It’s the time of year when it seems like the majority of people are putting their bodies through punishing diets in a bid to counteract an indulgent Christmas period.

But if you were considering trying the Whole30 diet, you might want to think again.

The U.S. News & World Report has just published its annual ranking of diets - and Whole30 comes in last place.

The diet programme has been hugely popular over the last few years, but at the bottom of the list of 38 diets, it’s beaten even by the Atkins and Dukan diets, both of which are widely considered passé.

The annual list, compiled by a panel of experts including dietitians, academics and doctors, is considered important in the world of nutrition and the placing of Whole30 at the bottom has come as something of a shock.

To discover which diets are best and worst overall, the panel assess each one in seven categories including long-term weight loss, short-term weight loss, efficiency at preventing disease, ease, safety and nutritional completeness.

First place was awarded to the DASH diet, which is all about eating to combat high blood pressure - miles above Whole30 at the bottom.

Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list Show all 16 1 /16 Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Grapefruit Diet This golden oldie has been around since the 1930s and was a favourite among classic Hollywood stars, like Marilyn Monroe. It involves eating half a grapefruit before every meal and is based on the idea that grapefruits contain a fat-burning enzyme that boosts the metabolism. Rex Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Air Diet Based on the French concept of breatharianism, the idea that air alone can keep our bodies active, the air diet involves sitting in front of food, placing a piece onto a fork, holding it up to your mouth… But not eating it. Instead, you are to subsist on water and salt soup only. Madonna is apparently a fan of pretend eating. Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The ‘Liquids Only’ Master Cleanse Diet She did look good in Dream Girls, didn’t she? But the lengths Beyoncé went to to achieve her svelte frame were a tad extreme. Instead of solid foods, she survived on liquids – famously a mixture of lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water – for 14 days. Apparently, this helps to detoxify the body (a process it actually does every day, naturally and unaided by weird diets) and stimulates tissue growth. The dieter is also encouraged to drink laxative tea twice a day. Glamorously. Reuters Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Ice Diet Renee Zellweger apparently fills up on ice to stop her piling on the pounds from non-water based foods. Which is, of course, totally ridiculous. Getty Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Watercress Soup Diet Liz Hurley once revealed that she regularly subsists on a six-cup-a-day diet of watercress soup when she wants to lose weight for a role. The low-calorie leafy green is also a diuretic, helping to combat water retention. It’s also a completely mental thing to do. Getty Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list Placenta Pill Diet When January Jones gave birth to her son Xander, she had her placenta dried and crushed and stuffed into pills, that she then took as a supplement to lose weight. No idea if it worked or not, but it successfully made us feel queasy reading about it. Getty Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Victoria’s Secret Angel Diet If you’re crazy – and, you know, called Adriana Lima or something – then this diet, usually undertaken nine days before a runway show, is for you. It involves omitting all solid foods entirely and subsisting only on protein shakes, supplements and vitamins. You also have to work out twice a day, consult a nutritionist, and, 12 hours before a show, stop drinking liquids entirely to drain the excess fluids from your body and dehydrate as much as possible. Getty Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Five Hands Diet Victoria Beckham apparently adopted the Five Hands Diet technique after she gave birth to baby Harper. That means eating only five handfuls of high energy and protein foods a day. So, nuts then. Getty Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Baby Food Diet Yep. No real food. Just baby food. And 14 jars of the pap a day at that. Jennifer Aniston loves it. Allegedly. As (also allegedly) does Reese Witherspoon. BANG Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Drunk Diet This was invented by Lady Gaga, who once eschewed her evening meals for a swig of whiskey – but adhered to a strict exercise plan, even when hung over. Getty Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Apple Cider Vinegar Diet Drinking apple cider before every meal seems like a terrible idea. But Megan Fox does it as a metabolism booster, which helps to rid the body of excess water weight and burn calories faster. Apparently. Getty Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Hard Boiled Eggs Diet Nicole Kidman was asked to shed as much weight as possible for her role in Cold Mountain, so she went on the Hard Boiled Eggs diet: That’s an egg for breakfast, and two or three for dinner. And that’s it. Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Seven-Day Colour Diet This diet, apparently beloved by Christina Aguilera, at least has some nutritional merit. In order to get the correct balance of nutrients, eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables across the colour spectrum is a wise idea. But the Seven-Day Colour Diet says you should only eat one colour of food per day of the week. Monday = white food. Tuesday = red food. Wednesday = green food and so forth. Bonkers. Getty Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Cabbage Soup Diet Does what it says on the tin. You can apparently consume unlimited supplies of cabbage soup (lucky you), as well as some low calorie fruit and vegetables. Sarah Michelle Gellar is apparently an advocate. Getty Images Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Grapefruit Oil Diet Not to be confused with The Grapefruit Diet, this involves sniffing grapefruit oil in the vain hope that the aroma alone might trigger liver enzymes into calorie-burning, detoxifying gear. Jennifer Lopez is rumoured to partake in this lunacy. Getty Extreme Diets: The Eating Habits of the The A-list The Macrobiotic Diet Gwyneth Paltrow’s love of all things Macrobiotic is well documented. It involves a strict, mostly vegetarian plan with grains as the staple food, avoiding highly processed or refined foods and most animal products. She also has a 21-day GOOP cleanse, that involves eating just one meal a day and chewing each mouthful at least 13 times. Getty

Whole30 is an extremely restrictive diet that you follow for 30 days - the plan requires cutting out sugar, alcohol, gluten, grains, dairy and legumes, but rather than focussing on weight loss, it’s all about resetting your relationship with food and - supposedly - changing your life.

The idea is that by cutting out all the bad stuff, after 30 days you won’t crave or miss any of it, and you should emerge with a new, healthy attitude towards food.

Of course, that’s extremely hard to stick to for most people, and it’s a drastic plan to undertake if you’re not going to get much reward.

“What was a letdown for me was I didn’t actually feel any different when I was doing the diet,” says Emily, a 24-year-old Edinburgh who tried the Whole30 last year.

The plan requires an incredible amount of discipline and self-control, not only during the 30 days but afterwards too.

“I wanted to teach myself to treat food differently but I don’t think that was wholly successful - it’s so restrictive that when the 30 days were up, I tried hard to slowly reintroduce foods but before long I was going crazy on cake and previously forbidden things just because it was so good to finally be able to eat them again,” Emily told The Independent.

And then there’s the added problem of how much following the Whole30 restricts your social life: “I basically had to put my life on hold for 30 days,” explains Emily, who admits she probably won’t do it again.

As the new ranking shows, Emily’s not the only one to be underwhelmed by the Whole30. “This diet did not fare well in the rankings overall, and certainly did not fare well with me,” panel member Dr. David Katz, M.D. told Cosmopolitan.

The problem is that the diet promotes meat consumption at the expense of perfectly healthy food groups, and whilst Emily admits that the Whole30 taught her that protein keeps her full, it’s not considered a balanced approach to nutrition.

If you’re after a challenge, Whole30 may still be worth a try: “I was pleased to have done it but didn’t feel like I got out of it what I wanted,” says Emily.