8 terrifying weight loss methods people have actually tried

Every day it seems like there are more and more weird weight-loss trends or crazy exercise regimes that claim to be the perfect way to lose weight. But these modern schemes are nothing compared to the crazy historical weight loss methods of yesteryear.

To be clear, these methods are not exactly the same as weird diets where you only eat certain foods or weirdly specific beauty products that claim to create instant radiance. The worst of these weight loss regimens range from fancy exercise equipment to fasting, and none of them are safe from a safety standpoint. Needless to say, don't try this at home.

Some of these methods are quite ancient and others are newer, but most of these schemes seem completely insane to the average person. Read on to learn about the strange and horrific ways people have tried to lose weight over the years.
 
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1. Victorians ate live tapeworms.

Once a tapeworm enters your body, it can be very difficult for you to gain weight or get the nutrients you need. In the Victorian era, people thought that this parasite was the perfect way to lose those extra pounds. This procedure was not only dangerous but also uncomfortable. You could get rectal problems from the transmission of worms, you could develop epilepsy and dementia, and you could feel stomach pains the entire time the worm was inside you. Also, tapeworms can grow up to 9 meters long, which is not what you want in your body.

2. Edwardians received enemas daily.

John Harvey Kellogg may be best known for inventing corn flakes, but he also had quite a few ideas about health and weight loss. Around 1900, you could visit his sanitarium to follow a strict daily routine focused on personal well-being. Treatment included hydrotherapy, electric shocks, and a carefully controlled diet. However, his most surprising treatment was that he maintained daily yogurt enemas to stimulate the development of microflora in the intestines.

3. Ancient Hindus lived only on sunlight and air.

Breatharianism is the belief that you can live without food. It comes from some Buddhist and Hindu beliefs, but in recent centuries it has been used as a means of losing weight. Instead of eating, this method of losing weight suggests that you can only live on sunlight and air.

4. The Victorians got poisoned by arsenic.

Arsenic is a very deadly substance, but it was used as a weight loss aid in the 19th century. Pills and other "drugs" that contain arsenic have been advertised as a way to boost your metabolism so you burn calories even faster than normal. Instead, you can get pretty serious arsenic poisoning.

5. Women of the Jazz Age tried to wash off the fat with soap.

In the 1920s, women began to believe that a simple bath could wash off those extra pounds. La-Mar slimming soap offers to get rid of fat around the ankles, get rid of the double chin, and even reduce the bust if it turns out to be too big. All of these claims were backed up by a chemist who really had no experience with weight loss. Other brands of weight loss soap soon followed. If this sounds too good to be true, it's because it is. None of these soaps actually helped, and while clients felt spotlessly clean, they didn't get slimmer.

6. Men and women of the 1920s in rubber corsets.

Corsets have a long history of weight loss. Old underwear has squeezed your ribs and lungs with whalebone or steel bars. Later, this trend continued with the corsets of the 1920s, which included models made of rubber. These belts and corsets were made for both men and women and they offered to reduce your fat and create a leaner figure while keeping everything to yourself. Unfortunately, the rubber rubbed against your skin and made you sweat, and would not actually promote weight loss.

7. Mid-Century Women Strapped To Vibrating Weight Loss Belts.

If you've ever looked at pictures of old-fashioned weight-loss devices before, you've probably seen this machine in action. It was invented in the late 1800s but became popular in the 1930s. The device was simple: attach the strap to the part you want to shrink. Then you turn it on and its oscillating vibrations supposedly melt the fat. Both women and men have used these machines, and the results have been minimal at best. People did not notice significant weight loss or fat reduction. However, more recent research has shown that machines and their vibration can be good for your immune system, even if they don't help you lose weight.

8. Weight loss fanatics of the 1920s listened to special music.

Wallace M. Rogerson was an exercise expert in the 1920s and had some pretty unique ideas on how to lose weight. One of those ideas was the Wallace Reducing Records, a set of records supposed to help you lose weight. The exact use of these recordings is unclear, but apparently, you were supposed to just listen to music in order to lose weight.