There are a lot of crazy fad diets out there. When you’re in your right mind, you can easily see how eating nothing but baby food or eating according to your blood time isn’t going to do much for your overall wellbeing. However, as the holiday season rolls on, and you’re bombarded with festive events and a hell of a lot of food, these crazy diets can seem a little more appealing. However, instead of putting your wellness through the mill, we’ve taken a look at four of the craziest diets out there, and what previous attempters have had to say about them.
1. The Baby Food Diet: This one has been around for a few years, but the baby food diet gained in popularity when it emerged that Hedi Slimane and Lady (goo-goo?) Gaga were rumoured fans. Reportedly endorsed by celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson, who kicked off a pureed-food craze a couple years ago after advising clients to replace two meals a day with jars of baby food plus a healthy dinner, Anderson has since denied endorsing the diet. If you stick to the sweet jars of baby food, the sheer amount of sugar is going to turn you into a total wreck. The diet has been known to help you lose as much as four pounds in five days, but previous attempters have also reported feeling miserable, hallucinating and having major cravings for something with a bit more texture.
2. The Blood Type Diet: Based on the 1997 book Eat Right 4 Your Type by Peter J. D’Adamo, ND, the blood type diet works off of the premise that your blood type determines the diet you need to lose weight and improve certain health conditions. These include asthma, heartburn, and headaches. This theory may help to explain why different weight loss plans work for different people. Another plus point of this diet is that it now comes with an app, making it convenient for you to keep track of the foods you personally can and cannot have. Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a lottery as to whether or not you’re allowed to eat your favourite foods – type Os, for example, shouldn’t eat dairy while vegetarianism is recommended for type As – but it may be worth a try with the advice of a dietician or doctor.
3. The Clean Programme: This diet was introduced in 2009 by cardiologist Alejandro Junger, MD, and is favoured by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow. When you do the 21-day detox, you have two liquid meals and one solid lunch, avoiding common allergens and inflammatory foods. If the idea of ditching booze, coffee, cheese, gluten, and sugar for three weeks makes you think “What will I eat?!” the programme does have an expansive list of alternative, approved foods, such as quinoa and kale. If you can keep the diet up on a long-term basis, the clean programme does offer great weight loss results, as well as more energy and better sleep. However, any diet that requires only three weeks of effort won’t give you permanent results.
4. The French Woman Diet: Well, French women are well known for being gorgeous, looking young and staying slim, and so this is why pin-thin fashion maven Carine Roitfeld has declared she follows the “French woman diet.” This eating plan consists of small portions of rich foods (think steak, cheese, and tuna tartare) and mindful, sit-down meals (instead of snacking away in front of the TV). The diet also excludes packaged food and, weirdly enough, exercise. This diet – which allows pudding and alcohol – actually has some compelling support, as studies have shown that calcium and red wine can aid in weight loss. However, while mindful eating can stop you from gaining weight, you’ll need to pair it with some physical activity if you actually want to lose any.
