straight away or save for later.
Notes
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
What is the best juicer for The Sirtfood Diet?
I searched high and low on the internet to find a reasonably priced juicer that was recommended for the diet and could not find anything useful, so I just bought the current Amazon best seller, which is the Philips HR1867/21 Viva Collection Quick Clean Juicer*.
I can report this juicer works brilliantly: the Sirtfood Green Juice is easy to make and it’s pretty easy to clean too. Whilst I can’t promise you it’s the best juicer for the Sirtfood Diet (I have no idea, since I haven’t tried any other juicers), I can certainly report that it is a very good juicer for the Sirtfood Diet. And it’s currently on offer (the usual price is £110) making it pretty good value too!
I’d love to know your thoughts about this new diet. Have any of you done it before? How did you find it? Did it work for you?
Want to know if the Sirtfood diet worked for me? Check out my Week 1 Report!
More Reports from the Sirtfood Diet
What is the Sirtfood Diet and does it really work? Part 1
What is the Sirtfood Diet and does it really work? Part 2
What is the Sirtfood Diet and does it really work? Part 3
More Recipes from the Sirtfood Diet
Sirtfood Diet Green Juice Salad (Vegan)
King Prawn Stirfry with Buckwheat Noodles
Kale and Red Onion Dhal with Buckwheat (Vegan)
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*This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
The Purley Girly says
Good luck! I’ll be really interested to read about how you find it over the coming weeks. x
Eb Gargano says
Thank you! I’m super interested myself. I really want to know if it works – there has been so much hype and with some pretty big celebrities claiming the diet has worked wonders for them. But I also want to know how do-able it is for a normal person. I’m wondering how hungry I will get in the first 3 days and slightly worried about how I am going to fit that much kale in the fridge!! I will keep you posted 🙂 Eb x
Katherine Villanueva says
Hi EB!
I came across this and became really interested in this diet. What is a rocket? I cannot seem to find anything similar near me.
Eb Gargano says
Hi Katherine, Rocket is a peppery green salad leaf – known as arugula in US English. Here’s a link to the Wikipedia article on it, which includes pictures >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruca_vesicaria Hope that helps! Eb 🙂
Leslie Gray says
Rocket is arugula.
Theresa Park says
arugula is rocket
Mel says
it’s arugula if you are in the US
Darlene says
Hi im wondering if you could make this in the vitamix?
Eb Gargano says
It’s not recommended. Really you should make this in a juicer. If you absolutely cannot, then go ahead and make it in your vitamix then strain it through a sieve, so you just get the juice. Eb 🙂
diana says
the diet works I am a normal person, the juice is not very delicious but with a bit strength you can get used to it. I lost 5kgs in a month but I left the diet after that… I want to restart it
Eb Gargano says
Wow – 5kgs in a month? That’s amazing!
Pam says
I have been wondering what the 2C of stock is? Chicken broth, veg broth, beef broth? It never specifies. I just used veg bouillon. Please help
Thanks
Eb Gargano says
I’m sorry Pam, I am not quite sure what you referring to? Are you talking about one of my recipes? Or do you mean in the Sirtfood book? In any case, the general rule is to go for the stock/broth that is most appropriate to the rest of the meal… so if it’s chicken or pork, use chicken stock… beef or lamb, use beef stock… fish, use fish or chicken stock and veggie, use veg stock. Hope that helps! Eb 🙂
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
Wow, those initial few days sound challenging Eb with just 1,000 cal per day, but I guess the 7lb loss in 7 days is a massive incentive for a lot of people. Like you, I too would be sceptical about the claims (after all people are bound to loose a lot of weight and water with a calorie restricted diet like that), but I’m very interested to hear how you get on with it. Mr E & I watched a weight loss programme a couple of years ago and the diet the organisers put the participants on included a green juice very much like the one you’ve shared here. After a couple of days their taste buds soon got used to it and many of them carried on with the juice even after the initial ‘diet’ period. I must say, the wife’s endorsement certainly made me chuckle Eb 🙂
Good luck, it’ll be interesting to hear your thought during and after the 3 week period.
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
It’s really weird, Angela – you are right the first few days on 1,000 calories sounds challenging but here I am 1.5 days in and I am not feeling hungry at all!! In fact the only time I felt hungry was between 5 and 6 o’clock last night. And when I ate my dinner at 6 I just couldn’t finish it all. The authors of the diet do say that Sirtfoods have naturally satiating properties, and I was like yeah right! But actually they do seem to be right. Amazing! I don’t think there’s much chance of me losing weight from water loss – I am drinking for England! Oddly what I really really fancy is water, though, not coffee as I expected. A weird but useful side effect of the diet. The problem with the green juice I’m finding is I quite liked it yesterday but today it’s making me gag – odd I have no idea why! The only thing I can think of is the kale I used was a bit past its best (it was an emergency purchase from the village, as I hadn’t quite calculated right). It will be interesting to see how I feel about the juice tomorrow. Yeah the wife’s endorsement made me laugh too! 🙂 Eb x
Anna Mrowczynski says
At first, the juice did taste a little weird, but after a few days, I just couldn’t get enough. I’m currently on day 5 of the program and I’m loving it!
Eb Gargano says
So pleased to hear that Anna! Eb 🙂
Hayley @ Snap Happy Bakes says
I’m really interested to know how you get on…. this could be my post pregnancy diet 🙂 Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Hayley. Going OK ish so far. Have barely felt hungry and have really enjoyed the meals (and the chocolate of course!) but I’ve found the juices really hard to drink today, which is strange because I happily drank them yesterday…fingers crossed they’ll be OK tomorrow! Eb x
Eve says
Pls can you share the meal plan with with. Say d sirtfood meals and snacks. Pls. How to prepare the food.
Eb Gargano says
Hi Eve, I am afraid I don’t have a SirtFood meal plan, but if you buy the books they have some great meal plans! Eb 🙂
Mandy says
I’m really interested to hear what you think about this as I could certainly do with losing 7lb in 7 days! I lost most of my baby weight after baby no.2 by doing the 5:2 but I just can’t face the hunger at the moment! Already looking forward to reading your next post. #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Mandy. I never tried 5:2 – the idea of 500 calories per day scared me – the Sirtfood diet is 1000 but only for the first 3 days, not every week, and bizzarely I genuinely haven’t felt hungry. Which is not normal for me! Fascinated to see how things progress… Eb x
Charlotte Oates says
Really looking froward to reading all about how this diet goes. I’m terrible for starting fashionable diets and getting bored after a few days – I suspect Jon wouldn’t be too impressed if I start up on another one, but if it works then I might be tempted (although I’m really not too sure about that green juice).
Eb Gargano says
Haha – I’ll let you know if this one is worth starting. The nice thing is it keeps changing and so you might not get bored. And it keeps getting better (more food, less juice) which is motivating. The green juice was fine yesterday, but today – not so much. I’m hoping it’s all down to the dodgy kale I had today and hoping everything will be OK tomorrow, with the new fresh kale that’s just been delivered. If not I may have to adapt the diet slightly… Eb x
Mel says
I’d never heard of the Sirtfood diet until now and I’ve found your post fascinating. I sometimes find the lengths people go to to reach their goal weight a tad scary, but this particular diet sounds really reasonable, especially since chocolate and wine are included on the list of Sirtfood-rich foods. Really interested to read your next update. Thanks for linking to #TastyTuesdays
Eb Gargano says
It’s funny, Mel. The diet has been in all the papers and lots of magazines and it has loads of celebrity endorsements, but no one I know has ever heard of it! Maybe for once in my life I’m ahead of a trend!! The first few days sound a bit extreme, but unbelievably I haven’t felt hungry and the evening meals have been delicious. As from tomorrow it’s 1500 calories which to me feels a pretty sensible level for moderate weight loss and from next week it’s basically just healthy eating with a focus on the top 20 Sirtfoods which are all pretty sensible things. I have to admit the coffee/chocolate/red wine thing was a big attraction…just a shame cheese isn’t a Sirtfood! Thanks for your kind comments. 🙂 Eb x
Honest Mum says
Sounds interesting, keen to hear how you get on. I’m very much in the camp of everything in moderation here x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Vicki – normally I am too, though I do try and avoid sugar and processed food most of the time, and I try to eat lots of veggies! But the Sirtfood Diet has had me intrigued for ages. I really wanted to see what all the hype was about. It’s going well so far…I’ve lost 5lb (which is more than I’ve managed to do by eating healthily and running 3 times a week) and I feel fab! Not at all hungry (which I find very odd) and, apart from Tuesday, I’ve felt really alert and positive. It will be very interesting to see how things progress over the coming weeks…will keep you posted!! 🙂 Eb x
becca farrelly says
This looks really good as I’m into my fitness and healthy eating at the moment but really struggled with the 5:2 diet! I think 1000 calories at first is a great starting point and would be more achievable for me! I will be watching to see how you get on as I’m really interested 🙂
#brillblogposts
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Becca 🙂 I don’t blame you for struggling with 5:2. 500 calories sounds really hard. Actually I thought 1000 calories would be hard but it really wasn’t – I was amazed how the juices kept me going. I’m sure there is a little bit of magic in them! Plus getting to eat a proper meal in the evening and 2 squares of chocolate – now that really did keep me motivated. And all the meals have been delicious so that helps. Today I got to eat 2 meals and after managing on 1 meal for 3 days, 2 felt really easy. In fact I didn’t even eat all my muesli in the morning. So far it seems to be working. I’ve already lost 5lb and I feel fantastic – really alert and positive – and I’ve been sleeping better too. I’m really quite impressed with the results. Do let me know if you have a go at the diet. I’d love to know how you get on 🙂 Eb x
Ilka says
My feature for this week’s Sunday Fitness & Food! Congrats! Awesome Post!
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Ilka! That’s so kind of you 🙂 Eb x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
I look forward to hearing how you get on! I was surprised that the book is only £2.99, bargain! xx
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Kirsty! I have just popped part 2 up on my blog so you can see how week 1 went already 🙂 I know!! It’s such a bargain. It’s only a little paperback, with no pretty pictures, but at £2.99 you really can’t complain! And if you want pretty pictures you can always hop over to my Instagram feed where I’ve been putting up pictures of all the dishes! Eb x
Annie B says
I have never heard of this one before! I’ll be reading some more about it. I am in two mind on certain diets. I like to have a good balance and have worked on changing my eating habits in a general way. Always like a bit of a boost though! #MakingHome
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Annie. I am the same as you… I like to eat a generally healthy diet and continue to work on it, gradually getting healthier over time, but I found this diet a really useful push in the right direction. I liked the strictness…it kept me from thinking ‘does it really matter if I have a chocolate biscuit’?! It also really opened my eyes to some great healthy choices I hadn’t thought of before: like buckwheat! Eb x
Katherine says
Hi Eb,
This Sirtfood Diet Green Juice recipe is just amazing.
I would love to feature this in our website, Greenthickies. Would it be okay if I used one of your images here for it? I will not be posting the actual recipe, but only one image, title, a small quote and link back here.
Will that be all right?
Thanks a lot 🙂
Katherine,
Greenthickies
Eb Gargano says
Sure that’s fine, Katherine. Thanks for asking first. Pleased you like it! 🙂
malissa miller says
I started making the Sirtfood green juice a week ago, I did restrict my calorie intake but not to the level recommended and I have lost 3 lbs. The best benefit that I am seeing so far is the craving for sweets is gone. I normally crave something sweet a couple times a week, but since starting the juice I not only don’t have the cravings I don’t want anything sweet. This is so worth the extra work of making the juice
Eb Gargano says
That’s awesome Malissa – such good news! Eb 🙂
maddie brown says
Just interest in belly fat. Hope it works for that. Mine has to go. If it works then I’ll try for sure
Eb Gargano says
It definitely made my stomach flatter… and I was able to do my belt up two notches further up, as a result of this diet! So yeah, it seems it does work well on belly fat 😀
Pascual says
Hello from Spain
I am a nutritionist and I am interested in learning about this type of diet
Do you know if there is a Spanish version of the sirtfood diet books.
Or are all the books in English?
Eb Gargano says
Hola Pascual! (Sorry that’s about the limit of my Spanish knowledge) Yes, I’ve just checked for you and it appears there is a Spanish version of the Sirtfood Diet Book (Called ‘La Dieta Sirtfood’) You can find it here >>> https://www.amazon.es/Dieta-Sirtfood-SALUD-VIDA-NATURAL/dp/8491111956/ I couldn’t find the Sirtfood Diet Recipe Book in Spanish though, unfortunately. But you can at least buy the English version from amazon.es, here >>> https://www.amazon.es/Sirtfood-Diet-Recipe-Book-ORIGINAL/dp/1473638585/
Feliz lectura! Eb 🙂
Anita says
Can I just put all the smoothie ingredients into a blender and drink all that? It does it strictly have to be the juice?
Eb Gargano says
Hi Anita. The diet’s creators advise that you should use a juicer not a blender and serve this as a juice not a smoothie. I have also tried this as a smoothie and, quite frankly, it tasted pretty disgusting to me. It is so much nicer as a juice! If you don’t wish to buy a juicer, one possible compromise would be to make this as a smoothie in your blender and then sieve it. Hope that helps! Eb 🙂
Cecilia Juárez says
Hi! I love your details and pictures in your blogs, thanks for sharing 🙂
I bought the book during the winder and now its the second time I doing it. I find the dishes really delicious, still is hard for me as I love baking and eating cakes, cookies and bread, but Im trying.
The first week I lost 2 kg, not bad, but I know I could have done it better. What I find GREAT is how flat my stomach is! Im impressed, but still, you HAVE TO continue eating well after the diet.
So far, Im very happy, even if I eat one cookie not allowed 😛 Most difficult part if before dinner.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Cecilia! Good to hear you are getting on well with the diet 😀
Diane Peker says
What if I absolutely hate kale? Is there a substitute?
Eb Gargano says
Yes and no. You can use a substitute like spinach, which is still very healthy and would work fine in the juice, but it doesn’t have nearly the same level of sirtuins as Kale, so wouldn’t be quite so effective. Eb 🙂
Nancy Oar says
why can’t this frozen? I think that all the elements can be frozen with very little degradation, once the ‘solids’ have been removed.
Eb Gargano says
My apologies. That’s an error. This recipe should have been marked ‘suitable for freezing’. I have now changed it. Thank you for highlighting this! Eb 🙂
Laura says
I’ve just made my first juice and whilst it was easy to prepare it takes awful. I’m not looking forward to the many more juices I need to drink
Eb Gargano says
Sorry to hear that! If you don’t like the juice, you could try the salad instead. I found that tasted nicer and was even easier to prepare >>> https://www.easypeasyfoodie.com/what-is-sirtfood-diet-does-it-really-work-part-2/#recipe