Wow, worst "diet" ever!

thinking_thinly

Yesterday, while spending Easter dinner with family, I got to catch up with my Aunt who has struggled with her weight her entire adult life; even going so far as to have bariatric surgery over ten years ago. In spite of the surgery, and being told she needed to make drastic changes to her diet, she continued her same eating habits and regained all the weight. Last fall, she had a major car accident and resulted in terrible complications that almost cost her her life. During this time she lost a considerable amount of weight, unsurprising considering how injured she was. Well, over dinner last night, we got on the topic of weight loss, and she mentioned her new "diet": She eats nothing but jars of pickles and then takes her diuretics for the water retention! I'm pretty sure my jaw visibly dropped. Also, there was sooooooo much ignorance to her statements like "pickles don't have any calories". Um, I'm pretty sure all food has calories! Secondly, I'm pretty sure this is the most dangerous diet I have ever heard of! However, she didn't want to here any sane advice, and ate pickles the rest of the evening... Good luck with that, I guess. Some people.....

MikeInAZ

Yep, pretty much the worst diet I've ever heard of. You can't change someone who doesn't want to change. You can try, but it's not going to happen. Good luck with that. Sorry to hear a loved one is so ignorant about their health.

jaimrlx

My mom bought this diet book that was written in the 70s, before a lot of scientific studies were out. It explains how, as a busy woman, you only need 430 calories per day - and even that was pushing it. I don't remember the name of the book, but it's horrible. She'll eat maybe 300 calories per day, and then get upset when she suddenly gains weight because she ate like a normal person.

Sometimes, health ignorance is hard to watch.

JazzyTimmy

Wow. You mentioned that she didn't want to hear any sane advice ... sounds like she *really* wants a quick-fix. Maybe when she sees that you're maintaining while she's re-gained, then she'll listen to reason.

jazzedorange

How do you not get physically sick from eating the same thing, like pickles every day? I couldn't do that. But I wish her the best.

PayneAS

Probably as bad, if not worse, than the cabbage soup diet.

Briko3

Some pickles don't have calories. The sugars found in normal cucumbers are broken down in the pickling process and the fiber isn't digestible.

trogalicious

Some pickles don't have calories. The sugars found in normal cucumbers are broken down in the pickling process and the fiber isn't digestible.

you forgot the "april fools!" and the "LOL"

hollyk57

AwesomelyAmber

Some pickles don't have calories. The sugars found in normal cucumbers are broken down in the pickling process and the fiber isn't digestible.

I have read this myself... and have seen the nutrician labels on the jars to back it up. Most jars now state 5 calories for 3 mini pickles or something like that.

mariapuhl

While I could live (taste wise) on my aunt's homemade pickles, because they are just so delicious.... no. Just no... that's insane.

Acg67

Yesterday, while spending Easter dinner with family, I got to catch up with my Aunt who has struggled with her weight her entire adult life; even going so far as to have bariatric surgery over ten years ago. In spite of the surgery, and being told she needed to make drastic changes to her diet, she continued her same eating habits and regained all the weight. Last fall, she had a major car accident and resulted in terrible complications that almost cost her her life. During this time she lost a considerable amount of weight, unsurprising considering how injured she was. Well, over dinner last night, we got on the topic of weight loss, and she mentioned her new "diet": She eats nothing but jars of pickles and then takes her diuretics for the water retention! I'm pretty sure my jaw visibly dropped. Also, there was sooooooo much ignorance to her statements like "pickles don't have any calories". Um, I'm pretty sure all food has calories! Secondly, I'm pretty sure this is the most dangerous diet I have ever heard of! However, she didn't want to here any sane advice, and ate pickles the rest of the evening... Good luck with that, I guess. Some people.....

Sounds legit

cwolfman13

I probably shouldn't be, but I'm actually shocked by the lack of just general, basic knowledge of nutrition. This is a prime example, but I see a shockingly low level of knowledge about even the most basic aspects of nutrition and fitness on display here at MFP daily. It's pretty pathetic really.

mlrodgers381

Even with the "calories" issue aside...she would definately be ingesting too much sodium, if that's all she's eating. Sadly, I've known people like this too, and like others here have said, you can't change some people, you can only pray for them...

VoodooLuLu

:sick: pickles ewww

Trechechus

Pickles are vile.

NaomiJFoster

So much sodium! I love pickles like a crazy person, but I know enough to keep it in balance with other things in my diet. And overuse of diuretics is dangerous too, isn't it? She might lose a few pounds, but she's asking for a heart attack.

UsedToBeHusky

Pickles are extremely low in calories but high in sodium. She will probably end up with high blood pressure and a slew of other health issues.

thinking_thinly

She definitely has a lack of basic understanding about human physiology. I tried to share with her what I did/am doing, but she says she is "happy" with what she is doing. The thing is... her scale weight is going down, but everytime I see her, her BF% has gone up... she looks heavier than before

sunnyhlw77

Okay, I LOVE pickles. I love sour, sweet, garlic, no garlic, cucumber, cauliflower, onion, beans, etc. I love them but as a snack. I'm not sure how any one food no matter how low in calories could be healthy enough to eat it all the time to lose weight. The body needs its vitamins, minerals, proteins, sugars etc. I think personally, there is no better diet than healthy fresh foods in moderation and plenty of exercise. What I love about this site is I think we're all facing the same struggle, the struggle to get healthier, live longer and feel better over all. There are a lot of crazy diets out there, actually this morning in fact I heard that British scientists are developing a "microchip" to help with weight loss and that they are going to start testing it on animals soon and in a few years on humans. Really? Unless that microchip is designed to get a person moving and stop them from overeating or eating junk, its going to be the same "quick" fix like all of the others that have failed. Sorry about my tangent, lol.

iuew

eating only pickles = not good.

if you think that's bad, check out this diet :

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/944039-pototae-cleanse-pruven-methods

lol

TJtastic

What I don't understand...is if people can restrict their diets like this - why can't they just be disciplined enough to just eat normal, healthy meals?

servilia

That is horrible! Is she at least taking a vitamin? you said she wont listen to advice to eat normal foods but she should be taking a vitamin at least. Ugh

melaniecmajors

How did she even come up with that "diet?!"

melaniecmajors

Exellent point!

vim_n_vigor

Well, that is better I guess than the other version of that diet that I heard which is along with the pickles, all you drink is whiskey.

likitisplit

I hope you're not real close to her. It's sad when people get that confused about what food, and our bodies, are FOR.

seamanny

What I don't understand...is if people can restrict their diets like this - why can't they just be disciplined enough to just eat normal, healthy meals?

^^^^THIS!!!

rahlpn

Ugh, reminds me of my sister who lost a ton of weight a few years ago and is now gaining it all back. She is the LEAST healthy person I know, and I'm a nurse and I try and try to give her advice on how to do it the healthy way and she just tells me "I just don't eat, that's what worked for me before and I can do it again." She doesn't go to the doctor at all not even for an annual check. She got down to 138 lbs on her 5'10 frame but had NO muscle because she lost it all starving and doing NO exercise, not even walking. I even logged her daily intake the other day to show her how little she was eating, it was 4:30 PM and she had been up since 6, she had only 600 calories all day and most was coffee and drank no water (she claims she hates water and often tells me how dark her urine is, ugh). And she also donates plasma for money twice a week and told me the other day she started seeing stars while donating and getting tunnel vision! I try to tell her she needs to drink a LOT more water and eat a good meal before she goes but she refuses to listen and just shrugs me off. I show her my before and during pics (30 lbs so far) and say "look, I eat all day long, 3 meals and 2-3 snacks a day and I'm losing!" People and they're hairbrained ideas on losing weight is a major pet peeve of mine!! Especially when it's family or someone you care about.

theseus82

Pickles have like 70% of your daily salt intake for the day *per pickle*. She's going to kill herself from salt toxicity, something that kills a handful of Americans every year. Going overboard with salt--say, on the order of about 10 grams per day--will destroy your kidneys and can actually kill you.

I read an article about a toddler who ate a handful of de-icing salt and nearly died. He had about 60 grams of salt in one sitting, and became the record holder of "consumed the most salt and lived".

Your aunt is going to destroy her kidneys. Eat too much salt when you're young, and the kidneys will take up the slack and clear it. The older you get, the harder it is for the kidneys to compensate for excessive salt consumption.

This is an excellent example of how health is more than just a number on the scale. I knew a guy who said that he had a great diet: the smoking diet. He just smoked cigarettes whenever he got hungry, and he lost a bunch of weight. Again, healthy lifestyle matters more than just gaming the system by doing crazy restrictive diets or with behaviors like the one your aunt is doing.

artbaby1

I totally agree with you. Can you just imagine the vitamins, iron, protein and such that she is limiting from her diet. Eating like this can make you sick. Wow, pickles and that's it. Unbelievable!