Diet Diaries: Baby Food

Tester 1: Ashley, 30

This diet defied my expectations in every way. Before I started, I was relieved that this plan would still let us have food, even if it wasn't solid. The organic baby food I picked up at Whole Foods had names like Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal and Butternut Squash that sounded like stuff I usually eat. I thought the tough part would be quitting caffeine (a giant morning coffee and an afternoon diet soda). I was also worried that I'd be starving since I'd have to shovel a lot of baby food down my throat to equal even 1,000 calories.

The problem was, I couldn't eat the stuff. I tried. Some of the food was tolerable (like the oatmeal) but the vegetables make me gag—and I'm not even a picky eater! On the second day I switched to eating (if you want to call it that) only the jars of fruit. I noticed that my skin was a little red that morning but thought it was probably because I'd barely eaten the day before. By that afternoon I discovered that there was a rash on my forehead and little red bumps all over my face, peeking out as if threatening to wreck havoc on my complexion. This reminded me that unlike some diets, the baby food diet isn't designed by a real nutritionist. While I was getting some vitamins, I was probably wasn't getting the right mix.

Quitting caffeine wasn't easy, but the real surprise is that I didn't feel that hungry. Although I don't recommend the diet, I'm glad I did it. I learned that I can make it through the day without coffee and it wouldn't kill me to cut out diet soda all together. It turns out, my body doesn't need as much food as I think it does. The snack I reach for around 3 p.m. everyday is probably more of a habit than it is true hunger. By the way, even though I made it through 1.5 days, I lost a half a pound.

DAY 1

9:30 a.m.: The Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal isn't terrible, but I really miss my morning coffee.

11 a.m.: Time for a snack. I'm going with Chunky Orchard Fruit and hoping it actually has chunks of fruit. It doesn't.

1 p.m.: I couldn't stomach veggie-based baby food so I decided to skip lunch. I had a large caffeine-free green tea instead.

4 p.m.: I thought the trick might be waiting until I was so hungry I'd eat anything. But the Split Pea and Carrot Soup was gross, so I just ate it quickly and followed it up with gum.

9 p.m. Again, I waited until I was really hungry before trying more food. This time I had Butternut Squash Bisque. I tried to make it more appetizing by putting it in a real bowl and heating it in the microwave. Sadly, it was still disgusting and made me vomit. This could be why babies barf a lot.

2 a.m. After trying everything to fall asleep, I finally make myself some adult oatmeal. I know it's cheating, but I'm no baby. I had to work the next day.

DAY 2

10 a.m.: I'm not that hungry, but I made myself eat two jars of fruit baby food for breakfast. (Banana Mango and Pears & Raspberry) I stirred it for awhile to try to get rid of the 'jar taste' each meal seems to have. I figured eating the fruit flavors will get me through this.

11 a.m. As a snack I had Peach Apple Muesli. It wasn't the worst food I've ever had (that would have been last night's but Butternut Squash Bisque), but I'm still hungry. Note: According to the diet I should be eating 3 jars of baby food three times day. One and a half days in, I'm only up to 7 jars total.

2 p.m.: For lunch I double-up on fruit again. This time eating Apples & Blueberries and Pears. Stirring really helps. I'm getting pretty cranky though. Could this be why babies cry all the time?

3 p.m. I notice little red spots all over my face and a rash on my forehead. It could be an allergic reaction or too much acid in the fruit. At this point I don't really care. I just don't want this crap to mess up my skin. Luckily, Ariana (the editor managing these diet challenges) lets me wave the white flag of surrender.