What is the ABC diet?
If we only look at what enthusiasts say, we will see that Ana Boot Camp is described as a method of making the human body burn fat and, at the same time, not starve.
This is an attractive promise that hooks so many weight loss searchers to this diet. Yet, once you have a closer look at what it really offers, you will realize that this one offers extreme calorie limitations. ‘Ana’ is the name Ana Boot Camp diet that refers to anorexia, which is a serious eating disorder difficult to deal with in a person’s lifetime.
There is a theory that the whole ABC movement started off when an anorexic girl uploaded her food diary on the web to share it with others on forum boards. Later, the trend caught up, and the number of fans grew due to fast weight loss results. Opposed to the generally accepted and proven fact that anorexia is both a mental health issue and an eating disorder, this plan sees it as a lifestyle and ascribes positive effects to the ABC eating plan.
How Exactly Does the Diet Work, and What Is Required from a Diet Taker?
This part of the article is dedicated to answering the questions, ‘What’s the ABC diet?’ and ‘Is it worthy of taking up?’
The main idea is that the diet lasts 50 days. The requirement for calorie intake is shockingly strict, with this number being less than 800 or 500 calories a day (as stated in different sources). This ABC diet rules like this, people consume on average 400-500 calories.
Along with this, calories can be taken from any source: fruits, veggies, gelatine candies, cakes, anything.
The ‘logic’ behind this is the following: gaps between calorie intake lead to weight loss. For example, that’s how a dieter moves through the ABC diet plan:
- Day 1: 500 calories
- Day 2: 500 calories
- Day 3: 300 calories
- Day 4: 400 calories
- Day 5: 100 calories
- Day 6: 200 calories
- Day 7: 300 calories
- Day 8: 300 calories
- Day 9: 500 calories
- Day 10: zero calories
The whole dieting journey will look like this, according to the plan.
The average amount of calories consumed throughout the next week is 400, and in the last week, this number goes down to 300. The rules of the ABC allow participants to return to their usual eating once they do 50 days of ABC.
Still, we are here to remind you that this plan won’t lead you to harmony and good glow. Going to extremes has a negative impact on all body systems and organs, so this one is dangerous as well.
Is ABC Diet Safe for Health?
Definitely not! The ABC diet drives its adherents to take way too few calories, which leads to starvation, deficiencies and, moreover, isn’t effective in the long run. Even if you lose weight during these 50 days of dieting, you are likely to gain it again soon.
The set of side effects is truly scary, especially knowing that the ABC is popular with young, often still growing girls, who think more about being pretty than about their own physical and psychological health.
Dangers and Side Effects of the Diet
What is ABC diet besides nice weight loss results? It turns out that it is also depression, a shorter life span, and dangers for hormonal health!
Anorexia-targeted eating plan inevitably results in numerous side effects that, unfortunately, aren’t easy to tackle.
- Suppressed and weak immune system
- Slow metabolism
- Vitamin and mineral deficiency resulting in hair loss, skin, bone, and nail problems
- Chronic fatigue
- Insomnia
- Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
- Hormonal disorders such as hypothyroidism)
- Dehydration
- Menstruation cycle disruption
- Kidney illnesses
- Higher risks of heart attacks and failure
- Increased resistance to insulin, type 2 diabetes
- Depression and suicidal thoughts
- Changes in digestive organs and patterns
The ABC plan has not been approved by any research or studies. The human body needs at least 1000 calories to survive; therefore, eating as little as zero to 800 calories is dangerous and leads to a shorter life span and increases the risk of diyng prematurely to 6 times. The question is whether 10 lbs are really worth such a huge price.
What Are the Most Impressive ABC Diet Weight Loss Results?
What is most striking about the plan is that most people following it are far from being overweight. They are simply unsatisfied with their bodies.
The average ABC diet results for them make 10 to 20-25 pounds. Overweight people might lose nearly 25-30 pounds.
What Is a Safe Alternative to Ana Boot Camp Diet?
Although the diet results are mostly true, ABC diet meal plans won’t make you glowing with health. Instead of starving and then hoping to see ABC diet results after 50 days, doctors and nutritionists recommended other ways to cut down on calories without harm. For instance, CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) advise to:
- Rethink your beverages.
Instead of reducing the amounts of food, quit any sweet drinks and sparkling waters. They may contain the number of calories of a healthy meat dish.
- Top your coffee with low-fat or plant milk.
While it depends on the number of coffees you have, this tip helps you cut down nearly 63 calories per drink.
- Eat veggies and leafy greens (try them instead of another slice of sausage or meat).
Veggies are full of nutrients and will help you get full faster.
- Choose vegetable-based soups, not creamy or bouillons.
Meatless soups and dishes can also be tasty; just have a try.
- Add less salad dressing.
If you’re used to 2 or 3 tablespoons of oil, reduce it to 1 dip of a spoon. In such a way, you will cut down on 100 to 200 calories daily.
Besides, one should stay away from fast diets. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics claims that losing weight too quickly affects the health of the bones and muscles. In addition, once a person quits consuming ABC diet food amounts and goes back to the regular portions, weight regaining is inevitable.
What Healthy Diet Plans Are Best to Follow These Days?
Don’t let unhealthy and not scientifically approved diets divide your life into ABC diet before and after. A much more meaningful way to stay slim is to adopt healthy eating habits, such as consuming whole foods. Here are the diets recommended by doctors and dieticians that are much better than this plan to get anorexia.
- Mediterranean diet.
The real advantages of this eating style have been proven by extensive and profound research. They found that a meal plan consisting of veggies, fruits, spices, virgin oils, and seafood can have a protective effect on a cardiovascular system and even help those who have undergone infarction recover faster.
Mediterranean eating is normally associated with the mentioned groups of food but also covers cheese, milk, moderate amounts of wine, and being physically active.
- Intermittent fasting.
Unlike many diets, this lifestyle focuses more on when you eat rather than what you eat. Fasting only includes a specific number of hours (6 to 8, 12, and more) and is quite flexible, so one can eat the regular number of meals a day plus snacks and stay full.
There are various schedules for intermittent fasting. Science has already proved some of its benefits, including:
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- Protecting some organs from the effects of chronic diseases (like type 2 diabetes)
- Reducing the intensity of many age-related disorders, such as dementia and neurodegenerative conditions
- Lower inflammation (like in cases with inflammatory bowel illness and even some forms of cancers)
- Lengthening the life span
- Strengthening working memory
- Regulating blood pressure
The only consideration is that intermittent fasting isn’t for everyone: kids, pregnant and breastfeeding women, people with certain chronic diseases, senior citizens 50 years of age and older, and teens up to 18 years old aren’t recommended to start it. Before taking this lifestyle up, one must see a doctor.
What Is The Final Say?
Now, it’s time to resume it all. Our ABC diet review showed that adopting a habit of cutting down your calories too much can be very hazardous and even lethal in people who are prone to physiological disorders.
Does the ABC diet work? Well, yes. But you will not want to lose pounds at the cost of your hormones, healthy skin, and bones. Even though many Pro Ana ABC diet results include effective and quick weight loss and ABC diet before and after pictures may appear attractive, the game isn’t worth the candles.
The next time you will look for ‘ABC my diet is better than yours’ kinds of diets, switch your attention to science-based facts and diets that don’t ruin the body and sabotage your mental health.
FAQ
How Much Weight Can You Lose in the ABC Diet?
It was estimated that people following the ABC lose on average 10 to 20 pounds in 50 days. Still, the number of lbs or kg depends on the starting point.
What Happens If You Eat 600 Calories a Day?
Restricting daily eating to only 600 calories of daily intake can force the human body into an urgent loss of stored calories in the form of fat cells. However, together with this benefit, you are likely to develop fatigue, worsen your chronic diseases, and get some new ones as a ‘bonus’ of malnutrition.
Can You Eat Bananas On the Vertical Diet?
The Vertical diet generally allows the consumption of many foods rich in micronutrients, for example, eggplants, tomatoes, asparagus, cauliflower, kale, potatoes, strawberries, unripe bananas, blueberries, cherries, apples, watermelons, and strawberries. Yet, the Vertical diet is for someone with the lifestyle of an athlete and bodybuilder who wants to take on muscle mass.
