What are some unusual diets that most people aren’t aware of?

There are some diets that, on the surface, make perfect sense. Cutting out junk food, eating more fruit and vegetables and taking up regular exercise are all sensible, logical factors that most diets, by and large, often advocate.

Then comes the diets at the other end of the scale – the miracle weight-loss claims, the newly discovered super-food, or the most recent celebrity-endorsed diet powder. All of which, on the whole, isn’t the most sustainable (nor fully tested) methods of weight-loss.

Less spoken about are the wild cards of the diet world. The plans, methods and lifestyle choices that are so unlikely and unusual, they might just work…

The Morning Banana Diet

Japan was taken by storm with this diet when a pharmacist sought a way to help her overweight husband lose weight. The idea was simple – a banana (and a warm glass of water) for breakfast, anything you like for lunch and dinner, and a strict pre-midnight bedtime.

When her husband lost 37 pounds following the regime, the pharmacist subsequently took to a popular social media site to inform others of their success.

A simple premise, coupled with a celebrity endorsement at the time, saw supermarkets sell out of bananas so often that a shortage took hold and the country had to increase their national import of the fruit!

The Sandwich Diet

Although already a lunchtime staple for many, the humble sandwich boasts an entire diet focused on its simple composition. Replacing a meal with two slices of multi-seed bread and a filling of your choice could see you lose up to 13 pounds according to studies, thanks to the restriction of calories. Just remember – no side dishes (and no overstuffing!).

A variation on the diet saw fast-food fan Carsten Renken lose a whopping 5 stone when he ate the same Subway sandwich for lunch and dinner over a 9 month period. Renken would opt for turkey, beef, ham and salad filling, and between September and March dropped 13 inches from his waistline leaving him feeling ‘the fittest he’s ever been’.

Kangatarianism

As you might derive from its name, kangatarianism is the movement to exclude all meat consumption from one’s diet except kangaroo.

While an exotic thought for many, eating kangaroo meat boasts such a variety of benefits that a movement swept Australia earlier this decade in favour of the unusual diet.

Thanks to their low fat / high protein meat content, little need for extra land or water whilst rearing and low levels of greenhouse gas production, kangaroos are a healthy and environmentally friendly option for meat-eaters. So much so, in fact, that replacing fatty red meat with kangaroo could prove a vital tool in tackling Australia’s obesity crisis.

However, while “kangatarian” was the Australia and New Zealand’s Oxford University Press’ “word of the month” in June 2017, finding a practicing kangatarian may prove slightly more difficult. Speaking of the term, dietician Dr Kate Marsh lauded the meat for being very lean and a good source of protein and iron – but hadn’t ever actually come across a self-professed kangatarian.

The Baby Food Diet

Exactly as it says on the tin, this diet consists solely of eating jars of baby food. Advising the consumption of at least 16 jars a day in place of regular meals and snacks, advocates of the diet suggest the calorie deficit created promotes weight loss, breaks bad habits and rids the body of toxins.

Supporters of the diet include Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon thanks to the portion control and high fruit and vegetable content.

The “What Would Jesus Eat?” Diet

This unusual diet (also known as “The Maker’s” or “The Bible” diet) shares similarities with the “Caveman” diet. Both prohibit the consumption of pork products, processed foods, pasta and breads, and grains, with the former only allowing natural foods created by God (such as meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts and roots), and the latter focusing on the presumed diet of wild plants and animals that humans would have eaten in the Paleolithic era.

While weight loss is expected for followers (who claim the diet improves concentration, reduces pain and inflammation and slows aging), the jury is out among medical professionals on its sustainability, practicality and long-term health benefits.

The Cabbage Soup Diet

As simple as it sounds, this diet consists of eating cabbage soup solidly for a week. Portion sizes go out the window on this diet, with participants free to eat unlimited amounts of the cabbage concoction, while also adding specifically chosen extras such as leafy greens at the beginning of the week and brown rice at the end.

The rationale is that the sheer volume consumed will curb hunger, but critics point to the lack of nutritional value and suggest that the monotony of the same meal will drive dieters to crave all the foods they couldn’t eat while on the plan, and result in them eating much larger quantities of them when the diet is finished.

Dessert For Breakfast Diet

Although an unlikely diet on the surface, eating dessert with carb-heavy and protein-packed breakfast is proven to encourage weight loss and curb cravings for sweet treats later in the day.

Followers of the diet have reported a 30-pound loss over a four-month period, thanks to the hit of protein early in the day helping dieters consume fewer calories in the evening. You really can have your cake and lose weight too!

Conclusion

While the majority of these diets have some founding in scientific research and findings, we’d always encourage anyone thinking of undertaking a new dietary regime to conduct your own research and always consult with your GP or dietician.

But who knows – the unheard-of diet today could be the new normal tomorrow. We just hope it isn’t the cabbage soup!