The main finding so far is that people have, on average, lost 5-6 kgs (11 to 13 lbs) over the course of the first 3 months (12-13 weeks). In fact those of you who have entered your data so far have lost well over 2000 kgs, which is a fabulous result.
This is really encouraging and a lot better than other online weight loss regimes, where weight loss is typically less than 2kg at the end of 3 months.
You could argue that these results exaggerate the benefits because the people who go on entering their data are going to be those for whom the diet is working. I’m sure there is an element of truth to this, but what I find encouraging is that these findings are consistent with properly supervised research done by Dr Michelle Harvie from Manchester University.
In her study on intermittent fasting, published in the British Journal of Nutrition in 2013 (“The effect of intermittent energy and carbohydrate restriction v. daily energy restriction on weight loss and metabolic disease risk markers in overweight women”) she randomly allocated 115 women to a standard low calorie Mediterranean diet or to a low calorie/low carbohydrate diet two days a week. There was some drop out in both groups but the women cutting their calories two days a week were far more likely to stick to the diet and they lost far more fat.
In fact those who managed to stick to the diet most of the time (and many of these women had tried other diets and failed) lost an average of 6.4 kgs (14 lbs) over the course of the first 3 months. Those who moved onto a 6:1 approach were able to maintain the weight loss and other health benefits.
I also thought I would begin sharing with you some of the emails I get. This is from Chris, who said he was happy to share:
So far after 3 weeks I have lost an amazing 12 lbs / 5.4 kg using a non consecutive 2 day fast. Yes some is water weight in the beginning but the end of the third week my abdominal area is visually smaller. I can bend over and not get blocked by belly fat (almost). Energy is up tremendously which really helps to stay more active opposed to the slow climb in weight previously and a heaviness/sluggish feeling that simply takes over. In fact, the energy increase was a better benefit for me than the weight loss as it affects about everything I do in a day. As posted elsewhere, breathing is better too so less tossing and turning in bed means better quality sleep time too. I have stabilized this fourth week without any weight loss and must remain steadfast as I understand weight is like a buoy tossing in the ocean with the tide. When the waters are high, the buoy goes up and when they are low it lowers as well. One thing though…food entry is a pain to monitor but a necessary at least at first until new habits are formed. It would be interesting to have a checkbox to be a new measurement on qty of cheats. So if I sneak in a cookie, I must check a box to add a new cheat to the graph. As the weeks progress, looking at the long term cheats as a rise or falling measurement would be interesting. Not so much what the cheat was, or the caloric penalty, but simply how many times one slips in a cheat. These are the bad habits we are trying to break long term. In our attempt to eat better, choose better quality ingredients and lose weight in the process, the things that make us fall backwards of often still there and can cause us to return to bad habits even when we think we have beaten them. Just a thought.
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