Fasting For Weight Loss?
On Celebrity Diet Doctor we’ve reported on some “unique” weight-loss studies, but this latest one from the University of Illinois in Chicago may just be the craziest. Researchers from the Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition say on-off fasting may actually be an effective way to lose weight.
The small study of only 12 obese women and 4 obese men were put through a 10-week program which was broken into 3 phases. The first 2 weeks was the control phase during which participants went about their normal diets. The next 4 weeks the 16 participants were put on an alternating-day fasting program where the researchers controlled what food they ate and didn’t eat. On fasting days participants only ate 25% of the calories they needed to maintain their weight between 12pm and 2pm. During the last 4 weeks the participants were again put on an alternating-day fasting program but were allowed to choose their own foods.
If was found that after the first 8 weeks, participants lost 12 pounds while their cholesterol levels and blood pressure dropped by an average of 21% and 5 points respectively.
Celeb Diet Doc…
Interesting study, but I would add that these are controlled conditions and do not translate to the real world. For instance are diets going to know what 25% of their calorie needs are for these alternate days. Dieters are notorious for underestimating the number of calories they consume as well as underestimating the amount of exercise they do. So under controlled laboratory conditions this strategy may show some positive results but in the real world this extreme form of yo- yo dieting will fail.
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