We like to explore fad diets. We’re not fans of fad, or crash, diets. They are usually unsustainable because they are generally restrictive. They can sometimes be expensive to follow. They can have hard to get ingredients. The science around them can be dubious. They can cause you to lose weight quickly but gain it back just as fast when you stop the diet. And they can be unhealthy. The chicken diet isn’t expensive and doesn’t use obscure ingredients, but it ticks every other thing on the list.
The diet is popular with actors getting ready for a part where they have to lose weight fast. But, while Matt Damon has followed it, even he admitted it was unhealthy and wasn’t something sustainable. Healthline actually gave the diet only one out of five stars.
To be fair to the diet, it doesn’t have any hard rules to follow. All it is is that you only eat chicken. That’s it. You don’t have to worry about portions. Some people say you can only have breast meat, but others disagree. There isn’t a consensus. As white meat has the fewest calories, you will lose weight fastest if you stick to breast. You can cook the meat however you like: grilled, baked, roast, braised, broiled, boiled or even fried. That can help break up the monotony of eating one food. But you’re still eating just one thing. And, if you’re frying it for every meal, you might not see any results.
Most people only follow the diet for a week or two to drop weight quickly. You could perhaps do this to start another diet, but it certainly isn’t a healthy way to start. There haven’t been any studies on how much weight people lose on the diet or why they are losing weight. Chicken is high in protein and low in calories, so you might be burning calories. And protein lowers your appetite. But, it could just be that people are so bored with eating only one food that they just don’t eat very much and lose weight that way.
Eating just one food means you’re missing a lot of essential nutrients and vitamins. There is nothing balanced about this diet. You need a mix of foods to get all of your nutrients to have your body function well. This diet is as restrictive as it possibly could be. While there are worse foods you could limit yourself to than chicken, there is nothing healthy about eating solely one food.
Another problem you might face is constipation. Chicken is high in protein and low in fiber. Without anything else in your system, this is likely to cause your intestines’ problems that will cause discomfort.
All in all, this is not a fad diet that we would ever suggest dabbling in. You should speak to your doctor before making any changes to your diet. And always avoid anything that sounds extreme without being advised by a nutritionist.
