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Don't fool yourself - crash dieting and "marathon" gym sessions simply don't work. Your body was never meant to be fat. And getting it back in shape is easier than you think... |
Eat Stop Eat
from Strength Works, Inc. Ontario, CanadaProduct description
(NOTE: Scroll down to read Weight Loss Emporium owner Dave Tishendorf's account of his 24-hour fast.)
The name of Eat Stop Eat pretty much tells the story.
This somewhat unusual and probably somewhat controversial diet program recommends what it calls “flexible intermittent fasting” combined with exercise. People on the program fast for 24 hours, usually from dinner to 
dinner, once or twice a week.
Here’s how the creator of the program introduces himself and his program:
“Well let me be right up front with you. My name is Brad Pilon and I wrote Eat Stop Eat to help people understand the amazing weight loss results they can get by using a simple combination of flexible periods of intermittent fasting and weight training.”
“Now, I know what you are thinking, ‘Did he just say fasting?’ Yes, fasting. But before you read any further, let me assure you that with Eat Stop Eat your metabolism will not slow down, you will not lose muscle, your workouts will not suffer, and you will not become a ravenous eating machine. You will simply lose weight, quicker and easier than ever before.”
And, he adds, the program won’t make you lightheaded or cranky.
Pilon lists these “facts”:
** A true weight loss plan does not have to be complicated. In fact, the simpler the program the better the results will be. The more restrictive the diet, the more likely it will fail you.
** The bottom line is that to lose weight you must create a caloric deficit (eat fewer calories than you burn off). As soon as you find a simple way to eat fewer calories you’ve won the battle; stressing over special ways to eat and special types of food to eat will not improve your weight loss.
** Flexible intermittent fasting is supported by a large amount of research and is effective for many people of all different ages and walks of life.
** Fat is not bad, protein really isn’t that special, and carbohydrates are perfectly fine to eat, even sugar.
** You will not lose muscle if you miss a meal. In fact, you won’t even lose muscle if you miss an entire day of meals as long as you follow a well designed workout plan. The bottom line is that weight loss does not have to be frustrating, complicated or involve secret combinations of foods.
See below for a closer look at Pilon and what went into his creation of Eat Stop Eat.
Price
The heart of the Eat Stop Eat program is a 90-page downloadable ebook. The program has two buying options.
Option 1 includes:
** The Eat Stop Eat ebook.
** “The 10 Day Diet Solution”
** “Why Diets Stop Working + Transcripts”
** “The Eat Stop Eat Advanced Audio Files + Transcripts,” which is described as a crash course in fat burning, fat burning hormones, blood sugar and insulin and how Eat Stop Eat helps burn fat.
** "Expert Interrogations of Eat Stop Eat," which discusses changes that make big differences to your body, tips for effective grocery shopping, the “truth about breakfast,” how to use Eat Stop Eat with bodybuilding and powerlifting, and supplement recommendations.
“Today's Price” is listed at $57.
Option 2 includes only the Eat Stop Eat ebook.
“Today’s Price” is listed at $39.95
Note: The Eat Stop Eat sales website is divided into two sections, one for men and one for women. The only difference we could detect between the two sections, however, is that the testimonials in the men’s section are all from men, and the testimonials in the women’s section are all from women.
Our Recommendation
Although we suspect some people won’t be up to the challenge of fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week, the evidence seems to show that for those who are determined to lose weight, Eat Stop Eat will work. As we noted above, this is an unusual, maybe even controversial, diet plan. But sometimes unusual, controversial solutions are just what some people need. And we are for giving people what they need. So Eat Stop Eat gets five stars and everybody gets our very best wishes.
These Are Fast Times
Midday Jan. 5, 2010: This is Dave Tishendorf, the owner of this website. I have been looking over this page, and I’m thinking, why don’t I try a 24-hour fast and write about the experience? I mean, I can’t personally try every diet plan on my site, I can only do the research and write a review based on what that research shows.
But what better way to research Eat Stop Eat than to actually do a fast? That is something I can actually do. I think.
OK, let me set the scene for you very briefly. I am 70 years old and retired. My wife, Mary, who also is retired, and I live on 4 acres “out in the country” on the Tieton Plateau in south central Washington state. We have three dogs that we run in the sport of dog agility. Mary runs our oldest, Keeper, 10, who is an Australian shepherd, and our youngest, Tie, an English shepherd, who is 2. And I run my beloved border collie, Chek, who is 5.
Later the same day: It occurs to me that I have never fasted a day in my life. Never. In fact, I rarely have missed a meal. In my entire life. What makes me think I can do this?
Later yet: I feel like I’m 6 years old and I’m on the high diving board looking at the water 30 or 40 feet below. And I’m going to jump? What am I, crazy? What am I, nuts?
Even later yet: Well, what’s the worst that could happen? I mean, I’m not going to die. No one is going to come by and set our house on fire. Get a grip, Dave. The worst that could happen is that I will fail. And that I have done before.
5 p.m.: Mary is in town at the dentist and running errands, which at this house means a frozen pizza for dinner. But it’s a “good” pizza, if there is such a thing – spinach, mushrooms and garlic. After all, it’s my last supper, shouldn’t I eat what I want? Bon appétit!
9:30 p.m.: It’s a little early, but I think I’ll hit the hay. Then I won’t have to think about this crazy stunt any more today. Night all.
***
Jan. 6, 4:30 a.m.: This is the big day. I’m up. Believe it or not this is pretty much the time I get up every day. I have never needed much sleep. But that’s a whole other story. The first thing I do is let the dogs out. That’s one of the nice things about herding dogs. They are pack animals, and they never stray far from the trail boss. Our dogs know the boundaries of our property, and they never, ever cross over them. They’ll be back in a minute, after they’ve done their business, and I’ll let them into the bedroom, where they’ll sleep with Mary until 6 or 7 or so.
Meanwhile, I heat water for coffee. Yes, coffee. I do not consider that breaking my fast. Besides, it’s only one cup. So give me a break.
Then I meditate for about half an hour.
8 a.m.: I’m having my first hunger pangs, but not severe. Now I’m sitting at the breakfast table watching Mary eat while I work a crossword puzzle.
10 a.m.: The hunger pangs are gone, but my fingers are cold, and I’m getting slightly chilly.
11 a.m.: I just did a 20-minute workout consisting of step exercises and resistance training. It felt good. It warmed me up for sure. I thought for a minute I was going to break a sweat, but it didn’t quite happen.
I am looking out the window from where I am sitting at my computer and I see our neighbor’s horse maybe a quarter mile away running back and forth in his field, which is an awfully unusual thing for that horse to do. I tell Mary about it, and she takes a carrot and walks over to make sure everything is OK. When she returns, she tells me the electric fence was touching the snow and that maybe the horse got shocked. Because she (Mary) did. Get shocked, that is. Maybe the lesson is that you should not be kind to animals. I’m kidding, I’m kidding.
By the way, she also fed the horse the carrot.
12:15 p.m.: The hunger pangs have returned. They are not any stronger as such, but they do seem to be implying, “Hey, I mean it. Seriously.” Does that make sense?
1 p.m.: Getting chilled again, but nothing serious. Nothing that putting on my jacket wouldn’t take care of. I may do that in a minute.
Only four more hours till I can eat again. Four measly hours. When compared with the geologic stretch of time, that is not even a blip on a blip on a blip on a nanosecond to the 16th power. There, take that, hunger pangs.
I am looking up the definition of the word “pang.” Here is the first meaning: “A brief piercing spasm of pain.”
Whoa. That way, way overstates what I am feeling. I shall never use the phrase “hunger pangs” again. From now on, only “feelings of hunger” maybe. Or “a mild to medium inclination to ingest some food.”
I am drinking so much water today that I am running (actually walking) to the bathroom every 15 minutes. Is that a good idea? I mean drinking all that water? My idea is that I can trick my stomach into thinking it’s full. So far the only thing it is doing is overworking my kidneys and overloading my bladder. Oh well, I figure it never hurts to give your system a good flushing once in awhile. But I do wonder: Do they sell do-it-yourself catheters?
2:25 p.m.: About time to walk down and get the mail. The mail box is about 200 or so yards down the road. The temperature is in the 30s. There is snow and ice on the ground. I hope I don’t freeze to death.
5 p.m.: I made it! I’m sitting down to a dinner of shrimp stir-fry. Eat your heart out, pizza lovers.
Conclusion: I had virtually no ill effects. There was some slight chilling, but that has happened to me before when I was on a conventional diet plan. The feelings of hunger were far milder than I had expected.
Would I do it again? Absolutely, and I no doubt will, because I am now officially jazzed about Eat Stop Eat. In fact, I have upped my rating of Eat Stop Eat from 4 stars to 5 stars.
After all, the 24-hour fast was, if you’ll pardon the expression, a piece of cake
Product Research
What Others Are Saying
Like any dieting program, it’s not all sunshine and puppy dogs. It can take a little time to get used to the fasting days. While you never go a day without eating (you go dinner to dinner), it can be a little tough to get used to the first week or two… it does get easier though.
If you’re looking to lose weight fast, then this isn’t the diet program for you. It’s not one of those lost 5-10 pounds a week programs – more like 1-2 lbs per week is what you can expect (maybe a little bit faster the first few weeks, but after that you’ll settle in). – Comment from reviewer and user of Eat Stop Eat
***
The beauty of this diet plan is the simplicity. It’s not super complicated like systems like Weight Watchers where you are tracking every last bite of food you eat during the day and calculating points to make sure you don’t go over. The intermittent fasting method is easier to follow and still gets just as good or better results than those other complicated dieting plans. – Comment from reviewer and user of Eat Stop Eat
***
PLEASE NOTE: The following comments were taken from the Eat Stop Eat sales page. Although they therefore probably should be taken with a tiny grain of salt, there is no reason to believe they are not legitimate testimonials. The last names have been omitted.
Ok, the skinny jeans are on! And I am not losing muscle. I am really pleased with this plan so far. I don’t have to tell you that the drudgery of a day in and day out diet is no kind of fun. – Jennifer
***
I went from 245lbs in the middle of July to 185 lbs today November 7th. Only about 3 and a half months and 60lbs!!! "Eat Stop Eat" helped me to throw out my bad habits and my addiction to eating & over eating, & adopt a real balanced diet I never thought I would be able to do. – Chad
***
After 7 weeks of fasting with ESE, I dropped 9.4 lbs, 4.4% body fat, and 3 inches off my waist! Currently, I am wearing size 5 jeans (getting smaller each week though) comfortably without any bulge hanging over my belt. It’s amazing to see that the pounds and the fat starts to drop after each fast. – Anna
***
Who Is Brad Pilon?
In his own words:
I have spent my life studying nutrition and weight loss, and I have taken a very unusual path that ultimately led me to writing Eat Stop Eat.
For starters, I have an honors degree in nutrition. So I understand the classic academic approach to how we should eat. I spent four years of university studying all of the typical “eat less calories than you burn” type of stuff you need to know to become a dietitian.
… right after university, instead of becoming a dietitian, I started working in the weight loss industry. From managing the R&D department of a very successful sports supplement company to consulting startup companies, manufacturers and top fitness magazines, I have seen the inner working of the industry that only a privileged few have ever seen. …
During my time in the industry part of my responsibilities included traveling the world learning about potential cures for obesity (weight loss supplements are big money, so the first company to come out with a new ingredient that actually worked would be making billions).
From China, Germany, Scotland, England and all over North America, I have had the privilege of meeting some of the world’s greatest minds in nutrition and weight loss.
Not only have I been lucky enough to travel the world but I have also had unlimited access to state of the art exercise physiology equipment, the kind of equipment that would make many University laboratories green with envy.
With this equipment I was able to conduct multiple body composition tests on numerous athletes and top level bodybuilders and monitor them while they dieted and tried new experimental weight loss programs. …
In fact, it was these experiments that ultimately led me to leave the industry and pursue graduate studies in human biology and nutritional sciences.
Many of the experiments I conducted had results that were VERY different from what I expected, and I soon realized that if I were to truly understand nutrition’s role in weight loss, then I would have to start from the very beginning and study what happens to the body when it goes without ANY food.
Believe it or not, Eat Stop Eat is actually all the research from the scientific reviews I completed in graduate school.
That’s right, my research was on “The Metabolic Effects of Short Periods of Fasting in Humans and its Potential Application in Weight Loss.” So in essence when you read Eat Stop Eat what you are really reading is an easy to read version of my graduate education.
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