Hi all,
Just looking in from Workfest to answer questons about why we're promoting this book.
The Fasting/ 5:2 diet forum is hugely popular on MN - around 40000 different people visited it last month. Mimi Spencer is one of the original authors of the book that kicked the whole thing off and the book itself was a huge bestseller last year - number one on Amazon for months. Bottom line is that for many people fasting really works as a sustainable way of getting to and maintaining a healthy weight and there is also a fair bit of research that suggests it brings other important health benefits. Clearly it's not for everyone but it seems to work for many.
The Fast Diet book originally came about because, as Mimi Spencer says here "Michael Moseley was keen on finding out how to extend his chances of living longer - the research suggests that there are clear health benefits to be had from intermittent fasting - from guarding against cardio-vascular disease, stroke and certain cancers to improving brain power (yes, really!). One of the reasons that it has proved so popular is that it's a long-term plan for a longer life - it's absolutely not just about weight loss."
I can see the point about the language around beach body etc being a bit women's mag and not everyone's cup of tea. But there's no denying that some folks do want help/motivation to get in shape as the summer looms - that's all this is trying to do.
This is what Mimi Spencer said when asked why the need for this book here:
"This enhanced version of the original Fast Diet is aimed at people who want a short term booster plan, a more vigorous protocol either to shed those lingering pounds in preparation for your beach holiday, or if you've got a big event coming up, a wedding, a key birthday. But it's by no means for everyone. And it's certainly not designed to be a forever plan like the 5:2. If you're happy on the classic Fast Diet, if it's working for you, then stick with it. This is the Fast Diet, just a bit faster... and for six weeks only. "
On a couple of other points raised. No, we're not being paid anything to host this - we genuinely see it as useful content for some people who are interested in fasting, and that's our entire motivation for running it.
And the reason the thread is being stickied and unstickied is because we now have an automated rotation system for sticky threads. We only allow five at a time and when we have more thing than that to pin up, they are auto rotated.
We'll certainly bear in mind the criticism of this type of content being a bit too women's "maggy" and make a note to watch ourselves on that score. Thanks for the input.