The desire for a quick weight loss solution may drive you to consider trying to drop a few pounds by severely limiting what you eat or drink. A diet of only celery and water may cause temporary weight loss, but will not be sustainable and may be dangerous to your body. If you want to lose weight, including healthy foods like celery into your diet and drinking plenty of water can help you lose weight the safe way.
Rationale
Some people classify celery, because of its extremely low calories, as a negative calorie food. The theory behind negative calorie foods, as explained by Dr. Donald Hensrud, preventive medical specialist for the Mayo Clinic's website, is that very low-calorie foods cost your body more calories to digest than the foods have. Adding water to the "celery only" diet gives your body no additional calories, and no opportunity to gain weight.
Fad Diets
The celery and water approach to dieting falls under the fad diet category. Any diet that advises you to eat only celery or other single food to the exclusion of all other foods is a fad diet. Other types of fad diets include those that disallow entire food groups, require strict adherence to extreme exercise sessions and any diet that does not recommend making a long-term lifestyle change.
Dangers
Celery is a naturally low-calorie food, with one 12-inch stalk having 10 calories, and 1/2 chopped celery containing 8 calories, according to the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory. Celery does have 1g of fiber in one stalk and .8g in 1/2 cup. However, to meet the 1,000 calorie minimum or 1,200 calorie minimum calorie allotment for women and men, respectively, you would need to eat 100 to 120 large stalks of celery a day. Additionally, eating just celery gives you no protein, no grains, no dairy, no healthy fats and no vitamins and minerals aside from those contained within the celery. Additionally, drinking only water gives you no calcium from milk or vitamin C from citrus juice.
Safer Strategies
Rather than eating only celery and drinking water, use the low-calorie celery as a supplement to your diet. Use a juicer to concoct a healthy breakfast drink of celery, apples, carrots and spinach, or spread fat-free cottage cheese or reduced-fat peanut butter on celery for a snack. Add celery to salads or vegetable soups, and thinly slice celery into your veggie wrap. Because celery has fiber, suddenly increasing how much celery you consume may cause digestive problems. Gradually add celery or other high-fiber foods to your diet. Drinking water is a smart dieting strategy. If you crave flavor, add a squeeze of lemon, use a no-calorie powered flavoring or drink unsweetened tea.
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