The NJ Diet is a medically supervised diet purported to be based on nutrigenomics, or the study of how your nutritional needs are shaped by your genetics.
The NJ Diet website boasts that an astounding 20–45 pounds (9–20 kg) can be lost on the diet’s 40-day program, as well as that you can burn 2,000–7,000 calories per day by merely adding the right supplements to your routine.
However, to achieve these weight loss results, you must follow an extremely regimented and restrictive supplement and diet program. Plus, very little information is made available about the diet until after you pay for it.
Many other diets are safer, less expensive, and better supported by research.
This article reviews the NJ Diet, how it works, and its benefits and downsides.
Diet review scorecard
- Overall score: 0.88
- Weight loss: 1.25
- Healthy eating: 0.75
- Sustainability: 0.75
- Whole body health: 0.5
- Nutrition quality: 1
- Evidence-based: 1
BOTTOM LINE: The NJ Diet is a very low calorie crash diet purported to help you lose up to 45 pounds (20 kg) in 40 days and burn up to 7,000 calories daily by taking supplements. It’s expensive, unsustainable, and potentially harmful to your health. As such, Healthline does not recommend it.
The NJ Diet is a medically supervised weight loss program claimed to be based on the principles of nutrigenomics, or how your genetics affect your nutritional needs.
Prior to starting the program, you undergo an extensive panel of tests, including blood, hair, and saliva testing, to assess your nutritional status and hormonal balance, among other factors.
The diet program itself involves a strict supplement regimen based on the results of your tests, as well as following an extremely low calorie diet.
Supposedly, the individualized supplement routine in combination with the diet allows your body to burn 2,000–7,000 calories of fat per day by shedding toxins. The website also claims that you will not feel hungry throughout the process.
However, these claims are not supported by evidence.
According to the NJ Diet website, you can lose up to 45 pounds (20 kg) in 40 days. It guarantees that you’ll lose at least 20 pounds (9 kg), or you can receive a partial refund or extend the program until you achieve a 20-pound (9 kg) weight loss.
The NJ Diet was founded in New Jersey and currently has offices in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Utah. Still, you can also do virtual consultations from anywhere in the United States.
How it works
The first step is to complete your initial consultation, which involves testing your hair, saliva, and blood — along with a “bio-energetic balancing scan” that helps reveal which foods may be the best or worst choices for you based on your genetics.
Very little information is available online about what this bio-energetic scan involves, but the results of these tests help the NJ Diet team formulate a tailored supplement, diet, and exercise plan for you.
Next, you’ll begin the 40-day program, which includes a strict supplement regimen and low calorie diet consisting of timed and structured meals comprising whole, lean foods.
You’re encouraged to weigh yourself daily on the diet and check in as often as you need to with the health professional supervising you, which in most instances is a chiropractor.
Cost
The initial consultation for the NJ Diet costs $99, but at the time of this writing, it can be completed online for $27.
However, a 40-day round of the program, including testing, supplements, and check-ins with your supervising health professional, can cost $900 to $2,100, with most people paying at least $1,500 according to reviews.
It’s unclear why there’s so much variation in the price, although this may be due to the number of supplements included in your customized plan.
SummaryThe NJ Diet is a 40-day program consisting of a strict supplement routine based on hair, saliva, and blood testing, along with an extremely low calorie diet.
While there’s little information online about the NJ Diet without paying for the program, it appears to take a strict low calorie approach.
Although information regarding the exact calorie count recommendations of the NJ diet isn’t available on their website, some customer reviews suggest that the daily calorie recommendations can be as low as 500.
Similar 40-day programs limit calories to 500–800 per day, which is dangerously low and unsustainable for the vast majority of people.
Most meals on the diet consist of a lean protein, such as chicken or fish, that is prepared by either baking or grilling it without using extra oil, alongside fruit and non-starchy vegetables like zucchini, broccoli, or salad greens.
SummaryThe NJ Diet program encourages strict calorie restriction and eating lean proteins, along with fruit and non-starchy vegetables prepared without oil.
Over the short-term, 40-day period of the diet, you’re likely to see dramatic weight loss if you’re restricting your calories to 800 or fewer per day.
However, even if you do achieve this rapid weight loss, it’s unlikely to be safe or sustainable.
One study in 57 people found that those on a 500-calorie diet for 5 weeks lost more lean (fat-free) mass — like muscle, bone, or water — than those on a 1,250-calorie diet for 12 weeks, and they were more likely to experience weight regain (
SummaryYou’ll likely experience drastic weight loss if you follow this program due to the extreme calorie restriction. However, it’s unlikely that this weight will stay off when you return to your normal eating habits.
The NJ Diet is predicated on the use of tests to customize the approach for you, and you’re given a strict supplement regimen to follow.
According to the NJ Diet website, these supplements are totally safe with minimal side effects or drug interactions. However, almost all supplements carry some risk of at least minor side effects or drug interactions.
If you choose to participate in the NJ Diet program, you should clear every supplement you’re given with your primary, non-NJ-diet-affiliated healthcare provider, especially if you’re taking any medications or have any preexisting health problems.
Additionally, extremely low calorie diets can be dangerous and harmful, putting you in a state of semi-starvation — even within the short 40-day duration of the NJ Diet program. You may experience symptoms like fatigue, weakness, muscle loss, and brain fog (
It’s also highly likely that you will regain any weight you lost after you return to a normal way of eating at a more sustainable calorie level (
What’s more, most of the claims regarding diet and genetics are unfounded.
Although nutrigenomics is a growing and promising field of research, there is no existing evidence to suggest that any combination of supplements can safely cause you to burn an extra 2,000–7,000 calories per day of fat.
Finally, the NJ Diet may be cost-prohibitive for most people, as it typically costs over $1,500.
SummaryThe supplements you receive on the NJ Diet may have side effects or interact with medications. Extremely low calorie diets can harm your health, and you’re likely to regain weight after stopping the diet. The NJ Diet is also expensive.
While the NJ Diet and its customization based on DNA testing may sound evidence-based, its bold claims that you can lose up to 45 pounds (20 kg) and burn up to 7,000 calories per day in 40 days without feeling hungry should be taken with a grain of salt.
The diet is prohibitively expensive, and extremely low calorie diets like this one can harm your health. Even if you do have some short-term weight loss success on the diet, you’ll likely regain your weight after returning to a normal eating pattern.
Overall, there are many healthier, more sustainable, safer, and less expensive ways to lose weight than the NJ Diet.
