This is the shortest chapter in the book, and for a good reason: there’s only one easy-to-follow “rule” on Feast Day (the day that alternates with the 500-calorie modified fast of Diet Day). Eat all the food you want, and eat any kind of food you want.
I know, I know. It’s hard to believe that you don’t have to deprive yourself every day while dieting and that you can still lose weight; that a diet can contain a day on which you eat as much food as you want and whatever foods you want and you still lose weight. It probably goes against everything you’ve ever been told about dieting and everything you’ve ever done while on a diet.
Well, it also was hard to believe for some of my study participants. As veterans of many diets—and many days of diet-based deprivation and denial—they couldn’t imagine how they could possibly lose weight while following the Feast Day “rule” every other day.
And because they so badly wanted to lose weight, many of them kept on restricting their food choices on Feast Day—until we talked them out of it! But once they got used to alternating a day of modified fasting with a day of unlimited eating, they loved it. Feast Day was a relief from restriction. And Feast Day made the 500 calories of Diet Day no big deal, because participants knew they could always eat their favorite foods tomorrow. Any food. In any quantity. At any time.
Still find it hard to believe that you can eat whatever you want on Feast Day and lose weight? Then listen to what some veteran EOD dieters—people who have lost anywhere from 16 to 49 pounds—have to say about it:
I always enjoy Feast Day. “One day fasting and one day feasting is a wonderful pattern. Some days I eat a lot on my Feast Day, and some days I don’t, but I always enjoy the day. And my weight continues to go down!”—Paul, weight loss: 41 pounds
I never feel deprived. “On the Every-Other-Day Diet, I can always eat the next day, so I never feel deprived. If I can’t have it today, I can have it tomorrow. Knowing that, I can stay on the diet.”—Susan, weight loss: 42 pounds
I stop eating when I feel satisfied and full. “At first, I really had a lot of anticipation about Feast Day, thinking I would just eat as much as I could. But when the day rolled around, I found myself thinking, ‘Do I really need all that food?’ I did eat a little more than normal, of course. But it seemed as if I was satisfied sooner at every meal—that I had learned what feeling full is all about, and I could stop eating when I felt full. If it wasn’t for the Every-Other-Day Diet, I never would have learned how to do that.”—Sarah, weight loss: 17 pounds
It’s not difficult at all. “I eat heavy one day and light the next, and it’s not difficult at all. It’s become a habit.”—Bella, weight loss: 25 pounds
I eat whenever I’m hungry. “On Feast Day, I’m very liberal about what I eat and don’t eat. I start with a big, healthy breakfast, and then eat whenever I’m hungry, grazing throughout the day. I love it.”—Gerd, weight loss: 21 pounds
I look forward to the days I’m not fasting. “I look forward to the days I’m not fasting and can do whatever I want. I don’t have to think—‘How many calories in this, how many calories in that?’—and that makes the day a whole lot easier.”—Victoria, weight loss: 27 pounds
I’ve been on a lot of other diets, and I always get tired of them. “I like this diet because I get to eat. I’ve been on a lot of other diets—like diets where you drink two milkshakes and eat one meal a day—and I always get tired of them, because you’re basically restricted to the same foods, over and over again.”—Andrea, weight loss: 16 pounds
I eat what I want. “The Every-Other-Day Diet is very easy to do. I eat what I want on Feast Day, have one well-planned meal on Diet Day—and don’t worry about it!”—Paul, weight loss: 49 pounds
Here’s what’s not hard to believe: Feast Day is the feature of the EOD Diet that study participants like the second best (right after losing all the weight they wanted to lose and keeping it off). And EOD dieters were delighted by the biggest surprise of every-other-day dieting: you don’t lose control on Feast Day. You don’t binge. You don’t even eat all that much more. Remember, in my studies, EOD dieters ate only about 10% more calories than normal on Feast Day.
Do the pound-shedding math:
The fact that folks don’t go into overeating overdrive on Feast Day surprised me, too, at first. But after nearly a decade of research on hundreds of people, I feel confident that alternating a day of modified fasting with a day of unlimited eating helps overweight and obese people bring their appetite under control. Let’s take a closer look at some of that research.
In our scientific studies on the EOD Diet, my colleagues and I take one of two approaches to providing food:
The first few studies we conducted followed Approach #2: the food was supplied. But we quickly found out (much to our amazement) that we were supplying more food on Feast Day than the study participants could eat.
Specifically, we gave study participants 125% of their normal caloric intake on Feast Day. But they always told us that we were giving them way too much food and they couldn’t eat it all.
The same phenomenon is occurring in my three-year, NIH-sponsored study to test weight maintenance after the Every-Other-Day Diet. Once again, the study participants were given prepackaged, calorie-controlled meals—in this case, 50% of normal calories on Diet Day, and 150% on Feast Day.
Well, it turned out that nobody could eat all their “assigned” foods on Feast Day. Everybody in the study easily and spontaneously wanted to eat less than the 150%. It doesn’t seem to make sense, right? After all, experts never tire of telling us that the main reason we Americans are overweight is the huge portions delivered by restaurants and convenience foods, and the 24/7 availability of food; that when a human being has access to a lot of food, a human being will eat a lot of food. So we imagine that people on the EOD Diet will inevitably pig out on Feast Day. And pork up. But they don’t.
Feast Day isn’t a trough. It’s a fun, relaxed, and reasonable way to eat. After eating 25% of normal caloric intake on Diet Day, EOD dieters usually eat only 110% of normal calories on Feast Day. Below are my theories about why this happens.
Metabolic reboot. The EOD Diet may reset your metabolism—how your body uses food for energy—in ways that science doesn’t yet understand but that are profoundly healthful. For example, on most diets you shed 75% fat and 25% muscle. On the EOD Diet, however, you lose about 99% fat and 1% muscle. And if you exercise while on the EOD Diet, you gain muscle. That’s remarkable. And it’s not the only remarkable “reset” produced by every-other-day dieting.
Not only does the EOD Diet lower LDL cholesterol, it specifically lowers the levels of the hard, dense LDL particles that do the most damage to your arteries. And people on the EOD Diet have an unusually large spike in levels of adiponectin, a hormone that protects your heart. Plus, a growing body of cellular animal and human research shows that every-other-day eating strengthens brain cells. I suspect those remarkable changes extend to appetite.
Every other day, you’re allowed to eat all you want. But because you’re on the EOD Diet, your body has a better idea: it decides to regulate appetite, so you don’t overeat and hurt your health.
Stomach-shrinking. The very low-calorie intake of Diet Day may gradually shrink the stomach, cutting appetite.
No-binge psychology. The fact that you can binge on the Feast Day may prevent a binge. When foods are forbidden, you crave them and end up bingeing sooner or later. On the other hand, when foods are allowed, they’re not as tempting and you can take them or leave them.
Tuning in to true hunger. You don’t eat until lunch on Diet Day, so you experience real hunger. And that’s a new experience for the average American, who eats so constantly during the day that he or she almost never experiences the body’s natural hunger cues—the body letting the brain know when it’s time to eat. Instead, most people experience only emotional hunger cues—the stress, anger, depression, anxiety, and boredom that drive us to eat for emotional comfort rather than physical well-being. On Diet Day, you learn what hunger feels like—and that newfound understanding extends to Feast Day.
Of course, you don’t have to understand why the EOD Diet works in order to control your appetite; the EOD Diet controls appetite automatically!
When I say you can eat any type of food you want on Feast Day, I mean any type of food—and that includes the high-fat foods found in the typical American diet. As I discussed in chapters 1 and 2, my studies show that dieters lose more weight when they eat high-fat foods on Diet Day and Feast Day. Yes, more weight.
For me, these studies confirm the essential principle and practice of the Every-Other-Day Diet: You don’t change what you’re eating. You change your pattern of eating. You consume 500 calories on Diet Day—eating any type of food. There is no calorie restriction on Feast Day—and you eat any type of food. And that’s it! The EOD Diet is simple. The EOD Diet is powerful. Most importantly, the EOD Diet is effective.
I’d like to end this chapter with a brief pep talk about Feast Day—or maybe it’s a pepperoni talk! Because on Feast Day you should have that pepperoni, and the pizza, and whatever other toppings, side dishes, beverages, and snacks strike your fancy. Truly, on Feast Day there are no restrictions and no forbidden foods. There are no rules whatsoever, unless “Enjoy yourself” is a rule!
Remember, the Every-Other-Day Diet works because you diet only every other day. The unrestricted day off from dieting gives your body the calories and nutrients it needs for a day of modified fasting. The modified fast creates a condition that helps you not overeat. Both days are necessary. Diet Day and Feast Day work together to produce sustained and safer weight loss.
If you’re reading this book, it’s likely that all the diets you’ve tried have failed. The Every-Other-Day Diet is unique—and uniquely effective. And Feast Day is the day of food and fun that makes it work!