The Fast Diet: the Simple Secret of Intermittent Fasting: Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, Live Longer
MyJae says:In what is pretty much the written form of the BBC Horizon special on the same subject, this book details the 5:2 diet which uses intermittent fasting as a way to lose weight and improve health. I haven't tried this yet so I can't attest to how it works but if it even does half of the things that it claims then it's worth doing.The idea is to eat normally 5 days of the week, but on 2 non consecutive days limit your caloric intake to 500 calories for women or 600 calories for men. Thes...e fast days apparently have a number of benefits including: 1 - Reduction in IGF-1 (Insulin-like growth factor) which is a growth hormone. As I understand it, too much of this encourages the reproduction of new cells rather than fixing old ones. Reproducing already damaged cells is a major cause of diseases like cancer. Therefore reducing this hormone can drastically help improve your health. 2 - Improved life-span3 - Improved cognitive functions4 - Continued weight loss without serious caloric restrictions. There seems to be a lot of evidence to support these theories presented in these books even without major human testing. Even without it though, there doesn't seem any harm in trying it and after reading the pages of this book am I eager to get started. Overall this book is a 4 star read. It gets a 5 for the information but loses a star simply because it is pretty much a written repeat of the Horizon show. You do get a little bit extra info in the book but it's not something you couldn't get online.
justin_bieber6 says:
I found the information in this book interesting. Don't be scared off by the term "fast." The "fasting" is not really fasting, but more a day of extreme calorie restriction (500-600 calories.) I have been practicing intermittent fasting for a few months now. I am losing 1 lb. per week...but trust me, I am NOT just eating whatever I want on my non-fasting days. Maybe that works for some, but for me it requires a lot of work in terms of exercise and keeping my calories fairly low and food-choices healthy EVERY day. The fasting is a tool for me to keep things under control so I don't constantly snack all day. I think the BBC Horizons show Eat, Fast and Live Longer (presented/hosted by the author of this book) was a better intro to this information, but this book is a good follow up.Oh, and by the way, for anyone interested, I am personally doing a combination of 16:8 fasting combined with the 5:2. Essentially that means that I don't eat after dinner and I break my fast at lunchtime (that's the 16 hour window of "fasting") and I eat during the 8 hour window. I then practice 1-2 days a week of more restricted (i.e. 500) calories like described in this book.
LML1994 says:
“The Fast Diet” book is the first book of my diet books binge. Sometimes I love reading lots of books on one subjects to get a better perspective on the subject, study the topic from different angles to make my opinion less biased, to see what works for different people, why it might work, why it might not, for whom it works. When we study many sources on one subject there is a bigger chance that we get more holistic picture and get closer to the truth.But I guess the truth about diets and nutrition, as I realize more and more, is that there is no “hard” truth in nutrition. Some things might work, when you study people as a apart of an experiment in controlled environment, but they will never work in the real life scenarios. Some things work for some people but don’t work at all for others.We people are so different that just like with the lifestyle in general there is no one thing that fits all.Why are we trying to find it in the first place? We are not trying to find the best car that everyone will love or one type of clothing, so why try to find one way of eating that fits all? It doesn’t really make any sense, if you think about it.We have different genetic material, we have different gut flora, different tastes, different lifestyles, body types, metabolism. We are more likely to absorb certain kinds of food depending on where we live, where our ancestors lived, what blood type we have.And there is a book talking about every one of those subjects. And yes, it all affects the way we eat, what we eat, how we eat, when and how we gain weight and lose it.Our emotions, state of mind, memories – everything affects our food choices.The most important thing is to find some way of nourishing ourselves through food that supports our health, fitness, happiness. The way that we can easily follow and maintain.Intermittent Fasting discussed in the book seems to be one of the latest trends that not only helps to lose weight and maintain it but also helps to cure degenerative diseases, promote longevity, keep our brain sharp and healthy, improve our metabolism and important numbers like cholesterol, blood pressure, IGF-1, BDNF, triglycerides.I called it a trend but it’s really not a trend and certainly not a new thing for humans.Fasts are mentioned in the most ancient texts of every religion. Most cultures still practice one form of fast or another. Now I’m in the Middle East and it’s fasting time, Ramadan. Bible also has its fasting tradition. But even before religion we humans used to go through fasting experience regularly, times of famine, winter, when we were hunters-gathers and didn’t know where the next meal will come from.Our grazing nature only recently became popular. And from what I can see it’s not such a great thing. Never before in the history of humanity so many people were overweight and sick eating themselves to sickness and death.Of course grazing on unhealthy food is not the only thing affecting our well-being but it’s one of the biggest one, because it affects our energy levels and that in turn affects our whole existence.So what is Intermittent Fasting?It’s “an umbrella term for various diets that cycle between a period of fasting and non-fasting”, according to Wikipedia.Some forms of it is Alternate Day Fasting (ADF), when you eat 24 hours and then don’t eat for another 24. Some people just restrict calories to about 20% of normal on fasting days.The method described in the book that got most popular is 5:2 Intermittent Fasting. You can eat 5 days as you normally would and then on 2 non-consecutive days you would reduce your calories to 500-600 a day, having one big or 2 small meals. On fasting days you would consume usually low carbohydrate foods, good animal and plant proteins, vegetables, some non-sugary fruits, nuts, beans, low fat dairy products, low calories or no-calorie drinks.This system got popular because most people can imagine themselves doing it, they don’t feel deprived as for 5 days they can eat what they want. People find it’s easy enough to follow, no difficult recipes, schedules, shopping lists. You can design fasting days pretty much as you want as long as you stay in 500-600 calorie zone. Book has calorie tables, recipes, guidelines.Lots of testimonials from men, women, young and old, healthy and not so healthy. People lose weight, maintain it, get healthier, feel better, get more energy.As a part of the lifestyle for even better fat burning effects HIT (high intensity training) is recommended. Being active in general also helps. But if you don’t do much, you still lose weight just slower compared to people who train or stay active. That makes sense of course.The book includes lots of studies, case studies. Everything is explained. Why, what, how.I heard that many athletes these days follow this protocol as training in a fasting state seems to give better results. People who want to reach their best body composition, improve fat/muscle ratio seem to have great results as well.I hear from more and more bodybuilders and fitness models that they get good results from it. Although most of them just go without food for about 16-18 hours and then eat a couple of good quality meals.Since I want to improve my physique and I actually like to go without food for long periods of time because then I’m not obsessed about food all the time, my brain works better, it’s easier to concentrate and when I eat I can eat as much as I want good quality food till I feel satiated, not worrying about too much or too little of it.I’m giving it a try. 2 weeks and I’ll see what results I’ll get.If you are not a fan of meal plans, complicated food theories, following eating schedules but you want to lose weight, improve your body composition, improve your eating habits, look and feel younger, get rid of some health issues – I would certainly give it a try.Happy Fasting Everyone!Give it a try, it might be your thing. I’m an experienced faster but never really gave Intermittent Fasting a proper trial. Want to join my challenge or get advice?MoreLess
justin_bieber6 says:
I found the information in this book interesting. Don't be scared off by the term "fast." The "fasting" is not really fasting, but more a day of extreme calorie restriction (500-600 calories.) I have been practicing intermittent fasting for a few months now. I am losing 1 lb. per week...but trust me, I am NOT just eating whatever I want on my non-fasting days. Maybe that works for some, but for me it requires a lot of work in terms of exercise and keeping my calories fairly low and food-choices healthy EVERY day. The fasting is a tool for me to keep things under control so I don't constantly snack all day. I think the BBC Horizons show Eat, Fast and Live Longer (presented/hosted by the author of this book) was a better intro to this information, but this book is a good follow up.Oh, and by the way, for anyone interested, I am personally doing a combination of 16:8 fasting combined with the 5:2. Essentially that means that I don't eat after dinner and I break my fast at lunchtime (that's the 16 hour window of "fasting") and I eat during the 8 hour window. I then practice 1-2 days a week of more restricted (i.e. 500) calories like described in this book.
LML1994 says:
“The Fast Diet” book is the first book of my diet books binge. Sometimes I love reading lots of books on one subjects to get a better perspective on the subject, study the topic from different angles to make my opinion less biased, to see what works for different people, why it might work, why it might not, for whom it works. When we study many sources on one subject there is a bigger chance that we get more holistic picture and get closer to the truth.But I guess the truth about diets and nutrition, as I realize more and more, is that there is no “hard” truth in nutrition. Some things might work, when you study people as a apart of an experiment in controlled environment, but they will never work in the real life scenarios. Some things work for some people but don’t work at all for others.We people are so different that just like with the lifestyle in general there is no one thing that fits all.Why are we trying to find it in the first place? We are not trying to find the best car that everyone will love or one type of clothing, so why try to find one way of eating that fits all? It doesn’t really make any sense, if you think about it.We have different genetic material, we have different gut flora, different tastes, different lifestyles, body types, metabolism. We are more likely to absorb certain kinds of food depending on where we live, where our ancestors lived, what blood type we have.And there is a book talking about every one of those subjects. And yes, it all affects the way we eat, what we eat, how we eat, when and how we gain weight and lose it.Our emotions, state of mind, memories – everything affects our food choices.The most important thing is to find some way of nourishing ourselves through food that supports our health, fitness, happiness. The way that we can easily follow and maintain.Intermittent Fasting discussed in the book seems to be one of the latest trends that not only helps to lose weight and maintain it but also helps to cure degenerative diseases, promote longevity, keep our brain sharp and healthy, improve our metabolism and important numbers like cholesterol, blood pressure, IGF-1, BDNF, triglycerides.I called it a trend but it’s really not a trend and certainly not a new thing for humans.Fasts are mentioned in the most ancient texts of every religion. Most cultures still practice one form of fast or another. Now I’m in the Middle East and it’s fasting time, Ramadan. Bible also has its fasting tradition. But even before religion we humans used to go through fasting experience regularly, times of famine, winter, when we were hunters-gathers and didn’t know where the next meal will come from.Our grazing nature only recently became popular. And from what I can see it’s not such a great thing. Never before in the history of humanity so many people were overweight and sick eating themselves to sickness and death.Of course grazing on unhealthy food is not the only thing affecting our well-being but it’s one of the biggest one, because it affects our energy levels and that in turn affects our whole existence.So what is Intermittent Fasting?It’s “an umbrella term for various diets that cycle between a period of fasting and non-fasting”, according to Wikipedia.Some forms of it is Alternate Day Fasting (ADF), when you eat 24 hours and then don’t eat for another 24. Some people just restrict calories to about 20% of normal on fasting days.The method described in the book that got most popular is 5:2 Intermittent Fasting. You can eat 5 days as you normally would and then on 2 non-consecutive days you would reduce your calories to 500-600 a day, having one big or 2 small meals. On fasting days you would consume usually low carbohydrate foods, good animal and plant proteins, vegetables, some non-sugary fruits, nuts, beans, low fat dairy products, low calories or no-calorie drinks.This system got popular because most people can imagine themselves doing it, they don’t feel deprived as for 5 days they can eat what they want. People find it’s easy enough to follow, no difficult recipes, schedules, shopping lists. You can design fasting days pretty much as you want as long as you stay in 500-600 calorie zone. Book has calorie tables, recipes, guidelines.Lots of testimonials from men, women, young and old, healthy and not so healthy. People lose weight, maintain it, get healthier, feel better, get more energy.As a part of the lifestyle for even better fat burning effects HIT (high intensity training) is recommended. Being active in general also helps. But if you don’t do much, you still lose weight just slower compared to people who train or stay active. That makes sense of course.The book includes lots of studies, case studies. Everything is explained. Why, what, how.I heard that many athletes these days follow this protocol as training in a fasting state seems to give better results. People who want to reach their best body composition, improve fat/muscle ratio seem to have great results as well.I hear from more and more bodybuilders and fitness models that they get good results from it. Although most of them just go without food for about 16-18 hours and then eat a couple of good quality meals.Since I want to improve my physique and I actually like to go without food for long periods of time because then I’m not obsessed about food all the time, my brain works better, it’s easier to concentrate and when I eat I can eat as much as I want good quality food till I feel satiated, not worrying about too much or too little of it.I’m giving it a try. 2 weeks and I’ll see what results I’ll get.If you are not a fan of meal plans, complicated food theories, following eating schedules but you want to lose weight, improve your body composition, improve your eating habits, look and feel younger, get rid of some health issues – I would certainly give it a try.Happy Fasting Everyone!Give it a try, it might be your thing. I’m an experienced faster but never really gave Intermittent Fasting a proper trial. Want to join my challenge or get advice?MoreLess
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