Pros and Cons of the Teaspoon Diet

There’s a new diet circulating: the Teaspoon Diet. Have you heard?

No, it has nothing to do with me or Teaspoon Living, and no I am not promoting it.

I actually found out about it completely on accident. All because this website of mine got a lot of (pleasantly) unexpected traffic last week!

I assumed a higher traffic website linked to an old blog post of mine to cause the spike, but all I saw was that that the readers were coming directly from Google search. Odd. 

I told my husband about it and good thing he reads his daily Yahoo! news. It turns out that a young woman lost over 100 pounds on something she is calling the “Teaspoon Diet”. Teaspoon Living was conveniently listed shortly after the article and got some new visitors (hi, if that’s you!).

Anyways, I thought it would be worth chatting about the pros and cons of this diet, which is similar to many diets out there, in hopes that you DO NOT try the Teaspoon Diet, or any diet for that matter, anytime soon. But, as with any diet, there are some positives, so I thought I would give you my take on the pros and cons of the newest fad diet.

The general story (which you can read here) is that a young woman controls her portions, counts her calories, and eats only with a teaspoon for over a year. She ends up losing over 100 pounds, hence the name the Teaspoon Diet.

Let’s dissect the good and the bad of yet another diet.

Portion Control.

Pro: I do believe that people need to be educated on normal portion sizes, especially considering the amount of food given to us at restaurants, and the size of plates we use in our kitchens (dinner plates have grown dramatically over the years!). I think gaining awareness of how much you are eating is sometimes necessary to realize that you may be eating more than your body needs on a regular basis.

Con: Controlling portions to the extent of being hungry is not good for your body. Often times you are eating bigger portions because you are eating empty calories that don’t keep you full, so instead of eating less of that food item, you might need to change the types of food you are eating. Using exact measurements for portions doesn’t work either because some days your body simply needs more food than other days! Maybe you burned more calories in a day than normal, maybe your brain needs some extra fuel for a test or project – serving sizes don’t take your personal body into consideration. Only YOU can do that.

Takeaway: YES, do what you need to do to learn what normal portion sizes are so you can realize when you are being served or are serving yourself too much food. But NO, it’s never necessary to be hungry on a diet. You can still get healthy without ever being hungry, and it’s actually a much better route to go.

Calorie Counting

Pro: Learning the calorie content of certain food is a big eye opener to some people. They never knew that a meal at McDonald’s has the same amount of calories that is recommended for a full day of eating. Awareness of the calorie content is not a bad thing.

Con: Calories are not created equal. You could actually eat more food and more calories than you currently eat…if you are eating real food most of the time. Real food has good-for-you calories that are easy to digest and keep you full, as opposed to processed food that has empty calories that don’t keep you full and wreak havoc on your digestion and body.

Takeaway: You don’t need to count calories if you are eating real food most of the time and listening to how much your body needs. But, for curiosity sake, feel free to check out the volume of real food vs. junk food you could eat that contains the same calorie count.

Eating with a teaspoon.

This part is my favorite, obviously.

Pro: Eating mindfully is something we all need to work on, and eating with a small teaspoon naturally will slow you down. I personally eat with a tiny spoon whenever I eat a rich dessert, because I love how I get to enjoy even more bites, and I naturally savor the dessert more.

But, I don’t want to eat everything with a teaspoon!

Con: Simply put, it’s ridiculous. You don’t want to live in a bubble, staying at home, eating with a teaspoon. Or, when you do go out, you won’t want to have to ask for a teaspoon, or have to bring your own in your purse because of some crazy diet you are on. It’s just not practical. And what about foods that require a fork?! Sometimes we eat fast, sometimes we eat slow. Everyone should take the time to find the right pace that works for them, but shouldn’t have to rely on a crutch such as a teaspoon to make it happen. Create awareness around your problem, do what you need to do to practice changing that problem, and then put trust in yourself and your body to do the rest.

Takeaway: Every once in a while, I think we should all try chewing one bite of food 20 times in order to over-exaggerate the fact that we need chew our food more. And every once in a while, I think we could try eating with only a teaspoon for a few meals in order to over-exaggerate the fact that we should eat slower and with more awareness. Yet, both are good exercises for every once in a while, they are not ways of life.

All in all, the Teaspoon Diet is just another diet, and just another diet that I don’t condone.

If you were tempted by the Teaspoon Diet, but actually want to make real change to your health, start by grabbing my free guide to Kick Dieting to the Curb. Or, schedule a time to chat with me – I can help!