How to Lose Weight Fast… with the ‘Ice Cream Diet’?

ice cream
The ice cream diet. It’s a thing…and yes, the creator of the fad says its how to lose weight fast. By eating ice cream.

When the good news came out (and continues to come out) that chocolate actually has some pretty significant health benefits, there was a lot of nodding and head-shaking in agreement. Mine was one of them. After all, cacao—chocolate in its raw form—is a botanical that’s full of antioxidants and minerals. Can’t go wrong there.

But we all know that the majority of us aren’t pulling cacao beans out from the milky white flesh of the cacao fruit. We’re guzzling down Reese’s peanut butter cups (or Justin’s, if you know what’s good for you). And the sugar, dairy and other ingredients, well, they dilute the potency of the cacao. In commercial milk chocolate, they practically deplete cacao of its power completely.

Similarly, raw ice cream, typically made from nuts or coconut and fruits, is leaps and bounds healthier than dairy ice cream. Not only is it free from the mucusy milk of cows who ate antibiotics, growth hormones and genetically modified corn and soy, but it’s also (usually) free from refined sugar and artificial anything.

But, still. The ice cream diet? C’mon, now. We all know that’s about as healthy as well, an ice cream diet. But Kippy’s! Ice Cream Shop in Venice, Calif. is suggesting it’s a simple way to lose weight fast. The store offers a four-day raw ice cream detox binge that’ll run you $240.

The program also comes with daily yoga, which may account for the weight loss owner Kippy Miller reports people have experienced on the ice cream diet.

Dr. Christopher Ochner, an assistant professor of pediatrics, adolescent medicine and psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, said in an email to CBS News that even though this type of “cleanse” would possibly lead to initial weight loss, the weight will most certainly return in the coming days or week.

“As far as risks, individuals would be ingesting a boat load of processed saturated fat and sugar every day; pretty much the two worst things you can put in your body,” he said.

“It truly pains me to see people taking advantage of the desperation experienced by so many obese individuals wanting to lose weight,” said Ochner. “Not only is something like this unhealthy, ineffective and expensive but it perpetuates the false belief that a better body can be achieved without effort, which discourages people from doing what is actually necessary in order to lose weight and improve their health.”

Ice cream, especially healthier raw and nondairy versions, can be part of a healthy diet. But the only flavor of the month for weight loss is getting off gimmicks all together and simply eating clean, healthy foods in moderation. Especially ice cream.

Find Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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Jill Ettinger

Jill Ettinger is a Los Angeles-based journalist and editor focused on the global food system and how it intersects with our cultural traditions, diet preferences, health, and politics. She is the senior editor for sister websites OrganicAuthority.com and EcoSalon.com, and works as a research associate and editor with the Cornucopia Institute, the organic industry watchdog group. Jill has been featured in The Huffington Post, MTV, Reality Sandwich, and Eat Drink Better. www.jillettinger.com.