Crash diet

A crash diet is a diet which is extreme in its deprivations - typically severely restricting calorie intake. Meant to achieve rapid weight loss, a crash diet differs from outright starvation only slightly. Crash diets are typically unhealthy and are rarely - if ever - recommended by doctors or dietitians. Crash diets can lead to malnutrition, and are not a recommended means of weight loss.

After a person discontinues a crash diet, the "yo-yo effect" is often seen. This causes a person to eat far more than normal, causing them to regain both the weight that was lost due to the diet as well as additional weight.

An example crash diet consists of a daily intake of 4 glasses of skim milk, 4 bananas, and 1 vitamin capsule; a boiled egg may be substituted for a banana. Also, large amounts of caffeine.

Crash diets are not meant to last for long periods of time. At the most, a few weeks. They can be very dangerous.