Losing weight through alternate day dieting?
March 2, 2010 10:41 PM Subscribe
Dieting: Anyone try the Alternate Day Diet method? Eating more calories every other day? This is from the work of physician James Johnson, MD, and Mark Mattson, PhD. Turns out it's healthier to eat more every other day, and it's a good way to lose weight too. Anyone try this?
Calorie restriction works to extend life, make the subject animals healthier, etc. But Eating every other day also makes lab animals healthier, more able to resist brain insults, etc.
Mark Mattson, Ph.D., has explored this in mice and rats, and James Johnson, MD, developed a diet based on this method.
Basically, to lose weight Johnson advocates 500 calories of shakes on the down days (every other day) and regular eating on the up days. This variance in calories (depletion and normal) provides health benefits to the body and also can lead to great weight loss.
I've been on this approach for 20 days and have benefited.
Have others tried this?
If so, what has your experience been?
For me, it has taught me to curb my hunger, over-eating, etc.
Calorie restriction works to extend life, make the subject animals healthier, etc. But Eating every other day also makes lab animals healthier, more able to resist brain insults, etc.
Mark Mattson, Ph.D., has explored this in mice and rats, and James Johnson, MD, developed a diet based on this method.
Basically, to lose weight Johnson advocates 500 calories of shakes on the down days (every other day) and regular eating on the up days. This variance in calories (depletion and normal) provides health benefits to the body and also can lead to great weight loss.
I've been on this approach for 20 days and have benefited.
Have others tried this?
If so, what has your experience been?
For me, it has taught me to curb my hunger, over-eating, etc.
This post was deleted for the following reason: This is a poll question with a bit of a marketing feel to it. If the diet is working for you, whats the question here exactly? -- vacapinta
500 calories seems really, really low. Is that number correct?
posted by pecknpah at 10:55 PM on March 2, 2010
posted by pecknpah at 10:55 PM on March 2, 2010
How To Do The Diet
The 500 calorie thing is just during the induction phase & this is supposed to activate some gene. After that I guess you go can go up, but not by much. He also sells some pill that has something that red wine has in it that's supposed to activate the gene.
I think he's over-selling the benefits of this gene. I don't doubt that his claims are true, I just think the effects are much smaller than he's making it sound.
Also wouldn't *any* calorie restriction diet cause you to lose weight? If you have the discipline to quarter your calories every other day, of course you'll lose weight. If you're eating 2,000 + 500 every two days rather than 2,000 + 2,000 that's a huge difference. You're probably losing weight just from that alone.
posted by MesoFilter at 11:08 PM on March 2, 2010
The 500 calorie thing is just during the induction phase & this is supposed to activate some gene. After that I guess you go can go up, but not by much. He also sells some pill that has something that red wine has in it that's supposed to activate the gene.
I think he's over-selling the benefits of this gene. I don't doubt that his claims are true, I just think the effects are much smaller than he's making it sound.
Also wouldn't *any* calorie restriction diet cause you to lose weight? If you have the discipline to quarter your calories every other day, of course you'll lose weight. If you're eating 2,000 + 500 every two days rather than 2,000 + 2,000 that's a huge difference. You're probably losing weight just from that alone.
posted by MesoFilter at 11:08 PM on March 2, 2010
I got an email from a friend who knew I just registered here, and she wanted me to say that she'd tried the diet and: massive failure!
1) Such rough calorie restriction every other day seriously impedes the ability to work, if you have a job where you have any level of activity or if you need to focus (hers is both).
2) The pills are, as far as she can tell, totally bunk, and Johnson's willingness to sell them raises questions about his trustworthiness.
3) She lost a certain amount of weight, but not quite as much as at Weight Watchers: she thinks the on-day-off-day structure has basically no effect, and all the benefits come from eating less overall.
posted by Valet at 12:14 AM on March 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
1) Such rough calorie restriction every other day seriously impedes the ability to work, if you have a job where you have any level of activity or if you need to focus (hers is both).
2) The pills are, as far as she can tell, totally bunk, and Johnson's willingness to sell them raises questions about his trustworthiness.
3) She lost a certain amount of weight, but not quite as much as at Weight Watchers: she thinks the on-day-off-day structure has basically no effect, and all the benefits come from eating less overall.
posted by Valet at 12:14 AM on March 3, 2010 [1 favorite]
You know what's healthy and great for losing weight? Eating lots of greens and vegetables and reducing your calorific intake in a measured, reasonable way.
It's not catchy; you don't have to drink maple syrup for a week, eliminate all yellow foods from your diet, eat like a caveman, or subsist only on meat. But you know, it works surprisingly well, and it's so simple you don't even need to buy anything to do it.
It's a 'diet' recommended, not just by one or two doctors, who are selling something to do with it, but by thousands of doctors, dietitians, and nutritionists _all over the world_, who have no interest in your and your money; only your health.
It's a great diet. I wish more people would try it.
posted by smoke at 2:02 AM on March 3, 2010 [6 favorites]
It's not catchy; you don't have to drink maple syrup for a week, eliminate all yellow foods from your diet, eat like a caveman, or subsist only on meat. But you know, it works surprisingly well, and it's so simple you don't even need to buy anything to do it.
It's a 'diet' recommended, not just by one or two doctors, who are selling something to do with it, but by thousands of doctors, dietitians, and nutritionists _all over the world_, who have no interest in your and your money; only your health.
It's a great diet. I wish more people would try it.
posted by smoke at 2:02 AM on March 3, 2010 [6 favorites]
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posted by RMQ at 10:48 PM on March 2, 2010