The werewolf diet, allegedly popular with celebrities like Demi Moore and Madonna, sounds like you’ll be eating full moon treats, raw human flesh, and what not, but it’s not that. This new diet that is not as trendy as The Daily Mail will have you believe, also goes by the name “the lunar diet,” but that still makes it sound too awesome for what it is, which is a multiple day juice cleanse based on the the Lunar Calendar.
The Lunar/Werewolf Diet isn’t based on the moon being made of cheese or its ability to transform normal humans into human wolf hybrids, rather it is “based on the idea that the moon effects the water in our bodies in the same way that it determines the tides of the oceans, and that this power can be harnessed to help you lose weight.” Okay, hippies.
Like most diets, there are multiple ways to go about it that are connected by common tenets.The basic version of the werewolf diet involves a liquid cleanse for a few days a month: at the full moon, new moon or start of new moon phase. You do this because moon scientists/experts claim that the gravitational pull on the water in our bodies is the strongest during a new moon, so consuming only liquid during this time of increased body tides will “enable to moon to flush toxins out of the body aiding weight-loss.” Other lunar dieters believe that the moon actually has an affect on your mood, so fasting during the critical points in the lunar calendar “reduces cravings.”
Here are some primo quotes from Moon Connection one of the numerous Lunar Diet website:
“It is critical that you start the diet on the very minute the moon phase begins.”
By start the diet, they mean “consume only water and juice.”
“If the new phase begins during the middle of the day, you can eat or drink whatever you want up until that minute – then start your 24-hour timer.”
Set your iphone alarm to marimba to remind you to start your diet.
“Consuming more fluids will call on the power of the moon, stimulate renal activity, and allow your body to lose its excess water. This flushes out the toxins that accumulate in the body due to unhealthy foods, bad digestion, and stress, and provides a detoxifying effect that will strengthen your immune system.”
Going to ignore the call to the power of the moon to giggle at “renal activity” like a cartoon pre-teen boy. hehe.
“You can also lose up to 6lbs during this single day of fasting due to the lost water.”
I’ve gained and lost more than 6 lbs more than once within a minute by moving my rickety scale to another sloping part of my uneven floor.
Do we even have to go over why this diet is totally goofy? According to British Dietetic Association spokesperson Jeanette Crosland:
If indeed the effect of the moon is to reduce the water content of the body, any effect is temporary and true “weight loss”, the target of the weight reducer, is the result of losing excess body fat, not water.
Any diet which restricts calories will normally result in weight loss, and this is yet another diet based on fasting for short periods, resulting in a reduced energy (calories) intake over a period of time.
It should also be noted that this diet will not turn you into a werewolf. If it did, I’d be on it right now.
via The Daily Mail//Image via 30 Rock (NBC)