If a high carb diet requires you to eat more carbohydrates, does a snake diet call for eating snakes or something related to snakes?
While the name is a bit too creepy for diet, it has nothing to do with eating snakes. Rather, the snake diet symbolizes the lifestyle and feeding patterns of a snake. Not very appealing to say at the least. None of us imagine doing a diet because we want to symbolize a snake.
Just like many other restrictive diets like the liquid or potato diet, it promises to help you lose weight quickly. The mechanism of weight loss in humans is not a difficult process to grasp. Simply, imagine the body as a factory that is in production 24/7. It requires energy to keep the production going. This energy is supplied in calories by the food and liquids we intake.
However, the body has stored lots of excess calories to burn on days that it might not receive any calories. This storage of calories contributes to fat. Every restrictive diet works on the basis of absorbing less calories than required so we burn the calories in storage.
However, the snake diet is not your average restrictive diet. This articles highlights everything you need to know including the health concerns that come with it and our thoughts.
What Is The Snake Diet?
Before we dive into the details, a little background information about the creator should be mentioned. While many diet creators are either professional athletes or health professionals. But Cole Robinson, the creator of the snake diet, has no qualifications in the world of medicine, biology or nutrition.
The self-claimed fasting coach is not only unqualified but also ill-mannered. In a talk show called The Doctors, Robinson used vulgar language against overweight people. Saying that they don’t need to eat in the first place because they have more calories stored than they can burn.
The hurtful talk took a turn towards ignorance when Cole remarked how one of his client’s brain tumor had “melt down” because of this diet. He also claimed he didn’t need a medical degree to know that melting tumors is in fact possible.
Now, that you have an image of the founder, you can better understand how this diet is not really a diet with much logic behind it. Starvation and dieting are two different concepts. The snake diet leans more towards starvation than dieting.
The diet has three phases which are discussed further below. It starts off with a fasting period of 48 hours in which you can only drink “Snake Juice”. A drink to replenish electrolytes made with salts, but is also trademarked and can only be bought on his website.
After your first 48 hours, you are allowed to eat for 1 to 2 hours. The purpose of this diet is for you to enter ketosis. A phase in which the body burns the stored calories we talked about earlier. This is also the purpose of the incredibly famous keto diet.
Now, phase 2 is even more extreme. It calls for a diet period lasting 48 to 96 hours. Basically, fast until you can no longer stand it. Phase 2 remains until you reach you weight goals. After you reach your weight goals, then you move to phase 3.
Phase 3 is a lifestyle of fasting for periods between 24 to 48 hours with a window for a single meal. A long term lifestyle just like intermittent fasting. However, this is a very extreme approach and uncalled for.
But, Does This Diet Work?
Entering ketosis will automatically make you lose weight. But, this approach to enter ketosis is extreme and not something that everyone has the willpower to achieve.
Depriving yourself of food for such long periods will make your body burn the stored fats. Your body is a factory and the production never stops. You can enter ketosis with any restrictive diet, and intermittent fasting is one of the best diet lifestyles out there.
So, it does trigger weight loss but then so do many other diets. The problem with this approach is that you do not need to go to such an extreme. You also risk not consuming important nutrients and vitamins your body needs for growth and regeneration. These cannot be found in your stored fats.
How To Do The Snake Diet
The inventor focuses more towards ‘Snake Juice’ than actually talking about what should and should not be eaten during the diet. To make the ‘Snake Juice’ at home, you need:
– 2 liters of water
– 2 grams of Himalayan pink salt
– 5 grams of salt-free potassium chloride
– 2 grams of Epsom salt
The snake juice is basically an electrolyte drink to give you boosts of energy periodically. Now, Robinson claims that newcomers should not consume 3.500 calories per week. Which by USDA standards is extremely low and dangerous.
Phase 1
To start your snake diet, you need to go on 48 hours fast. During this period, you can drink snake juice and apple cider vinegar, the exact amount is not mentioned by Robinson.
After this period, you can eat for 1 to 2 hours. Again, the foods you can eat are not mentioned by the creator. But, you should consume a high carb and low fat diet to fuel yourself for the next fasting window.
Phase 2
Now, your fasting period increases to 48 to 96 hours. You have to fast for as long as possible. During this period, you can drink your electrolytes. But, that is about it. Intense fasting and no food!
You keep fasting for long bouts until you hit your desired weight.
Phase 3
Many people who do restrictive diets put the weight back on quickly once they resume their normal eating routines. However, Robinson says that these long bouts of fasting is your new lifestyle. Phase 3 call for 24 to 48 hour fasts.
Now, you just fast and eat one meal to ensure you don’t put on weight. Sounds a bit too extreme just for weight loss.
Health Concerns Behind The Snake Diet
First, his content and choice of words suggest an extreme mindset towards fasting. He encourages fasting until you can’t take it anymore or feeling like dying. This itself is a very dangerous approach. Your body isn’t meant to be treated this harshly. Especially since there are many other ways to lose weight.
Second, it is not feasible or sustainable. You simply can’t treat your body this way and expect zero repercussions. Prolonged fasting may alter hormones, such as: leptin and ghrelin.
Lastly, there is no scientific evidence to back it up. Sure, many diets have no proof but they make sense logically. You are at risk of not consuming essential micronutrients and vitamins that essential for growth and healing. And drinking too much of ‘Snake Juice’ can also lead to an electrolyte imbalance.
Simply, you are playing with too many variables just for the sake of losing weight.
Key Takeaway
The snake diet is certainly not a miracle but a health hazard. You do not need to apply such extreme measures in your life just to lose weight. Also, there are numerous other diets floating on the internet that are much safer.
What comes quickly, goes quickly. There are no shortcuts in life. If you truly want to get fit, then you have to put in the hard work, dedication and consistency just like in every other walk of life. Starving yourself is not the answer, and promoting unhealthy eating habits is not right. Using click-bait titles and out of context scientific facts to market fads is now a norm on the internet.
Not everything should be followed, inform yourselves and stay sharp.
