Up-day down-day eating
Those of you that know me might say I can be a bit fanatical. Focusing on something, getting completely absorbed, etc.
I am on a new diet and I have to say I love it. (Disclaimer one…Obviously I am not advocating everyone try it, and before you start any diet please consult your physician- isn’t that what the standard disclaimers say…)
How I got to this diet starts with SPAM. Yep, you heard me, SPAM (no, not the canned meat product-the junk email).
I am on about 20 email newsletter lists for diet/exercise stuff, which is ironic based on my absolute disdain for all things exercise. Regardless, a new SPAM email showed up marketing the One Day Diet. Apparently this is a plan where you buy their wafer things and eat one every half hour for one day and then you can eat whatever you want the next day. The tagline for the diet is “anyone can be on a diet for one day”.
Yes, I know it sounds absurd…but what if they had a point?
So I started researching it and came across a Dr. Johnson who wrote a book in 2008 called the Alternate Day Diet. Well, I’ll be darned he starts pointing out research on the health benefits of this type diet. Yep, the hook is sunk and they are reeling me in.
In his version, you eat a subset of your recommended daily calories one day and, to lose weight, your recommended calories the next or for just the health benefits, you can eat whatever the next day. The research shows the health benefits are not based on a calorie restricted diet by rather by the act of limiting the calories every other day. I will leave the details of this eating plan to his book. No, I don’t get a kickback.
Obviously I don’t know if this is hogwash or not, animal studies, asthma studies, yada yada.
Here is what I do know:
1) I feel good
2) My appetite seems to be shrinking
3) I have dropped about 12 pounds in 3 weeks (during which I had a Vegas trip in the middle)
Here is my second disclaimer, I also started back on my Thyroid medicine, which will account for some of the incidental weight lose and potentially some of the “feel good” (at least that is what the Dr.’s always tell me).
I do think there is some mental thing to dieting for one day, if I know I can have that Oreo cookie tomorrow, I can avoid it today. It isn’t like I have to give it up forever.
Does it work? I don’t know
Will I keep doing it? Yep, I think so.
If you would like more information check out the website, http://www.johnsonupdaydowndaydiet.com/html/diet-landing.html.
Really, though, do the reading and the research to see if you feel this is a plan you are comfortable with; everyone is different.