Fasting type diets are popular in helping severely overweight people reduce weight to a healthy level and as a fad diet for quick weight loss. The problem is that these type of "starvation diets" can require a daily calorie reduction of 15 to 40 percent, which makes sticking to the diet hard for many.
An Alternate and More Effective Fasting Diet
By eating normally on one day and eating a carefully planned low calorie diet on an alternate day, researchers showed that sustained, doable, and healthy weight loss is the result. University of Illinois at Chicago researchers found that alternate-day fasting can be more doable and effective than traditional other weight loss diets. The findings appear in the November 1 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"This diet (alternate day fasting) has been around about 20 years, but its effect on weight loss hadn't really been studied," said Krista Varady, assistant professor of kinesiology and nutrition, who led the UIC research team.
During the three phase 10-week trial, 16 clinically obese people (12 women, four men) between 35 and 65 years old were observed.
The three phases were broken down in the following manner:
- The first two weeks, participants ate and exercised normally.
- During the second phase, between the third and sixth weeks, the group ate normal meals one day then would fast the next. The fast days included a specially prepared lunch that provided between 20 and 25 percent of daily energy needs.
- During the final stage, the participants using what they learned, and still being counseled by the programs diet experts, chose what to eat. At this time, they were able to choose the fasting method or a more normal eating plan.
The reason for breaking up the stages in this way was explained by Varady: "We wanted to see if they could actually do it by themselves -- because what's the point of studying this diet if you have to feed people meals prepared at metabolic kitchens all the time?"
The Result of the Alternate Day Fasting Diet
Over the course of the ten week study, weight loss was much more dramatic than expected. Weight loss ranged from 10 to 30 pounds, but the researchers expected an average loss of only five pounds. In addition, healthy weight loss is shown by the fact that blood pressure, cholesterol, and the heart rate were brought down.
The next step of the study is "to find out how long they can stay on this diet -- and if they go off it, do they automatically regain the weight?"
Sources:
November 1 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Alternate Day Fasting for Quick Weight Loss
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