Wanting to look good has always been the goal for many, and dieting has been around for ages.
For many years, people experimented and tried out many different diets, and some of them were very odd and even dangerous.
Now we understand a lot about calories and how to count them, but back then, many different types of advice on losing weight were around, and today, we mostly cringe at some of them.
Here are some dieting tips from the past that would make dietitians today literally sick to their stomachs.
1. “Skip Breakfast to Stay Slim”
Back in the day, skipping breakfast was advised to people who wanted to lose weight fast. Not eating early in the morning meant fewer calories consumed, and people expected to drop weight overnight.
But the midday hunger and eating double for your lunch was soon proven to be a problem, and modern nutritionists now call breakfast “the most important meal of the day”.
People soon realized that not eating early was not truly sustainable and would create bigger health problems.
2. “Cigarettes Suppress Your Appetite”
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You wouldn’t believe it now, but the ’50s and ’60s actually promoted smoking as a very effective way to stay thin.
The brands used to claim that cigarettes would make you feel full and efficiently suppress your appetite.
Many non-smokers became smokers just to stay slim, and it turned out to be ineffective advice overall.
It created bigger problems, and soon, everyone realized that this was not the best way to stay slim. However, consequences were irreversible, and most people damaged their health trying to lose weight.
3. “Everything Must Be Fat-Free”
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If you lived during the ’80s and ’90s, you surely remember that fat was public enemy number one.
It was a perfect time to advertise fat-free everything, but the real problem is that these fat-free products were loaded with sugar instead.
People really thought that removing fat meant instant health, but they were ignoring the sneaky additives replacing it.
Today, healthy fats are mostly praised, and we are aware of how additives can be even more harmful. This proves that times have changed and that we are more aware of what we eat.
4. “Grapefruit Will Burn the Fat Away”
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The Grapefruit Diet was really popular back in the day, and people were stacking on this ‘magic’ fruit like crazy. You were supposed to eat half of a grapefruit before a meal, and you would lose weight fast.
It claimed to melt fat because grapefruit had some special enzymes that helped with that. Today, we know that those enzymes do not exist, and while it might have helped you lose a pound or two, it was mostly because you could not eat anything after overdosing on citrus.
However, it was an unbalanced diet, and it surely did not work.
5. “Snack Packs Are Guilt-Free”
Tiny, 100-calorie snack packs were claimed to be the best portion control trick ever invented. You were supposed to eat one whenever you felt like eating or snacking, and it would make you feel full.
However, people soon realized that these packs did not make their hunger go away, and they used to eat at least 3 at once (because one would make you crave more). The idea that low calories automatically meant “healthy” was deeply flawed.
Snack packs didn’t help much, and we went back to exercise and proper portioning.
6. “You Can Eat All the Meat You Want (Just No Bread)”
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The Atkins craze made people look for meat all the time and avoid any sort of carb. No bananas, no apples, and of course, no bread.
This was surely a very dangerous way to lose weight, as you would not have enough nutrients to feed your body.
Today, we understand that balanced meals are important and that carbs are definitely not our enemy.
7. “Margarine Is Better Than Butter”
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Most of us remember our grandparents eating margarine like it was honey. In the name of heart health, margarine became the butter substitute, and it stayed like that for decades.
It was advertised as the healthy option, and people with heart problems gladly bought it.
Turns out, many margarines were packed with trans fats, which made them much worse for our health.
Incomplete science made people believe this myth, and many still do. Butter’s made a comeback, while the beloved margarine mostly melted into obscurity.
8. “Weigh Yourself Every Day”
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Back in the day, daily weigh-ins were mandatory for tracking your progress and making sure you were losing weight. It was meant to keep you on track and motivate you to stay consistent.
However, we realize today that our weight fluctuates daily and that weekly weigh-ins are much better and more real.
Many used to lose trust in the progress because they drank a lot of water the night before, and it showed a pound or two more than the day before. Not the best motivation, right?
9. “All Calories Are Created Equal”
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You may not believe it, but the old-school diets treated 100 calories of broccoli the same as 100 calories of soda.
This idea meant that nutrients did not matter and that you could eat whatever you want and still lose weight.
While it may have been true, it was surely not a healthy way to diet, and the sugar in some products made it harder to get rid of those extra pounds.
