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Earlier this fall, we heard about nutrition expert Mark Haub and his wacky, Twinkie-heavy, weight-loss diet. Now, after 10 weeks of his experiment, the Kansas State University professor has reportedly shed 27 pounds from eating sugary snacks like Hostess cakes, Doritos chips and Oreos.

Haub tells CNN he's been eating a Twinkie, powdered doughnut or other packaged snack every three hours instead of meals, but has limited his calorie intake to less than 1,800 a day. His body mass index has dropped to a normal 24.9 from his initial overweight 28.8, and he now weighs 174 pounds.

Surprisingly, other measures of his health also show the convenience-store diet has done no harm. In fact, Haub's LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, dropped 20 per cent and his "good" cholesterol HDL has risen by 20 per cent. Meanwhile, his level of fatty triglycerides has declined by nearly 40 per cent.



Apparently, Haub is puzzled by the results as well.

"What does that mean? Does that mean I'm healthier? Or does it mean how we define health from a biology standpoint, that we're missing something?" he told CNN.

(Throughout the experiment, Haub has been taking multivitamins and protein shakes daily, and he's been eating minimal vegetables, like three or four stalks of celery a day.) While no one's recommending this diet, it does raise questions over whether the quantity or quality of calories is more important for weight loss.

Meanwhile, in other extreme diet news, Chris Voigt, the Washington State Potato Commission director who's embarking on an all-potato diet, is nearing the end of his 60-day goal of eating nothing but 20 potatoes a day. On his blog, he notes that his total cholesterol and blood glucose levels have declined, and he expects his blood pressure won't change by his Nov. 29 end date.

Perhaps his most stunning claim, however, is that he's gotten used to his monotonous diet. "You know...I really think this is getting easier," he writes after a morning of eating nothing but six boiled, plain potatoes. "I'm not having the intense cravings for other foods that I use to have."

Okay, so maybe their restrictive diets are working for these two men, but is eating the same foods day after day really worth it?





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