Is the GM Diet a safe way to lose weight?

Fad diets come and go but not without affecting the lives of several people who are forever in the lookout for a magical formula which will help them shed kilos within a short period of time without having to starve themselves or exercise. The GM or General Motors diet fits the bill perfectly as it promises to help you lose weight without having to stop eating. The only hitch is, you are stuck with eating only 1-2 foods every day. We take a look at this diet plan and tell you why it isn’t a wise idea to follow it. 

What is the GM diet?

GM diet or the General Motors diet is a weight loss diet plan to help people lose five to seven kg of weight within a week. It is named after a company named General Motors Inc as rumour has it that the company devised this diet chart for its employees but the owners have declared that they do not have any link to this weight loss diet whatsoever. But the diet became an urban legend and word spread across the world about the wonders of this diet and people all over started trying this diet to lose weight quickly.

The GM diet is a 7-day programme which involves eating a specific food group each day. For instance, on day one, one eats only fruits expect bananas. There is no upper limit on the quantity so you can eat as much as you wish to. On day two, you start your day with a baked potato and continue eating other vegetables (raw or cooked) till you are full. The plan has other specific foods for rest of the days including beef and rice and a ‘wonder soup’ which can be had to curb one’s hunger pangs on any or every day of the seven days. There are some more rules such as drinking 12 glasses of water and abstaining from alcohol.

The diet promises weight loss by the seventh day and also claims to cleanse your system. But the main goal is losing weight. Though this diet looks very promising and healthy too, many nutritionists will advice you against following it. This is because, it is a fad diet and like other crash diets, it too will show quick results but the weight is bound to come back once you stop following it. Furthermore, it will mess up your metabolism and digestive system in the long run. Nutritionist Neha Chandna tells us some of GM diet’s ill-effects.

Is the GM diet helpful in losing weight?

GM diet does help you to lose weight as it is a strict and restrictive diet which reduces your caloric intake drastically. It keeps its promise of weight loss but it can hamper your overall health in the process.

Is it a safe way to lose weight?

No, it is not a safe way to lose weight as it focuses only on particular foods and limits the intake of other foods during the day. It follows an exclusive eating pattern for an entire day which is not the right and balanced way to eat.

What are its ill-effects?

Since it allows only 1-2 foods for the entire day, for example like bananas/rice, it does not meet a person’s protein and other nutrient needs which are required on a daily basis. This causes loss of bone and muscle mass making a person weak and dull. It shows weight loss on the scale but is not really the right way to lose weight.

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• Why drinking is bad for your weight loss regime
• 10 superfoods for weight loss

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