Baby food. Sounds tasty and delicious, doesn't it? Warm, soft and inviting, yes. But is the baby food diet the best way to lose weight? While the baby food diet promises weight loss if you eat pre-portioned baby foods, you still need to double check if the diet is healthy enough for long-term sustainable weight loss. Hollywood celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Reese Whitherspoon swear by it. Let's find out if it's really worth your time...
What can you eat on the Baby Food Diet?
For starters, buy all kinds of baby foods available in your local store. You can go for large jars as there are next to no guidelines regarding the quantity or type of food. One can have a healthy meal at dinner, even after consuming baby food all day. The diet essentially believes in swapping high-calorie snacks and eating baby food instead.
Does the Baby Food Diet really work?
The baby food diet essentially propagates munching and snacking on unsalted, mashed, mushy food which is served in pre-packed portions. In theory, it seems like a good weight loss strategy, since the snacking patterns and content would help you stick to consuming a limited number of calories in the day leading to weight loss.
However, mindful eating becomes a question of concern, as always, since baby food still contains calories. If someone binges on baby food, he/she would still put on weight. Simply switching snacks with baby food, therefore, isn't the key once again. Two other points to consider are - 1. Baby food is full of nutrients essential for a baby’s growth, and not designed for adults, and 2. Baby food is extremely low in added preservatives or additives. Other than this, there are no exercise instructions, leaving one confused and demoralised if the weight doesn’t shake.
Different opinions on The Baby Food Diet
Many dieticians negate the benefits of baby food diet as it can often lead to overeating as there is no specific quantity and days defined for the plan. Infact, we say that eating an apple or a carrot or any of the seasonal fruits is a much more beneficial snack item than bingeing on baby food.
Baby food is often processed and strained heavily, thus it might lack fiber, calcium and vitamins. It is also likely to create a huge hole in your pocket as baby foods are pretty expensive food items. Other than this, baby food is pretty bland and unsalted and requires next to no chewing thus making you hungry soon after you eat them.
Overall, the baby food diet doesn't seem to promote healthy eating for sustainable weight loss. It is not based on essential food groups, correct nutrition, or long-term healthy eating patterns.