One of the most curious diets that I’ve had the chance to review, the General Motors diet is a 7 day eating plan which is supposed to help you lose a massive amount of weight. The diet is supposed to have been developed by General Motors in the 1980’s to be used by its workers and their families. Rumor has it that the diet was developed with a special grant from the US Department of Agriculture and the FDA and was tested by Johns Hopkins University.
However, it seems that the origin of the GM diet is based more on rumor than on fact as this NY times article showed. When asked about the diet, a spokesperson for GM replied that they had no idea where it came from. However, the name is likely to stick for a long time. After all, it has been this way for over 20 years.
How does the General Motors diet plan Work?
The 7 day GM diet works in the following way:
Rule #1 – You have to abstain from alcohol.
Rule #2 – You need to drink 10-15 glasses of water each and every day.
Rule #3 – You can supplement your 7 day diet with this GM soup: 28 oz, Water, 6 Large Onions, 2 Green Peppers, Whole Tomatoes (fresh or canned), 1 Head Cabbage, 1 Bunch Celery, 4 Envelopes Lipton Onion Soup Mix, Herbs and Flavouring as desired. This soup can be eaten as often as you like whenever you like.
Rule #4 – You can have these drinks along with your diet:
- Water (flavoured with lemon/lime if desired).
- Club Soda.
- Plain Black Coffee. No cream or cream substitutes are allowed as are sugar or sweeteners.
- Black Tea. Again, without sugar.
- The fruit juices of day 7. No fruit juices before day 7.
Here is your 7 day eating plan:
Day One All fruits except bananas. You can have as many fruits as you like. The most recommended ones are melon and cantaloupe. This day prepares your body for the rest of the days.
Day Two Vegetable day. You can eat as many raw or cooked vegetables as you like. It is best to avoid dressing entirely or stick to lemon juice. For breakfast, you need to eat a large baked potato which may be flavored with one pat of butter.
Day Three Any fruit and veggies that you like except bananas.
Day Four Bananas and milk day. You can eat as many as 8 bananas and have up to 3 tall glasses of milk. You may also have the GM soup. By this day, your sugar cravings should be dramatically reduced.
Day Five is all about beef and tomatoes. Eat two 10 oz. portions of lean beef in the form of steak or burger. You must eat 6 whole tomatoes and drink one more quart of water. The water will help you purify your body from within
Day Six Eat as much beef and vegetables as you like. According to the diet, by day 6 you should have lost a considerable amount of weight.
Day Seven On this day you can eat brown rice and vegetables, and drink juice fruits.
You may do the diet as many times as you like, but I recommend taking 3-7 days break between each cycle.
General Motors Diet Plan Pros and Cons
Pros:
- The diet plan is free
- The food is cheap and affordable
- Easy to understand and follow
Cons:
- No exercise included
- Severely restricts your nutrition and may not give you all the nutrients your body needs to function.
- Has no support system whatsoever
- The origin of the diet is unclear as is the reasons why it’s supposed to work
- Unlikely to produce long term weight loss
- May cause metabolic slowdown
In Conclusion
The General Motors diet may look good on paper but it’s not recommended. This is a diet plan which restricts your food choices dramatically and may cause nutritional deficiencies and metabolic slowdown.
While you may lose a few pounds during your week on the GM diet, this is likely to be mostly water weight. You will probably gain it all back quickly once you go back to eating your regular food.
It’s not a lifestyle change eating plan and so it’s unlikely to be a long term solution. For a better and more sustainable diet plan I recommend the Every Other Day Diet plan. You can read more about this diet here: Every Other Day Diet Review. I believe that this is a better way to lose weight and to keep it off for years to come.
