Eat Stop Eat Review – This is one of the most controversial books on weight loss and fitness that I’ve ever reviewed – Eat Stop Eat flies in the face of a lot of basic wisdom about dieting. I always tell people who are curious about weight loss that they need to avoid fasting – instead of making us slimmer, it triggers something called “starvation mode” and the food deprivation actually leads to weight retention.
However, that isn’t the be-all and end-all of land. This program does have a heavy focus on fasting, but the kind of fasting discussed in this book is very different from what you may have already learned up to now. Let’s take a look and see how well it works.
Who Is Brad Pilon?
Who Brad Pilon is isn’t nearly as important as what he does. Or rather, what he did. For years, he was employed as head of research and development for Life Science Nutrition, a supplement company. You might recognize them as the makers of the “Iron Kids” line of vitamins. During that time period, he got hands on time with the best scientists, athletes, and researchers, went to all the biggest conferences… and to his dismay, he learned about how much of conventional wisdom was untrue or exaggerated. That – along with his own personal experiences – inspired him to share a new system with the world.
Getting Stated With Eat Stop Eat
Why do people fail their diets? Well, diets put a lot of stress on the body, especially if you’re hungry all the time. And worst of all, when you fail a diet, your body forces you to store fat even more efficiently when you gain it again. Eat Stop Eat is a way to keep this from happening, and it uses a technique called intermittent fasting. Instead of slashing the food you eat (although you do still need to eat healthy stuff) or eating some kind of gimmick diet stuff, instead you take breaks from food and take one 24 hour fast per week. You’re not going completely empty – you’re allowed to drink low calorie stuff like water, coffee, tea, diet soda (although this stuff isn’t really good for you).
You don’t get a bunch of wacky bonuses in the basic package – although you can upgrade to an audio book, a book on protein, and a bunch of interviews with other experts – Eat Stop Eat is an ebook, and Brad is very diligent about updating as new information comes in (this is the fourth edition).
Is It Easy?
One of the issues that newbie dieters might have is that so many of these programs work… but they require a lot of discipline to get up, do the right workouts, and eat the right stuff. Eat Stop Eat is very easy to stick to, easy to remember, and easy to stick to because there’s not a long term deprivation. You’re not going days without eating, and if there’s an emergency, you can break your fast and start again at another 24 hour period. In fact, you can have dinner, skip a day’s meals, and have dinner the next night. You also don’t need any special workout equipment.
The Intermittent Fasting Controversy
Plenty of people are nervous about a plan like this, because it brings to mind starvation diets. Brad tries very hard to let you know that this plan isn’t at all like that. You aren’t skipping eating to cut calories, you’re trying to get them in a smaller window. And you’re also cleaning yourself internally. This isn’t for everyone, especially if you’ve got issues with blood sugar or have diabetes.
Pros and Cons
It’s all in the goals of this plan. If you’re out for rapid extreme weight loss, this isn’t the plan for you. You’re expected to lose 1-2 pounds per week on this system. You’re going to be eating a lot of veggies while you’re on this program, so it might be helpful to use a juicer to mix those servings together, and drop an egg or some almond milk inside for flavor. You are recommended to lift in order to maximize your gains, but you can go without it if it’s impossible for you to do.
The Verdict
This can work for you. Try it out and don’t go wild during your off days. If you’re taking a couple days off a week from eating, you’re lowering your overall calorie intake by 20%, which can deliver pretty great results over a month. Eat Stop Eat is amazingly detailed and meticulously researched, and it will give you a seriously new understanding of how the body works.
