1810–1820s: VINEGAR AND WATER DIET
Romantic-era poet Lord Byron believed that obesity causes lethargy and stupidity, so he hopped onto the Vinegar and Water Diet, according to the book Calories & Corsets. It’s as appetizing as it sounds: water mixed with applecider vinegar. And to the present day, some people claim this method burns fat.
1925: CIGARETTE DIET
The roaring ’20s introduced its own dubious diet plan: smoke your way slim. A Lucky Strike cigarette ad campaign advised to “reach for a Lucky instead of a sweet” and “to keep a slender figure . . . reach for a Lucky.” It’s hard to imagineany advice worse than that.
1950s: CABBAGE-SOUP DIET
This plan promised you could lose 10 pounds in seven days by living largely on—you guessed it—cabbage soup. (On certain days you could eat things like apples and beef.) Reality check: Any more than one or two pounds of lost weight per week is water weight, not fat.
1963: TaB DEBUTS
It wasn’t the first diet soda (Dr Pepper had one a year earlier), but Coca-Cola’s TaB was the first diet drink to hit big. Although TaB is still on the market today, diet-soda sales in general have fizzled, as science has shown diet soda can actually trick your body into craving sugar.
1972: THE ATKINS DIET CATCHES ON
The high-protein-diet craze began with the publication of a book called Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution. Atkins, a cardiologist, preached that severely limiting carbs causes the body to burn fat. While his diet is still popular, most experts recommend a more moderate approach to limiting simple carbs.
2004: THE BIGGEST LOSER MAKES WEIGHT LOSS MUST-SEE TV
As America became more health conscious, The Biggest Loser made riveting TV out of facing off to get fit. The show—criticized for encouraging contestants to lose weight too fast—lasted 17 seasons and made Jillian Michaels a household name.
2006: BEYONCÉ AND THE MASTER CLEANSE
To lose 20 pounds fast for the movie Dreamgirls, Beyoncé reportedly went on the Lemonade Diet (foreshadowing, perhaps?). Also known as the Master Cleanse, it involves downing a concoction of hot water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper several times a day, plus a laxative tea at night.
2010s: PALEO DIET
In his book The Paleo Diet, Dr. Loren Cordain urged people to stick with Paleolithic-era food groups—meat, seafood, fruits, and vegetables—and skip foods created through modern farming practices, like grains and dairy products. This diet has been criticized for eliminating grains, which are high-fiber and linked to weight loss.
2009: THE DAD BOD
Describing a man in married-life mode and “softly round,” the term “dad bod” made it into the Urban Dictionary. The nickname’s popularity suggests that men getjudged for their bodies too—and that there is something appealing about a more attainable physique.
2016: ASHLEY GRAHAM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED COVER
People of all sizes cheered when Ashley Graham—a stunning, fit, size-16 model—appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue. She also landed fashion-magazine covers, reminding the world that beauty is not one-size-fits-all.
2018:WEIGHT WATCHERS BECOMES WW
As fewer Amer icans go on diets, Weight Watchers rebranded itself as WW with the slogan “Wellness That Works.”
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