Active Low-Carber Forums - Fad Diets in India: "Do or Die-t"

Do or Die-t

Sunanda Mehta

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Pune, July 21: THERE’S a slim chance that you have never pondered over the possibility of trying out that latest fad diet, despite all advice to the contrary. For if you are one of those who put on a kilo merely by staring at a pastry for too long, you’d know the lure of those magic words-lose three kilos in one week. That this loss may or may not sustain is another story. At least it gets you through that weekend party. And well tomorrow’s another diet...er day. Some of the city’s celebs spill the beans on their favourite get-slim-quick schemes and their efficacy.

Seema Malhotra: I have tried all the fad diets that have ever come out. In fact I have been on a diet for as long as I can remember. This despite the fact that I work out one and half hours everyday with a personal trainer and am very careful about what I eat.

One diet that really worked was a three day papaya diet. For three days I had only papayas and lost five kilos! And no I didn’t put them back on either because I ate very carefully after that. Another time I had only raw food for three days and that too was very effective. What I swear by is my daily ABC diet-amla, beetroot, carrots, cabbage and cucumber-all crushed into a large glass of juice. Then in the morning I have five glasses of warm water with lime juice, followed by a glass of neem juice and only fruits till lunch. I take no drinks -soft or hard, at home or at parties. I think the seven day General Motors diet is also brilliant and of course I have done it!

Lila Poonawalla: Both my husband - Feroze and I are following the Atkins diet and we have lost six kilos in six weeks. For breakfast the diet prescribes half a grapefruit or its juice, unsweetened, two eggs and high protein meat. Lunch is again half grapefruit or its juice, salad with any dressing and any amount of meat.

Dinner is half a grapefruit or its juice, any amount of meat or fish, any red or green vegetable that could even be cooked in butter or salad and one cup of tea or coffee. You are also allowed a bedtime snack of a glass of skim milk or tomato juice. You can eat all three meals to your full but nothing in between. No desserts, potatoes, celery, mangoes, bananas, bread, rice or white vegetables. It’s working wonderfully and I feel great.

Karen Anand: I used to do fad diets earlier but then after 40 you find it’s a little difficult to follow them. The one I have followed well is the Fit for Life diet where you have only fruit till noon and work on food combinations. Like having carbohydrates and vegetables or proteins and vegetables and not combining carbohydrates and proteins. It works very quickly and I have lost three to four kilos in days with it.

Well fad in fat out maybe, but at your own risk please!