The General Motors diet was purportedly created by the automobile manufacturer in the 1980’s, in conjunction with the Johns Hopkins Research Center. The goal of the GM diet was to help their employees lose 10-17 pounds in 7 days. Of course, in the 1980’s, General Motors employed almost 600,000 workers. Today, that number has shrunk to 65,000, an almost 90% reduction in workforce! Talk about an effective diet, albeit a workforce one.

The 7-Day GM diet involves heavy intake of fruits and vegetables for 5 days, and then the re-introduction of meat into the diet on Day 5. If you don’t like fruits and/or vegetables, this diet will not be for you.

Let’s plunge into the details. The 7-Day General Motors diet contains a few mandatory rules:

Absolutely no alcohol One must drink 10-15 glasses of water each day, for 7 days The following drinks are permitted, along with the diet: Water (flavored with lemon or lime), Club Soda, Plain Black Coffee (no creams or sugar), Black Tea (no sugar), Fruit Juices (only on Day 7)

In order to allegedly achieve a 10-17 pound weight loss, you must follow the diet rules below. After completing the 7 days, you should return to “normal” eating, and can cycle back to the GM diet 2-4 weeks after completion. Here are the rules for the GM Diet:

Day 1: Fruit day. You can eat all fruits, EXCEPT bananas. Melon and cantaloupe are highly recommended.

Day 2: Vegetable day. You can eat as many raw or cooked vegetables as your heart desires (but no corn, peas, or beans). You should eat a baked potato with minimal butter for dinner.

Day 3: Fruit and Vegetable day. You can have as many fruits and vegetables today, but continue to avoid bananas and starchy vegetables such as corn, peas, and beans.

Day 4: Bananas, milk, and cabbage soup day. You may eat as many as 8 bananas and drink as many as 3 full glasses of milk. This should serve to reduce your sugar craving. You may also consume as much cabbage soup as you’d like on this day.

Day 5: Beef and tomato day. Finally, some real food! You should eat two 10oz portions of beef. This could be in the form of steak or a hamburger. Make sure to eat 6 whole tomatoes.

Day 6: Beef and vegetable day. By this point, you should have lost significant weight. You may eat as much beef and vegetables as you’d like without limitations.

Day 7: Brown rice, vegetable, and fruit juice day. You may eat as much brown rice and vegetables as you’d like. You are also permitted to drink fruit juice on this day.

If you can follow the above rules to the General Motors 7-Day diet, you should have lost weight, possibly a significant amount. If you would like to repeat the diet, you can do so in another 2-4 weeks. Good luck!