So those of you who have been hanging around my blog know that I’ve had some… interesting journeys as I struggled to lose weight. I wanted to take this time to talk about one of the eBooks that personally changed my attitude and life when it came to my diet – and something that I’m finding myself rereading in times of quarantine. The name of that book?

Eat Stop Eat

According to World Health Organization, worldwide obesity has doubled since 1980.

Given that obesity and overweight are the fifth leading factor for death in the world, millions of people go on fad diets each year. A study conducted in 2012 showed that 50% of Americans go on diets every year, spending more than $65 billion. Nearly 90-95% of them give up and gain back a lot more weight than when they started out.

These facts are not at all surprising, because most diets are difficult to follow.

Brad Pilon, the author of the book, claims that diets are unnatural and we were never meant to skip entire food groups. He claims that fasting once or twice a week for 24 hours at a time is a better way to weight loss.

Pilon’s Background

Brad Pilon is a science GEEK, and a nutritionist residing in Guelph, Canada. He was working on his thesis on intermittent fasting and how it was the wrong way to lose weight. After pouring over 317 research papers, he was forced to conclude exactly the opposite.

After his post-graduation, he worked for a leading supplement companies, and went on to become the head of the R&D.

Access to the latest gadgets and scientific labs enabled him to test the findings of his post-graduation thesis on a number of subjects including models and athletes. He was able to prove that intermittent fasting when done in a specific way helped lose weight faster compared to any other known method.

How The Book Works

Eat-Stop-Eat advocates what is called the natural cycle of consumption. It is a cycle of high and low calories, which kept our ancestors naturally fit and healthy. In simple terms, it’s a method to eat my fill every day, and fast for 24 hrs in a week.

So, how is intermittent fasting better than other diets?

  • I don’t have to count my calories each day
  • Just a tiny amount of self-control on one day frees me from being hungry all the time – like all those diets I FAILED on.
  • I DON’T HAVE TO GIVE UP ANY KINDS OF FOODS! Carbs, Sweets, get over here!

When I first began to follow this method, I saw rapid weight loss (which mellowed out as I adapted to the changes, of course), and also noticed a myriad of other benefits:

  • Better Brain Function. No post-meal fog, and I was ready and able REALLY early in the morning. If you knew who I was before the diets, you’d be shocked to hear me say this. Let’s just say i was the furthest thing from a morning person 🙂
  • Reduced risk of Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension – Just a natural extension of a better managed diet, I have less blood pressure spikes with less meals.
  • Rejuvenated skin and a “younger” look – Now this one I’ll say it’s what OTHER people noticed in me, and initially I thought it was just my friends propping me up, but after receiving several compliments from coworkers and people around my neighborhood, I have to admit it must be true.

What You Get in The eBook

This book is available for download from their website, currently for a special price of $15. This comes with a 60 days, No-questions-asked full refund. Once I bought the book, I got –

  • Eat Stop Eat – A new and expanded edition – this edition talks in detail about intermittent fasting and its effects on metabolism, muscle mass and hunger. It also talks about exercising during fasting and its health benefits
  • Eat Stop Eat – A quick start guide – This is provided as a free bonus when buying the book. It helps skip all the explanations and jump start with the method.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this method safe for women?

Yes. There are many myths about how fasting is not safe for women. There is a chapter in the book titled “Fasting for women” which specifically talks about how fasting is good for women and how to go about it if you’re concerned :).

Check out my results!

Will this method help gain muscle?

This method is developed to both lose fat and gain muscle mass. The chapter titled “Fasting and Muscle mass” specifically talks about this if you’re interested in packing on a little muscle.

Pros and Cons

The pros of Eat stop Eat plan are:

  • It is more straightforward than other diets and does not require you to skip entire food groups like carbs
  • A review published in Obesity Reviews 2011, says that intermittent fasting helps weight loss in the same manner as in a reduced calorie diet, while retaining more lean muscle mass.
  • Intermittent fasting reduces inflammation and helps cellular cleansing.

The cons of this plan are:

  • Some people can experience crankiness and headaches while fasting
  • This plan is not suitable for diabetics and people with eating disorders
  • The plan does not specify any particular meal plan for non-fasting days. This might lead some people to eat uncontrollably after a fast and eliminate the benefits of fasting.
  • This is great for beginners, but the journey doesn’t end here. I had to combine IF with keto and a good workout program before I really saw my results kick it into overdrive.

By the way, I do not adhere to the eating window in the book. Brad Pilon talks about a 12 hour window, but I use an 8 hour eating window to go with the original method of Intermittent Fasting. Both are said to work, but 16/8 has a lot more followers and success stories.

Conclusion

This book is INFORMATIVE. As someone who was struggling to stick with diets, KNOWING the SCIENCE and PROOF behind the methods I was practicing helped me a ton, and I have Brad Pilon to thank for my results. And in these troubled times, where it’s easier than ever to gain weight, I find myself revisiting the book once more.