Rapid Network

As far back as 1985, the "3 Day Diet" can be traced back-it can now be found in bookstores, and all over the Internet. The three day diet and its different deviations promise things like a system cleansing, rapid weight loss, increased vim and vigor as well as lower cholesterol-all due to a "specific metabolic reaction" that not a single version of the diet has made clear. Nor has that specific metabolic reaction been proven to exist yet--at least not to this author's knowledge.

The diet itself goes through an on/off cycle. Three days in the on cycle; then you are off cycle for five days in between. Every version of the diet shares common "must be done" steps that have to be followed explicitly, and specific foods that have to be consumed in a particular order so that the diet will work as it claims it will. That way, the dieter can be blamed when it does not work-"you botched the formula."

Day one's breakfast starts with a piece of toast, one tablespoon of peanut butter, one half of a grapefruit, and coffee with no sugar. Lunch that day is coffee again, toast, and a can of tuna. Finally, dinner is one cup of carrots, one cup of green beans, an apple, three ounces of the lean meat of your choice, and one cup of regular vanilla ice cream.

Although the specifics change a bit for days two and three, the other days on the diet are fairly similar in quantity amounts. An example is Day two's dinner has two beef franks instead of three ounces of lean meat. According to claims made by the diet authors, the three day diet can bring about weight loss of ten pounds, and it can happen over those three days. But, THINK about how dangerous that is.

Nuts! How's that for being precise? No, unfortunately, nuts are not on the diet. The only thing that might work to make a person drop weigh on this diet only for three days is the lack of calories in the diet. As a matter of fact, it is possible for a person to lose ten pound in three days simply due to the fact that this diet is so lacking in carbohydrates. Most of that would, of course, be water weight because carbohydrates promote water retention. Dropping that much weight from not holding water is hazardous because the body needs water to live.

After the three days are finished, the weight will come back, because it is water weight. In addition, any weight dropped from the lack of calories will be gained back when the dieter goes back to their 'normal' eating pattern. Continuing to deny the body of water over the course of the diet for only three day cycles-enough times, that is-and someone could develop some severe health conditions like kidney damage, dehydration or worse.

The diet for only three days diet is best thought of as a no day diet. In other words, don't bother with it.