Do Crash Diets Work?
When I was a teenager I toyed with every fad diet out there. Although I wasn’t that overweight, I always felt self-conscious about not being skinny. I tried the Grapefruit Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet, and Lemonade Diet.
Have you ever tried these diets?
The Grapefruit Diet, also known as the “Hollywood Diet” is based on the claim that grapefruit contains certain enzymes that, when eaten before other foods, helps burn off fat. Sorry, but grapefruit doesn’t burn fat. It may be that the water in grapefruit helps you feel full, and then you eat less. But if you’re hoping that grapefruit will melt fat, you’re going to be disappointed.
The Cabbage-Soup diet isn’t much better. It’s sometimes referred to as the “Mayo Clinic Diet,” or the “Sacred Heart Hospital Diet”. A part of this diet plan is to eat cabbage soup, every day and several times a day. But before you stock up on cabbage, know that this crash diet won’t help you in the long run, and it doesn’t give your body the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.
The Lemonade Diet, also called the “Master Cleanse”, is a liquid-only diet consisting of three things: a lemonade-like beverage, salt-water drink, and herbal laxative tea. But again, it’s a crash diet that won’t make a positive difference in the longer term.
Trying to lose 10 pounds in 10 days isn’t healthy. Because you’re getting so few calories, you’ll probably lose weight. But the weight lost is mainly muscle mass and water, not excess body fat. And you’re likely to gain the weight right back.
These crash diets don’t include exercise, and working out at high levels isn’t a great idea on such a low-calorie diet. Your body just won’t have enough energy for exercise.
For lasting results, it’s much better to lose weight at a slower, steadier rate, focusing on a plan you can live with for life. In the end, it’s a true lifestyle change that’s going to affect weight loss.