In terms of body hacks, the Fast Diet probably ranks all the way at the top for me.
I first read about it in the papers and found the technique rather intriguing. Could something that simple actually work? Besides the book, it didn't really have anything fancy to sell. No secret formula, patent-pending ingredient, celebrity endorsement etc.
A few weeks later, at a whim, I started to try the diet on myself. At this point, I have not read the book yet. I just started restricting my diet two days a week to 600 calories. And I wasn't too particular with counting the calories either. I simply looked it up on the smartphone and kept a rough count through the day. Sometimes I prepared the food specifically for myself. Other times, I simply ate a smaller portion of whatever the wife had cooked. One or twice, I actually broke fast midday as unexpected commitments cropped up.
I also wasn't particularly keeping a keen eye on my weight during this time. Ironically, I didn't really think the diet would work. It just seems too free-and-easy. Not enough suffering! Then about 8 weeks later, I weighed myself in the bathroom and found that I had lost 6kg. To say I was surprised was an understatement! I started weighing myself more regularly from then on, now out of curiosity then anything. I found myself steadily losing weight at a rate of about 0.5kg per week. Another 8 weeks on, I have lost another 3kg or so. I haven't seen this weight for a long long time, not since my university days!
And I was still eating all my usual junk on the off days: cakes, chips, chocolate, fries, fizzy drinks. Nothing "health conscious" has crept into my mindset so far that I was deliberately avoiding them. I was just eating normally as before.
I did pick up the book to see if I coud learn anything new, but I didn't. I am quite familiar with scientific studies of how severe calorie restriction can prolong life, but most of us can't live that way. Even ADF (Alternate Day Fasting) seems too harsh to me. I think the breakthrough for the book is to introduce the idea that even a moderate amount of fasting will do us plenty of good. Other than that, I am not sure one has to read the book in order to get started on the diet. I don't even find the recipes in the book particularly useful. As I mentioned, I did quite alright with eating whatever my wife cooks, but in smaller quantities.
The book did mention that once you reach the desired weight, you can go into "maintenance mode" and reduce the fasting to once a week. For me, I plan to carry on fasting twice a week just to see how far this diet can hack my body weight. I am pretty sure my weight will stabilize at a certain point and will not reduce indefinitely! I will blog about my progress in times to come.
I first read about it in the papers and found the technique rather intriguing. Could something that simple actually work? Besides the book, it didn't really have anything fancy to sell. No secret formula, patent-pending ingredient, celebrity endorsement etc.
A few weeks later, at a whim, I started to try the diet on myself. At this point, I have not read the book yet. I just started restricting my diet two days a week to 600 calories. And I wasn't too particular with counting the calories either. I simply looked it up on the smartphone and kept a rough count through the day. Sometimes I prepared the food specifically for myself. Other times, I simply ate a smaller portion of whatever the wife had cooked. One or twice, I actually broke fast midday as unexpected commitments cropped up.
I also wasn't particularly keeping a keen eye on my weight during this time. Ironically, I didn't really think the diet would work. It just seems too free-and-easy. Not enough suffering! Then about 8 weeks later, I weighed myself in the bathroom and found that I had lost 6kg. To say I was surprised was an understatement! I started weighing myself more regularly from then on, now out of curiosity then anything. I found myself steadily losing weight at a rate of about 0.5kg per week. Another 8 weeks on, I have lost another 3kg or so. I haven't seen this weight for a long long time, not since my university days!
And I was still eating all my usual junk on the off days: cakes, chips, chocolate, fries, fizzy drinks. Nothing "health conscious" has crept into my mindset so far that I was deliberately avoiding them. I was just eating normally as before.
I did pick up the book to see if I coud learn anything new, but I didn't. I am quite familiar with scientific studies of how severe calorie restriction can prolong life, but most of us can't live that way. Even ADF (Alternate Day Fasting) seems too harsh to me. I think the breakthrough for the book is to introduce the idea that even a moderate amount of fasting will do us plenty of good. Other than that, I am not sure one has to read the book in order to get started on the diet. I don't even find the recipes in the book particularly useful. As I mentioned, I did quite alright with eating whatever my wife cooks, but in smaller quantities.
The book did mention that once you reach the desired weight, you can go into "maintenance mode" and reduce the fasting to once a week. For me, I plan to carry on fasting twice a week just to see how far this diet can hack my body weight. I am pretty sure my weight will stabilize at a certain point and will not reduce indefinitely! I will blog about my progress in times to come.
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