I'm dieting the old fashioned way - exercise and reducing calories to about 1800.
My friend recently told me about a diet she's thinking about doing called "The Alternative Day Diet". In this diet, you eat 400 cals one day, then you're allowed to eat whatever you like the next day, then back to 400 cals the next day, then eat whatever you like for a day, etc.
I've done some research on this seemingly popular diet. Apparently it switches on a 'skinny gene' which keeps your metabolism in top condition, burning calories. It also has other claimed health benefits such as - making you live longer (there was a Horizon documentary on the BBC backing this up). The internet is full of gleeming reviews.
But surely this pattern of eating is unsustainable and encourages disordered thinking? I feel a bit concerned for my friend. When she latches onto an idea she tends to go hardcore.
AIBU?
to think this 'diet' is an eating disorder
BlackMaryJanes · 25/01/2013 10:52
And in the Horizon programme they did emphasise that this research is very new and not properly tested and reviewed.
This didn't stop mumsnetters 
The research into health benefits is very new, largely on animajs rather than humans, and obviously needs much more investigation and analysis before the these claims can stand up.
That said, I've lost a stone and, as a shallow sort if person, couldn't care less about pesky research
Breadandwine When did we ever, except in the very recent past, have cupboards and fridges full of food? We never ate three meals a day - and neither did we snack.
Maybe, but fasting through necessity in times of scarce food and choosing to fast when food is more plentiful are rather different concepts, especially from a psychological point of view. Exercise levels (presumably much higher than today) and life expectancy (much lower) that accompany the enforced fasting of which you mention would also have been very different. Besides, is there any evidence to suggest there's anything intrinsically wrong with the practice of eating three meals a day and/or snacking (assuming subjects eat an overall healthy diet and are not overweight)?
Breadandwine The health benefits of fasting are indisputable:
It causes the body's cells to repair themselves, instead of producing new ones;
More BDNF is produced, which grows new brain cells;
Every health marker you can think of improves.
Is this based on short term human studies/studies on rats? From what I gather (and glancing at your thread didn't change my perception), the (ambitious) claimed health benefits for humans are thus far pretty hypothetical (e.g. greater longevity), based mainly on the aforementioned rodents (whose life expectancy is obviously very different to humans). Without further research, it remains to be seen whether this diet really is superior to other diets in terms of improved biomarkers; whether there are any adverse implications and whether it's sustainable in the longterm.
Breadandwine See you over on the main 5:2 threads! 
I can't fault your enthusiasm, but I'm not looking to lose weight (or change the way I eat) .
fascicle if you think back to how we developed over the past millenia, this WOE makes perfect sense.
When did we ever, except in the very recent past, have cupboards and fridges full of food? We never ate three meals a day - and neither did we snack.
People concentrate on the weight loss aspect, which is understandable - but this is merely a side effect. The health benefits of fasting are indisputable:
It causes the body's cells to repair themselves, instead of producing new ones;
More BDNF is produced, which grows new brain cells;
Every health marker you can think of improves.
I could go on, but have a browse through the links on this thread - the evidence is compelling:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/big_slim_whatever_weight_loss_club/a1581821-Tips-and-links-for-those-practicing-Intermittent-Fasting-IF-5-2-or-Alternate-Day-Fasting-ADF
See you over on the main 5:2 threads!
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ooh fascicle thank you for bringing that article up again! The last time it was posted, they had a ridiculous "example" menu of a fast day (One sausage for lunch, one slice of pizza for dinner 
as if no one knew what a vegetable was). The majority of us on the 5:2 thread make veg the biggest portion of our food on fast days, as trying to fit in calorific things like pizza just results in being hungry.
I guess I disagree with you in that I do think it's a long-term way of eating. Obviously if you don't need to lose weight anymore, you'd reduce to one fast a week or so (for the health benefits). At the moment, I'm a whole lot less focused on food/calories than I would be on another weight loss diet. This way of eating has also changed my desire for food dramatically, and I can now just eat a normal amount of food at the Chinese buffet (for example) rather than feeling as if I need to make multiple trips.
Naturally thin people often already make these subconscious decisions to skip breakfast or eat a small amount the day following a big meal. It's a bit ironic that it's those of us struggling with our weight constantly who are being told that we need to constantly eat.
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