# Help me explain to my wife why this diet is crap **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 16, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939 "2007-10-16T20:00:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/1 "2007-10-16T20:00:25Z")
My wife wants me to try the _General Motors Weight Loss Diet Program_. Now, the first thing I pointed out to her is that there is no corroborating evidence that GM ever actually endorsed a shitty diet plan like this. The plan itself is simple, if crap. > [@](#): > > This program is designed for a target weight loss of 10-17 lbs per week. It will also improve your attitudes and emotions because of its cleansing systematic effects. > > The effectiveness of this seven day plan is that the food eaten burn more calories than they give to the body in caloric value. > > This plan can be used as often as you like without any fear of complications. It is designed to flush your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well being. After seven days you will begin to feel lighter because you will be lighter by at least 10 lbs. You will have an abundance of energy and an improved disposition. > > During the first seven days you must abstain from all alcohol > You must drink 10 glasses of water each day > > Day One All fruits except bananas. Your first day will consist of all the fruits you want. It is strongly suggested that you consume lots of melons the first day. Especially watermelon and a loupe. If you limit your fruit consumption to melons, your chances of losing three lbs. on first day are very good. > > Day Two All vegetables. You are encouraged to eat until you are stuffed with all the raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. There is no limit on the amount or type. For your complex carbohydrate, you will start day two with a large baked potato for breakfast. You may top the potato with one pat of butter. > > Day Three A mixture of fruits and vegetables of your choice. Any amount, any quantity. No bananas yet. No potatoes today. > > Day Four Bananas and milk. Today you will eat as many as eight bananas and drink three glasses of milk. This will be combined with the special soup which may be eaten in limited quantities. > > Day Five Today is feast day. You will eat beef and tomatoes. Eat two 10 oz. portions of lean beef. Hamburger is OK. Combine this with six whole tomatoes. On day five you must increase your water intake by one quart. This is to cleanse your system of the uric acid you will be producing. > > Day Six Beef and vegetables. Today you may eat an unlimited amount of beef and vegetables. Eat to your hearts content. > > Day Seven Today your food intake will consist of brown rice, fruit juices and all the vegetables you care to consume. Now hopefully none of the Teeming Millions are taken in by this crappy diet (which claims links to GM and John Hopkins in the preamble). Unfortunately, Snopes has yet to take a crack at this so I am asking for your help. Note that I avoided GQ, so don’t feel you have to post GQ worthy answers, although I won’t mind those either. I love my wife, but sometimes… ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/2 "2007-10-16T20:06:24Z")
Well, I’m no dietician, but even I know that potatos and bananas don’t become more or less healthy depending on the day of the week that you eat them. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/3 "2007-10-16T20:06:36Z")
Losing anything close to 2 pounds a day is dangerous and completely unhealthy. That alone indicates that nothing in this can be trusted. The pat of butter on day two is completely absurd-if you’re trying to lose weight like this, you want to minimize fat consumption. Also, the gorging on day 6 would largely, if not completely, negate weight loss. I’m sure someone knowledgeable will be along shortly. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/4 "2007-10-16T20:12:23Z")
For one thing, that’s weight loss at an insane rate. Even if she takes it off that rapidly, she’ll just gain it right back, and those pounds will bring their buddies. For another thing, any diet that has you eating only one food is usually a really bad idea. In fact diets in general are bad. If she eats normal food but in healthy portions, and gets good exercise, she can lose .5 to 2 pounds per week and keep it off. I have an exercise program that has a plan to lose _up to_ 10 pounds in 10 days. It’s fairly instense and focuses more on execise than on eating. But it is in agreement that alcohol and some other beverages are strictly off limits during that period. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/5 "2007-10-16T20:19:00Z")
The USDA recommends the following: > [@](#): > > For instance, a moderately-active 40-year-old female should average: > > ``` > * Grains: 6 oz > * Vegetables: 2.5 cups > * Fruits: 2 cups > * Milk: 3 cups > * Meat & Beans: 5.5 oz > > ``` It looks like this diet is just shuffling the list to different days, instead of allowing you to eat some of each food type each day. That and it’s very low on grains. Nothing beats a well balanced approach to meals, limited snacking, and moderate exercise. Everything else is a fad, not a lifetime approach to weight control. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/6 "2007-10-16T20:19:26Z")
Thanks. Basically, even before I looked at the diet details, I was saying the same thing (too much weight too fast - it’s fake). Then she said that it starts by removing ‘toxins’ on the fruit day. Let’s just say that my laugh of derision didn’t go over well (you’d think I would learn after all this time, but I guess we all have our shortcomings). Looks like I’ll be getting the cold shoulder, because there is no way I’m trying this diet if she insists on trying it…besides, I’m lactose-intolerant. The milk and banana day would kill me! ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/7 "2007-10-16T20:20:59Z")
_shrug_. If you’ve told her you think it’s BS and she still wants to try it, if I were you, I’d just let the issue drop and let her try it without starting any disagreements over it. The odds are she won’t stick with it very long, because of how restrictive it is, so what’s the harm? At least it seems more balanced than that Cabbage Soup Diet that used to be pretty popular. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/8 "2007-10-16T20:21:36Z")
[QUOTE=D\_Odds] I’m lactose-intolerant. The milk and banana day would kill me! [/QUOTE] Yeah, but the diarrhea would sure clear out those toxins. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/9 "2007-10-16T20:24:01Z")
Voodoo bullshit. The stupid is so profound that the mind literally boggles attempting to unravel it. It’s like they generated it with a random number generator and then randomly plundered alternative medicine texts to justify the results. Just to give some perspective, to sustain a 10 lb per week weight loss would take a total deficit of roughly 35,000 kcal. This is a 5,000 kcal per day deficit. At my current body weight of 175-180 pounds, I have a maintenance level of roughly 2500 kcal per day–if I eat more than that I gain; if I eat less I lose. I would have to eat 0 calories and then burn another 2500 from exercise (say, from running a marathon at a reasonable clip) to get a 5,000 kcal deficit. And that’s every day for 7 days straight. Now you can cheat a bit by losing a bunch of water weight, but you can get that effect by using less insane diet techniques…and that water weight will just come right back after you go off the diet. A lot of these fad diets use this effect to make people think that they’re getting remarkable results. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/10 "2007-10-16T20:25:11Z")
Dammit, you guys beat to all the good mockery before I finished typing that. Damn you and your fast reponses. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/11 "2007-10-16T20:25:35Z")
Before teh internets, this diet proliferated in the form of speckled seventh-generation photo copies of a typewritten sheet of paper. It has also been shared under many, many different names. (I’ve never heard it called the GM diet, though.) You’d think if it were truly the miracle diet it claims to be, GM would have long-since copyrighted it and used it to get themselves out of financial trouble. And what everyone else said about unrealistic & unhealthy rate of weight loss, etc., etc. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/12 "2007-10-16T20:26:00Z")
GM has a weight loss plan? I suppose you loose 20% of your total weight the moment you drive off the lot, and weigh next to nothing five years later. GM trainers cost $78/hour and refuse to train with you two weeks a year unless you give them a raise. GM’s low carb meal inexplicably ships in from Japan and is cooked in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/13 "2007-10-16T20:27:27Z")
[QUOTE=Autumn Almanac] Well, I’m no dietician, but even I know that potatos and bananas don’t become more or less healthy depending on the day of the week that you eat them. [/QUOTE] I think the point is that if you eat things in the right order, you’ll trick your metabolism into doing cartwheels or something. And I’ve recently heard from a reliable source that potatoes are one of the worst things you can eat. Sweet potatoes are OK, but white potatoes convert to sugar really fast, cause a severe blood sugar spike, and cause you to be hungry again really soon. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/14 "2007-10-16T20:27:34Z")
If your wife’s body is functioning normally, it already has a mechanism for cleansing itself of “toxins” and “impurities.” And even if she does have undesirable things in her body, giving herself diarrhea (days 1-3) is not the answer. It will only make her dehydrated. That’s the reason for the 10 glasses of water, which is an insane amount, especially since she’ll be eating so much fruits and vegetables, which themselves contain a lot of water. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/15 "2007-10-16T20:30:39Z")
[QUOTE=Waverly] GM has a weight loss plan? I suppose you loose 20% of your total weight the moment you drive off the lot, and weigh next to nothing five years later. GM trainers cost $78/hour and refuse to train with you two weeks a year unless you give them a raise. GM’s low carb meal inexplicably ships in from Japan and is cooked in Mexico. [/QUOTE] Awesome. That’s exactly what I thought when I saw the thread title. It was either that or you’d be living solely on motor oil for a few days, which, face it, would do the trick. You’d lose a ton of weight on that. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/16 "2007-10-16T20:32:34Z")
**slortar** , I’ve tried that tact before, using hard numbers. Of course, when a diet claims > [@](#): > > the food eaten burn more calories than they give to the body in caloric value _(sic)_ faith and hopes for miracle cures trump logic and science. When that magic food appears that truly has a negative caloric value, I’m going to gorge like a true American! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/17 "2007-10-16T20:32:42Z")
[QUOTE=Leaffan] The USDA recommends the following: [/QUOTE] Even the USDA is not an unbiased source, since basically they are a farmer’s guild. Even so, that’s a pretty decent list. The meat and beans look like a bit much, though. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/18 "2007-10-16T20:39:58Z")
Uhm, this diet works pretty well – because you shit yourself silly the first couple days. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/19 "2007-10-16T20:51:34Z")
[QUOTE=Litoris] Uhm, this diet works pretty well – because you shit yourself silly the first couple days. Seriously. [/QUOTE] That pretty much sums up that the diet is crap. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Blue-Sighted\_Shadow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecae2f/32.png) [@The\_Blue-Sighted\_Shadow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Blue-Sighted_Shadow)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2007, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939/20 "2007-10-16T21:02:19Z")
I once lost 22 pounds in 2 weeks. Here’s what you do: become violently ill with something that also gives you a persistent fever and a horrendous cough, so you are hot (burning calories), throwing up (fewer calories), have diarrhea (even fewer calories), and coughing (coughing for hours on end as if you’re going to cough up a lung burns \*lots \* of calories). You’ll be so miserable you won’t even want to eat, you’ll look and feel like living death, and it will take months to recover, but hey, you lost weight, and that’s what’s important, right? It looks like this diet wants to re-create this to a certain extent, but you’ll still need an emetic, something to induce a fever, and something to make you cough up to 16 hours a day. Have fun! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-explain-to-my-wife-why-this-diet-is-crap/422939.md?page=2)