Krista Varady

Dr. Varady is a researcher who developed this diet and then systematically and patiently collected evidence supporting its effectiveness. The research base is clearly described here. The diet consists of days of normal eating alternated with days of eating only 500 calories. Such an approach seems extreme, but the author points out that it mimics the conditions under which humans evolved, in which food was more sporadically available than it is now in the developed world. Dr. Varady counters different objections to the diet and explains how it can be also used to maintain weight loss. I've been on the diet for six weeks and two days and have lost 18 pounds. I kept up a fairly demanding exercise program throughout, so this contributed to the success I've had. Admittedly, the first week required some resolve, consistent with what Varady found it her work, but after that I found my body adjusted to the every-other-day schedule, also a common finding in the research samples. I found I had lots of energy on fasting days, which was a surprise. Another surprise was not waking up and over-consuming rampantly on feast days. This book has solutions to many health problems that stem from obesity but the major obstacle is getting intermittent fasting into the mainstream of weight-loss programs. Reading the book will go a long way to overcome this problem of perception.… (meer)