The world of dieting is filled with numerous plans promising rapid weight loss and improved health. Among these, the GM (General Motors) diet and the G plan diet have gained attention. This article explores both diets, examining their principles, benefits, drawbacks, and overall effectiveness.
The GM Diet: A Week of Strict Rules
The GM diet, also known as the General Motors diet, is a 7-day plan that claims to help individuals lose up to 15 pounds (6.8 kg) in a week. Proponents suggest this diet stimulates weight loss and burns fat faster than other approaches. Each day of the GM diet permits you to eat different foods or food groups.
Origins and Claims
While rumored to have been developed with assistance from the US Department of Agriculture and the FDA, with testing at the Johns Hopkins Research Center, these claims have been debunked as an urban myth. The true origins of the GM diet remain unknown.
The diet claims to offer several benefits:
- Lose up to 15 pounds (6.8 kg) in just one week
- Get rid of toxins and impurities in your body
- Improve your digestion
- Enhance your body’s ability to burn fat
How it Supposedly Works
The GM diet is based on the principle that many of the included foods, such as fruits and vegetables, are low in calories, creating a calorie deficit that leads to weight loss. It also suggests that some foods are "negative-calorie foods," requiring more calories to digest than they provide. Many recommended foods are also high in water, which proponents believe enhances fat loss and detoxification.
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The 7-Day Breakdown
The GM diet is divided into seven days, each with specific rules about which foods are permitted. It recommends drinking 8-12 glasses of water daily to stay hydrated. Exercise is optional but discouraged during the first three days. Followers can also consume two to three bowls of "GM Wonder Soup" daily, made with cabbage, celery, tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers.
Here's a breakdown of the daily guidelines:
- Day One: Eat only fruit, excluding bananas. Melons are especially encouraged. No maximum amount is specified.
- Day Two: Eat only vegetables in raw or cooked form. Limit potatoes to breakfast only. No maximum amount is specified.
- Day Three: Eat only fruits and vegetables, excluding bananas and potatoes. No maximum amount is specified.
- Day Four: Consume only bananas and milk. You can eat up to 6 large or 8 small bananas. Drink 3 glasses of milk, preferably skim.
- Day Five: Eat two 10-ounce (284-gram) portions of beef, chicken, or fish. You may also eat 6 whole tomatoes. Vegetarians can replace meat with brown rice or cottage cheese. Increase water intake by two glasses to flush out extra uric acid.
- Day Six: Eat two 10-ounce (284-gram) portions of beef, chicken, or fish. Include an unlimited amount of vegetables, but no potatoes. Vegetarians can replace meat with brown rice or cottage cheese. Increase water intake by two glasses to flush out extra uric acid.
- Day Seven: Eat only brown rice, fruits, fruit juice, and vegetables. No maximum amount is specified.
Additional Guidelines
The GM diet prohibits beans, claiming they are high in calories and may cause weight gain. Coffee and green tea are permitted without sweeteners. Soda, alcohol, and other calorie-filled beverages are not allowed unless specified. Substitutions like cottage cheese for meat and soy milk for regular milk are acceptable. After the week-long plan, a high-protein, low-carb diet is advised to maintain weight loss.
Sample Menu
A sample GM diet plan menu includes:
- Day One: Fruits like berries, pear, apple, watermelon, orange, and cantaloupe.
- Day Two: Boiled potatoes, baby carrots, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and cucumber.
- Day Three: Apple, cherry tomatoes, spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, orange, kale, strawberries, avocado, and mixed berries.
- Day Four: Bananas with milk for all meals.
- Day Five: Tomatoes and 10-oz (284-g) steak or tilapia.
- Day Six: Avocado, 10-oz (284-g) grilled chicken breast or broiled salmon with asparagus, cherry tomatoes, kale, and Brussels sprouts.
- Day Seven: Brown rice with watermelon, broccoli, fruit juice, and mixed vegetables.
Potential Benefits
While no studies have specifically examined the GM diet, research supports some of its components. The diet encourages increased intake of fruits and vegetables, which can promote weight loss due to their low-calorie content. A 2015 study of over 133,000 participants found that those with the highest intake of fruits and non-starchy vegetables had the lowest risk of weight change over four years. The diet also limits sugary beverages and alcohol, which contribute to weight gain. The flexibility in choosing meats, fruits, and vegetables may make the plan feel less restrictive.
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Disadvantages
The GM diet has several drawbacks:
- Lack of Research: There is no research to support the diet's claims or evaluate its effectiveness. The concept of "negative-calorie foods" is not scientifically backed.
- Nutrient Deficiencies: The diet is not well-balanced and may lead to feelings of deprivation and hunger. It often provides low amounts of protein, which can be counterproductive for weight loss. The diet is also lacking in essential nutrients like fat, vitamin B12, iron, and calcium, especially during the first three days.
- Temporary Weight Loss: Most weight loss is likely water weight from glycogen depletion. This type of weight loss is temporary, and weight is typically regained after resuming a normal diet.
Should You Try It?
The GM diet may offer a quick fix for weight loss, but it is not a sustainable or healthy approach. Its drawbacks outweigh any potential benefits. It is not backed by research, lacks essential nutrients, and leads to only temporary weight loss. Instead of engaging in yo-yo dieting, incorporating a healthy diet into your everyday life is recommended.
The G Plan Diet: Fixing Your Gut
The G plan diet is a 21-day plan that focuses on fixing the gut biome to promote weight loss, detoxify the body, and maintain weight loss. The "G" in the title stands for "gut," emphasizing the importance of increasing good bacteria in the intestines to decrease inflammation.
The Three Phases
The G plan diet consists of three phases, each with unique dietary guidelines and restrictions.
The Rest Phase (Days 1-5)
The first phase, the "rest phase," lasts for five days and aims to detoxify the gut, kick-start weight loss, and reduce bloating. This phase is restrictive, eliminating:
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- Gluten
- Processed foods
- Refined sugars
- Dairy
- Alcohol
- Carbonated drinks
- Nightshade foods (tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers)
Caffeine is limited to one or two cups of green tea.
It is recommended to start each day with hot water with lemon and ginger. Eating probiotic-rich foods like garlic, bananas, asparagus, fermented vegetables, and avocados is encouraged.
The Re-Wild Phase (Days 6-14)
The "re-wild" phase adds more foods after the gut has been detoxified. Foods that can be reintroduced include fermented products like miso, kombucha, kefir, pickles, and yogurt, as well as beans, eggs, tomatoes, and other vegetables previously restricted.
The Re-Balance Phase (Days 15-21)
The final phase, the "re-balance," brings back some of the foods cut out at the beginning, such as dairy, coffee, alcohol, and nightshade vegetables, but not processed foods and refined sugars.
Concerns and Take Home Message
While the G plan diet promotes eating healthier, detoxifying foods, the foods it cuts out can be part of a healthy diet in moderation. One potential danger is the lack of calorie tracking, which could lead to eating in a surplus and not losing weight.
Like most fad diets, the G plan diet helps cut out junk food, but it is not the only plan for detoxifying or losing weight. If you're looking to detox your body and GI tract, the G plan could be a good option. However, for a serious lifestyle change and long-term weight loss, designing a diet plan that allows you to eat all the foods you like while maintaining a calorie deficit is better.
A balanced diet and a calorie deficit remain the best way to lose weight healthily in the long term.
Other "G" Diet Plans
G-Plans by Dr. Goglia
G-Plans, popularized by Khloe Kardashian, is a program developed by Dr. Goglia based on each user’s "metabolic type." The program emphasizes personalized nutrition but has raised concerns about its methodology and marketing tactics.
Criticisms
- Questionable Metabolic Typing: Critics argue that metabolic typing is a marketing scheme to sell personalized plans.
- Misinformation: Some plans categorize green vegetables as "carbs," indicating a lack of basic nutritional knowledge.
- Aggressive Sales Tactics: The program uses time-crunch sales techniques and implies that supplements are necessary for success.
- Unsustainable Meal Plans: Meal plans are often restrictive and don't teach individuals how to self-manage their food intake.
Red Flags
- Diagnosing individuals with conditions that don't exist.
- Using quizzes that seem like smoke and mirrors to generate the same plan for everyone.
- Selling supplements with questionable ingredients and implying they are better than anxiety medication.