Health is a multifaceted concept, mirroring the complexities of finance and fitness, encompassing personal choices, structured plans, social influences, marketing strategies, cultural norms, and more. Diets, including the approach explored here called the "Cake Diet" (CD), incorporate elements of design to achieve their intended outcomes.
The Concept of the Cake Diet (CD)
The Cake Diet (CD) presents a novel approach to managing weight and fostering a positive relationship with food. It acknowledges the psychological and emotional aspects of dieting, moving away from restrictive measures and towards a more balanced and sustainable lifestyle. The core idea behind the CD is to allow individuals to enjoy cake, not as a forbidden indulgence, but as an integrated part of their dietary choices. This approach aims to reduce feelings of deprivation, potentially leading to better long-term adherence and a healthier relationship with food.
The "Birthday Cake Diet" (BCD): A Structured Approach
One interesting manifestation of the Cake Diet concept is the "Birthday Cake Diet" (BCD), which uses the allure of cake as a tool for behavioral change. This diet operates on the principle of delayed gratification. The BCD frames inaction (not eating) as action (waiting for a birthday cake), transforming the concept of denial into a positive and anticipated event.
The BCD then takes a page from established programs by using slices of cake as the metric. One cookie? One slice of cake. Chips? One slice. A granola bar? Half a slice. Pizza? Half a slice. The BCD is not as clean as the points system, but framing things as a slice of cake definitely will change some consumption patterns.
The Psychology Behind the Cake Diet
The BCD is super social media friendly. Like cheat day posts on Instagram, the BCD sells the experience of blowing out the birthday. The BCD is shareable and influencer friendly.
Read also: Healthy Keto Mug Cake Recipe
Part of the reasons diets work is design. One design is zero point foods, like bananas. Zero points isn’t zero calories but it is zero thought. The primal diets do the same thing. Carbs bad, meat good. Fasting also succeeds due to good design. Vegetarian too. The best diets combine easy rules and identity. Annie Duke would approve.
Cake as a "Zero Thought" Food
The core idea is to reframe the perception of cake. Instead of viewing it as a forbidden treat, the CD integrates it into the diet in a controlled manner. This approach can help to reduce cravings and prevent feelings of deprivation, which are common pitfalls of many restrictive diets.
The BCD as a Business Model
The first product would be a book. Or, better, a self-help book! It would outline all the advantages of better eating, all the research of behavioral scientists, and all the philosophy around intentionality and purpose. Tolle meets Tversky to defeat Tollhouse. The pitch is: the only junk food you would ever eat would be birthday cakes. People could just decide to only eat birthday cakes. But then again there’s a fasting app that’s essentially just a timer - and it’s a great idea!
‘Okay’ you’re thinking, ‘it’s not just birthday cake that’s bad for you.’ True. So after the first book about the why, comes the second book with the how.
The books will kickstart the funding needed for recurring revenue. Birthday cake as a service anyone? BCAAS! The BCD wouldn’t even need to create products. This business white labels ones from the big bakers or leverages the identity and design ease to create Keto ones or whatever. Plus birthdays are regular events. The Total Addressable Market is everyone every year. Is a low CAC tastier than birthday cake? We will find out.
Read also: Keto-Friendly Coffee Cake Recipe
Cake Diet: The Scientific Perspective
In a study, obese participants who ate a breakfast high in protein and carbohydrates that included a dessert were better able to stick to their diet and keep the pounds off longer than participants who ate a low-carb, low-calorie breakfast that did not include sweets. The findings suggest that both meal timing and meal composition play a role in weight loss. Carbs and protein eaten at breakfast may keep us full throughout the day, plus allowing ourselves some sweets helps to stem cravings for these foods, said study researcher Dr. Daniela Jakubowicz, of Tel Aviv University in Israel.
Nutritionists said they have mixed feelings about the study. Some say dessert for breakfast is a diet no-no, and could actually increase your cravings for sweets. Others said eating something sweet at breakfast is all right, as long as it's part of a healthy diet. But the experts agreed, a large, balanced breakfast can help maintain weight loss. A substantial breakfast can suppress your hunger cravings and make you less likely to gorge the rest of the day. The last thing you want to do is get to an evening meal, and be starving. That's the time that so many people overeat.
The study involved 193 obese adults, half of whom were randomly assigned to eat a large, 600-calorie breakfast that included a "dessert" item, such as a cookie, cake or donut. The other half ate a small, 300- calorie breakfast. Both groups consumed the same total daily calories - 1,600 calories for men and 1,400 for women. (The group with a big breakfast ate a smaller dinner, of 300 or 400 calories.) After 16 weeks of strictly following this diet, both groups had lost about the same amount of weight. However, during a follow-up period in which participants were advised to stick to the diet, but could eat more if they were motivated by hunger cravings, the small breakfast group gained 24 pounds, while the big breakfast group lost 15 pounds, on average.
In addition, those who ate the big breakfast with the dessert had lower levels of the "hunger" hormone ghrelin, and fewer food cravings than those who ate the small breakfast, without dessert. When we diet, we're hungrier, ghrelin levels rise and there's a decrease in our metabolism. A large breakfast that includes protein, carbs and sweets may counteract these changes, so people are able tomaintain weight loss over time, Jakubowicz told MyHealthNewsDaly.
The Cake Cleanse: A Specific Example
Designed for those with a sweet tooth, the Cake Cleanse is a “diet with a difference,” said Schipper. Unlike a juice cleanse, this doesn't give you license to eat cake throughout the day. While the idea of eating cake to lose weight certainly seems appealing, are these cakes truly diet-friendly? Do they taste good? According to Schipper, all the recipes are gluten-free and filled with healthy ingredients such as almonds, coconut oil, Greek yoghurt and cacao. In terms of taste, the gourmet with a sweet tooth noted, “Many cakes have the texture of fudge brownies with just the right amount of nuts sprinkled through. There are also light cakes and pancakes with the addition of whisked eggs to give extra protein and keep them light and fluffy.” Schipper also reassured me that the portions are fairly generous. It could be one cupcake, two brownie bites or a large muffin. For example, you can have banana bread for breakfast, and in the afternoon a chocolate cupcake. One ripe banana and two eggs are all you need to make two or three of these protein-rich BE (Banana and Egg) pancakes.
Read also: Easy Keto Cake Recipe
Is the Cake Cleanse Effective?
Enticing as it all sounds, but does the cleanse work? After reviewing the diet plan and the recipe book, Dr. Nevertheless, many people could lose up to two pounds a week, since the meal plan consists of healthy dishes-salads with tuna, frittatas, and chicken tacos with guacamole in tiny portions-beside the cakes. Ultimately, paying careful attention to portion size and frequent weighing remain the best approach to long-term weight loss.
Considerations and Criticisms
While the study shows the benefits of a big breakfast, it cannot answer the question of whether eating cake in the morning is a good idea, Tallmadge said. It's completely unfair to compare a 600-calorie breakfast with 300-calorie breakfast. In addition, Tallmadge said, in her experience, eating sugar can increase cravings for sweets. It's better to go with a balanced, healthy breakfast - such as oatmeal, skim milk and fruit - that contains about one- third of your daily calories, she said. But the study demonstrated the importance of incorporating your favorite foods into your diet without over-indulging, Mangieri said. "We know that deprivation does not work," she said.
Keep in mind, however, that recent research shows "eating refined flour and sugar on a regular basis is one of the worse things you can do for your health," Tallmadge said. It's associated with an increased risk of heart disease, cancer and early death, she said.
Integrating Cake Responsibly
Wouldn't it be great if you could top off your daily breakfast with a slice of chocolate cake and still lose weight? Researchers randomly allocated obese people for four months to either a 600-calorie breakfast rich in both carbohydrates and protein (that included chocolate cake) or to a 600-calorie low-carb diet. After the four months were over, the participants in both groups had lost weight. Over the next four months, however, people who had been on the high-carb, high-protein diet continued to lose weight, while those in the low-carb diet regained weight.
McManus says that even if this study did show changes in ghrelin levels after sweets for breakfast, it needs significant additional research to understand the potential mechanisms. Denial or complete avoidance of favorite foods certainly affects the attitude of dieters. Instead, she recommends incorporating favorite foods into a balanced meal plan that supports a long-term approach to healthy eating. But it's not necessarily sweets. One size doesn't fit all, says McManus. Ice cream or cake may not do it for you. McManus says the key is focusing on the portion and frequency, such as one serving of your favorite food twice a week. As for the time of day when you enjoy your treat, McManus says it doesn't have to be breakfast.
The Cake Diet as a Lifestyle
Life's too short to not live every day like a birthday party, so Thai rapper DABOYWAY is implementing a "CAKE DIET" in this vibrant performance. With "CAKE DIET," DABOYWAY promises to celebrate every day like it's his birthday. As he put it himself, "The fundamental idea behind the song is basically just to have fun. "CAKE DIET" was released in 2022, and marked DABOYWAY's first solo track since his 2020 self-titled album.