c/failed-diets-anonymous

My 30-day juice cleanse left me with a $400 blender and zero energy

I thought it would reset my system, but after 3 days I was so tired I couldn't focus at work. Has anyone else crashed hard from a cleanse like that?

I tried the 'carnivore diet' for a solid month and my cholesterol went through the roof

The week I tried to live on just chicken and broccoli

Last month I saw a video where a guy said you could drop 10 pounds in a week by eating only grilled chicken and steamed broccoli. I bought 7 pounds of chicken and 5 heads of broccoli on a Sunday. By Wednesday, I was so tired I almost fell asleep at my desk at work. My stomach felt weird and empty, and I started craving a piece of bread like crazy. I gave up on Thursday morning and ate a banana, and it was the best thing I ever tasted. Has anyone else had a plan that just fell apart because it was too simple?

My 'eat only soup for a month' plan ended in a grocery store aisle

So, I was about two weeks into this thing where I was only eating homemade vegetable soup, convinced it was the key to losing weight. I was at the big grocery store on Oak Avenue, trying to buy more celery, and my vision just went all spotty and gray. I had to grab onto the freezer door to stay up. My hands were shaking so bad I dropped my list. I think my body just ran out of real fuel, you know? All that broth and veggies with no good fats or protein to back it up. I had to sit right down on the cold floor for like ten minutes before I felt okay enough to walk out. Has anyone else had a diet backfire so hard it just shut your system down like that?

Serious question, has anyone else seen the new 'juice cleanse' bar in the mall?

I was at the Westgate Center last week and noticed a new place called 'Pure Flow' selling $20 juice cleanses. The worker told me it would 'reset my system' in three days. I tried it, felt weak by day two, and ended up eating a whole pizza by Thursday night. Has anyone else tried a cleanse that just made things worse?

Stepped on the scale this morning and it showed a number I haven't seen since 2019.

It was 218 pounds. I've been just trying to eat more vegetables and walk the dog an extra block, nothing crazy. After the whole juice cleanse mess last year that left me shaky and broke, I gave up on big plans. This just sort of happened without me watching it every day. It feels weird to not be fighting with food for once. Has anyone else had a small shift make a bigger difference than a whole strict program?

I tried the cabbage soup diet for 7 days and it completely backfired

I saw it in an old magazine at my doctor's office and thought, why not? It was supposed to be a quick reset. By day three, I was so tired I could barely get through my workday. My stomach was constantly upset, and I actually gained two pounds by the end of the week. I think my body just went into panic mode. Has anyone else had a diet that promised fast results but just made everything worse?

The grapefruit diet made me feel sick for a week straight

I read online that eating half a grapefruit before each meal would speed up weight loss, so I tried it for seven days. Instead of losing weight, I just felt nauseous all the time and had zero energy to get through my workday. I learned that a diet that makes you feel that bad isn't worth it, no matter what the promise is. Has anyone else had a bad reaction to a specific diet food like that?

Read a study that said 95% of people who lose weight on a diet gain it back within 5 years. That's from a UCLA review.

Just hit 14 days on the grapefruit diet and my scale showed a number that made me stop

I saw a video about the grapefruit diet from the 80s and thought it sounded simple. The plan said to eat half a grapefruit before every meal and cut out carbs like bread and pasta. I followed it exactly for two weeks, even though I felt tired all the time. When I stepped on the scale this morning, it said I lost 11 pounds. That number should have made me happy, but it just felt wrong. I realized I was losing weight because I was barely eating 800 calories a day, not because of any magic fruit. I felt weak and knew I couldn't keep it up. Has anyone else lost weight on a crazy plan but felt worse because of it?

Appreciation post: The one diet trick that actually stuck for me

Honestly, after failing at keto and a 1200 calorie plan, my buddy in Phoenix told me to just track my protein for a month and eat whatever else I wanted. Ngl, I hit 100 grams a day and lost 8 pounds without feeling hungry or restricted. Has anyone else found that focusing on just one thing, like protein, was the key instead of a whole complicated system?

I spent $400 on a juice cleanse program that left me broke and hungry

I saw an ad for a 10 day juice cleanse that promised to reset my system and kickstart weight loss. The program cost $400 and came with three bottles of juice a day, plus a special tea. By day three, I was so hungry I couldn't focus at work, and I felt weak trying to carry materials on a job site. I stuck it out for the full ten days, but I only lost three pounds, which I gained back the minute I ate a real meal. I feel like I paid a huge amount of money just to be miserable and learn that my body needs actual food to function. Has anyone else wasted a big chunk of cash on a quick fix that just didn't work? What did you try?

I thought the 'no food after 7pm' rule was total nonsense...

My friend swore by it for years, but I just figured it was another weird trick. I tried it for a solid month after my last diet fell apart... and I actually lost 4 pounds without changing anything else. I think it just stopped my late-night cereal habit without me even noticing. Has anyone else had a simple rule work when the big plans didn't?

I finally gave up on the grapefruit diet after my doctor said something that clicked

I was eating half a grapefruit before every meal for three weeks straight, thinking it would boost my metabolism. At my checkup, my doctor looked at my food log and said, 'You're just adding 50 calories of fruit to an already full plate.' I realized I was eating the same big portions but with extra fruit, so I wasn't actually cutting anything. Now I'm back to square one and feeling pretty frustrated. What's a diet that actually helped you see real portion control in action?

I finally realized that $400 meal delivery plan was just a way to sell me tiny portions of chicken and broccoli.

After two months of feeling hungry and broke, I'm convinced the real diet is just eating less of anything, so should we just save our money and skip the fancy branded programs?

My sister told me her 'clean eating' diet failed because she missed her grandma's pie, and it finally clicked for me.

The 'just eat chicken and broccoli' plan lasted exactly 47 hours for me.

Found a study that says most people gain back more weight than they lost

I was reading a research paper from the University of California last week, and it said over 80% of people who lose a lot of weight gain it back, plus more, within five years. I found this after my own cabbage soup diet failed and I looked up why. It made me realize the problem might be the diet itself, not just my willpower. Has anyone else seen this and found a better way to keep weight off for good?

Hot take: The 'cabbage soup only' plan was a joke compared to just eating less of my normal food.

I did the soup thing for a week and felt awful, but lost nothing. Then I just cut my usual dinner portions by half for a month and dropped eight pounds. Why do we make this so hard?

My sister swore by the grapefruit diet and it totally backfired

She told me eating half a grapefruit before every meal would 'melt the fat away', so I tried it for a solid month. Turns out, all it did was give me crazy heartburn and I didn't lose a single pound, lol. Has anyone else tried a weird food rule from family that just didn't work at all?

My brother just reminded me about my grapefruit-only phase

He said, 'You were so mad you couldn't have toast with it, you threw a grapefruit at the wall.' I forgot how that diet ended with me cleaning pink pulp off the kitchen ceiling for an hour! Anyone else have a diet that ended in a food fight with yourself?

The cabbage soup diet wrecked my kitchen for a week

Tried that old fad diet back in 2012, where you only eat cabbage soup for seven days. My apartment in Spokane smelled like a rotten swamp by day three. I gave up on day five because I felt so weak I could barely climb a ladder for a simple gutter check. Anyone else have a diet that just made a huge mess?

Heard a guy at the diner say he lost 40 pounds just eating steak and eggs

He was bragging to his friend about it for like ten minutes. I tried that for a week last year and felt awful, plus my cholesterol numbers spiked. Has anyone else had a diet work for someone else but totally backfire on them?

The 'just eat clean' diet my trainer gave me lasted exactly 4 days before I caved.

Turns out, the all-potato plan was a spud disaster

I made it to lunch on day two before caving and ordering a pizza. My students asked if I was sick from eating so many fries.