The Werewolf Diet involves basing what you eat around the phases of the moon. The theory behind the diet is that the moon affects the water in your body in the same way as it affects the tides. It is followed by a number of celebrities including Demi Moore and Madonna and claims to be able to help you lose up to six pounds in twenty four hours.
How Does The Werewolf Diet Work?
There are two options that you can follow with the Werewolf Diet, the basic plan or the extended plan. The basic plan involves fasting for 24 hours on either the full moon or the new moon. You cannot eat any solid food on this day but can drink as much water and fresh juice as you want. The theory behind this is that during these stages of the moon the water in your body acts as the same way as the tides. Therefore more water is likely to leave your body and drinking plenty of water also allows toxins to leave your body. When your body is free of toxins it makes losing weight easier.
The extended plan includes two days of fasting throughout the month, on both the full and new moon and for the rest of the month, what you eat and how much is based around the different stages of the moon and the effects that these have on your body. During the waning moon you are not as likely to have as many cravings and there are not as many diet restrictions during this phase. You are advised to follow a balanced diet and drink at least eight glasses of water a day. The waxing moon is the more difficult phase of the diet because during this stage your cravings will increase but the amount of food that you can eat is restricted. When eating a meal you should stop eating as soon as you start to become full. During this stage you cannot eat after 6pm at night until the next morning.
Is It Safe?
The diet does involve fasting which is not recommended by many weight loss experts. According to Consumer Health Digest, fasting only lasts one day then it is not completely unsafe although following a plan that does not involve any fasting is probably a better option. If you are following the extended moon diet plan then the advice to eat three balanced meals a day during the waning moon will not do you any harm. In the waxing moon phase when you are instructed to eat less than usual you should ensure that you do not restrict the calories that you consume too much as this can slow your metabolism down and make it harder for you to lose weight.
Will It Work?
Weight loss experts tend to agree that the claim that you can lose up to six pounds in one day is not very realistic. If this amount of weight is lost then it is more likely to be water that you have lost rather than fat. Fasting is thought by some to remove all the toxins from your body which can make losing weight easier. However, the risk with any diet that involves fasting is that when you start eating normally again, you may actually overeat because you will experience cravings for the nutrients that your body has been deprived of.
Conclusion
The Werewolf Diet is gaining in popularity which may give an indication that it can help you lose some weight. However, when following any weight loss plan which is basically just a fast, this weight is likely to be fluid rather than fat and you may regain any weight you have lost when you stop fasting. The extended plan is perhaps the safest option to follow as while this plan does involve fasting, it also gives advice for following a diet that also includes solid foods. The extended plan does not give an average amount of weight that can be lost when following the diet so there is no way to know if the results you are seeing when following the diet is typical. If you are trying to lose weight then following a healthy balanced diet which is calorie controlled and getting regular exercise can help you to reach your weight loss goals.
References
Lindenmuth, Katy. “Should You Try the Werewolf Diet?”. Women’s Health Magazine. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
Burkart, Gregory. “The Latest Celebrity Health Fad: The Werewolf Diet”. Fearnet. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
“Werewolf Diet: Will juice cleanses during full moons help you lose weight?”. NYDN. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
