The so-called Heart Foundation Diet (also known as the ‘Greenlane Diet’ or the ‘British Heart Foundation Diet’) is a poor quality fad diet that has been circulating for many years. Note that this diet has nothing to with the British Heart Foundation. This diet plan has circulated in the form of a one page sheet that claims you can lose 10 pounds in 3 days. The diet has been popular in the UK and some other countries, but its exact origins are unknown.
Indeed, the Heart Foundation Diet is not only worse than useless, it is actually a harmful diet and will do nothing to help you lose weight. Here is a summary of Heart Foundation Diet, followed by commentary on its effectiveness.
The heart foundation diet is a three day diet program that claims to make you lose 10 pounds after three days. On day one, the suggested breakfast meal includes black coffee or tea, half a grapefruit, a slice of dry toast with 2 teaspoons of peanut butter. For lunch, the suggested foods include another cup of black coffee or tea, 4 ounces of tuna fish, and a slice of dry toast. For dinner, the recommended foods are two slices of any cold meat, 1 cup of string beans, 4 ounces of beets, 1 small apple, 4 ounces of vanilla ice cream, and water to drink.
During the second day breakfast consists of black tea or coffee, 1 boiled or poached egg, a slice of dry toast, and half a banana. For lunch, the meal consists of 4 ounces of cottage cheese and five crackers. For dinner, the foods include 3 ounces of broccoli, 2 ounces of carrots, 1/2 banana, 2 hot dogs, and 4 ounces of vanilla ice cream.
On the third day, breakfast includes black tea or coffee, 5 crackers, a slice of cheddar cheese, and one apple. At lunch, the meal plan includes 1 hardboiled egg plus a slice of dry toast. For the evening meal, the foods include 4 ounces of tuna fish, 4 ounces of beets, 4 ounces of cauliflower, half a melon, and again 4 ounces of vanilla ice cream.
Those who promote this diet plan claim it will result in losing ten pounds body weight. Dieters who stick to this plan may well see that they have lost 10 pounds after 3 days, and they think this is great, it really works! Unfortunately, virtually all the body weight loss is based on a loss of body fluids, not fat. It is biologically impossible to lose 10 pounds of body fat in three days, whatever you may eat or not eat.
The Heart Foundation Diet is at best a mediocre calorie-restricted diet which cannot be sustained for more than 2 or 3 days. Consequently, as soon as you come off the diet you quickly regain the lost body fluids. Worse still, you are very likely to put on extra weight as a result of the food restrictions.
When food intake and calories are restricted, the body’s metabolism slows down so as to preserve and build up stores of fat (this is a kind of survival mechanism). Later, when you go back to eating normally, your metabolism will continues to stay at a lower rate for a while, thus making you gain even more weight than you started out with.
Any good and effective weight-loss diet must not be based on calorie restrictions. Also, it must leave you feeling full and satisfied, be enjoyable to eat, and it must be truly nourishing, so that you get the full range of minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients.