by Maya Vokes-Didier

Created on: April 22, 2009

If such a thing as a 3-day diet existed, wouldn't it have by now become a panacea for obesity?

If anything, such names are misnomers. What they could, at best, help you get rid of is not body fat, but body water.

The claim made by the 3-day diet is: "Lose 10 pounds in 3 days". Read any health and fitness article on weight loss, and you will learn that one pound of body weight equals 3500 calories. The 3-day diet is then effectively claiming to help you lose 3500cals x 10lb = 35,000 calories in three days! Ask yourself is that possible? The 3-day diet programe says this: Consume approximately 978 calories every day for three days and lose 10 pounds. This calculation beats both logic and mathematics.

The diet does not take into account your existing weight, your existing calorie intake, or your body mass index. All it does is suggest a diet comprising of ice cream, eggs, hot dogs and coffee. Coffee is consumed thrice a day, even at night! Coffee is known to be a diurectic and also keeps hunger pangs at bay. The 3-day diet plan for each day includes meat, and it does not give options for vegetarians or vegans.

Moreover, the claims that this diet makes are attributed to recommendations by the American Heart Association and the Cleveland clinic. The truth is that both these organisations have denied having anything to do with the 3-day diet. Here are what the two organisations have to say:

Cleveland Clinic: " Despite a few sites on the World Wide Web, there is no Cleveland Clinic Diet, nor a Cleveland Clinic grapefruit diet. It truly is folklore, started several years ago. We all wish that weight loss and other health benefits could occur with simply making three days worth of dietary change. But severely restricting your calories and including/excluding specific foods from the diet is not the way to long-term, sustained weight loss and health benefits."

American Heart Association: "The phony diet describes a three-day menu, supposedly prescribed by the American Heart Association or by the "Heart Association." It includes vanilla ice cream, hot dogs, eggs and cheddar cheese. The diet promises a 10-pound weight loss in three days."
"The phony diet is not from our organization."

Weight loss can never be a quick fix effort. It takes time, effort and dedication. Use a health calculation website to figure out how to lose 1 or 2 pounds every week in a healthy manner. When you decide to start dieting to lose weight, you will be eating sensibly. Not for three days. But for the rest of your life.

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