Listen, a lot of us are willing to try wacky things to lose weight, so we start eating like people from different walks of life. From the Mediterranean Diet (which is probably the best one out there) where we eat like people from the region to the Paleo Diet where we eat like cavemen, trying things outside of your normal realm is tempting when it comes to weight loss. There are varying levels of effectiveness, and there’s one that people are trying out, even in Hollywood, that sounds crazy.
That way of eating is the Baby Food Diet…where you literally eat like a baby would. It makes sense, right? Babies tend to weigh a lot less than the rest of us, but that’s only because they’re so small. It sounds crazy, but some of the most respected entertainers in the world have been giving it a shot, meaning the people that look up to them are willing to try it too. Does it work? Let’s take a glance into the Baby Food Diet to see what it’s all about.
Celebrities on the Baby Food Diet
Diets, at their core, usually become popular because of celebrity endorsements. Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem all have famous clients, while others have given interviews about diets they’ve tried. Let’s meet some of the celebrities that have been on the Baby Food Diet.
Lady Gaga – Now, we don’t know for sure whether or not Lady Gaga has tried the baby food diet as it’s just a well circulated rumor that she never confirmed. However, most people wouldn’t put it past the singer to try out something as crazy as this eating plan.
Madonna – Many people call Lady Gaga the new Madonna, so perhaps hearing rumors that her idol was on the Baby Food Diet got Gaga on the plan in the first place. Madonna is in great shape for her age and very thin, so the rumors about her baby food eating habits have run just as rampant.
Gwyneth Paltrow – A-list actress Gwyneth Paltrow is no stranger to fad diets and talking about them to the public. The Baby Food Diet is just another on the list of diets that she tried out for a little bit before giving it up.
Stephanie Pratt – Reality star Stephanie Pratt from “The Hills” is one of the people that has tried just about every fad diet that you can think of, including the Baby Food Diet. Pratt said that she was trying out a cleanse that included eating baby food, leaving some scratching their heads, but it didn’t last long.
What is the Baby Food Diet?
So where did the whole craze of eating baby food as an adult come about? The rumors are that the diet was started by celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson. Anderson is one of the most well known names in fitness, and has trained the likes of Nicole Richie, Jennifer Lopez and some of the celebrities that were rumored to try out the Baby Food Diet. Though she hasn’t confirmed she has been behind it, that’s at least the belief out there.
Even though the source is still fuzzy on the Baby Food Diet, there still seems to be uniform belief on how the diet works. Instead of the standard three meals that most people are eating in a given day, you’ll only be eating one. As for breakfast and lunch, you will only be eating jars of baby food. And you can’t eat as much baby food as you want, either, as you have to contain yourself to 14 jars per day or a total of 1,000 calories, whichever comes first.
As for the one meal you get to eat per day, it’s mainly going to be vegetable based with very little meat on the menu. Most of the jars of baby food only have around 20 to 50 calories, so you can eat plenty of them without getting to the 1,000 calorie mark. The problem is that you probably won’t feel full after eating a jar of baby food…since they are designed for babies, after all.
Baby food also tastes gross for the most part for adults. There are flavors that sound delicious, but they are sort of pureed mush that’s supposed to taste like adult food that misses the mark. Sticking to the plan is incredibly difficult as you’re likely to get sick of baby food in a matter of days, if not hours or minutes. Many of the people that have tried this diet end up going nuts on the foods they were missing out of and regaining more weight than they lost.
What’s on the Menu?
Well, at this point, you already know what’s on the menu for the most part. We’ve put together a sample eating plan of what you can expect on the Baby Food Diet, and we actually used the best tasting baby foods (according to a taste test) for this. This certainly isn’t an endorsement or saying that you should try it, but just what foods you’ll be eating.
Day One
Breakfast – Three containers of Baby Mum-Mum Rice Rusks (90 Calories)
Lunch – Three containers of Lil’ Crunchies (105 Calories)
Dinner – Cod with Dijon mustard, creole seasoning and lemon juice (250 Calories)
Snacks – Three bottles of Pedialyte (75 Calories)
Daily Total – 520 Calories
Day Two
Breakfast – Two packs of Gerber Applesauce (90 Calories)
Lunch – Two containers of Gerber Sweet Potatoes (100 Calories)
Dinner – Broiled flank steak and spicy tomato sauce with cilantro (240 Calories)
Snacks – Two containers of Second Blends Apple Raisin Quinoa squeeze back (200 Calories)
Daily Total – 630 Calories
Day Three
Breakfast – Six ounces of Abbott Similac infant formula (144 Calories)
Lunch – Two containers of Pasta Stars with Chicken and Vegetables (240 Calories)
Dinner – Baked grouper with tomato sauce (230 Calories)
Snacks – One pouch of Plum Organics pureed plums (280 Calories)
Daily Total – 894 Calories
As you can see, that’s not a lot of calories. Is it a low enough total to ensure that you will be losing weight on the Baby Food Diet? Sure, but it’s a dangerously low amount. It’s recommended that you consume at least 1,200 calories per day, even if you are trying to lose weight. This is almost to the point of fasting, and it’s mostly on food that doesn’t taste good. Sure, the dinners aren’t bad, but they won’t fill you up and there’s really not enough nutritional value here.
What to Know About the Baby Food Diet
Baby food is pretty good in the fact that it doesn’t have a lot of salt or other added junk that you see in most processed foods. However, it’s not designed for adults, especially to meet all of their caloric and nutritional needs. Most good diets will also promote exercise, which is nowhere to be found on the Baby Food Diet. You really shouldn’t be exercising while eating that little, or else you risk some serious health problems creating that large of a calorie deficit.
Baby food is also pretty expensive compared to most foods, which any new parent will be happy to tell you about. Drinking a couple of small bottles of Pedialyte should not be something that you do for a meal, but instead for if you get dehydrated when you’re sick or have had a long night in Las Vegas during the middle of the summer.
There’s almost no dietary fiber found in baby foods, so you can also expect to spend a lot of time in the bathroom or writhing in pain because of an upset stomach, and nobody wants that. If your stomach isn’t hurting, then you will likely be sprawled out on the couch or bed because of the lack of energy. Doctors would completely suggest against even considering the Baby Food Diet in most instances.
Summing it Up
If you haven’t been able to tell already, it’s that you shouldn’t try out the Baby Food Diet. Sure, some celebrities have tried it in desperation to look their slimmest for the cameras, but even that has been met by their personal circles with trepidation. There’s not much wiggle room, either, as there’s no eating out or drinking alcohol or soft drinks on the baby food diet. Think about this diet as one of those cleanses that you hear about. Those typically don’t work for more than a day before you go crazy, and they certainly don’t have long term benefits.
You could lose a couple of pounds by trying out the Baby Food Diet for a couple of days, but that weight is almost certain to come back on quickly. If you want to try it out for a day to fit into a piece of clothing that you absolutely must get into, then 24 hours isn’t going to hurt you. Other than that, this is one of the riskiest popular diets out there.
Some nutritionists have said that increasing your fruit and vegetable intake via baby food isn’t the worst thing out there, you shouldn’t be making a habit of eating meals based around baby food. Dietician Jim White said that “It’s just not livable…unless you’re in a retirement home.”