Extreme Food Diets

The Grapefruit Diet

The Grapefruit Diet, which dates back to the 1930s, is based on the claim that grapefruit, due to its alleged fat-burning enzymes, has miraculous weight loss properties. Dieters are to eat half a grapefruit at every meal, along with a small amount of protein, black coffee and salad. By eliminating sugar, sweet fruits, vegetables, grains and cereals, consumption of carbohydrates are greatly restricted as well as calories. Rapid weight loss will occur due to low calorie intake. Note that grapefruits are a natural simple carbohydrate and eating a half a grapefruit per meal is one way to add fruits to your daily plan, but grapefruit juice can be harmful if the dieter is taking medication that interacts with grapefruit juice, or if the dieter is allergic to citruses. The Grapefruit Diet is extreme. Cutting out food groups is never a good idea.

Rating: 5 Bitter Grapefruits

The Cabbage Soup Diet

The Cabbage Soup Diet, a modified fast, is a 7-day fiber-rich, low fat, low carbohydrate diet plan. You are instructed to ingest unlimited amounts cabbage soup, and you are reminded to drink water, stay hydrated. In one week’s time you can lose up to 10-15 pounds. However, most of the weight loss is from fluids, not fat. When the dieter begins to eat normally, the weight will return. On the plus side, cabbage is a member of the Brassica vegetable family, which has been found to aid in preventing cancer. On the down side, this plan lacks good nutrition. You’re likely to be gassy. Eating cabbage soup day in and day out is monotonous.

Rating: 5 Gassy Cabbages

The Baby Food Diet

The basic baby food diet consists of eating 14 jars of puréed baby food throughout the day, followed by a healthy dinner. One might argue that consuming puréed fruits and vegetables contributes toward your ingesting the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables. You might say that baby food is additive-free. But, the negatives far out-weigh the positives. Baby food is not engineered for adults. It’s for babies! You will find that you’re not ingesting the proper nutrients. The diet can cause your metabolism to slow down and trigger your body to store the calories that you are eating as fat. If this plan still appeals to you, look beyond the idea of cute little containers of applesauce, peaches and pears, and think puréed meats. Ask yourself, “Really? I am going to follow this plan for how long?”

Rating: 5 Mushy, Puréed Meats