March 28, 2024

I had not heard of this until today but a few years ago there was a diet created by General Motors called the GM Diet to get or at least keep the employees in shape (to bad it didn’t help the bottom line) and this diet was really popular even outside of General Motors.

The GM Diet is one of those older diets that seems to be based on heresay and fads more than anything and you can see this in the strange ideas about drinking certain alcohols and the idea of eating until you are “stuffed” can not be at all good over the long term. Also funny is an all meat day as opposed to the fat loss 4 idiots all fruit day.

The GM Diet was originally created by GM and only for the employees and families. Somehow GM (biggest company in the world at the time) got a grant from the FDA and the Department of Agriculture to create this. Johns Hopkins was involved and the diet was approved and launched in 1985.

This GM Diet program is designed for a target weight loss of 10-17 lbs per week. It will also improve your attitudes and emotions because of its cleansing systematic effects.

This can also be used over and over again although I am not to sure about the food balance as it seems to be extreme in a few ways. The GM Diet is designed to flush your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well being. The plan is designed to lose you 10 pounds or so in a week. Has anyone tried and found this?

GM Diet Plan

During the first seven days you must abstain from all alcohol. You must drink 10 glasses of water each day on the GM Diet

Day One All fruits except bananas. Your first day will consist of all the fruits you want. It is strongly suggested that you consume lots of melons the first day. Especially watermelon and a loupe. If you limit your fruit consumption to melons, your chances of losing three lbs. on first day are very good.


Day Two
All vegetables. You are encouraged to eat until you are stuffed with all the raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. There is no limit on the amount or type. For your complex carbohydrate, you will start day two with a large baked potato for breakfast. You may top the potato with one pat of butter.

Day Three A mixture of fruits and vegetables of your choice. Any amount, any quantity. No bananas yet. No potatoes today.

Day Four Bananas and milk. Today you will eat as many as eight bananas and drink three glasses of milk. This will be combined with the special soup which may be eaten in limited quantities.

Day Five Today is feast day. You will eat beef and tomatoes. Eat two 10 oz. portions of lean beef. Hamburger is OK. Combine this with six whole tomatoes. On day five you must increase your water intake by one quart. This is to cleanse your system of the uric acid you will be producing.

Day Six Beef and vegetables. Today you may eat an unlimited amount of beef and vegetables. Eat to your hearts content.

Day Seven Today your food intake will consist of brown rice, fruit juices and all the vegetables you care to consume.

Tomorrow morning from the GM Diet you will be 10-17 lbs. lighter than one week ago. If you desire further weight loss, repeat the program again. You may repeat this program as often as you like, however, it is suggested that you are allowed two glasses of white wine in addition to the instructions on the program. You may substitute champagne for white wine. Under no circumstances are you to drink any other alcoholic beverages with the exception of beer which is allowed. Any liquor (bourbon,vodka, rum) is forbidden.

Cream drinks are especially forbidden on the GM Diet. You may have an occasional cordial such as creme de menthe or schnapps, but you must always limit yourself to two drinks.

If you wine, drink only wine that day. If you have beer, drink only beer that day, etc. Alcohol adds empty calories to your diet. However, after the first week on the GM Diet it will help your digestion and settle your stomach.

GM Wonder Soup

The following soup is intended as a supplement to your GM Diet. It can be eaten any time of the day in virtually unlimited quantities. You are encouraged to consume large quantities of this soup.

28 oz, Water, 6 Large Onions, 2 Green Peppers, Whole Tomatoes (fresh or canned), 1 Head Cabbage, 1 Bunch Celery, 4 Envelopes Lipton Onion Soup Mix, Herbs and Flavoring as desired.

GM Diet Additional Notes

Vegetables as may be taken in the form of a salad if desired. No dressing except malt, white or wine vinegar, squeezed lemon, garlic, herbs. No more than one tea spoon of oil on the GM Diet.

You have above a recipe for the wonder soup which can be eaten in unlimited quantities. This soup is a supplement while you are on the program and it should be a pleasure to eat. Not everyone likes cabbage, green peppers, celery etc. This recipe is not inflexible. You may substitute vegetables according to your taste. You may add any vegetables you like: asparagus, peas, corn, turnips, green beans, cauliflower, etc. Try to stay away from beans (lima, pinto, kidney, etc.), however, because they tend to be high in calories even though they are very good for you.

Beverages you may consume while on the GM Diet program :

1. Water (flavored with lemon/lime if desired).
2. Club Soda is OK.
3. Black Coffee. No cream or cream substitute. No sugar or sweetness.
4. Black Tea = Herb or Leaf.
5. Absolutely nothing else except the fruit juices which are part of day seven. No fruit juices before day seven.

How and Why the GM Diet Works

Day One – You are preparing your system for the upcoming program. Your only source of nutrition is fresh or canned fruits. Fruits are nature’s perfect food. They provide everything you could possibly want to sustain life except total balance and variety.

Day Two – Starts with a fix of complex carbohydrates coupled with an oil dose. This is taken in the morning for energy and balance. The rest of day two consists of vegetables which are virtually calorie free and provide essential nutrients and fibre.

Day Three – Eliminates the potato because you get your carbohydrates from the fruits. You system is now prepared to start burning excess pounds. You will still have cravings which should start to diminish by day four.

Day Four – Bananas, milk and soup sound the strangest and least desirable. You’re in for a surprise. You probably will not eat all the bananas allowed. But they are there for the potassium you have lost and the sodium you may have missed the past three days. You will notice a definite weight loss of desire for sweets. You will be surprised how easy this day will go.

Day Five – Beef and tomatoes. The beef is for iron and proteins, the tomatoes are for digestion and fibre. Lots and lots of water purifies your system. You should notice colorless urine today. Your allowance calls for the equivalent of five “quarter ponders”. Do not feel you have to eat all this beef. You must eat the six tomatoes.

Day Six – Similar to day five, Iron and proteins from beef, Vitamins and fibre from vegetables. By now your system is in a total weight loss inclination. There should be a noticeable difference in the way you look today, compared to day one.

Day Seven – Finished off the program like a good cigar used to finish off Victorian meals, except much healthier. You have your system under control and it should thank you for the flushing and cleaning you just gave it.

I am not sure of the value of the GM Diet but go ahead and try this and see if you are pleasantly surprised. Make sure that if you try this that you also let us all know of the results good or bad in the comments below. Maybe GM Diet will me the legacy that General Motors will be remembered for instead?

877 thoughts on “GM Diet

  1. Did this for a week and lost about 6 lbs. I really wasnt over just trying to cleanse and get my body back on track and my mindset. It disciplined me to think before I eat. The only thing I will stress, is DONT forget to drink as much water as you can. You really need to stay hydrated. Check with your doctor if you have medical conditions that this might effect.

  2. Starting day two of the diet and I’m 4lbs down this morning! Super pleased with that and pretty pleased with how I feel so far. Thus far it’s not nearly as difficult as I expected, I was a little hungry last night and went to bed with a bit of a headache but woke up feeling refreshed and positive. A huge improvement compared to a morning following a night of a junk food binge

  3. I started today. Im at 177lbs. hoping to loose atleast 50lbs by March 2nd. Im getting married.. Im very hungry but I am going to stick through this..:)

    1. 4.8 lbs in ONE DAY!!!!! i moved the scale all around my house this morning thinking it was wrong.. same in every spot..:)

  4. Ok I’m still confused on this soup! Some say you can start eating it on day 1 and some say not to start until day 4. And the instructions aren’t very clear at all! HELP!!! 🙂

    1. I started using the soup on the 2nd day and it is really good. I just avoid the soup on the first fruit day. I lost 3.8 pounds the first day. My husband and I are going to use this diet once every 3 weeks, the 2 weeks in between stick to a 1200 calorie diet. So far so good.

  5. I started the diet on August 20th. My starting was 182.2 lbs. First day was the toughest so far. I ate watermelon, cantaloupe, and 1 apple. Felt really tired and out of it, and had a slight headache most of the day. Pretty usual stuff when detoxing I would say. But I got through it. Drank tons of water to help with the hunger. Finished off my day with some light bicycling for thirty minutes.Morning of Day 2, I weighed 179.4 ! Yay! (insert happy dance!) This day I was dreading more than any other, as it’s so low carb…but the potato you eat in the morning was so filling and so satisfying that it made it easy to get through the rest of the day. I also munched on sugar snap peas, various bell peppers, carrots, cabbage soup, and tomatoes throughout the day. I had so much energy by the end of the day, that I decided to run a nice easy 5k. Felt good, but became ill shortly after, and lost a bit of my food. OOPS! Reguardless, finished the day without any complaints and woke up this morning at 177.0 lbs! Total lost so far…5.2 pounds! Will continue to post progress.

    1. So I’m a little confused, you said that you had soup on day 2 but I thought you can only have the soup on day 4. Can we have soup everyday?? Or just on that 1 day?

      gloria

  6. Day 1:(214.4 lbs) watermelon, cantelope, grapes, & strawberries (I cheated w/3 soy ice cream sandwiches 100 cal each) plenty of water & 45 min walk/jog intervals

    Day 2: (211.4) which is today, will update soon

    By the way,I am vegan so I will be using almond milk & replacing beef with Boca Vegan burgers

  7. just wondering i am on a workout plan and im determined to finish it.. im nervous about the no protein here will i be ok… i do a a lot of running and lifting.

  8. Hi, I am on day 2 veggie day. I see a lot of people are mentioning eating a salad? Can I use any vinegar to give some flavor to the lettuce? A drizzle of balsamic on Spinich leaves sounds good to me right now. Also I was reading some people ate egg whites on day 5 with the meat and tomatos, anyone else know anything about this? Thanks

  9. My husband and I are going to start the cleanse soon, but I have a question. I have IBS and am sensitive to Dairy, Do I need to do cows milk or could I do soy?

    1. I’m partial to zucchini “noodles” with a homemade marinara sauce (tomatoes, garlic, onion and herbs/spices). I’ll also graze on carrots. A broccoli, cauliflower and carrot medley is always good, as well. 🙂

  10. I am trying to help my son with this diet he is on day 1 he is determined to eat canalope and water melon all day and drink water but he has this craving can I give him a few dried plums on the first day what days can he have the soup Thanks so much this is really important to him

    1. He’s able to eat the soup anytime within the 7 days. I’d be hesitant to give him the dried plums if they’re packaged — might have added sugar. Fresh is best — canned is an alternative. Personally, I’d go buy a big bag of grapes. Eat ’em as is or freeze them — they’re great either way! Good luck to your son!! 🙂

  11. Hi!
    I am on day one of this diet. I am hoping it works! I have a few questions. I noticed that we are allow to drink tea but it says only black tea. Are green tea and dandelion tea allowed? Are we allow to eggs boiled eggs at all? Also, I like to do a variety of planks + jumping jacks + jumping rope everyday as part of my home exercise plan (i do not like the gym!) but after those I get very hungry and fruit and veggies alone makes me even hungrier! What kind of exercise are you guys doing along with the diet that does not make you very hungry?

    1. I didn’t exercise until banana day due to the fact I felt weak and a bit shaky. By banana day, 20 mins of cardio felt good; a brisk walk would be a good idea too.

  12. Hello all, I’m going on Day 3 of the diet. I was wondering if you guys know of anything I can substitute the banana’s with because I’m allergic to them. Keep up the good work!

    1. I believe the point of the banana is to just restore electrolyte balance because of potassium loss. You could use broccoli, cantaloupe, and dates 🙂

  13. Hi,
    Today is my 2nd day of diet

    I hope i can atleast reduce 4 kg before my sil marriage tht is on 12 of july with this diet.

    Anybody with me.

  14. I’m on day 4, and have already lost 10 pounds!! It sounded hard to only eat the specified foods, but I haven’t been hungry at all. This is the perfect time for all the fruits and vegetables! I’ve been exercising like crazy, too. Diet and exercise…who knew? 😉

    1. I’m starting day 6 and have lost 7 lbs. everyone I know who has done this plan has lost at least 7 lbs in the 7 days. Corn isn’t easy to digest so I stayed away from it.

Leave a Reply to Jenn Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Clicky