You may have heard of the General Motors or the original GM diet plan that promises to help you lose up to 6.8 kgs in just one week! Well, this diet is back in fashion and how.
Although each day of the original GM diet allows you to try different food items from different food groups, it is also dangerously low in many nutrients.
So should you jump on the bandwagon? Is it really worth the shot? We take you through its meal plan and the pros and cons of this rather famous diet plan.
History Of The Original GM Diet: Where Did It Come From?
The original GM diet was first developed by the General Motors Corporation (as the name suggests). At the time, the company wanted to prepare a meal plan that would help keep their employees healthy.
It was also said to be a joint collaborative effort by GM, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). In addition, it was also tested at John Hopkins Research Center before being given a go-ahead.
But the claim has since been debunked as a myth and the origin of this diet is not proved or established.
What You Can Eat In The 7 Day Plan
The GM diet pans across seven days. Each day's meal plan is assigned a specific food group. For instance, on the first day of your diet, you have only fruits and on the second day, you can only to eat vegetables. In addition to the food group rules, here are some additional guidelines the original GM diet follows.
- The diet recommends that you drink 8–12 glasses of water each day to stay hydrated. Since it is low in nutrition exercise as such is not required and is optional. In fact, the diet recommends against exercise during the first three days.
- You can consume 2-3 bowls of “GM Wonder Soup” each day. It is prepared with cabbage, celery, tomatoes, onions and bell peppers.
- You can have black tea, green tea, unsweetened coffee, but in limited quantity.
While there are a few cons to this type of diet, there are also many pros.
Benefits Of The Original GM Diet
- No sugar: You are not exposed to any form of sugar content.
- Detoxification: Since you are having around 8-12 glasses of water and only healthy food, your body will eliminate excess toxins and will flush out the waste.
- Beautiful skin: The result of having only healthy food will also have an effect on your skin. The detox will improve your skin health and can give it a natural glow.
- Improved digestion: As the food is rich in fibre, it will also improve your bowel movement.
- Boost metabolism: Since you are having only healthy food and there is a greater intake of water, it will aid body metabolism. This will ensure more calories that are burnt and therefore, weight loss.
Here's a closer look at the weight loss diet chart of the GM diet:
GM Diet Plan Chart For Weight Loss
Day 1: Fruits
- Breakfast: You can have a bowl of watermelon or an apple/pomegranate
- Lunch: Have a bowl of papaya or muskmelon
- Evening Snack: You can drink a glass of coconut water
- Dinner: Have 1 guava/ orange or you can have a bowl of berries like strawberries
- Bed-time snacks: You can have just 1 bowl of watermelon or even grapes.
Remember: You are not to add any honey, cream or sugar dressing to your fruits on the first day.
Day 2: Vegetables
- Breakfast: You can start your day with one large or two small-sized potatoes. The other option is a bowl of corn kernels or even green peas.
- Lunch: Next comes lunch where you can have a large bowl of cabbage soup.
- Evening Snack: You won't get to eat much, so only 2-3 medium-sized cherry tomatoes in the evening.
- Dinner: You can have one cup of broccoli.
- Bed-time snacks: If you are hungry after dinner, which you will be for sure, have one bowl of cucumber or carrots.
Remember: You may either eat your veggies raw, boiled or you can cook it in 1-2 spoons of olive oil. Slight seasoning with black pepper and rock salt is fine. Don't deep fry the veggies. Restrict the consumption of starchy vegetables to only 100-150 calories on this day.
Day 3: Fruits and vegetables
- Breakfast: You can have a bowl of watermelon or an apple or about half a pineapple.
- Lunch: For lunch, like the previous day, make yourself a bowl of cabbage soup.
- Evening Snack: Some 2-3 medium-sized cherry tomatoes if you are hungry in the evening.
- Dinner: One cup of broccoli at night.
- Bed-time snacks: Right before you hit the bed, you can munch on some cucumbers or carrots.
Remember: On this day, you need to avoid bananas and mangoes as your fruits for the day. Also, you can't have vegetables like potatoes, corn or peas (if you strictly go by this diet).
Congrats, pat your back, you just survived the first 3 days!
Day 4: Bananas and milk
- Breakfast: 2 large bananas with a glass of skimmed milk (750 ml).
- Lunch: Again for lunch, you will need to have 2 large bananas with a glass of skimmed milk.
- Evening Snack: You can have a bowl of cabbage soup in the evening on day 4.
- Dinner: At night, have 2 large bananas with a glass of skimmed milk for dinner.
- Bed-time snacks: And sadly, there's nothing you can have if you are hungry after dinner.
Remember: Don't add any sweeteners, honey or sugar to the milk. You can substitute regular milk with soy milk and bananas with figs.
Day 5: Meat
- Breakfast: Start your day with three whole tomatoes.
- Lunch: You can have around 250 gm of meat of your choice with one large tomato.
- Evening Snack: There's nothing you can have in the evening.
- Dinner: End your day with a large bowl of tomato soup.
- Bed-time snacks: You can't eat anything after your dinner.
Remember: You can use meats like beef, eggs, chicken, or fish. If you are vegetarian, you can substitute the meat with cottage cheese, tofu and even brown rice.
Day 6: Meat
- Breakfast: Start your day with a bowl of Brussels sprouts or cucumber
- Lunch: Then have around 250 gm of meat of your choice or if you a vegetarian, then an option according to that
- Evening Snack: You can have nothing in the evening
- Dinner: You can have just a cabbage soup to end your day with.
- Bed-time snacks: Like the last two days, there is no snacking option before you sleep.
Day 7: Vegetable and Fruit juice
Finally, the last day has arrived. If you are feeling too tired and want to give up, know that this is the final day.
- Breakfast: Have a large bowl of watermelon.
- Lunch: You can eat brown rice, cottage cheese, and a glass of fruit juice.
- Evening Snack: There is nothing that you can have in the evening.
- Dinner: You can eat brown rice for dinner. Have it with mixed vegetables of your choice and also around 1-2 glasses of fruit juice. That's quite a fulfilling dinner.
- Bed-time snacks: There are none!
Remember: Don't add any sweeteners to your fruit juices.
Finally, after you’re done with the week-long plan, GM diet advises that you to consume a high-protein, low-carb diet to help maintain the weight loss. So no cheat days!
What To Avoid In The Original GM diet
There are some foods that need to be strictly avoided during the course of this diet.
- Consumption of any kind of beverage apart from water, like diet coke or alcohol, is strictly prohibited.
- No junk food, including white flour and all sorts of packed foods during the seven days.
As stated before, while there are many benefits to the original GM diet, there are also some disadvantages.
Risks Associated With GM Diet
There are many disadvantages of this crash diet.
No research to substantiate the claims: The main drawback of the diet is that there are no research or study to evaluate how this diet actually works.
Not a well-balanced diet: It is an unhealthy diet and lacks important nutrients. You may feel giddy, a sense of deprivation and also low on energy. For instance, the first three days of the diet are low in fat, vitamin B12, iron, calcium and other essential nutrients.
Temporary weight loss: Well, you will see a change in scale on day 1 of your diet Vs day 8 (which is after you complete the diet). But, here's the catch, most of the weight lost on this diet is water weight rather than actual fat. You will mostly regain it soon after you resume your normal diet.
While the GM diet is not a healthy option, it does lead to visible difference in weight. But as is the case with all crash diets, it is not an advisable way to lose weight. It is also not beneficial in the long run.
Instead of running after these yo-yo-diets, try to switch to a healthy lifestyle and incorporate a balanced meal into your everyday routine.
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