Eat Stop Eat

"Eat Stop Eat" is a diet regimen created by Brad Pilon, a former executive in one of the world's largest supplement companies. When he left the company to get an advanced degree, he put what he learned about nutrition, muscle growth, and what the body needs into a book he titled "Eat Stop Eat."

The basic premise of the book and the diet is that people will lose weight by returning to the eating patterns of our ancestors. Before food was easily and regularly available, humans would eat large amounts of food and then have to fast until more food was found. During the fasting periods, humans survived because their bodies fed off their stored fat.

Pilon's diet approach holds that the human body is still programmed to burn fat off most easily during intermittent fasting. His theory is supported by scientific research that's found fasting for limited amounts of time doesn't slow down one's metabolism and in fact, does lead to fat loss.

The other clear benefit to intermittent fasting is that one will naturally eat fewer calories. Much of dieting success comes from eating fewer calories and fasting helps one achieve that without counting calories. Restricting one's caloric intake is also related to the fat burning since the body will burn stored fat if it has no new calories to burn. In addition, an increasing number of scientific studies are showing that caloric restriction may be related to longevity.

Basic Approach

The Eat Stop Eat style of intermittent fasting suggests that dieters fast for a 24 hour period once or twice a week. It's not suggested one fast two days in a row. Pilon suggests starting a fast at 6pm in the evening and then not eating again until 6pm the next day. Using this time frame, the dieter will never have to go an entire day without food. 

He doesn't recommend a specific eating plan since one of the advantages touted of the Eat Stop Eat approach is that one needn't change what one eats, just do the intermittent fasting. However, Pilon does make some general eating recommendations. First, one shouldn't gorge at the end of a fast or the benefits resulting from caloric restriction will be lost. Second, he does state that the traditional healthy eating advice is still worthwhile. This means eating fresh fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins. He's also an advocate of cooking with spices and herbs to keep the metabolism strong.

Weight Training is a Must

Pilon does emphasize that some sort of resistance training is necessary to do on the Eat Stop Eat diet. The weight bearing exercises will keep one's muscles in use so the body won't feed on them. If the resistance training isn't done, the body will feed off its muscle before the fat. Pilon recommends resistance training at least two to three times a week.

Challenges of the Eat Stop Eat Diet

As noted above, the benefits of this diet approach are lost if one overeats when not fasting. For some people, fasting for 24 hours may be challenging as well. Although this is generally a mental obstacle, not a physical one.

Guest Author: This has been a guest post from Australia's Eat Stop Eat website.