crash diet

[krash dahy-it]

noun

1. a severe limitation of food intake or food selection intended to help someone lose a lot of weight very quickly.

   A crash diet that completely eliminates some food groups is likely to do more harm than good—and unlikely to result in realistic weight loss.

verb (used without object)

1. to severely limit one’s food intake or food selection in order to lose a lot of weight very quickly.

   It’s better to lose weight slowly and keep it off than to crash diet and gain it all back.

Word History and Origins

Origin of crash diet¹

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

To rapidly lose some mid-life weight, when he was going out with a younger woman, the book records that Prince Andrew lived on a crash diet of "stewed prunes for breakfast, raw vegetables for lunch and soup for supper".

From BBC

“Do some aerobic exercise; if you’re over 40, lift weights. Keep a food diary and cut out the processed junk. Slowly changing your eating habits is far more effective than any crash diet. You don’t have to deprive yourself if you learn to make trade-offs. And on and on.”

From Salon

Presley went on a crash diet, aided by injections of urine from a pregnant woman, in which he was limited to 500 calories a day of dried food.

From Los Angeles Times

Falling into a crash diet was really easy.

From Salon

Falling into a crash diet was really easy.

From Salon