If you just want to lose weight for a special event and don’t mind long-term weight loss, the 3-Day Grapefruit Cottage Cheese Diet may be for you. That said, if you have long-term weight loss goals, you probably want to avoid it.

The good thing about this diet is that you can lose up to 10 pounds in 72 hours. The bad news is that you will almost certainly gain all the weight back immediately after coming off the diet. It would also be very unhealthy to stick to this diet long-term as you would end up malnourished, tired and susceptible to disease because your immune system will have been compromised.

But, there is nothing wrong with trying it in the short term. If you want to go to a high school reunion or look great for a friend’s wedding, it can work well for you. Just be careful with that.

The 3-Day Grapefruit and Cottage Cheese Diet helps you shed excess water weight, reduce bloating, and burn some fat by reducing your calorie intake. It’s the drastically lower calories that will put the weight back on when you’re done, because your body’s natural reaction will be to store fat when you start eating regularly again.

An important note here: You should avoid this diet if you are taking any type of antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication. Both types of medications can have a negative and dangerous interaction with grapefruit.

The key is to follow the diet to the letter. Any substitution will mean that all your efforts have been in vain!

Day 1:

Breakfast: A cup of black coffee or tea and a slice of toast; eat half a grapefruit or drink a glass of grapefruit juice.

Lunch: Eat a full serving of cottage cheese, a slice of toast, and black coffee or tea.

Dinner: Eat three ounces of any lean meat, a cup of carrots, a cup of ice cream or frozen yogurt, an apple, and a cup of black coffee or tea.

Day 2:

Breakfast: A cup of black coffee or tea and a slice of toast; eat half a grapefruit or drink a glass of grapefruit juice.

Lunch: A full serving of cottage cheese, five crackers, and a cup of black coffee or tea.

Dinner: Two hot dogs, half a cup of carrots, a cup of broccoli, a banana, and a cup of black coffee or tea.

Day 3:

Breakfast: Black coffee or tea, five crackers, an ounce of cheddar cheese and an apple.

Lunch: A boiled egg, a slice of toast and a cup of black coffee or tea.

Dinner: A serving of cottage cheese, a cup of carrots, a cup of cantaloupe, a half cup of ice cream or frozen yogurt, and a cup of black coffee or tea.

So, there it is. Hot dogs, crackers and all. But before you start on the 3-Day Grapefruit Cottage Cheese Diet, ask yourself: are the few pounds of water weight you might lose in exchange for feeling hungry, cranky, and miserable really worth it?