The Diet Deets- Say Goodnight to the GM Diet

Although the (upto) 6.8kg weight loss in one week promised by the GM diet is as attractive as the ‘Buy 1 get one Free’ offer at your favourite clothes store, I’m here to provide clarity on the *Terms and Conditions* before you buy into this fad!

According to gmdiet.net, this diet was developed by General Motors (yes, the car company) in 1987 to help employees lose weight and improve their health. Many suggest that the USDA, the FDA, and Johns Hopkins Medicine developed this diet. However, don’t fall for that urban myth, there’s no evidence backing up that claim.

What it is- a weeklong super low-calorie diet that is every bit as exhausting and strict as your middle school math teacher. The plan primarily consists of non-starchy fruits, vegetables, milk and a ton of water and promises weight loss by creating a calorie deficit (consuming fewer calories than what you burn in a day normally). The table given below is a basic outlook of the diet. Apart from all the foods stated below, the diet encourages its followers to consume 8-10 glasses of water per day as well as 2-3 servings of ‘GM Wonder Soup’ each day. This concoction is made by boiling together cabbage, celery, tomatoes, onions and bell peppers.

Fancified and false claims such as ‘negative-calorie foods’ have helped sell this diet to millions.

Allow me to breakdown all the ways in which this diet plan is lacking and unsuitable:

• · No solid scientific backing- The biggest drawback of the GM diet is that there is no research that conclusively evaluates how it works and just how effective it is.

• · Lack of essential nutrients- The diet is deficient in grains (that is important in the prevention of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and gastric cancers) and healthy fats (which contain nutrients essential to your overall health) the lack of which can cause severe lack of energy and a host of other problems. There is also a lack in certain vital nutrients like vitamin B12, calcium and iron. Prolonged deficits in these nutrients can lead to anaemia, nerve damage, osteoporosis, among other problems.

• · Very low intake of protein throughout the diet- This can be counterproductive as studies show that protein can decrease appetite and enhance weight loss.

• · Not Balanced- Consuming an unbalanced diet with a severe undersupply of nutrients leads to feelings of deprivation, hunger and fatigue. The focus on one particular food group can lead to other issues, eg. Eating only fruits in one day without protein and fat to help slow digestion can cause blood sugar spikes and crashes.

• · May Lead to a Strained Relationship with Food- We all know that obsessive focus on calorie intakes leads to disordered eating habits. restrictive diets such as this one may have the same effect. If you have struggled with disordered eating or a full-fledged eating disorder in the past, label the GM diet a bright red flag and avoid it. If you tend to moralize foods—that is, give foods “good” and “bad” labels- this diet is not the one for you.

• · Fatigue- The sudden and possibly drastic fall in caloric consumption may lead to a person feeling extremely weak and tired. There have also been reports of nausea, headaches, dehydration, muscle weakness and other such symptoms accompanying the onset of the diet.

• · Weight loss on the GM diet may be temporary- Any drastic change in your eating habits, causes the body to start shunning weight. However, once you resume your regular diet, there is a high possibility that you will slowly but surely regain the lost weight. Many times, people also end up overeating to overcompensate for their unfulfilled desires during the diet which again messes up the overall body physique.

My fifty cents: I hate to break it to you, but it is impossible to achieve long-term, sustainable weight loss with ‘quick fixes’ such as this. Your best friend for weight loss is the dynamic duo: a balanced diet with regular physical activity.

Sources: greatist.com, www.eatright.org, www.verywellfit.com, www.healthline.com, www.netmeds.com

Written and designed by Shria Bellalcheroo