How long does it take to see if a diet works for you?

I know it's probably hard to generalize these things, but is there a rule of thumb on how long it takes for a new diet to show it's effect?

In other words, how long should one give a diet a chance?

Depends on the person (how healthy/unhealthy they are, what if any latent or acute food allergies they have, stuff like that). I'd say give it a month to see if a change will help or hurt you. If there's no change after a month and you're stilll unhappy with whatever made you try the diet in the first place, you can probably chalk that up to a negative and move on to the next thing. It can be a process, but is very rewarding if you've got the discipline to stick with it.

Also, your diet needs can change over time. So you may notice that something that worked for you for a couple of years no longer does, and need to switch.

I know someone who just found out she was allergic to gluten and a few other things. She told me that it could take up to 2 years for all the damage in her gut caused by the bad diet to revert to its original. I guess all that gut flora was destroyed by the diet and for that all to return it takes time. So to see MAX benefits from the diet will take a while.

OpenBook wrote:I know it's probably hard to generalize these things, but is there a rule of thumb on how long it takes for a new diet to show it's effect?

In other words, how long should one give a diet a chance?

For me I could tell a difference after a few weeks 3-4 is a good indicator of where you're heading.