If losing weight were so simple as to buy a jar of dill pickles and chow down, obesity rates in the United States wouldn't have doubled from 1970 to 2002. Instead, pickles sit on the condiment aisle of your grocery store next to the ketchup instead of in the weight loss section next to the meal shakes and calorie-absorbing pills. Sorry to say, the outlook on pickles helping you fit into the clothes you wore in high school is pretty bleak.
That's a lot of Pickles
The average serving of dill pickles weighing around 143 grams contains around 17 calories. If you cut everything else out of your diet and consumed only pickles, you could feasibly eat 20 servings of them in a day and boast a daily caloric intake of 340 calories. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC, "The key to weight control is balancing our energy (food) intake with how much energy our body burns (physical activity). To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you eat." Sleeping burns 45 calories an hour by itself. So, in theory, if all you did was eat pickles and sleep, you would lose weight.
Not the Best Idea
Okay, so now it's just you, a pillow and a jar of baby dills preparing for a weight loss revolution. The first glitch in this plan will come in the form of complete and utter boredom. The American Heart Association mentions regarding fad diets, "Eating should be enjoyable. These diets are so monotonous and boring that it's almost impossible to stay on them for long periods." Feasting on pickles and napping may work for a day, but much beyond that can be a problem. In addition to this being an incredibly dull plan of attack, there's also the sodium factor to take into consideration. One pickle alone contains around 1200 mg of sodium. Considering the recommended daily intake is 2300 mg, two pickles can get you to your sodium limit pretty quickly. Even if you aren't concerned with watching your sodium intake, consider this: too much sodium intake can lead to increased blood pressure and ultimately heart disease. According to the UMMC, "Looking at the bigger picture, each year 700,000 Americans die of heart disease and more than 160,000 die of stroke." A diet of pickles may not be the best idea.
Careful Consumption
Okay, so eating only pickles isn't realistically a feasible weight loss plan; however, this isn't to say that pickles can't still be of use in your weight loss endeavors. Given how low pickles are in fat and calories, they can be eaten as snacks throughout the day or used to accompany meals. Pickle relishes make for tasty low-calorie condiments to add flavor to other healthy foods that may be lacking in the taste department. Pickle juice is chock full of electrolytes, which is important when working out. As you sweat, you lose these electrolytes, and losing too many or not having enough to begin with can lead to painful muscle cramps. Drinking pickle juice before your next workout can help to get you through it without having to stop for cramps.
The Bottom Line
It's safer to say that eating pickle can help you lose weight rather than causing you to lose weight. Too much of a good thing isn't necessarily a good thing, so keep that in mind when considering making pickles a part of your weight loss plan. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "Weight is most safely lost and kept off by decreasing calories by approximately 500 per day by following a good nutritious diet and exercising." So put down the pickle jar and talk to your doctor or a nutritionist if you need help devising the best meal and exercise plan for you to reach your goals.
References
- Brookings; The Economic Impact of Obesity in the United States; Ross A. Hammond; September 2010
- Fit Day: Nutrition Information for Pickle, Cucumber, Sweet
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Exercise and Weight Loss
- Brigham Young University: Exercise Chart
- American Heart Association: Quick-Weight-Loss or Fad Diets
- Baylor College of Medicine: Too Much Sodium Affects Blood Pressure, Increases Risk of Stroke
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