The Sugar Diet

despite its catchy name, the sugar diet does not give dieters any hope that they can lose fat by eating sweets. In general, it’s hard to even call it a diet; it’s more like a strict fast, which offers no health benefits and, in some cases, is contraindicated altogether. The diet is not suitable for people with diabetes, kidney problems, pregnant women, nursing mothers, or the elderly.

What the sugar diet allows

For the first three days, only one and a half liters of green tea is allowed, with one teaspoon of sugar added to each cup. This amount helps maintain blood glucose levels to some extent and prevents you from fainting from hunger. Aside from green tea, only water is allowed. For the next 4 days, the only permitted foods are boiled vegetables (excluding legumes and potatoes) and greens, with no sugar allowed. The total amount of cooked vegetables should not exceed 1 kg. Between meals, you may drink the same green tea and plain water in unlimited quantities.

What are the drawbacks of this diet?

Sugar does nothing to compensate for the body’s lack of nutrients, and fasting days aren’t particularly beneficial in the first place. It’s clear that trying to stave off hunger with tea—even if it contains sugar—is simply unrealistic, so the first three days of the diet will be agonizing. Later on, the sugar diet doesn’t live up to its name at all, since vegetables are prepared not only without added sugar but also without salt. Boiled cabbage, carrots, and other delights aren’t very tasty, so the sugar diet is quite hard to stick to. The weight lost quickly returns just as fast, if not faster, so the 4–6 kg lost over the week will likely be back in no time.
So it turns out that the sugar diet has far more downsides than upsides. On the other hand, green tea can easily be used as a one-day fasting option.