babble » blogs » Strollerderby
Strollerderby
The Baby Food Diet?
Looking to lose some of the baby weight? Why not just eat baby food? Believe it or not, that’s what some women are doing. Personally, I think it’s a ridiculous idea. Any diet that requires grown women to eat pureed peas out of a tiny jar is seriously problematic.
According to The Kansas City Star, “dieters are going gaga over one of the most peculiar fad diets yet.” All you need to do is eat 14 jars of baby food a day and then a complete “grownup” dinner — assuming you haven’t already lost your appetite.
The fad took off after Marie Claire UK published an article in May about Jennifer Aniston’s recent 7-pound weight loss. Aniston’s trainer, Tracy Anderson, described her “baby food cleanse,” which incorporated easy-to-digest mini-meals such as smoothies, oatmeal and soups.
People took Anderson’s remark literally and soon everyone was asking Aniston about her baby food diet.
Aniston told People.com:
“I’ve been asked lately, ‘Jen, what’s this baby food diet all about?‘ I kept thinking, ‘That’s the strangest question ever’.
“The last time I had baby food, I believe I was one. I’ve been on solids for about 40 years now.”
Still, the rumors continued and soon other celebrities, including Reese Witherspoon and Marcia Cross, were said to be eating baby food. Then the wacky idea of eating baby mush to lose weight took off with regular folks.
I can think of a few positive things about the diet: it’s easy, it’s relatively cheap, and it’s more nutritious than some other fad diets. Some baby food comes in gourmet flavors such as chicken mango risotto. Doesn’t sound so bad really.
Sally Berry Brown, a registered dietitian in Overland Park, told The Kansas City Star that you would lose weight on the baby food diet if it reduced your caloric intake. Of course, that’s true of any diet.
“But it’s going to be a temporary fix,” Berry Brown said, because you’re not going to want to eat baby food forever.
Is it ever going to be socially acceptable to eat baby food in a business meeting? Or even at the playground? It sure will kill your social life when you break out a jar of baby food over dinner with friends.
But the baby food diet has other serious drawbacks — namely, that it is made for babies, not adults. Grownups and infants have different nutritional needs, specifically a lot more protein. If you don’t get enough protein, you may become “weak, tired and cranky. In other words, eating like a toddler can make you behave like one,” wrote The Kansas City Star.
Think twice before trying any diet that you can’t subsist on for the rest of your life. And how do you explain to your kids that mom is eating baby food? It certainly doesn’t set a good example about healthy eating. As The Kansas City Star puts it, “if you still think eating like an infant will give you Jennifer Aniston’s body — well, it might just be time to grow up.”
Would you consider a baby food diet?
Photo: flickr/rachelpasch
Go Back To Strollerderby
4 Comments
Andy commented on Jul 15 10 at 12:20 amI think that for staying fit and healthy we don’t have to do dieting. There are other processes for staying fit like excercise, yoga and other things.
Lilly commented on Jul 21 10 at 2:52 pmi was 134 pounds over weight my doctor sugested this and in the matter od three mounths i was a size 5. prosyou loose weight like crazy and some of it is actully good…maybe thats just your taste buds dieing after a really bad one though… cons. you feel like your a baby people give you weird looks and your super hungery. but if you can get past a week you can do it. its not that bad and you get everything you need. if you need to lose weight because of a medical issue do it. if you just think yourself fat dont be stupid and dont do it
Kim commented on Sep 30 10 at 5:46 pmSomehow I find it hard to believe that someone was 134 pounds overweight, and in 3 months of eating just baby food they were down to a size 5. If you did make it to a size 5 there had to be much more than just baby food involved, like exercise.
Jenna commented on Aug 01 11 at 3:24 amCould Lilly have meant “I was 134 lbs, overweight,” meaning for her height 134 put her BMI in the overweight range instead of that she was “134 lbs overweight”? Maybe she meant what she said but that little comma could make the whole statement make sense and not be outrageous unhealthy. Just a thought.
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Wendy Michaels 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
4