Mars Bar Diet: Health Benefits & Weight Loss for the Lazy

Heard of the Mars Bar Diet? It’s one of the wackiest diets out there. Regular readers of this blog know that I just love a crazy diet. Do you remember the American professor who lots tons of weight on a junk food diet or the craziest diets from history, including eating cotton balls soaked in orange juice? People will do lots of strange things to lose weight, including going on the Mars Bar Diet.

Love a Crazy Diet? Check out my post The 7 Craziest Diets From History Do They Work – it’s worth a read!

What is a Mars Bar?

The Mars Bar is a delicious chocolate bar which you can buy in my home country of Australia, as well as in the UK, Canada and the United States.

It has a layer of caramel, covering a layer of nougat, smothered in milk chocolate. It has 241 calories in Australia, so check the packaging for the calorie count of your local bar. They’ve been around for a very long time, and according to Financial Times, “the price of a Mars bar correlates fairly accurately with the change in value of the pound sterling since World War II, much in the way that the Big Mac Index has proven to be a good indicator of the actual relative purchasing power of world currencies.”

What is the Mars Bar Diet?

It’s pretty simple and involves eating up to 4 Mars Bars daily. You have one for breakfast with a piece of fruit, one for lunch with a salad or some soup, one for dinner with vegetables and one as a snack anytime during the day.

Will I lose weight on the Mars Bar Diet?

If you stick to it, then in theory, yes. How could this possibly be true? How could you lose weight on the Mars Bar Diet? Quite simply, really.

I have written before about my distaste for VLCDs or Very Low Calorie Diets. These do not work, cost a lot and have a high failure rate. They are needlessly torturous and people purchase them, usually upfront for a high cost, when they are feeling that they need to change. Little do they know, they are practically impossible to stick to.

Love a Crazy Diet? Check out my post The 7 Craziest Diets From History Do They Work – it’s worth a read!

The Mars Bar Diet is practically the same thing, but cheaper. One of those “meal replacement” shakes will give you about 250 – 350 calories – about the same as a Mars Bar. In theory, diet shakes from reputable providers contain lots of vitamins and minerals. In all honesty, I doubt that lots of them do, despite what the packets say.

A typical day on the Mars Bar Diet

(All numbers are in calories)

Breakfast:

• Coffee or tea w/sweetener and low fat milk (2O)
• Punnet of strawberries (45)
• Mars Bar (241)

Lunch:

• Diet cola (0)
• Low Fat Cup-a-Soup (100)
• Green salad, low fat dressing (60)
• Mars Bar (241)

Dinner:

• Lemon water (0)
• 1 cup broccoli (30)
• 1 cup steamed greens (30)
• Salt, herbs and lemon to dress (0)
• Mars Bar (241)

Snack:

• Mars Bar (241)

Total calories for the day = 1249 – so very low!

Is the Mars Bar Diet healthy?

No, it’s not healthy. But you could argue that most VLCDs are not that healthy either. Personally, I don’t think you’ll lose much weight, but if you’re healthy enough, without too much weight to lose, you should be able to try this for a couple of weeks without too many problems.

I love this blogger who lost a few pounds eating nothing but tacos for a week. I’d love to copy her, but the types of tacos she shows are “all the rage” in California but sadly lacking in my local Surry Hill. Sure, you can get them, but they’re considered Hipster Mexican – so will cost you about twenty bucks a plate. Rip off.

What are the possible downsides of doing the Mars Bar Diet?

Your hair could fall out, you will probably feel sick. You may end up with bad skin, but all in all, I don’t think you’ll be in too much trouble. I should point out here that I am not a doctor or a nutritionist – but as I always say, “I damn well should be.”  My beloved husband has nutritionist qualifications and he would tell you NOT to do this diet.

I don’t live in Australia, US, Canada or the UK? How can I make my own Mars Bar?

Yes, you can make your own Mars Bar, no problem! IT’s actually a very involved process and you’ll need to make the caramel sauce, the nougat and temper your own chocolate. The Iron Whisk is a great website and they have one of the best, genuine Mars Bar recipes you’ll find.