Every few months a crazy crash diet meme circulates around the internet credited to an issue of Vogue from the 1970s. Yes, the controversial “wine and eggs” diet that guaranteed readers would lose 5 pounds in just 3 days was published by Vogue in 1977. But, as with most things on the internet…there’s a little more to the story.
The crazy crash diet includes wine (readers were actually encouraged to drink up to a bottle a day), eggs, grilled steak and coffee. That’s it for three days straight. Here’s the crash diet.
Breakfast
- 1 hard-boiled egg
- 1 glass white wine (dry, preferably Chablis)
- Black coffee
Lunch
- 2 eggs (ideally hard-boiled but poached if necessary)
- 2 glasses white wine
- Black coffee
Dinner
- 5-ounce steak (grilled with black pepper and lemon juice)
- Remainder of white wine (one bottle allowed per day)
- Black coffee
The crash diet may be widely credited in memes across the internet to the pages of the fashion bible… But, it’s not actually Vogue‘s original diet.
The “wine and eggs” diet was actually first popularized in 1962 when it was published in Helen Gurley Brown’s book Sex and the Single Girl. Gurley Brown claimed that the diet would make you feel “sexy, exuberant, full of the joie de vivre.” She also suggested that readers try the diet on a weekend because it might make you “fuzzy.”
In 1964, the book inspired the film of the same name starring Natalie Wood, and the following year, in 1965, Gurley Brown became editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine. Gurley Brown remained in the role for 32 years, and was known for her provocative ideas and unorthodox advice, especially regarding women’s independence, self-image, and sexuality. In 1997, Gurley Brown was ousted from her role as editor-in-cheif of the U.S. edition of Cosmopolitan and replaced by Bonnie Fuller.
The “wine and eggs” diet was one of several crash diets later re-published by Vogue in 1977.
The Vogue Body and Beauty Book by health and beauty writer Bronwen Meredith deals with a variety of self-maintenance suggestions throughout its 350 pages. It’s filled with images, recipes, and plenty of problematic tips. In the forward, Meredith reminds the reader that “the pursuit of beauty is not narcissistic, it is an essential way to build up confidence without which there is little achievement in anything.”
The “wine and eggs” crash diet pretty much disappeared in the years following its publication in Vogue. That is until it was randomly revived in 2018 on social media platforms when it became a popular meme. That same year a writer from VICE even attempted the diet. It’s been making the rounds ever since.
Unsurprisingly, medical experts today have repeatedly warned against the diet as it is nutritionally unbalanced, unsustainable and in the long run could do more harm than good.
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