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On day one, breakfast is one cup of coffee or tea, a slice of toast, and a half-cup of canned tuna. On day two, dinner is two hot dogs (this is not a joke), a cup of broccoli, one-half cup of carrots, half a banana, and one-half cup of vanilla ice cream. No snacks allowed. You get the drift. (Start a real, sustainable body transformation with Women’s Health’s Look Better Naked DVDs.)
The result: You quickly drop water weight, burn minimal fat, and may also lose muscle, says Katie Ferraro, M.P.H., R.D. Yeah, that’s not good.
Just Another Fad Diet
“It is so ridiculous… If I had a patient who said, ‘I’d like to lose 10 pounds in three days and then regain 15 pounds the next week,’ then this is the diet I would recommend,” Ferraro says.
DAY 2 – BREAKFAST 1 Slice of toast 1 Egg 1/2 Banana #militarydietchallenge #militarydiet #tagafriend #tagforlikes #3daychallenge #3daydietplan #lose10lbsin3days #followme #healthy #tryit #fundiet #dinnerismyfavorite #day2breakfast #toast #egg #banana #3lbsdown #weightlossjourney #loseweightnow #youcandoit
A photo posted by Military Diet Girl (@militarydietchallenge) on May 31, 2016 at 6:10am PDT
Though the diet claims that following the three-day plan with four days of eating 1,500 calories of whole foods will keep your metabolism running on high, that’s a big fat lie, says Ferraro.
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On the diet, you’ll be bringing your calorie intake down to about 1,100 per day, according to Ferraro’s analysis. “The problem with cutting calories this low is that it sends your body into starvation mode,” she says.
When that happens, your metabolism slows down. Then, when you go back to eating normal amounts of food on days four through seven, your body perceives that as a state of starvation and starts storing your calories as fat, leading to rebound weight gain, she says.
It also cuts carbs down to about half of your recommended daily intake and reduces fiber intake along with slew of other nutrients, she says.
And while hot dogs and ice cream can be a part of any balanced eating plan, they definitely don’t qualify as health foods.
Check out our timeline of crazy weight-loss trends throughout history:
Who Came Up with This?
While the diet’s name implies that it’s something the U.S. military invented to help people lose weight, there’s no indication that this plan has any affiliation with the military at all.
DAY 2 – LUNCH 1 egg 5 saltine crackers 1 Cup of cottage cheese #militarydietchallenge #militarydiet #tagafriend #tagforlikes #3daychallenge #3daydietplan #lose10lbsin3days #followme #healthy #tryit #fundiet #dinnerismyfavorite #day2lunch #cottagecheese #saltinecrackers #1hardboiledegg #lotsofwater #enjoy #motivation #3lbsdown #healthyliving #wellness #fitness #instadiet #fitgirlsrock #eatcleantraindirty #glutenfree #lunch ##organic #weightlossjourney
A photo posted by Military Diet Girl (@militarydietchallenge) on May 31, 2016 at 9:56am PDT
On top of that, it’s not even clear who invented the hot dog-packed diet, let alone if they’re a reliable source of nutritional information.
You Don’t Have to “Go Hard” to Lose Weight
What’s even scarier is that this diet (like so many crash diets before it) glorifies unhealthy eating as the key to weight loss.
According to the website, “The people that fail on the Military Diet simply don’t have the drive and determination that you do. They complain about hunger or low energy because they are used to eating way more calories in a day. That’s how they gained weight in the first place, by eating more calories than they burned off. Most importantly, some people aren’t committed to weight loss. What’s a three-day diet in exchange for losing up to 10 pounds a week?”
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Ugh. What’s a three-day diet in exchange for losing 10 pounds in a week? Poor nutrition, a slowed metabolic rate, muscle loss, rebound weight gain—and a terrible relationship with food. None of those things contribute to healthy and sustainable weight loss.