Absurd Fad Diets of the Past

Before it was possible to undergo bariatric procedures like the Lap Band in St. Petersburg and Bradenton, people went to extreme lengths in the name of weight loss. For decades, people sought out ways to shed extra pounds without having to change their diet or become more active. Chances are you have even tried a few funny diet tricks that ultimately didn’t work. These dieting trends can actually be pretty dangerous—especially those that involve reducing your caloric intake or eating strange supplements without physician supervision.

After undergoing Lap Band surgery, you can probably look back at some of your earlier dieting attempts and chuckle a little bit. Be honest, how many bowls of cabbage soup did you try before calling it quits? Don’t feel too bad, past generations have done much worse than consuming boiled cabbage day in and day out.

Here are a few of the most absurd dieting trends that stand out in human history. Feel free to have a good laugh at these crazy ideas, but don’t think about actually trying them. Each of these fads has been medically proven as unhealthy, and will not help you to sustainably lose weight.

• 1900’s—Fletcherizing: The San Francisco artist and entrepreneur Horace Fletcher was known for chewing his food incessantly before spitting it out. He would get the flavor of the food without actually swallowing it. Fletcher would chew every bite of food 32 times before spitting it out.
• 1930’s—Slimming Soap: Women looking to shed a few pounds in the 1930’s would often turn to the shower. Slimming soap featured seaweed, and was advertised as a way to firm, tone and shed fat.
• 1960’s—Sleeping Diet: Getting close to eight hours of sleep every night is good for your health and well-being, but don’t overdo it. During the 1960’s many men and women got the idea that if you can’t eat while you sleep then you must be able to lose weight. Elvis even tried this dieting trend, sedating himself to sleep for days in the hope of shedding a few pounds.
• 2000’s—Cotton Ball Diet: They may look a bit like marshmallows, but cotton balls are not meant to be eaten. Despite this well-known fact, a lot of dieters during the early 2000s took to the cotton ball trend, hoping that the absorbent power of this bathroom item would fill up their stomach so they wouldn’t munch on fattening foods.

A lot of these diet trends border on the claims made by patented medicines. Don’t be fooled by a quick-fix advertisement for weight loss. Stick to your weight loss plan after Lap Band surgery, and if you feel that you are not losing weight like you should be, talk with your weight loss surgeon Dr. Bunch.