Long term artificial diet

bartleby9
bartleby9 Posts: 30
in Food and Nutrition
I'm concerned about my boyfriend. He has been on a diet of eating 2 slimfast shakes a day, 1 protein bar, 2 6oz cups of nonfat greek yogurt, 12 baby carrots and a healthy choice frozen dinner that is under 350 calories. He eats this meal plan every weekday and has done so for about 5 years now. I'm very concerned his diet is based on artificial foods (or liquids). What are the long term side effects of eating a diet based on so much artificial food? He won't believe me unless if I can show him a link or a respected resource where I got the info. Anyone know of any? I just was googling and haven't come up with much.

Replies

  • laus_8882
    laus_8882 Posts: 217 Member
    Where's the fibre? 12 baby carrots sounds like a lot, but it seems to be the equivalent of a few medium sized carrots. There's some fibre in carrots, obviously, but not an awful lot. Sounds like a good way to end up with a case of colon cancer.

    There's probably nothing wrong with the nutrients he's getting, but... Slimfast is based on you eating a small but balanced meal as well as drinking the two shakes. Healthy Choice meals (as far as I recall) are heavy on the processed carbs and have a small amount of meat and veg. Is there enough b12 in the yoghurt to make up for the microwave meal's failings? What about iron? He's probably not getting enough vitamin e (good for heart health).

    The diet probably won't kill him but it doesn't seem very enjoyable.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
    It probably won't kill him, but he'll never be at 100% of his game. Our foods need a large variety of foods that give us various minerals and vitamins. If all he's eating is processed junk, he won't be getting everything he needs - even if he takes a multivitamin every day.

    That diet will eventually catch up with him. It's nearly as bad as eating McDonald's everyday, just without the calories.
  • 1RBelle512
    1RBelle512 Posts: 53 Member
    Oh my gosh, this makes me cringe! Has he ever talked to a doctor about this diet? A doctor would likely advise him not to eat exactly the same thing every day, no matter what it is, because your body needs variety to get all the nutrition it needs.

    It will probably be hard to find a resource he'll accept, even if it is "respected", because he is so firmly rooted in this habit. But I would suggest watching Forks Over Knives to jostle him a bit.

    Also, how can you LIVE with someone who has eaten the same thing every day for 5 years??
  • bartleby9
    bartleby9 Posts: 30
    It is straining our relationship quite a bit. He thinks he is getting variety because he eats different Healthy Choice selections and different flavors of yogurt. To an extent he is, but it's all processed or, in the cae of the fruit in the chobani yogurt, bathed in sugar. He is determined to loose all this weight when i think he is very sexy as he is and am much less attracted to him when he is at his goal weight. But if anyone has a link or resources i can show him, it could help. I'll check out the forks over knives video!

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