My friend Elise has started a Semiuseful online magazine. (That’s not a mixed review, that’s the name of the site.) Elise and I worked together many years and many pounds ago, so when she asked me to write an article about Fad Diets 101 I said, “Sure.” Actually, I typed “Sure” because she emailed me. Anyway, she’s worked hard to put this endeavor together, so check it out if you have some time.
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Later: Lick the produce: What nice melons you have!
Earlier: The pants factor
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Colin says
August 10, 2008 at 8:02 pmNice article, though let me add that the tapeworm diet is alive and well in Japan, and least on the fringe. The high school where I used to teach actually hosted a professor who touted tapeworms as the key to health and happiness.
Scout’s honor, ma’am.
Sara says
August 10, 2008 at 8:51 pmA good friend of mine is, a I write this, on day 4 of what you referred to as the ‘Maple Syrup’ diet–and what he refers to as “The Master Cleanse”. He reports that his motives are not weight loss related but more to purge his system of ‘toxins’ and finally achieve the bliss of something he’s referring to as an ‘epiphany poo’. Amazing the things we’ll put ourselves through in the name of weight loss, isn’t it?
Though I confess that I’ve often thought that a short stint as host to a tapeworm (not purposely ingested, of course) wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world…
MizFit says
August 11, 2008 at 6:29 amloved semiuseful…although I still wanna Pimp My Ride.
Crabby McSlacker says
August 11, 2008 at 6:40 amLove the round up of fad diets. Sadly, I don’t think we’ll ever see the end of them as there will always be folks looking for easy solutions.
Personally I’ll pass… at least until they invent the Cupcake diet.
elizabeth says
August 11, 2008 at 7:58 pmhey :)
my friend linked me to your journal for inspiration. it must be great to be e-famous for such a worthy reason. good for you! i just started a new diet on july 3rd, and i am so far down from 332lbs to 307lbs. i just can’t get myself moving though, or i am sure the weight would be coming off quicker.
you are proof to me that it is possible. thank you for being my shining light!
sl says
August 11, 2008 at 9:03 pmyea, the Master Cleanse (the official name) is not suppose to be used for weight loss. It’s just suppose to improve your health and a lot of people use it to gain weight as you introduce healthier foods back into your diet (I use that word in the original sense) and that’s why it doesn’t work for weight loss.
You should look up the book because it explains some of the problems you have with the diet. Ie, it uses grade B maple syrup (not a specific brand) and the seasalt flush and tea takes care of the other problems. =D
I’ve never done it, but I know a lot of people who swear it cured them of everything from headaches to hairloss.