I dont have a title to describe this...

OK so I was talking to my mum this morning, and she was talking about a diet her headteacher is on (shes a teacher not a pupil... just to clarify lol)

Drinking in excess of 8 Litres of Water a day.
Food consumption: 4 Protein shakes for a 100 day period, then thats it.

She pays a company lots of money for this diet of protein shakes and water, and is guaranteed to lose 3 stone. She can eat nothing solid and only the protein shakes. The Water is so she can actually go to the toilet.

Also there is a meeting each week, frequented by no more than a dozen people, which decide what food was making the person overweight (they ask what food theyre craving for and thats that.)

Someone please tell me Im not wrong in thinking this "diet" is screwed on so many levels...

 

If shes not exercising that mixture of Calories, Protein and other stuff in the Protein shake is gonna all turn to fat.

 

It definitely is screwed on many levels.
The scary thing would be the vitamin defiency after 100 days.
What about essential fatty acids? Your body needs those to do upkeep on blood vessels plus it's easier to lose fat and not lean body mass if you are getting your fats.
Fiber-intestinal health-what is this diet doing to the neccessary bacteria in the digestive system?
I would say the biggest problem is it is basically an extended period of starvation. People will lose muscle and have slower metabolisms after going on this type of diet.
Far better would be the velocity diet which people have tried with good results.
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=563877 (new version)
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=546491 (original)

 

I read about this one a while ago, but I dismissed it pretty quick and can't remember the name now. I thought it was medifast at first but that has a little solid food in it.

 

I can agree with you that the diet sounds way out of wack for so many reasons. Obviously it is high protein, minimal carbs and fat. For a 3 - 4 month stretch? What happens when your Mom is done with it? Has she changed any behaviors that led to her becoming overweight? I support your conclusion about the diet.

 

not my mum.. her head. I wouldn't let my mum do it.

Fair play her head is 25 stone, but still...

 

She needs a bigger mirror.

 

Got ya, sorry! I again support your position. The person will undoubtedly add the weight once they start cooking for themselves.

 

This is why the V diet at t-nation is a more sensible version of this. You are taking a lot of shakes but there are also fibre supplements, sources of fat etc. to make sure you are nutritionally covered. This diet is complete pap.

 

Word on what Adam said. The woman is missing a lot of vital nutrients in that timeframe...fats, carbs, etc

Moderation is the key.

I did the Velocity diet for 30 days and 30 days exactly.

 

isnt that just plain bad for you?

and also, 8 litres of water a day?! wouldnt she end up drowning herself?

 

if you're 25 stone i swear you can get your stomach stapled, wouldnt that just be easier?

 

That sounds horrible. Just how many pounds is a "stone"? And why is she only going to lose 3 after 100 days of this diet?

Hopefully she isn't like me. When I eat large amounts of protein, I stink real bad. My armpits smell like a dead skunk. And all that liquid would give me the runs. Pooping mud isn't good, as it dehydrates you really bad. But hopefully she's not like me.

 

LOL. I drink more than 8 litres most days, in summer it's way more usually. The more water isn't the problem, it's the massive lack of vital macro and micro-nutrients that this diet is lacking.

 

Wrong to the Nth degree, but thanks for your concern. First of all, we don't know exactly how many calories are in each shake. Even if it's 200 calories per shake, that's only 800 calories a day. On that amount, you will probably end up gaining weight, but only because your metabolism is scared to death and is in life-preserving panic-mode.

Also, while weight training would certainly produce a higher "need" for more protein, you can drink protein shakes without working out and it will not necessarily "turn to fat."

Ahhh. Sounds like a perfectly scientific reason to me. :bang:

 

I think I'd be craving everything except protein shakes and water.

This diet is on a par with the 'milk diet' for stupidity, except that on the milk diet you can drink as much as you want.

Is there any way you can stop this woman before she does some serious damage to herself?

 

i feel so unhealthy now lol

 

And I thought I was going good at 2litres per day ...

 

I just drank 2 litres in the past hour

 

Anything that falls into the dogmatic view or sounds categorical is automatically flawed. In this particular case, tell your mom that that teacher needs so see a shrink or a psyche counsellor first.