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Werewolf Diet: The new weight loss rage
 Werewolf
Diet doesn’t actually involve having the bloodlust of werewolves. But it is
based on the cycles of the moon, and it’s the latest eating craze among some
celebrities.
The idea is that the moon influences the water in our bodies in the same way
that it impacts the tides of the ocean. According to the website Moon
Connection, humans are made up of a lot of water (which is true), and when the
moon is full or at a new phase, there’s a gravitational pull that can last for
24 hours and affect how much water weight you can gain or lose (questionable).
Dieters can follow two plans, the basic moon diet plan and the extended version.
The basic version is a 24-hour day of fasting in which you only drink water and
juice during the full moon or new moon. That supposedly cleanses your body of
toxins, and the website says you can lose up to six pounds of water weight that
day (highly unlikely).
Celebrities who are following it, including Demi Moore and Madonna.
There are actually two diet plans for those wishing to lose weight. The first
one is called the basic moon diet plan, and it consists of a 24-hour fasting
period in which only liquids, such as water and juice, are consumed. According
to Moon Connection, a website advocating this diet, the moon affects the water
in your body, therefore the timing of your fast is very important and must occur
exactly—at the very second—when the new moon or full moon occurs. Also per this
site, you could lose up to 6 pounds in one 24-hour period. Since you would only
be fasting once a month, really no harm done. You would lose water weight but
then probably gain it back immediately.
The second diet plan is the extended moon diet plan. In this version, all phases
of the moon are covered: full moon, waning moon, waxing moon, and new moon.
During the full and new moon phase, 24-hour fasting is encouraged same as the
basic plan. During the waning moon period, one can consume solid foods, but with
around eight glasses of water a day to “encourage detoxification.” Then during
the waxing moon, you eat "less than usual" without starving yourself and are
advised not to eat after 6 p.m., when “the moon’s light becomes more visible."
With this plan you would be fasting more and therefore putting yourself at risk
for side effects such as fatigue, irritability, and dizziness, in addition to
impinging greatly on your social life.
Research on fasting has heated up quickly in recent years, with many diet and
weight loss experts backing the idea of intermittent fasting. Research indicates
that a number of important health markers are improved with intermittent
fasting, and some research even shows that intermittent fasting can lengthen
your lifespan. The key is that you can only fast up to once or twice a week for
optimum health. Recent diets that take advantage of this new research include
the Fast Diet or 5:2 diet, Eat Stop Eat, alternate day fasting (ADF), and more.
According to the theory of the werewolf diet, the moon exerts the same influence
on the water in your body as it does on the oceans and tides. Therefore by
fasting according to the phases of the moon your body may respond even more
powerfully by flushing excess water and toxins from your body. Eating according
to the phases of the moon, as recommended in the extended moon diet, may also
aid weight loss.
People following the Moon Diet, which is also called the Lunar or Werewolf Diet,
are encouraged to drink freshly squeezed fruits and vegetable juices during
certain moon phases.
werewolves are hot in a whole new way in the world of fad dieting. A
little-known diet is gaining popularity, with celebrities like Demi Moore and
Madonna reportedly choosing to follow the 'Werewolf diet', Grazia reports. Also
known as the Lunar Diet, it is based on the idea that the moon effects the water
in our bodies in the same way that it determines the tides of the oceans, and
that this power can be harnessed to help you lose weight. Some websites
detailing the diet even claim it is possible to lose up to 6lbs in 24 hours.
Though there are numerous variations of the diet, they essentially involve a
liquid cleanse for a few days of the month; either at the full moon, new moon or
beginning of a moon phase. Fans of the diet claim the moon exerts the same
gravitational pull on the water in our bodies as it does on the world’s oceans.
They claim this pull is biggest during a full and new moon, and undergoing a
liquid fast during this time will enable the moon to flush toxins out of the
body aiding weight-loss. Some people also claim the moon can affect your mood
and that fasting during these points in the lunar calendar will reduce cravings.
Advising only the consumption of water and juice, one website, Moon Connection,
explains: 'It is critical that you start the diet on the very minute the moon
phase begins.
'If the new phase begins during the middle of the day, you can eat or drink
whatever you want up until that minute - then start your 24-hour timer.'
The website, which echoes what most other Lunar and Werewolf diets say, explains
that the moon will act with the water in the body to aid detoxification and
weight loss.
'Consuming more fluids will call on the power of the moon, stimulate renal
activity, and allow your body to lose its excess water. This flushes out the
toxins that accumulate in the body due to unhealthy foods, bad digestion, and
stress, and provides a detoxifying effect that will strengthen your immune
system. ‘You can also lose up to 6lbs during this single day of fasting due to
the lost water.’
 Most websites recommend only following the diet for one to three days at a time,
but others say you can follow it for up to six days - which is longer than most
dieticians would say was safe. Worryingly, health experts fear this diet offers
very little in the way of actual effectiveness. While a juice cleanse for 24
hours may help you feel lighter, you are unlikely to lose more than 1lb in
weight. Added to that, there is no reliable evidence at all that the moon
affects the water content in our bodies, nor that fasting at such a time would
help you to lose weight.
About the 'Werewolf diet' British Dietetic Association spokesperson Jeanette
Crosland, said: 'There may be some evidence that fluid retention occurs at some
points in the menstrual cycle, and therefore at other points in the cycle this
fluid will reduce. However not every female will be at the same point in her
cycle when a full moon occurs.
'If indeed the effect of the moon is to reduce the water content of the body,
any effect is temporary and true "weight loss", the target of the weight
reducer, is the result of losing excess body fat, not water.
'Any diet which restricts calories will normally result in weight loss, and this
is yet another diet based on fasting for short periods, resulting in a reduced
energy (calories) intake over a period of time. 'As with any period of fast,
individuals should be careful of taking part if they have underlying medical
conditions, such as diabetes, and should also be aware of the reduced nutrient
intake from abstaining from food.
'Overall, this is another "diet" designed to catch the attention of the public,
written in a way that suggest a scientific basis which doesn't truly exist and
basically boiling down to a short fast plus a (hopefully healthy) weight loss
diet based on reducing calorie intake.'
Dated 13 February 2014
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