Don't Try This at Home - Four Weird Weight-Loss Tips

If you've ever struggled with weight loss, chances are you've tried all sorts of methods and medicines to help you shed those extra pounds. From fad diets to excessive exercise regimens, everyone seems to have a different idea about the best or healthiest way to lose weight. But if your friends think your ketogenic meals are off-putting or your daily yoga routines are weird, imagine what they'd think of these historical weight-loss techniques! 1. Want a Tapered Waist? Try Tapeworm! It may sound crazy, but this bizarre dieting program was all the rage in the early 1900s. Would-be waifs would ingest tapeworm cysts in the form of a pill. The tapeworm would then hatch in the intestines and feed off ingested calories, negating any potential for storing fat. Unfortunate side effects included vomiting and diarrhea, as well as... well, having a parasitic worm inside your body. Suffice to say the craze was short-lived, although opera singer Maria Callas supposedly practiced this weight-loss method. 2. Stick Thin with Cigarettes During the early 20th century, tobacco companies were far less restricted when it came to advertising their products. Plenty of teenagers became hooked on cigarettes for the product's cool image, but one major (and often forgotten) marketing technique involved selling nicotine as a weight-loss booster. Though there is scientific evidence to support nicotine as an appetite suppressant, the amount of the drug administered via smoking is negligible, and, of course, the health deficits far outweigh any possible benefits. 3. Vanity and Vinegar Weight loss in the late 1700s was a far less precise science than it is today, which may account for why 18th-century celebrities like romantic poet George Gordon Byron thought it was a great idea to drink large quantities of vinegar to stay trim. Byron, a renowned literary figure and libertine, stuck to a diet that consisted mostly of the acidic liquid, believing that it would cleanse and purge his body. As with the tapeworm diet, loose stools and vomiting weren't uncommon with the vinegar diet, so though Lord Byron probably did lose a few pounds, his health suffered considerably. 4. Chubby? Try Chewing! In 1903, American health food enthusiast Horace Fletcher made history for rapidly losing over 40 pounds without changing what he put into his body. Horace's weight-loss secret? Chew every bite over 100 times, then spit. If this sounds like the kind of advice you'd get from a stage mother at a beauty pageant, you'd be right; though Horace gained notoriety during his lifetime (he was dubbed "The Great Masticator" and counted literary figures such as Henry James and Mark Twain among his friends), his diet plan was inevitably overturned by a fad that has proved much more persistent-counting calories. To date, there's no solid evidence that chewing for any particular length of time will help you fight those unwanted fat deposits. If you're looking for a weight-loss solution, these four tips certainly aren't what the doctor ordered. So far, science has proven that nothing works as well as a balanced diet and regular exercise, so go grocery shopping! When looking for resources involving weight loss, Greenfield, IN residents can learn more by visiting https://twitter.com/HWellnessCenter.