In modern times it seems everyone has a different theory on how to reduce tummy fat or excess body fat. Many seem obsessed with dieting and will do anything and everything to try to lose weight and keep it off.
The list of fad diet options on the market are endless – low fat, high fat, low carb, lemon detox, the liquid diet, grapefruit diet, Atkins, South Beach, the Cabbage Soup Diet… the list goes on and on. The reality is that many modern diets have no real scientific proof to back up their outlandish weight loss claims.
You might be mistaken for thinking that humans have recently gone batsh#t crazy over strange diets hoping they would finally do the trick. Whatever happened to sensible eating and exercise? This obsession with body image is a new development isn’t it?
Nope. Not at all. Lets look at 7 of the most popular weight loss programs of the past that turned out to be oh so wrong and did not show you how to reduce tummy fat!
The Swamp Diet 1727
Way back in 1727 fat loss and body image was still topical. A man called Thomas Short however was sure he had come up with the solution. Mr Short observed that overweight people tend to live near swamps! Genius right! The solution? Pick up sticks and move away from the swamp to more arid climates. Following his treatise entitled “The Causes and Effects of Corpulence” this idea became really popular at the time. As it turns out it isn’t great weight loss advice… but is pretty good to keep in mind from a real estate perspective!
The Vinegar Diet 1820
Lord Byron – a renowned anorexic, bulemic and poet popularized the Vinegar diet in the early 1800s. What’s this Vinegar diet you ask? Well Byron professed that you should cleanse the body by drinking plenty of vinegar and water, alongside a regular cuppa with one raw egg. Not only does it sound disgusting – it also has the side effect of inducing vomiting and diarrhea. That possibly explains the weight loss!
The Tapeworm Diet 1950s
The prospect of ingesting cysts (baby tapeworms) to enable endless eating alongside weight loss began in the early 1900s. But this strange weight loss craze didn’t actually gain popularity until the 1950s. Can you imagine sucking down on parasites in pill form to aid your weight loss pursuits? What if I told you they could grow up to 25 feet long inside you… and that extracting the worm through excretion was extremely painful…. yes my sentiments exactly.
1900s The Chewing Diet
Ever heard mum tell you to chew your food thoroughly? Perhaps she had spoken to Horace Fletcher – the great masticator. Horace introduced the odd diet technique of chewing your food 32 times (once for every tooth) before disposing of the rest of the contents by spitting it out. He claimed to lose a whopping 30 pounds. The Chewing Diet even had a catching wee motto that ran with it “Nature will castigate those who don’t masticate.” Fortunately this one didnt gain widespread popularity.
The Cigarette Diet 1925
Nowadays we are made very aware of the health impacts of a pack of ciggies. But this wasn’t always the case. Back in the day they were promoted as a weight loss technique and gained widespread popularity as such. Many cigarette companies would promote the appetite suppressing nature of their products. Doctors even prescribed it! Its fair to say there are even a few today that still subscribe to this method and would rather die of lung cancer than be fat!
The Drinking Mans Diet
What? This sounds fabulous! Could this be the best diet ever?
The drinking mans diet enables you to consume ‘man food’ at will, so long as you wash everything you eat down with a dose of alcohol!
Like the Atkins diet which has been popular in modern times, Robert Cameron the creator of the Drinking Man’s Diet, proposes healthy weight loss by reducing the intake of carbohydrates. Cameron’s diet was a big hit in the 1960s. Priced at a single dollar – in a two year period he sold more than $2million copies to become a best seller.
The Vegetable Oil Diet
Dr Herman Taller was the brain child behind the Vegetable Oil Diet. Back in the early 60s he established a popular dieting theory of eating as much as you like – but chasing it with vegetable oil – despensed via a pill. Don’t bother counting the calories – so long as you get your Vege oil fix to stimulate fat loss.
The bad news for Dr Taller is that it turned out he was using his book to promote a specific brand of oil that he sold – and in 1967 he was found guilty of mail fraud and conspiracy.
As we say – its amazing what people will do or believe to try to lose weight. Make sure you avoid becoming the laughing stock and stick to whole natural foods and get your regular fix of good old fashioned exercise.
