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The Hollywood 48-Hour
Miracle Diet
By Marya Wegenka
Introduction
“Lose
up to 10 lbs in 2 days”. It sounds too
good to be true, and it probably is, but the Hollywood 48-Hour Miracle Diet
claims that it can help you to achieve a significant weight loss in just 2
days. The diet industry makes nearly $30
billion dollars a year, because our culture has conditioned us to believe that
we need to be thin to be beautiful (White 2000). Nearly every woman in our society has been on
a diet at one point or another, because dieting and the desire to be thin has
become a part of our culture. People
want to believe that magic diets will take the weight off quickly without much
exercise and without avoiding their favorite foods. We have become a culture that wants results
now, and the Hollywood Diet promises quick results. There are many pills,
shakes, and diets out on the market for weight loss. Here we will take a closer look at the
Hollywood 48-Hour Miracle Diet.
The Product
The
Hollywood 48-Hour Miracle Diet is a “special blend of all natural fruits and
fruit juices along with antioxidants and essential oils”. It is advertised as a
product that will cleanse, detoxify, and rejuvenate your body, while making you
lose weight. There are testimonials of
people who have tried the Hollywood Diet and claim to experience significant
weight loss in just two days (http://www.hollywood48hourmiraclediet.net).
This product promotes itself proclaiming that
there are no pills, no catches, and no long book to read. (However it is
suggested you take metabolism booster pills, which I will discuss later). Instead this product is delicious and
natural. While on the diet you will not
have cravings for “bad foods”. Diets can
make people tired and weak when caloric intake is dramatically reduced (White
2000). The Hollywood Miracle Diet consists of only 400 calories a day. This product claims to be different than
other diets like it though, because rather than causing you to feel weak and
agitated it cleanses your body leaving you feeling energized.
How Does it Work?
One website states that the diet
disrupts your regular food intake while cleansing your digestive system and
activating your bodies internal ‘fat burning furnace’ (http://48hourhollywoodmiraclediet.com//home_diet.tpl). Another website promotes the product as the
#1 detox diet in the country. They claim
that over a million people have tried this product. After just two days, you can cleanse your
body of 5 to 10 lbs of toxic waste that is in your colon and digestive
system. A list of 14 symptoms is
provided that are common symptoms of toxicity including headaches, skin
problems, bad breath, body odor, low energy, weight gain, and poor memory. It says if you have any of these symptoms,
then you should go on this diet to cleanse your body (http://www.aspenslender.com/pages/HW48MDcleanse.html).
The Ingredients
The
ingredients in the Hollywood Diet include Purified Water, Pineapple, Apple,
Orange and Grape Juice Concentrates, Apricot, Peach and Banana Purees, Vitamin
A Palmitate, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Thiamine
Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine HCl (Vitamin B6),
Cyanocobalmin (Vitamin B12), Niacin, Folic Acid, Pantothenic Acid, and a
special blend of Essential Oils of Bergamot, Tangerine, Lemon, and Orange. Each serving is 4 fl. Oz. of the juice
combined with 4 oz. of water. Each
serving contains 100 calories (the product label list calories with the word
“energy” in parenthesis), 0g of fat, 20 mg of sodium, 22g of sugar, 0g of protein,
25g of carbohydrates, and 75% of the daily allowance for each vitamin listed in
the ingredients. Each bottle of the diet
contains 8 servings, which is enough for 2 days of the diet. The diet includes four servings of the juice
that you are supposed to sip over the entire day for two days. Each day only 400 calories are consumed. In
addition to the juice, you are to drink 8 glasses of water. For best results the directions say not to
have any food, alcohol, caffeine or tobacco.
The label reports that you should consult a physician before beginning
any weight loss programs, and that the Food and Drug Administration has not
tested it.
For Best Results
The
official site ((http://www.hollywood48hourmiraclediet.net) for the Hollywood Diet reports that once the
two day diet is completed that it is important to “maintain yourself by eating
more fruits and vegetables and cutting down on meat, sugar, oils, flour, dairy,
and fatty foods. By exercising at least
30 minutes a day for 5 days a week and not eating after 6 p.m.”, you can
maintain your new physique. The
suggestions to maintain your new weight given by the Hollywood Diet are common
sense weight loss strategies: eat foods that are better for you and exercise
everyday. Someone that would try the
Hollywood diet has probably not been successful at eating healthy and
exercising, and is looking to the Hollywood Miracle Diet as an alternative to
dieting and exercise.
To
increase weight loss with this product, the same site tells the dieter to go on
the Hollywood 48-Hour Miracle Diet once every week, while eating better and
exercising. It also reports that the
clients that have seen the most significant weight loss do the diet two days on
and then two days off. Based on feedback
from some of their customers, a popular diet combo offered on the website leads
to maximum weight loss. The combo
includes the juice for two days repeated every month, during which the dieters
also take a metabolism booster capsule while on and off the juice diet. Only drinking the juice for two days does not
see the best results of the diet, but it is suggested that metabolism pills be
taken. It is also suggested the diet be
repeated. If the diet took off ten
pounds every two days, then why would a normal to slightly overweight person
need to repeat the diet once a week or once a month? It is because you can’t really lose that much
weight that quickly, and it is difficult to keep the weight off after you lose
it that fast.
The
Creator
On
each bottle of the Hollywood 48-Hour Miracle Diet is a message from Jamie
Kabler, “The Fitness and Health Guru”, congratulating the buyer on taking the
first step towards looking and feeling better.
Jamie Kabler is considered the diet counselor to the stars, and his ads
are shown on television and in magazines around the world. He invented the diet after a trip to Europe
where he found people paying a lot of money to attend a health spa, and decided
to create a “health spa in a bottle” available to everyone (http://48hourhollywoodmiraclediet.com//home_diet.tpl).
Tests
One
website selling this product uses a doctor’s statement about the success of the
diet. Dr. Joel Fuhrman, MD says, “The
Hollywood 48-Hour Miracle Diet is a safe and effective way to take off 10
pounds in a very short period of time” (http://www.dietlab.net/). The same website reports that tests have been
conducted on the product. The test only
involved 27 volunteers of men and women between the ages of 18-67. It reports that dieters lost an average of
4.5% of their body weight and had significant fat loss. The weight loss ranged from 4.5 to 16.5
pounds. It reports that all were very
happy with their weight loss. However
this is all the information that is given.
It does not tell who performed the test, methods used, what the original
weights of the people were, or whether or not the participants exercised. It really tells us nothing about the
procedures and controls of the tests.
Testimonials
If
after reading all this information on the various webpages and you still are
not convinced, many of these sites have testimonials of people who tried the
diet and say it worked for them. Laurel
lost 13 pounds in two days. Matt in
Louisiana lost 8 to 10 pounds and wasn’t even hungry. Delesha from Pennsylvania lost 3 pounds the
first day and 5 more the second day. She plans on doing the diet 4 times a
month. Many of the sites offer
testimonials, because if you see that other people found the diet worked, then
maybe you’ll be more likely to try it.
Where to Find the Diet
This
product is sold online and in drug stores.
The Hollywood 48-Hour Miracle Diet is sold at both Eckerds and Walgreens
for $19.99. The online prices range from
$19.50 to $24.95 a bottle, with special deals when you buy more than one bottle
or a combo pack. One popular combo
offered at http://www.hollywood48hourmiraclediet.net includes 2 bottles of the 48-Hour Hollywood
Diet, 2 bottles of the New Metabolism Booster Capsules and gives you a free
bottle of fat slimming cream for just $109.88.
Very Low Calorie Diets
There are many claims made about the
Hollywood 48-Hour Diet that are unrealistic, as well as many things the diet
claims to do, that are dependent on other outside factors. To maintain a constant weight the average
person should take in 2,000 calories a day.
This diet restricts calorie intake to one-fifth of the average, only
allowing 400 calories. This would be
considered a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD).
Healthy weight reduction plans should produce a loss of one to two pounds
per week (Marti 1997).
According
to The Ultimate Consumer’s Guide to Diets and Nutrition, a VLCD is a
diet for morbidly obese people that consists of less than 800 calories a day,
and should be administered under a doctor’s supervision. VLCD diets substitute liquids for solid
foods. On average a woman who
participates in such a diet will lose 2 to 3 pounds per week, while men will
lose 4 to 5 pounds per week. Marti says
that medical supervision is essential with this type of diet, because it can
lead to complications with the heart, liver, and kidneys. Medical supervision is required because there
is a risk with “semi-starvation”, which causes fatigue, weakness, and
lightheadedness and changes in vital signs (Mart 1997).
FDA
Approval
All
VLCD diets approved by the FDA must contain 10 grams of fat per day, at least
70 grams of protein, and the recommended daily allowances for the essential
vitamins, potassium, magnesium, phosphate, and sodium. The Hollywood Diet does not have any fat,
provides no protein, and does not provide 100% of the RDAs for the vitamins and
minerals, and thus would not be approved by the FDA. The label on the Hollywood Diet bottle states
that the FDA has not tested it, because if the FDA tested it they would not be
able to approve it. Restricting one’s
caloric intake to 400 calories from a liquid diet is not a good way to lose
weight.
VLCDs for the Obese
There
are some differences between the Hollywood Diet and other VLCDs. The VLCD diets would be prescribed only for
morbidly obese patients, so many of the health risks associated with the VLCD
would also be influenced by the poor health of the individual to begin
with. VLCDs also usually last for weeks,
not just a few days like the Hollywood Diet.
VLCDS are the safest and most effective way for obese people to lose weight, but the Hollywood Diet is used and
marketed towards anyone that wants to lose weight or detoxify their
system. Weight loss recommendations for
the general public do not include reducing diet to just 400 calories of liquids
a day, but calls to reduce caloric intake by 500 to 1000 calories a day with 1
to 2 pounds of weight loss a week (Jakicic et al., 2001 and Miller 1999).
Health Risks with VLCDs
VLCDs
have resulted in a decreased resting metabolic rate and the loss of lean body
mass. Aerobic exercise with VLCD has not
prevented these effects (Ullrich et al., 1997).
There are health risks to very low calorie diets that include metabolic
complications including hypovolemia, electrolyte disturbances, and endocrine
abnormalities. The most serious
complications that could result are arrhythmias (Marinella 2000). A report on clinical research on severe
caloric restriction from a conference of the National Institutes of Health and
Technology Assessment says that the current VLCDs of today are generally safe
when used by the appropriate patients (those who are 30% or more overweight)
and when a doctor is supervising.
Gallstones and VLCDs
The
studies reviewed at the conference also found that VLCDs are associated with an
increased risk for gallstones (Wadden 1993).
Other sources also reported the increase risk of gallstones by people on
a VLCD. Though many of these studies
looked at VLCD that lasted for weeks rather than a few days, they do raise some
concern. There is no warning with the
Hollywood Diet that repeated use of the diet every two days could have health
risks like those seen in VLCDs that last for weeks or months. The product
covers itself from not mentioning possible risks by stating that a doctor
should supervise the diet. Marti reports
that rapid weight loss and lowfat diets increase the cases of gallstone
formation and gallbladder inflammation (Marti 1997).
According
to the Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Supplement, there is
a “threshold of fat” required for the gall bladder to empty efficiently. At least 10 grams of fat are needed per day
to keep the gall bladder functioning correctly, and this is also the amount
required for FDA approval. The
researchers found that between 11%-36% of obese patients who lost weight
rapidly formed gallstones. Obesity can
lead to gallstone disease, but the risk increases greatly when there is rapid
weight loss (Pazzi 2000).
Some
of the testimonials about the Hollywood Diet are people saying they are going
to use the diet once a week or once a month.
The majority of people looking to lose 10 pounds in 2 days is probably
not the morbidly obese and most likely will not be supervised by a doctor. People that reported the most significant
results from the Hollywood Diet were on the diet two days and off the diet two
days. People that are consistently on the diet every two days would be at
higher risk for gallstones and other health risks associated with VLCDs.
Conclusion
The Hollywood 48-Hour Miracle Diet is
not a miracle diet, but a method a semi-starvation or a VLCD. The makers of this product claim you can lose
10 pounds in two days and detoxify your body by simply drinking their
formula. It sounds so easy and so great,
but it won’t cause sustained weight loss.
Researchers have reported that you can only lose 1 to 2 pounds a week on
a diet. By restricting oneself to the
Hollywood diet, you can only take in 400 calories each day, followed by a month
of exercise and eating better. Once off
the diet you are not suppose to binge, but after starving yourself for two
days, it would be difficult to not eat more than you are suppose to.
The
Hollywood Diet says after completing the diet you should do the following
things: eat fruits and vegetables and cut down on meats, sugars, oils, flour,
dairy, and fatty foods, to exercise 30 minutes a day five days a week, and not
to eat after 6:00 p.m. If you did these
three things, you could lose weight without the Hollywood Miracle Diet. There are also health risks associated with
very low calorie diets that are sustained over weeks or months that could be
seen if the diet is used improperly. While on and off the diet, it is also
recommended that you take metabolism booster capsules.
Everywhere
we look our culture is telling us that thin is beautiful, and many people want the
perfect figure without eating right or exercising. The Hollywood 48-Hour Miracle Diet claims to
be able to take off 10 lbs. quickly. It
sells because people want a quick and easy way to have the perfect figure, and
they are willing to pay for the “miracle” diet that will get them there. The best way to lose weight and keep it off
is to eat better and exercise rather than trying dieting substances that
promise rapid weight loss.
References
1.
Festt, D.,
Colecchia, A., Larocca, A., Villanova, N., Mazzella, G., Petroni, M.L., Romano,
F., and Roda, E. (2000). Review: Low
Caloric Intake and Gall-Bladder Motor Function.
Alimentary Pharmacology &
Therapeutics, Supplement, 14, 51-53.
OVID
2.
Jakicic, J.M.,
Clark, K., Coleman, E., Donnelly, J.E., Foreyt, J., Meanson, E., Volek, J.,
& Volpe, S.L. (2001). Appropriate
Intervention Strategies for Weight Loss and Prevention of Weight Regain for
Adults. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,
33, 2145-2156. OVID
3.
Marti, J.
(1997). The Ultimate Consumer’s Guide to
Diets and Nutrition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
4.
Marinella,
M.A. MD. (2000). Generalized Seizures Associated With Low-Calorie Dieting. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 35, 405.
OVID
5.
Miller, Wayne
C. (1999). How Effective are Traditional Dietary and
Exercise Interventions for Weight Loss. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,
31, 1129-1134. OVID
6.
Ullrich, I.,
Bryner, R., Sauers, G. H., Donely, D., and Yeater, R. (1997). Effects of Resistance Training on Lean Body
Mass with 800-Calorie Liquid Diets 262. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,
29, 46. OVID
7.
Wadden, T.A.
National Institutes of Health Technology Assessment Conference: Treatment of
Obesity by Moderate and Severe Caloric Restriction: Results of Clinical
Research Trials. Annals of Internal
Medicine, 119, 688-693. OVID
8.
White, M.
(2000). Why Diets Don’t Work. Total Health, 22, 44-45.
