{"id":47119,"date":"2016-01-25T07:15:44","date_gmt":"2016-01-25T12:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=47119"},"modified":"2021-11-18T10:31:48","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T15:31:48","slug":"gm-diet-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/gm-diet-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Bananas in One Day? Here\u2019s the Deal with the GM Diet"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"8
Photo by Ryan McGuire<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Would you try a diet that required you to eat eight bananas in one day? (We love bananas<\/a>, but\u2026really?) That\u2019s the concept behind Day 4\u00a0of the GM Diet, the most-searched-for weight loss plan on Google in 2015. And the rest of the days aren\u2019t much better, either.<\/p>\n

Rumored to have been developed by General Motors to help employees and their dependents stay healthy, this plan was allegedly put together in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Johns Hopkins University. (Think that sounds fishy? So did we.)<\/p>\n

But the interesting origin of the diet isn\u2019t the only reason the GM Diet has become a source of weight loss lore. The plan\u00a0promises you\u2019ll lose 10 to 15 pounds in one week. You heard that right \u2014 10 or 15 pounds, one week. Too good to be true? Read on to find out.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 21 Meal Prep Pics from the Healthiest People on Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the GM Diet?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We\u2019ll save you the trouble of Googling and outline out the logistics of this diet for you right now. Here\u2019s what a week on the GM diet<\/a> looks like:<\/p>\n

Day 1:<\/strong> Fruit only (except bananas)<\/p>\n

Day 2:<\/strong> Vegetables only<\/p>\n

Day 3:<\/strong> Any fruits and vegetables \u2014\u00a0except potatoes and bananas<\/p>\n

Day 4:<\/strong> Eight bananas, at least three glasses of milk and GM Wonder Soup<\/p>\n

Day 5:<\/strong> Two 10-ounce portions of beef and six tomatoes<\/p>\n

Day 6:<\/strong> Two 10-ounce portions of beef and as many vegetables as you want<\/p>\n

Day 7:<\/strong> Brown rice, fruit juice and vegetables<\/p>\n

The GM Wonder Soup<\/a> \u2014 made of cabbage, celery, onion, bell peppers and tomatoes \u2014 can be eaten as much as you like throughout the week, as its designed to help you\u00a0stave off hunger, too. And drinking a lot of water is super-important\u00a0\u2014 it’s the only beverage that\u2019s encouraged on the plan. According to the GM Diet\u2019s website<\/a>, the timing and combination of these food groups is supposed to turn your body into a fat-burning machine \u2014 while also detoxing your system.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> How to Detox the Healthy Way: 16 Recipes You\u2019ll Love<\/a><\/p>\n

Is There Any Science Behind the GM Diet?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cOur physiological response to restriction is to binge. Your body is asking you to please feed me.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you think the GM Diet sounds a little questionable, your instincts are on point. While you\u2019ll be consuming fewer carbs and added sugars<\/a>, as well as\u00a0more fiber than normal, the diet also severely restricts the number of calories you take in on a day \u2014\u00a0which isn\u2019t<\/em> necessarily a good thing. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen many diets like this over the years,\u201d says Lauren Antonucci, RDN and Owner of Nutrition Energy<\/a>. \u201cBut there are no substantiated studies to back<\/a> it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, and the claim that this diet originated at General Motors? That appears to be a myth, too. When New York Times<\/em> columnist Roger Cohen<\/a> contacted GM, they found no record of the company developing the diet. So you can safely bet that the FDA, UDSA and Johns Hopkins didn\u2019t have much involvement, either.<\/p>\n

The appeal of the GM Diet appears to rely mainly on its length and novelty factor. \u201cYou can do anything for seven days. It\u2019s not overwhelming and easy to follow,\u201d says Michaela Ballman, RD and Founder of Wholify<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, there\u2019s little evidence that eating, say, eight bananas a day, will do you any good. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing magical about the combination of foods,\u201d says Ballman. The GM Diet is based on the premise that the calories you burn will exceed the calories you consume \u2014 leading your body to\u00a0burn fat for energy. However, according to Antonucci, it\u2019s a stretch to think these changes could lead to a 10-pound weight loss in one week. (FYI: Most experts recommend<\/a> losing one to two pounds a week.)<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 5 Tips for Setting a Totally Doable Weight Loss Goal<\/a><\/p>\n

Plus, if you have diabetes or any blood sugar issues, steer clear of this plan. \u201cThe day of bananas and milk would be a really bad idea for someone with diabetes,\u201d says Ballman. \u201c\u2026That\u2019s 276 grams of carbohydrates! This is certainly not balanced.\u201d And even if you don\u2019t have diabetes, you\u2019ll likely experience sugar highs and lows throughout the day from the diet, too.<\/p>\n

During your GM week, you might also experience headaches, nausea, diarrhea (thanks to the\u00a0extra fiber<\/a>) and brain fog. Plus, you may have to scale back your workouts, too. Since you\u2019re taking in limited protein<\/a>, Antonucci advises against activity that breaks down muscle. \u201cI would be most concerned doing anything that requires muscle repair,\u201d says Antonucci. \u201cNo heavy lifting. No intense workouts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The GM Diet Aftermath<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So let\u2019s say you follow a plan like the GM Diet for seven days \u2014\u00a0and you do <\/em>see weight loss. Success, right? Not necessarily.\u00a0It\u2019s what happens after<\/em> the week is over that may be problematic. Ballman notes that 95 percent of people on restrictive diets like this will regain the weight<\/a> and a percentage will put on even more. \u201cOur physiological response to restriction is to binge<\/a>. Your body is asking you to please feed me,\u201d she says. \u201c[For some,] this could lead to chronic dieting, restriction and fasting, which, over the long-term, can affect the metabolism and make future weight loss very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not only that, but when you lose weight super fast, you also end up losing lean muscle which can impact your metabolism. \u201cWhen you lose weight the wrong way, a greater percentage of a one-pound weight loss is muscle,\u201d says Ballman, as opposed to fat.<\/p>\n

The Bottom Line<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Sure, it\u2019s human nature to want to see results fast. But if you want to achieve long-term weight loss, think long-term changes<\/a> over quick fixes like the GM Diet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting\u2026but no one thinks about day eight, nine and ten,\u201d says Ballman. \u201cMillions of people lose weight every year. The problem isn\u2019t how<\/em> do we lose weight, but how do we maintain weight loss?\u201d<\/p>\n

Now step away from that bowl of bananas \u2014 or at least don’t eat eight in one day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The GM Diet promises you can lose 10 to 15 pounds in just one week. (Seriously, though?) Here\u2019s why you should be skeptical of this popular plan. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,18],"tags":[41,51,341,371,285],"class_list":["post-47119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","category-weight-loss","tag-diets","tag-food-choices","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2mens-health","tag-weight-loss"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47119"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47119\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}