What has been the most famous diet so far?

Yes, you guessed it right. It is GM diet.

Before I throw light on it, let’s discuss what dieting is…

When we hear the word ‘diet ‘, we usually think about eating less to lose weight. Going on a diet actually means making some good choices about nutrition ( eating more fruit,vegetables, protein, good carbs, fiber and cutting down on bad food choices).

Let’s talk about the very well known GM diet and understand the facts and myths about it. If you are planning to go on a GM diet,this piece of information is for you.

GM( General Motors Diet) As the name suggests, was introduced by General Motors for its employees to lose weight and feel healthier and it was field tested at Johns Hapkins Resarch centre in 1985.Some people also refer to it as cabbage soup diet or the sacred heart diet. It is believed to work on the principal that food that is eaten will burn more calories than the amounts of energy they provide. In a way the claim is that the diet which is consumed will increase the body’s calories expenditure by boosting up the body metabolism.

GM diet is a 7 days plan and it claims to make people lose about 5–8 kilograms in a week. The emphasis is laid on practice eating fruits and vegetables. Another feature of GM diet is the detoxification of the body mainly due to consumption of fruits and vegetables because most fruits and vegetables are high in water content. Also there are suggestions to drink ample of water throughout the day so that there is no fluid retention in the body.

Day 1:- Day 1 is only fruits. All fruits are permitted except bananas,mangoes ,grapes and litchis due to their high fructose content.

Much emphasis is laid on eating only melons if possible.

Day 2:- It is all veggie day which means all the fruits are replaced by vegetables. It can be eaten either raw or cooked. If required a baked potato can be included in the plan to provide more of complex carbs.

Day 3:- On third day both veggie and fruits are suggested along with the additional intake of water. After the tough first two days. the third day seems easier. There’s no limitation to the intake of fruits and vegetables. Carrots,corns and peas are not allowed.

Day 4:- On the fourth day the diet is more interesting. than the first three days as surprisingly it allows the consumption of food which were restricted earlier like milk,bananas and soup.

Day 5:- It allows the client to eat only beaf and tomatoes which claims to increase the loss of appetite. Large portion size must be avoided. Sprouts and soya chunks are allowed for those who can’t eat beef. Lot of water needs to be consumed to avoid a possible constipation.

Day 6:- By the time the diet reaches the sixth day the weight loss target has almost been achieved. Apart from beef and soya. it is advised to eat lot of fruits and vegetables and water is still considered the best beverage.

Day 7:- The final day of the diet plan permits everything other than meat products. A cup of brown rice and half chapati must be consumed to keep the energy level up-to the mark.

Most of the people will lose a reasonable amount of weight by now.

Why not to go for it or any such diet?

Well, possible side effects of such a diet could be muscle weakness due to very low protein intake as majorly of the food consumed are carbs. It could also lead to sudden hunger pangs which may trigger dieters to consume restricted food. Another highly possible side effect could be gaining back the lost weight due to the fact that no calories and protein restrictions or recommendations are mentioned. Even the recommendation for exercise are not stated. The diet is lacking in many essential nutrients too.It is mainly the loss of muscle mass than fat and most importantly there is no scientific document to support this weight loss method. It encourages you to eat more fruits and vegetables though.

My advice on this would be that instead of going for endless cycles of yo-yo dieting and losing weight only to regain it, try incorporating a healthy lifestyle. More than what you eat, when and how much you eat matter.

Eat a little less and move a little more my dear friends, this is what works the most in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

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