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Does anyone remember Ayds? A chocolate or caramel candy appetite suppressant. Ayds hit the market in the 50s, and I think it went defunct when the disease AIDS appeared.
How about Slender? It was a pre-SlimFast drink, and also came in bars. I seem to recall the tv commercials from the 60s and early 70s, then I don't recall seeing it anymore.
Do you remember the vibrating belts that were supposed to jiggle your fat away?
Vinyl slim suits that you attached to a vacuum to suck the air out, so you sweat your excess weight away?
I also have a very vague recollection of urine shots. I think you had injections of urine from pregnant women, or something like that.
Lecithin and kelp? I think that was a 70s fad that might have extended into the 80s.
Jog your memories, ask your moms, or show your age by sharing funny diet ideas from the past
METRACAL, remember that one from the 60's? They had both canned shake drinks, and also these dry cookies. In the dorms in college, the gal next door went on a metracal diet. She ate nothing at all during the day, and 2 metracal cookies and a diet coke for dinner. I wonder what ever happened to her.
I also remember Ayds, but never tried them. In retrospect, I like the idea of candy as a weight loss aid (no pun intented)
I remember the Stillman diet too. Precursor to Atkins. All protein, no carbs at all - none. no veggies, but if I recall, abit of limited catsup and pickle relish. After about 4 days on this thing, I got on my bike, headed home, and ate a burger sandwich because I felt so very shakey. Or was it a candy bar?
Yes, I remember the Ayds ads - I think they were full-page testimonials in magazines such as Woman's Day. They always had before/after pics, and a great story. I loved to read as a kid, and was chubby, so I devoured the stories
In the late '70's the Scarsdale diet appeared (and look what happened to Dr. Tarnower ) and I admit I went on that. I always loved the "plenty of steak" days
Also circa in the late '70's, early '80's were the Elaine Powers Salons. The exercise/aerobics awakening was beginning, but there were still those jiggly-belt machines in the Salons.
I did buy one of those rope/pulley-over-the-doorknob deals, and actually tried to use it. I remember pulling really hard to get my legs up, too bad I didn't realize I had to use the power of my legs to do any good
Another blast from the past - Mark Eden ads. Who else remembers them
My dad wore faithfully (every day!) one of those rubber belts - not the one that attached to the vacuum, but one that went from underarm to hip and was supposed to sweat away the fat. :P
I think I got started on my weight problem by chowing down on Ayds!
And then there was the Drinking Man's Diet - basically Atkins. That was fun but sure led to some miserable mornings!
Stillman's diet ("The Doctor's Quick Weight Loss Diet") was the first one I remember my parents putting me on - I was 7 years old.
Yup my parents bought those Ayds candies for me too - I ate like the whole box in a couple days - I'd sneak some out.
We did Atkins back in the early-mid 70's. Dad got REALLY turned off from Atkins back in, oh, around 1980 or so when he met Dr. Atkins at a medical convention - they're about the same age and according to Dad, Atkins looked a good 20 years older than him. That pretty much did Atkins in for Dad. Although by then I was way beyond Atkins and probably doing Scarsdale or Beverly Hills at that point in time!
Back in 1978, I was going to Diet Center - remember them? They had you come in EVERY SINGLE DAY (except Sunday) to weigh in. It was a total starvation diet - instead of breakfast, you'd have a cup of hot water with lemon juice and a potassium tablet. I would pretty much starve myself, trying to lose every day of the week - until after Saturday's weigh-in, when I would binge until Sunday morning. That's also when I started using laxatives (Ex-Lax) to try and lose weight. I was SO sick - it's been, what, 26 years and I STILL get nauseous whenever I think of Ex Lax. During that summer, I actually fainted in a used record store - it's the only time in my whole LIFE I've fainted. The owner of the store found me in the back room, had me sit down with my head between my legs and made me drink a (regular) Coke before I left.
I remember something like those Elaine Powers Salons - I think here they were called Gloria Marshall. I went to one to check it out around the same time I was doing Diet Center, but my mom didn't want me to join - I would have easily been the youngest there, it was all ladies in their 40s and 50s using all those old weight reducing machines that you never see anymore! Mom already had me in a couple of 'slimnastics' classes, which were run by our old ballet/tap teacher. Just your basic 70's low low low impact aerobics - I'm sure I burnt more calories riding my bike to and from the class!
I did buy one of those rope/pulley-over-the-doorknob deals, and actually tried to use it. I remember pulling really hard to get my legs up, too bad I didn't realize I had to use the power of my legs to do any good
Another blast from the past - Mark Eden ads. Who else remembers them
The Mark Eden Bust Developer!!!!!!!!!! LOL, I had forgotten those!
Oooh, the pulley/doorknob thing, I think Mom still has one of those, along with the little wheel that you roll on the floor to flatten your abs. Of course those have gone high tech now, and cost 20 times more than their original 4.99 version.
So of COURSE I had to google Mark Eden Bust Developer - yup I remember those ads too! - and they're apparently a fairly hot collectors item.
Hmmmm...kind of reminds one of the Suzanne Somer's Thighmaster - the same theory anyway!
Here's an interesting tidbit - the Mark Eden inventors are also responsible for the famous Cambridge Diet and "Slim Skins".
Quote:
Remember the "Mark Eden Bust Developer"? Other Mark Eden products included Trim Jean (inflatable shorts to be used for slimming the hips), Astro Jogger, Slim-Skins, Sauna Belt Waistline Reducer, Vacuum Pants, "nutritionally fortified junk food", and the very successful (and deadly!) Cambridge Diet.
The Postal Service sued Mark Eden, alleging that the bust developer was ineffective and the advertising was fraudulent. The Service won a $1.1 million settlement. The Cambridge Diet was investigated by the Food and Drug Administration, Federal Trade Commission, California Department of Public Health, and various law enforcement agencies.
Mark Eden owned an Excalibur roadster, Rolls Royce, Mercedes, Lincoln, Oldsmobile, Porsche, LTD Ford station wagon, and a Cessna airplane. Mark Eden was a corporation owned by Jack and Eileen Feather. Neither Jack nor Eileen individually owned any vehicles. Nor did they own a home. In 1973, the corporation purchased a 19-room oceanside house in Pebble Beach, California for $475,000.
IRS sought to impose an accumulated earnings tax. But the Tax Court ruled that the $1.1 million settlement with the Postal Service, and the capital required for the Cambridge Diet (over $5 million for inventory alone) entitled them to accumulate those earnings for the reasonable needs of the business. It disallowed 80% of most of the expenses associated with the Pebble Beach house. However, the Court allowed all the automobile expenses because IRS only questioned the Excalibur, which was proven strictly business.
We had that wheel with the handles on either side too! Almost killed me a couple of times (not from doing the exercise, but from tripping over the dang thing...)
What about those protein-sparing fasts from about 20 years ago? Optifast or something? The one similar to what Oprah went on years ago. I went on one of those, doctor supervised and all. (That particular doctor got in trouble for having an affair with one of his anorexic patients --she rightfully sued him-- Us plumps were indignant that he didnt have the decency to have an affair with one of us fatties, not that we were interested - we were the ones he was making all the money on.). All you could eat was afew protein packets that tasted horrid, plus a lean cuisine for dinner. Less than 500 cals for the day. And I was exercising on this starvation diet. Egads. I was so hungry I almost ate the plastic plate too -I certainly licked it clean enough. On that regime I used to wake up so hungry in the night I couldnt sleep. I had to roll over and double my fists into my stomach to lessen the extreme pain of hunger.
Didnt Richard Simmons have a bunch of exercise salons back then? And Jane Fonda?
What about those protein-sparing fasts from about 20 years ago? Optifast or something? The one similar to what Oprah went on years ago. I went on one of those, doctor supervised and all. (That particular doctor got in trouble for having an affair with one of his anorexic patients --she rightfully sued him-- Us plumps were indignant that he didnt have the decency to have an affair with one of us fatties, not that we were interested - we were the ones he was making all the money on.). All you could eat was afew protein packets that tasted horrid, plus a lean cuisine for dinner. Less than 500 cals for the day. And I was exercising on this starvation diet. Egads. I was so hungry I almost ate the plastic plate too -I certainly licked it clean enough. On that regime I used to wake up so hungry in the night I couldnt sleep. I had to roll over and double my fists into my stomach to lessen the extreme pain of hunger.
Didnt Richard Simmons have a bunch of exercise salons back then? And Jane Fonda?
Jan
I was on Optifast in 1990 - it was 800 calories a day, and the powder was actually pretty high in protein - derived from eggwhites, as I recall.
I think you might be referring to either the Cambridge Diet or "Prolinn" from back in the late 70's. Prolinn was developed by Dr. Robert Linn who wrote a book titled The Last Chance Diet. What Prolinn consisted of was VERY low-grade protein (ground-up hooves, hides, bones, horns, etc) with a lot of artificial coloring and flavoring (and a hefty price tag!). The recommended amount came to 400 calories a day. After a bunch of people died of heart attacks while on the plan, Prolinn fell from favor.
The Cambridge Diet used to be similar. It's still around, although I don't believe they advocate a very-low-calorie diet anymore - I think it's more like Jenny Craig or NutriSystem - not just a shake, but a bunch of different products.
I don't believe that Richard Simmons ever had a chain of fitness centers - he's always had his one fitness center, Slimmons, in Beverly Hills. (and I think he still does those weight-loss cruises annually?)
I don't know if Jane Fonda had a chain of fitness centers, but I was just watching Camp Beverly Hills a short time ago with my niece - one scene was shot outside a Jane Fonda's Workout. And I do remember getting a Spa Finders magazine and seeing a Jane Fonda Health Spa listed.
mrsJim wrote<<I think you might be referring to either the Cambridge Diet or "Prolinn" from back in the late 70's. Prolinn was developed by Dr. Robert Linn who wrote a book titled The Last Chance Diet. What Prolinn consisted of was VERY low-grade protein (ground-up hooves, hides, bones, horns, etc) with a lot of artificial coloring and flavoring (and a hefty price tag!). The recommended amount came to 400 calories a day. After a bunch of people died of heart attacks while on the plan, Prolinn fell from favor.>>
The one I was on briefly in 1984 was none of these (at least I do not recognize those names). Mine was an outgrowth from a UCLA program, or that is what I believed, and the dry protein packets were egg and/or milk based - and I was allergic to milk protein so I couldnt even eat half of them. They came in several flavors, and there were puddings, and soups and other repulsive stuff. I have never been so hungry in my entire life. It was after that diet that I swore I would never diet per se again. Cut back on food and make healthier choices, yes. Diet, no.
Oh yeah I rememebr most of these. The thing is in the 70's and early 80"s I was sooooooo skinny. I did not have to diet until starting 1988 or so. I had only gained about 5 or 10 lbs and thought I was so fat. Yeah if I could only be that "fat" now!!! I have tried most all of the fad diets; mayo clinic diet, stewardess diet, fruit fast, herbolife (yuk), hollywood juice diet, some fiber cookie thing that when you ate them it filled your stomach up so you were not hungry. They actually did not taste that bad either, but I did not lose but maybe 3 lbs on them. Been on atkins, ww, south beach and a couple personalized plans. I am still trying to lose but, nothing seems to work for me!
I'm new here and haven't properly introduced myself yet, but couldn't resist adding to this one.
When I was in about the 3rd or 4th grade, back in the mid sixties, we had teachers who were over 60, and considered ancient by our standards. They used to drink Sego (spelling?) for lunch. I think it came in a can. Sego's advertisements would talk about being a Sego girl, and used young, hip models as the Sego girls. Our class clown used to talk about our teachers at lunch, saying that they were Sego girls.
Once when my older brother was a teen, he and his friends came over to the house, and no one was there. There wasn't much to snack on that day, and they were really hungry. They found some wrapped squares of chocolate candy in the cupboard, and ate a few of them. They said that it took care of their hunger pretty well. We all know what it was.
I received one of those Mark Eden bust developers through the mail once. Trouble was, I didn't order it. It turns out that my sister had ordered for herself and had been too embarrassed to use her own name. Another time, I received a trial package of Pursettes. Again, the sister had ordered something in my name.
Last edited by Lenora; 11-12-2004 at 09:35 PM.
Reason: Add something
down memory lane: fad diets from the 60s and 70s
) and I admit I went on that. I always loved the "plenty of steak" days 
It turns out that my sister had ordered for herself and had been too embarrassed to use her own name. Another time, I received a trial package of Pursettes. Again, the sister had ordered something in my name. 
