The Snake Diet boasts drastic weight-loss results. Here’s why it’s dangerous. (2024)

The Snake Diet is an extreme intermittent fasting diet founded by self-described fasting coach Cole Robinson. It promotes fasting and then eating in a brief one- to two-hour window. While the Snake Diet website makes numerous claims, including tighter, clearer skin,a revved-up metabolism, and reversal of type 2 diabetes, the diet’s founder is not a qualified healthcare professional (there’s no designated fasting coach credential), and these claims aren’t based in scientific evidence.

The Snake Diet’s claims of health transformations and six-pack abs are alluring, but there are a lot of red flags. So, let’s unpack what the Snake Diet is, what it can (or can’t) help with, and how it’s different from other forms of fasting.

What is the Snake Diet?

Simply put, the Snake Diet promotes prolonged fasting periods. Among other studied forms of fasting, people typically have a 16-hour fasting window, or they fast (or eat very lightly) for two non-consecutive days per week. The Snake Diet, on the other hand, suggests fasting for days at a time. The number of days depends on the individual; the website claims that obese individuals can fast longer than lean ones.

When you start the Snake Diet, you’ll fast for 48 hours. During this period, you may have Snake Juice (more on this below) but nothing else except water. After that, fasting periods vary depending on the person.

When it’s time to eat, you have just one to two hours to do so, which is a much shorter window than the eight-hour refeeding window typical of many intermittent fasting protocols.

Other than that, the main refeeding guideline is not to gorge. And truthfully, this may be hard after fasting for at least 22 hours.

What is Snake Juice?

Snake Juice is designed to provide electrolytes to keep you sufficiently hydrated during your fast. However, each packet of the commercial product has 1,045 mg of sodium, or almost half of the 2,300 mg per day upper limit recommended by our Dietary Guidelines. The American Heart Association says an ideal daily target is more like 1,500 mg a day. So, drinking up to three packets of this beverage per day can put you over the healthy range and promote high blood pressure. Eventually, high blood pressure can injure your blood vessels and raise your risk of heart attacks and strokes.

What’s more, when your body tries to get rid of the excess sodium, calcium goes along for the ride. Since you’re fasting, you’re not maintaining an adequate calcium intake, which can lead to frail bones and osteoporosis over time.

Plus, each packet of Snake Juice contains 100 mg of magnesium citrate. Magnesium is an important mineral that’s involved in regulating heart rhythm, blood sugar, blood pressure, nerve function, stress hormones, and it supports healthy sleep cycles. However, this form of magnesium draws water into your colon, potentially causing cramping, bloating and a laxative effect.

Although the website lists the recipe to make Snake Juice, you can also buy 30 packets for about $40. That’s steep for a drink recommended up to three times daily on the Snake Diet.

Can the Snake Diet help you lose weight?

If you were used to eating multiple meals a day and switched to the Snake Diet, you’d likely lose weight. But don’t take that to mean that it’s a good idea. As a registered dietitian, I’d recommend avoiding the Snake Diet.

While other forms of intermittent fasting have been well-studied, you can’t apply the findings to the more restrictive Snake Diet. Sure, Robinson points to his Facebook community as proof, but anecdotes on Facebook don’t provide evidence of safety or efficacy. Scientific evidence is a much higher bar than comments and photos from a Facebook group.

One big red flag about the Snake Diet is that it’s hard, and probably even unlikely, to meet your nutrient needs in one meal a day. So you’d need to pay particular attention to what you eat in your eating window to ensure you get vital nutrients, like vitamins, minerals, fiber, and omega 3s fatty acids.

Furthermore, if you’re participating in prolonged fasting, it may not be safe to exercise. Fasting can cause side effects such as dizziness, headaches and fainting. These issues may deter you from exercise, a health-promoting habit that’s recommended most days. Avoiding exercise can have health consequences of its own. But even if you manage to work out while on the Snake Diet, your performance may be affected, which could lead to an accident or injury.

On top of all of this, extreme fasting can cause constipation and other potentially serious side effects, such as a higher risk of gallstones.

Those are some of the physical downsides of following the Snake Diet. Another big downside is its impact on your emotional health. Food is more than fuel. It’s at the center of most celebrations, is integral to many religious rituals, and promotes social connection. If you’re willing to forgo the joys of food to participate in extreme dieting, it may be a sign that you have an unhealthy relationship with your body and food. If that’s the case, the Snake Diet (or any restrictive diet) could do further damage.

Finally, the Snake Diet’s use of before-and-after weight loss photos to market the plan and Robinson’s fat-shaming language are disturbing and detrimental. These practices can promote body dissatisfaction and social pressure to be thin, which is a leading contributor to eating disorders.

Final thoughts about the Snake Diet

While the Snake Diet will likely help you lose weight, that doesn’t make it worth the substantial risks. If you’re looking to lose weight, it’s better to find a more practical approach that supports you physically, socially, and emotionally, even if it leads to more modest weight loss.

Meanwhile, other forms of intermittent fasting may be helpful for some people. However, if you have a medical condition, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or digestive diseases, or you’re over 65 years old, check with your healthcare provider before trying any type of intermittent fasting. In addition, if you’re an avid exerciser, think twice before attempting intermittent fasting. It may not be worth the trade-off. Finally, pregnant or breastfeeding women, people with a history of disordered eating or an eating disorder, and those under 18 should avoid intermittent fasting.