GM diet, DIP diet, egg diet and crash diets: an honest review
These plans all work the same way: they cut calories hard for a few days, so the scale drops. Most of that early loss is water, protein is often far too low, and the weight returns when normal eating resumes. A moderate deficit with your usual home food loses ½ to 1 kg a week and keeps it off.
The popular plans, side by side
| Diet | What it involves | Main problem |
|---|---|---|
| GM diet (7 days) | Day-wise: fruit, vegetables, bananas and milk, soup and meat | Very low calories, almost no protein on most days; weight returns |
| DIP diet | Only fruit, vegetables and nuts, no grains, dairy, oil or salt | Extremely restrictive; risk of low protein, B12 and energy |
| Egg diet (10 or 14 days) | Eggs with little else | Monotonous, very low fibre, constipation; not sustainable |
| Apple or single-food diets | One food for several days | Nutritionally incomplete; mostly water loss |
| Crash diets (under 1000 kcal) | Severe calorie cutting | Muscle loss, gallstones, hair fall, weakness; needs supervision |
| Cheat day plans | Strict for 6 days, unrestricted on 1 | Often cancels the week's deficit; encourages binge patterns |
Why the scale drops so fast in week one
Every gram of stored carbohydrate (glycogen) in the body holds about 3 g of water. Cut carbohydrates and salt sharply, and the body releases that water within days: 2 to 3 kg on the scale without losing much fat. Add an emptier gut, and the number looks dramatic. The same water comes back as soon as you eat normally, which is why people say the weight "returns overnight".
What to take from them
These diets are not all nonsense; each contains one useful habit. The GM diet gets people eating vegetables and fruit. DIP removes fried and sugary food. The egg diet raises protein. The trick is to keep the useful habit and drop the extreme rules: more sabzi and fruit, less fried and sweet, protein at every meal, and portions you can live with. That is what the Pakistani diet plan for weight loss is built on, and why it does not need a countdown.
See a doctor first if
- You feel dizzy, weak or faint on a low-calorie plan
- Your periods have stopped or become irregular
- You have diabetes, kidney, liver or heart disease
- You have a history of eating disorders
- You are losing hair or feel cold all the time
Common questions
Does the GM diet work?
You will lose weight on it, because it is very low in calories, but most of the first days' loss is water and gut contents. It gives almost no protein for several days, which costs muscle, and almost everyone regains the weight when normal eating resumes. There are no published trials supporting it.
What is the DIP diet?
DIP stands for "diet is primary", an approach popularised in South Asia that allows only fruit, vegetables and nuts, with no grains, dairy, oil or salt. It is extremely restrictive. Some people feel better initially from cutting fried and sugary food, but the pattern is hard to sustain and risks low protein, B12 and calcium.
Is the egg diet safe?
Eating mostly eggs for 10 or 14 days gives plenty of protein but almost no fibre, and misses many nutrients. Constipation is common. For people with high cholesterol, heart disease or diabetes, large daily egg intake should be discussed with a doctor.
Why does weight come back after these diets?
Two reasons: much of the loss was water, and the eating pattern was never something you could keep. When you return to normal food, water weight returns within days and old habits bring the rest back, often with a little extra because muscle was lost.
Is a cheat day a good idea?
A planned normal meal once a week is fine and makes a diet easier to keep. A whole day of unlimited eating can add back several thousand calories and undo the week's deficit. The difference is between a planned meal and a free-for-all day.
What actually works instead?
A moderate calorie deficit with food you already eat, enough protein, half a plate of vegetables, measured oil, less sugar, and daily walking. It loses ½ to 1 kg a week and you can keep it going.
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Sources
- Jensen MD et al. 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS Guideline for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. Circulation, 2014
- Gardner CD et al. Effect of low-fat vs low-carbohydrate diet on 12-month weight loss (DIETFITS). JAMA, 2018
- NICE. Obesity: identification, assessment and management (very low calorie diets)
- Hall KD, Kahan S. Maintenance of lost weight and long-term management of obesity. Med Clin North Am, 2018