Home Fad Diets What’s The Most Ridiculous Diet You’ve Ever Heard Of?

What’s The Most Ridiculous Diet You’ve Ever Heard Of?

by Erika Nicole Kendall

1214912_21505576There’s the ice cream diet. The mashed potato diet. The cookie diet.

Diet, diet, diet. We’ve all heard the word. We’re sick of the word. We’re even sicker of dieting than we are of the WORD diet.

Having said that, I’m interested – what’s the most ridiculous diet you’ve ever heard of? I’ve got a few, but I want as many people to participate in this one as possible. So share! Post the most ridiculous diet you’ve ever heard in the comments! Let’s laugh together!

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41 comments

Jubilance December 4, 2009 - 8:33 AM

The Cabbage Diet ranks up there, along with that “Hollywood Fasting Diet” drink stuff. The Cookie Diet blows my mind too – basically its Slim-Fast all over again, just in a “cookie” instead of a drink.

Oh, and I haven’t actually seen anyone do this, but I’m reminded of the diet one of the characters used in “The Devil Wears Prada” where she said she starved herself until she was about to faint, and then she ate a cube of cheese. *smh*

christiana January 6, 2012 - 10:31 PM

That was the *model* diet …. And I like *lifestyle* change better … Or healthy lifestyle … Bcuz it actually is a lifestyle change … We all know diets fail .. LOL

elledub December 4, 2009 - 12:04 PM

ha! i heard of the donut diet years ago. basically you eat nothing but donuts for like breakfast and lunch or something…YEAH RIGHT donuts is what got me in trouble when i first started losin weight! hahaha

great post.

-elledub
(@loryn24)

Michelle of Chellbellz May 19, 2011 - 7:56 PM

this diet just got the extreme side eye! LMBO

June Thomas December 5, 2009 - 12:14 PM

I found this link and i know there are tons more out there for the world’s craziest diets:

http://www.elle.com/Beauty/Health-Fitness/Craziest-Diets-of-All-Time

Tracy December 5, 2009 - 12:27 PM

that ridiculous lemon ade diet everyone heard Beyonce was on…Oh and let’s not forget the cereal diet she allegedly used to get thin for the movie Dream Girls..or was it Pink Panther LOL!

China Blue December 5, 2009 - 3:28 PM

Well, twitter doesn’t do my story justice! I’ve done the Lemon Cleanse and felt better for giving my mind and body a break (this was in the New Year).

My mum once put me on this crazy lemon cordial/grapefruit diet (I was 12, 13) in the hope of ‘cutting’ the puppy fat (now a grown dog) that was clinging to me. That worked really well… not.

Worst ever diet for me had to be the SlimFast, though. Lactose intolerance (then undiagnosed) + milk-based product = superhuman levels of flatulence. You remember how Missy looked in her ‘I Can’t Stand The Rain’ video, in that balloon suit? Yeah.
It got so ridiculously bad that I’d fart before I spoke – like if I was asked a question. Conversations in my new language were… interesting. My then-boyfriend asked me, ‘is it 1 for yes and 2 for no?’ FAIL.

Tracy December 5, 2009 - 3:28 PM

I’ll add the Mayo Clinic diet to the list. Eggs, bacon, coffee and grapefruit. Meat and salad. All seems harmless, but it’s that part about eating as much as you want until you’re stuffed. I don’t know anyone that has tried this diet and stuck to it long enough to have success.

Lil' Creole Pimp December 7, 2009 - 12:21 PM

As a Creole, I’m perfectly perfect and shit but when I wasn’t Creole, y’know before I became a Creole this always kilt me… Some kinda diet where you could eat ANYTHING only if you did something like use a certain machine while prepping foods like a magic chop or a slap bullet or whatever and it reduced the fat.

BULL. If I eat everything no matter how I make it I’m ingesting calories and carbs and fat and food and junk.

The eat anything you want diet is bogus. THAT’S HOW I GOT LIKE THIS TO BEGIN WITH, even though I’m Creole and I’m not imperfect cause I’m Creole.

Erika December 7, 2009 - 2:43 PM

Thanks, everyone, for sharing! I swear there’s a method to my madness, but if you come up with ANY super crazy diet you’ve seen or heard… you’ve GOT to share!

Tracy, I’ve never heard of that Mayo Clinic “diet.” That’s so unconventional sounding, that I can see where the allure would be.

Jubi, I’ve heard of the cookie diet before – that, in particular, is one of the things that I’m intrigued by… not because it works, because of the particular pitch involved. Not *any* cookie will work.. it has to be THEIR cookies. LMAO!

Loryn, I’ve dealt with this donut diet stuff before.. once upon a time, I think I accidentally went ON the donut diet… it’s probably why I had so much weight to lose in the first place, LOLOL.

China, I’m with you on the Master Cleanse. That’s definitely not a “diet,” but a detox… but thanks to Beyonce and the media that jumped all over this quote, it’s used as a diet ALL the time. I guess that ties into what I was going to say to Tracy!

Tracy, You’re right! The “Lemonade Diet” is soooo not a sensible “diet.” I’ve been on it, but I used it as a detox to cleanse my system before I changed my eating habits completely. It doesn’t work as a diet. I DO have to agree with you on the cereal diet, though. That one’s just…funny. LOLOL

To my beloved Creole Pimp… you have to blend all your food up in the magic blender type thing? Now THAT is LOLworthy, LMAO! I’m glad to see that you can see through that, though… I’m also sure you have that ability because you’re Creole. LOL! 🙂

Shantell December 14, 2009 - 1:08 PM

The peanut butter & jelly diet. You replace all your meals with a peanut butter & jelly sandwich and watch the pounds melt away…….NOT! My co-worker did this for 2 weeks!! All it did was make her skin break out!! Who thinks of these things?? LOL

Deanna January 5, 2010 - 11:26 PM

The craziest diet I ever did was the Three Day Diet – the one where you are supposed to lose 10 lbs in 3 days by eating tuna, dry toast, beets, green beans…oh, and a 1/2 a cup of vanilla ice cream for dessert every night!

This is my first visit to this site – I love it!! I’m starting my journey for the millionth time now, and hopefully this will be a great motivator for me.

Carla January 9, 2012 - 1:22 PM

I did that diet Deanna! Mine was called The Birmingham Medical Center diet. It was supposed to be for cardiac patients who needed to lose a lot of weight fast before surgery. I still have a copy of it. I did lose 16lbs but gained it right back when I stopped. It wasn’t enough calories to keep me going while working too. I almost passed out once at work. I read later that this was actually a very dangerous diet. The things we do….*SMH*

AngieBee December 12, 2013 - 8:43 PM

Deanna, this is one of the many diets I have tried through the years. I had the hardest time getting past the second day lunch which was plain cottage cheese. I tried this diet several times only to quit after second day lunch. I didn’t like the black coffee either so I didn’t drink. Eventually I followed the diet to the letter and lost 8 pounds the first week and three the next. After that I couldn’t do it anymore so I was off the wagon again.

AngieBeee December 12, 2013 - 8:54 PM

Deanna, I did this diet back in the day. It’s one of many I’ve tried through the years. I had the biggest problem with the second day lunch because it was plain cottage cheese. I couldn’t get pass that. I also didn’t like the black coffee you were suppose to drink so I didn’t. I loved the vanilla ice cream. Eventually, I did follow the diet exactly. I lost 8 pounds the first week, three the next and after that week, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had fallen off the wagon again. I’m still trying to get it right.

Blackcat February 25, 2010 - 12:20 PM

Not sure how crazy it is, but would love to get some feedback on the Atkins diet.

Benita March 13, 2010 - 10:54 AM

I must say that the 3 day diet is crazy but It worked for me a few years ago. I lost 24lbs and gained it back.lol But…..I worked out like 4-5days a week. The key……..change your eating habits(cut out the fried foods and sugar)and workout. On the weekend, I might eat one or two meals of whatever. It’s working for me. 12lbs now. LEAVE THE DIETS ALONE PEOPLE. YOU LOSE WEIGHT SOMETIMES BUT YOU GAIN IT RIGHT BACK AND THEN SOME……

Lisa March 17, 2010 - 8:22 AM

The three day diet is actually a hospital diet used to help patients lose weight before procedures, or right after. It’s popular with heart patients (my father was on it a couple of times).

I am a proponent of Atkins as it has worked for me; I am very sensitive to carbs and believe I have a gluten sensitivity as well, so I’m good with it. It is not nearly as crazy as people make it out to be, and everyone preaching the ills of white sugar, white flour and junk is basically speaking of a lower-carb lifestyle anyway. I’m not saying it works for everyone, but it DEFINITELY works for me and I am a happier, fitter, trimmer girl when I do it consistenly. Carbs and I just do NOT get along.

As for the rest, I can’t call it. Diets don’t work. LIFESTYLE CHANGES work. Either way, you have to commit…kind of like in relationships, but in this case, you’re committing to yourself and your health.

Trish January 18, 2011 - 10:12 PM

The most crazy diet I heard of was the apple diet where you eat 3 apples a day: 1 for breakfast, 1 for lunch and 1 for dinner. You’re only supposed to do it for 3 days and it’s supposed to shrink your stomach so you start eating less. I tried it with my friend and I felt really weak afterwards.

Angela February 23, 2011 - 2:07 PM

The banana DIET… OMG!!! Talking about having a headache for days. LOL….

LadyReD March 17, 2011 - 2:47 AM

The Hollywood Diet lose 5-10pound over the weekend and the 24hour diet where you lose 5pounds in 24hours (that sounds like a whole lot of potty time)
I”m stepping out on this one..Alli did you know this diet pill causes greasy excretions from you rectal at any given moment? Who wants to lose weight and wear a diaper ?!?

Molly March 18, 2011 - 12:26 PM

Yeah, they actually say to avoid light colored pants in the beginning.

ewwwwwwww…..

Kelekona October 18, 2011 - 4:03 PM

When I was in college, I made up “the junkfood diet” and was pretty good for the side effects. I would still have dinner with the family and breakfast in the morning, though my idea of a good breakfast was whatever leftovers would comfortably reheat in a 6oz bowl. (Spagetti with tomato sauce, a fishstick with 3oz of canned green beans, a few bites of baked beans with half of a hamburger patty…) Then I would go to the vending machine for one or two snacks during the day. One candy bar in the beginning, a bag of doritos after a few months when the candy bars became unappealing. After about 6 months, I would stare at the vending machine and decide I’d rather starve than eat anything it offered.

I gained a curvier shape and started hooking one of my belt loops around my button so my pants wouldn’t fall down. I did recover enough by the start of the next school year to continue eating crap, never really kept track of my weight or my size once I finally got new pants, and I was walking heavily by then.

I think the problem crept up after I stopped eating complete garbage. Ten years after that diet, I have to be very careful with desserts and even stuff like pancakes because a reasonable serving might cause me to curl up in pain. I also have trouble determining when I am hungry, and sometimes I can’t even eat half of a restaurant meal.

I think my weight would be fine if I hadn’t acquired a taste for alcohol during a troublesome part of my life. I may have a very slow metabolism now, but junk makes me sick and I don’t think I eat as much food as a normal person. I gained maybe 10-15 pounds over a year while being completely sedentary and over half of my calorie intake was rum-cokes.

As for other diets, the juice-fast from Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead strikes me as extreme. It was explained to me that it actually is extreme, but a transitional purge that is supposed to be followed by a shift to a sensible sustained diet.

Kelekona October 18, 2011 - 5:12 PM

I also thought I had made up something I called the “limited ingredient diet” where the aim is to have 90% of the food be from scratch or at least lacking in scary things on the label. The people I explained it to thought that is was freaky, restrictive, and weird. (They also seem to think that cabbage soup is bad for you, and the way I make it, they’re probably right.) Someone pointed out that it sounded like clean eating, but I think it’s similar but a lot more lax because it’s picking the battles.

Canned beans, potato flakes, and tomato sauces that contain non-scary ingredients are the convenience foods I’ve surrendered on. There’s also using canned tomatoes to cook with during the winter because out-of-season grocery store tomatoes are expensive and lackluster.

Many of the condiments pass because we don’t use that much of them and I wouldn’t be able to do better even if I did try to do them from scratch. There are also the ground spices that include anti-caking agents because our grocery store sucks.

There are a few don’t-care items like tortilla shells and questionable tomato sauces. Bleached spaghetti is also going to be added in a few months because while the rest of the wheat-paste pastas are okay, I can’t get used to spaghetti. When we run out of every other HFCS food, the barbeque sauce is probably going to stay.

Then there are emergency foods like the whole-wheat bread that stays good in the fridge for months on end. That one I choose soley on how stiff it feels when poked. Then there is the canned pasta and soup for natural disasters or for the rare “I didn’t notice I was hungry and now if I don’t eat something that resembles food in 2 minutes it’s going to get ugly.”

KaraB December 13, 2011 - 8:52 PM

The most recent craze is the HCG diet! Talk about insanity ….

Mimi April 1, 2012 - 3:21 AM

I vote HCG diet as well – people swear the HCG shots made them lose weight – forgetting they were only eating 600 calories a day

Stratosphere April 26, 2012 - 4:16 PM

I would say HCG, which I failed after two weeks on, or the Alphabet Diet. It’s where you can only eat/drink foods of one letter each day.

milaxx May 17, 2012 - 6:14 PM

The cookie diet. Only it’s not really a cookie , it’s this fiber packed mush they form into the shape of a cookie and then add “flavors” to it that are supposed to make it taste like different cookie flavors. So there’s sugar cookie, chocolate cookie and even a savory pizza cookie. You eat a certain amount of cookies every hour and of course drink lots of water to push all that fiber that through. You can eat dinner, but it has to be almost all protein.

I can’t believe I actually went in and spoke with these people. Thankfully the outrageous price kept me from enrolling.

Elizabeththanks June 10, 2012 - 9:49 PM

The ideal protein diet. There was nothing “ideal” about it. I was miserable, as was my wallet!!

Tanisha June 19, 2012 - 1:01 PM

The craziest one I did was the “beet diet” I tried when I was 16, where you eat a cup of beets with your meal. Gross. Because of this horrible diet – to this day – I cannot stand the sight, taste, or smell of beets. Uggh!

Olivia August 6, 2012 - 12:39 PM

The air diet. Yes, it has gotten that bad ladies! I saw an article on msn a few months ago about a woman in the UK I think who died on the air diet. It’s like she and others believed that one could get all the neccesary nutrients from particles of air-no cooking or food necessary just open your mouth and inhale! No wonder she died! I can’t believe the strength it took to not eat and just breathe thru your mouth. Google it and be amazed at the foolishness some people go thru just to lose weight.

Erika Nicole Kendall August 6, 2012 - 12:43 PM

I heard about this “diet,” but I didn’t see this story! Link?

Cynthia September 22, 2012 - 6:31 PM

My weirdest was the Vinegar Diet. You were allowed to eat what you wanted, but you had to combine Tomatoes & Cucumbers and Vinegar along with your meal. You could also drink a spoon full of vinegar if you didn’t like tomatoes or cucumbers. It did keep my blood pressure under control, but nothing else.

Olivia November 7, 2012 - 11:43 AM
MsBridget January 10, 2013 - 3:00 AM

The cotton ball diet, the hotdog diet, HCG (500 calorie a day diet), the lemonade diet (master cleanse), the grapefruit diet, cabbage soup diet.

Sheila February 22, 2013 - 4:24 AM

I don’t remember the name of it but my mom and I were on a diet where you eat food (anything you want) every other day. You actually ate these diet wafers and drank water on the day you didn’t eat food. On the days that we ate the wafers all I could do was think about what I was going to eat the next day!

brit April 1, 2013 - 4:29 PM

Popcorn and Big Macs. My aunt is currently on this one and I am trying to get her to stop, but she says its the only diet she’s been able to maintain. Popcorn and water all day, and a Big Mac for dinner. I have no idea where she heard of it, but I know its a nutritional nightmare.

Mounia August 5, 2013 - 8:03 PM

The vegetable soup diet, drink nothing but some soup made of cabbage onion celery tomatoes and a little veggie broth, I’ve tried it,couldn’t stick to it,almost threw up once or twice,nothing beats exercise and clean eating.

milaxx May 25, 2015 - 2:43 PM

Also known as the cabbage soup diet.

Allie October 28, 2013 - 10:25 AM

I don’t know if this is officially the “Lemonade Diet” that other people have mentioned, but the one where you drink lemonade spiked with cayenne pepper and maple syrup as a cleanse. Ick.

My aunt once went on a “pork rind” diet. You can imagine that one worked SUPER.

Emily December 12, 2013 - 1:37 PM

In high school I was fascinated by The Beverly Hills Diet. You ate nothing but fruit at first – mostly pineapple, I think, and grapes – as much as you wanted as long as it was “allowed” that day – and then gradually each week you added back other food groups. There was a “steak and lobster” day eventually.

Thankfully my mom never let me actually try it!

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