EAT STOP EAT: WEIGHT LOSS AND MAINTENANCE
When I came across Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat in 2007, I realized what a novel concept this was! Beside regular training at the time, I favored heavily restricting fatty foods and eating more fruits and vegetables; meaning manipulating food choices. As fat has a whopping 9calories per gram, the most of any macronutrient, it made sense to me that limiting this macro would go a long way to a better body.
This works great for weight loss, but unfortunately, it is not a realistic option for the majority of people. Fat permeates nearly all foods, giving them an addictive flavor. Giving up foods that people love will never work longterm. Deprivation is not sustainable.
ESE was an alternative I had never considered. As I ordered a copy of ESE, the entire concept made total sense. Brad makes the case for how fasting beneficially alters hormones such as Insulin, Human Growth Hormone, and Norepinephrine; all implicated in weight loss and maintenance. As well, there are the overtly obvious conveniences:
- No cooking
- No cleaning up
- No shopping
- No confusion about what to eat
- And saving a fair amount of money!
It was too much common sense, I had to try it out! It worked admirably for me, and while I fasted only once per week, the results were immediate. The critical distinction to make is that ESE is a pattern of eating. It is not based on eating less bad foods, or more good foods; it is based on not eating for a time frame of your choosing.
Since people already have experience with fasting 12-16 hours between dinner and breakfast or lunch, it is not a stretch to envision fasting 24 hours. There also is supporting evidence that for most of human existence, fasting states were a normal part of human evolution and daily lives, meaning human metabolism evolved to adapt to this condition.
No weight loss program is simpler, and simple means success. There is no need to know anything about food composition, macro percentages, or counting calories, EVER! I therefore, feel extremely confident in recommending ESE to anyone for weight loss, especially yo-yo dieters!