5-Factor Fitness ‑- the Basics

Pasternak, whose celebrity clientele also includes Eve, Orlando Bloom, Benjamin Bratt and Val Kilmer, boasts a workout and nutrition plan that skips the carb counting, food measuring and time-consuming exercise routines. His 5-Factor plan is made up of five, 25-minute workouts per week (all of which can be done using only a set of dumbbells and a bench) and eating five healthy meals per day.

"The 5-Factor Fitness plan," he says, "is the product of several years of being a science nerd, a fitness nut and an exercise and nutrition scientist for the military, and then having the opportunity to work with a lot of actors who have very little time and have to see results."

Time is one of the main reasons the plan works. "This is something that is a lifestyle," Pasternak says. "So, regardless of what your needs are at the time, I tell people that this is a plan that is doable every week for the rest of your life. You don't have to go to the gym; you can if you want. It's only 25 minutes long. You always have the time, and the meals are not extreme, so you can always do this."

The final cardio phase can be extended for as long as 30 minutes, depending on your goals and timeline, but does not have to be for the plan to work.

"If I have someone who has a film coming up, and we've got to expedite our goals, then I'll have them do it," Pasternak says. "If it's a lifestyle thing, where someone has maybe 10 pounds to lose, we gradually weave it in."

The nutrition portion of 5-Factor is just as simple as the fitness routine, Pasternak says. Eating five meals a day is optimal for keeping your blood sugar stable and metabolism in check. Each meal should fulfill these five criteria:

Pasternak has created more than 100 recipes, all of which take no longer than five minutes to prepare, and most use no more than five common ingredients.

Although Pasternak advises eating more even when many other diets out there support consuming less, Pasternak says the program is successful because it's a lifestyle. "I think the eating component is the most important part of the program," he says, "because it's a voice of moderation in a time where every diet out there is very extreme and not sustainable. So you don't have to cut your carbs. You don't have to weigh your food. These are all unnatural acts that cannot be sustained year in and year out. They're not fun, and they're difficult."

Another reason supporters of the program say it works is because ‑- get this ‑- cheating is allowed! Yep, that's right. One day a week Harley says it's okay to eat anything you want. Whether that's a grande white chocolate mocha from Starbucks or a Big Mac from Mickey D's.

"I think the saddest thing is to see people's birthday come around, and they don't even eat their own birthday cake," Pasternak says. "[The cheat day] is a catharsis of sorts. It makes eating well the rest of the week doable."

Try 5-Factor Fitness at home with Harley's book 5-Factor Fitness: The Diet and Fitness Secret of Hollywood's A-List