Wacky Weight Loss

Women reveal their weirdest ideas for shedding the pounds.

By Mary K. Moore, from Lifetimetv.com

Who says you have to survive on salad or be a slave to the gym in order to lose those extra pounds? Many people have found less conventional techniques to manage their weight. One famous example is Jared, the guy who has relied on a steady diet of Subway sandwiches for the past two years -- and lost more than 245 pounds in the process. Other individuals have followed equally unorthodox paths to weight-loss success. "There is no one diet or exercise regimen that suits everybody," says Janine Whiteson, a New York City-based nutritionist and author of "Get a New Food Life." "Each person has their own likes, dislikes, lifestyle, eating habits, and physical and emotional issues with food. As long as you seriously mind your health, it's important to carve your own [weight-loss] niche.

From wearing Saran Wrap to eating only soup for a month, meet ten women who succeeded in slimming down using their own idiosyncratic (dare we say weird?) techniques. Should you take a page out of these dieters' diaries? We also asked the experts to give us the real skinny on these unusual take-it-off tactics:

THE PEANUT GALLERY
"I once did what I called 'the humiliation diet.' I used to work in a very casual office, where I made a habit of announcing my weight each week at the Monday staff meeting. If I lost weight, I told my co-workers to applaud. If I gained, they were instructed to boo. The whole office really got into it. Luckily, I was applauded more than booed -- I ended up losing 30 pounds in three months!"
-- Lori Couthran, 35, legal assistant, Beaumont, Texas

Expert weigh-in: "The peer pressure pushed her to achieve her goal," says Whiteson. "But to be sure she maintains her weight, Lori should find a steady support system beyond the workplace by teaming up with a workout buddy."

THE PIG OUT
"I'm a fast-food junkie, so two months before my wedding, I told myself that I was going to eat all the junk food I could handle in one weekend. That way, I wouldn't be tempted to cheat at other times. It worked. I ate so much that I didn't even crave one french fry afterward. I managed to lose 12 pounds, although two of those were probably the pounds I gained over that one weekend!"
-- Michelle Lynch, 32, stay-at-home mom, Greenville, South Carolina

Expert weigh-in: "This worked because it was similar to aversion therapy [attaching a negative stimulus or response to a behavior you find rewarding and doing so until it becomes unpleasant and no longer enjoyable]," says Leslie Bonci, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "But you don't have to give up or get sick on your favorite foods to lose weight. The key is portion control. A small cheeseburger and fries is only about 500 calories. Just stick with a balanced diet."

THE FOOT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH DIET
"I drank this horrible concoction made from horse-hoof extract. I called it the foot-in-your-mouth diet. I wasn't allowed to have anything but this special juice for a week, and I lost 10 pounds! It tasted awful, but at least it worked."
-- Paula McLeod, 40, stay-at-home mom, Dallas

Expert weigh-in: "Was this woman on 'Fear Factor'?!" asked Whiteson. "This is the same old scam as the grapefruit diet or the Hollywood juice diet, regimens that dehydrate your body, causing you to lose dangerous amounts of water and lean muscle tissue, hence the weight loss. The problem is you often gain the weight back within the next 10 days!"

THE MOON WALK
"My girlfriend and I tried a program where you had to wear these herbal bandages all over your body and then put on these blue space suits for 45 minutes. We looked ridiculous, but we lost three pounds in less than an hour."
-- Monica Maynard, 25, education manager, Kansas City, Missouri

Expert weigh-in: Never put on herbal bandages, which could contain ephedra, a substance that can cause high blood pressure and rapid heart rate, counsels Bonci. The expert nutritionist also cautions that these so-called space suits are designed to cause dehydration, but the weight loss will last only until you drink a few glasses of water. Overall, this weight-loss strategy is uncomfortable and potentially very dangerous!

The Swimsuit Edition
"I told myself that I could not buy a new bathing suit until I shed seven pounds. To give myself incentive, I found a picture of a suit I wanted, cut off the model's head and pasted my own in its place. I put it on the underside of my CD player and would glance at it while on the treadmill at the gym. It gave me a laugh — and willpower. I lost all of the weight in less than two months."
— Dani Claudate, 27, real estate agent, San Francisco

Expert weigh-in: "What's important to this success story is not so much the picture but, rather, that Dani had reasonable goals," says Whiteson. "Seven pounds in two months is a healthy and attainable weight-loss goal. Also, giving oneself a reward is an important step in weight loss. Try treating yourself to a massage for every 10 pounds you shed."

The Chicken Dance
"I read somewhere that Dolly Parton lived off chicken soup for a month and lost tons of weight, so I did the same thing! I managed to lose 13 pounds on 'Dolly's diet.'"
— Gretchen Cearnal (pictured, right), 28, student, Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Expert weigh-in: "Relying on soup is not a bad diet strategy," says Bonci. You just don't want to live off it, because the lack of protein can cause you to lose muscle mass, which undermines the quest for a lean, toned body. Consider replacing only one meal with soup, or maybe low-fat chili or stew, and eating two other, proper meals to round out your daily intake. In general, tomato and bean soups are great bets for meals that are low-calorie yet filling.

The Flapjack
"I went on a breakfast diet, in which I lived off eggs, grits and oatmeal. I felt like Elvis. I lost seven pounds in just a few days, but there is just so much breakfast food you can eat after a while."
— Lesley Martin, 27, caterer, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Expert weigh-in: "Foods like grits and oatmeal will fill you up, and they're not high in calories either," says Bonci. "Plus, because they're hot, you take longer to eat them, which makes you feel more satisfied." In order to stick with her weight-loss plan, Lesley should add variety with fruits and vegetables, to make her diet more satisfying and well-rounded.

The Boob Tube
"If I could have anyone's body in the world, it would be Brooke Burke's, the former host of the E! show 'Wild On,' so I pasted a picture of her on my fridge. That way, every time I wanted to get 'wild on' my fridge, I had her sickeningly perfect body staring me in the face. 'Brooke-aversion therapy' worked; I lost seven pounds."
— Jodie Ferdig, 29, bartender, Houston, Texas

Expert weigh-in: "The photo served as a diet motivator for Jodie," says Bonci. "But for most women, the pursuit of a perfect body can be discouraging. A better strategy is to take photos of yourself as you progress. That way, your goal feels attainable, and you're more likely to stick with it."

The Mummy
"I turned up the heat in my house to 80 degrees and wrapped myself completely in Saran Wrap. Then I went about my daily household duties while sweating off the weight. I looked like a well-preserved mummy, but I managed to lose four pounds in a day!"
— Anita Steinmetz (pictured, left), 30, stay-at-home mom, Springfield, Missouri

Expert weigh-in: "She mainly lost water, so she experienced a temporary weight loss," explains Whiteson. "And raising the heat and wearing a wrap can cause a sharp change in blood pressure, which can cause you to pass out. This is very dangerous! Plus, imagine the humiliation of being found wrapped like that!"

The Color Scheme
"When I went away to college, I gained the dreaded 'freshman 15,' so I took drastic action: I gave myself a color-code diet. I chose only from what was served at my campus cafeteria — so I wouldn't snack — and it had to be food of a certain color. One week I chose green, the next week orange, the next week yellow. Candy didn't count. In two months, the freshman 15 was gone."
— Beth Shapiro (pictured, right), 23, reporter, New York City

Expert weigh-in: "The real secret to success here was sticking to cafeteria hours," says Bonci. It's not the food you eat on your meal card that gets you in trouble; it's the late-night pizza runs and excessive drinking that can pack on pounds. "Beth could adopt a modified and more healthful version of her plan — and still lose weight — by incorporating a little 'green' into every meal and throwing some bright color in, too, with a piece of fruit," says Bonci.