Americans are wolfing down 2 lbs worth of sugar every day on a mission to lose weight.

Known as the ‘sugar diet,’ adherents only eat sugar, such as candy, raw cane sugar or fruits during the day – before diving into a protein-rich meal at dinner. And although it sounds counterintuitive, influencers are claiming they’re shedding up to 50 lbs on the extreme diet.

Breakfasts consist of bananas sprinkled with sugar or jam mixed with maple syrup and blueberries, while lunch is a bag of gummy bears or Sour Patch Kids and snacks include Starburst, Twizzlers, Lemonade with extra sugar and a bowl of sugar-sprinkled fruit.

For dinner, dieters finally dig into real food and will have a lean protein like turkey breast alongside green vegetables and some potatoes.

Influencers claim the extreme food plan gives them stunning results, banishing stubborn fat and revealing their six-pack abs.

And scientists say that there might actually be method to the madness, although they clarify it’s not the sugar causing the weight loss.

Instead, they say the withholding of protein – with participants getting fewer than 10% of their calories from the source every day – is likely delivering the weight loss.

The sugar, on the other hand, may be helping to reduce cravings and keep someone in a calorie deficit – but it is not without drawbacks such as a potential higher risk of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. 

Cole Robinson, shown above, is among the individuals pushing the ‘sugar diet’ on social media. He says he lost 22lbs on the diet in seven weeks. He has also pushed the ‘snake diet’ online, which tells people to only eat in a one to two-hour window daily. Experts have alreday warned against the diet

Pictured above is a content creator who goes by the name Skeleton City online. He says he lost more than 65lbs over a year and a half following the diet 

People are reporting drastic drops in weight after participating in this diet for just weeks

Dr. Nick Norwitz, a metabolism expert in Massachusetts, told the Daily Mail studies suggest restricting protein intake causes weight loss and can cause the body to burn 400 extra calories a day, even with no added exercise.

He pointed to a study in young, healthy men, which found that limiting protein to 9% of dietary calories triggered a 19% surge in energy expenditure.

This is likely because it rewires the body’s cells, he said, causing them to burn more calories.

The sugar diet was first popularized online by YouTubers including Cole Robinson, who previously founded the Snake Diet, which tells people to only eat in a one to two-hour window every day.

He is now sharing posts on his account of people who he claims have tried the sugar diet, including one man who allegedly lost 14 lbs in four days.

YouTuber and weightlifter Mark Bell has also promoted the diet, posting more than 15 videos about the fad online that carry titles such as ‘get ripped with sugar’ and ‘sugar fasting works.’

Also among those to try the diet is YouTuber Lucas B, who was already lean but still lost 2 lbs in a week.

‘This is kind of crazy,’ he said, ‘When you think about the classical way we have been thinking about sugar – I had 500 grams of carbs mostly every day from sugar, and I still ended up losing weight. That’s crazy!’

Another individual, who goes by Skeleton City online and asked for his real name not to be used, told the Daily Mail that he has been on the diet for a year-and-a-half and lost 65 lbs so far.

He said the results were ‘amazing’ and his health has been ’10 out of 10′ on the diet. He said he always had ‘amazing energy’, was ‘never cranky or hangry’ and ‘got amazing sleep’ as tracked by his Garmin.

His wife, who also asked not to be named, is also on the diet and has lost more than 50 lbs so far. She said she was skeptical at first, but was also thrilled with the results – saying she now feels she looks better and has better energy.

Someone else who said he lost 31 lbs in 31 days on the diet said the effects were amazing and that it curbed his hunger cravings.

‘It was crazy, it was crazy,’ said the individual, who goes by SWEET Truck’n on YouTube. 

‘I never had a lapse of energy, I never had a low, it was just constant energy, constant, and I wasn’t even hungry.’

Scientists are pointing to a March 2025 study to explain how the diet may work.

The small study involved eight healthy men in their 20s whose diets were tracked for three months. While none ate a high sugar diet during the study period, but they did restrict their protein intake, which researchers said made it comparable to the sugar diet.

In the first five-week period, they ate a diet of 8% protein, 71% carbohydrates and 21% fat.

And in the second, they ate a diet of 16% protein, 57% carbohydrates and 27% fat.

YouTuber Lucas B., pictured above, said he lost up to 2lbs after following the diet for a week. He said his waist got narrower afterward, and that it was an ‘amazing’ result

Another YouTuber posted the above transformation online, which they said was down to the sugar diet

In both cases, their bodies burned about 20% more calories – or 400 extra calories a day in a standard 2,000 calorie diet – daily by the end of the diet, despite there been no change in exercise routines.

Researchers said this proved it was a lack of protein that caused the shift, because shifting the proportion of calories coming from carbohydrates and fats did not change the results.  

‘It was really the protein restriction that was causing the weight loss,’ Dr. Norwitz said.

‘People can formulate with sugar. Why are they doing that? Because people love sugar.’

Instead of sugar, he said they could eat vegetables or follow the high-fat keto diet.

He said it likely wouldn’t be safe to follow the new diet beyond several weeks because of the potential drawbacks, including blood sugar spikes that raise the risk of diabetes.

Participants have called it one of the most enjoyable diets they have ever experienced 

They also said it may not work for obese individuals or people who already have diabetes. 

Dr. Hector Perez, a bariatric surgeon in Mexico, warned people off the diet, telling the Daily Mail that ‘Intentionally overloading your body with sugar to lose weight is like trying to cure a sunburn with a tanning bed. It’s completely backwards, and frankly, dangerous.

‘Sure, some people might lose water weight initially by shocking their system, but long-term, they’re playing with fire. 

‘You’ll eventually crash your energy levels, trigger insulin resistance, and even develop prediabetes chasing internet hacks like this.’

Doctors also pointed out that food studies supporting protein restriction for weight loss were only carried out in healthy young men, and that it wasn’t clear whether the diets would have the same effect for older adults, women or people with underlying conditions.