I've heard a lot of people on Tumblr reference the ABC diet as a great way to kick-start a diet as it can take off major pounds in the 30-to-50-day time period before you settle into a more "reasonable" routine.

Has anyone tried this method? Is it just anorexia, or is there some basis to doing an extreme fast at the start of a diet to kick-start weight loss?

It seems this diet is dangerously low in calories. I don't think it would offer you much advantage over just doing it right to begin with. It seems like this type of diet would put you at risk to lose a lot of lean tissue and be malnutritioned.Any person on this forum who has lost weight and kept it off did it the old-fashioned way, which never goes out of style and is not a fad. Healthy, not just "skinny" is the way to go. Best wishes.

Slow and steady wins the race.