[2] Chugay introduced the tongue patch diet as an alternative to invasive weight loss methods such as gastric bypass or Lapband surgery.
[8] Since consuming solid food is painful, the dieter has to resort to a restrictive 800-calorie liquid only diet developed by Chugay.
[citation needed] After the patch has been applied, the 30-day regimen also includes 45 minutes of daily exercise, in addition to limiting caloric intake.
[5] Critics of the diet have labelled it as dangerous[12] claiming that it could cause infection, swelling or nerve damage.
[13] Many media outlets have also reviewed the diet negatively with Good Magazine writing that "in essence it's nothing more than a modern version of wiring one's jaw shut, forcing the "patient" to literally starve themselves.