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The 8 Hour Diet: The Pros and Cons?

By Ryan J James


If you want to shed a few extra pounds and have been looking for a simple and straightforward diet plan, you will want to seriously consider the latest book by David Zinczenko and Peter Moore called"The 8-Hour Diet: Watching the Pounds Disappear Without Watching What You Eat!". This diet proposes an 8-hour period in which you consume all of your calories for the day, followed by a 16-hour fasting period. Exercise is also a part of the plan with only 8-minutes of physical activity recommended each day. The idea of 'intermittent fasting' is a twist on conventional logic and makes this diet unique.

The 8 Hour Food Window

The first thing for dieters to decide is when they want to eat. More specifically, lifestyle will dictate when to start and stop the fasting phase. In all likelihood, most people who try this diet will skip breakfast and start eating in the late morning. The authors suggest that your food intake be from a short list of lean, healthy "power foods". For people who have never fasted before, the authors recommend starting the diet for 3 days, then taking a 'cheat' day every 4th day until your body becomes accustomed to the new eating plan. With time, dieters can increase the length of time they stay on the program.

The Pros

There are 4 advantages to the 8-Hour Diet:

- fasting is a proven way to lose weight.

- with no restrictions on food, dieters can still enjoy their favourite foods, albeit restricted to certain times of the day.

- it restricts late night 'grazing', which is where many people over-consume calories.

- the 8-minute physical activity component will achieve results.

The Cons

As with all diets, there are issues with the program. In particular:

- the potential exists for overconsumption throughout the 8-hour eating window. If somebody binges on french fries and hamburgers for 8 straight hours, no weight loss plan will work.

- for people on the diet for more than a few days, the 8-minute exercise component could become problematic.

- by their very nature, 'diets' are a change from a person's typical eating habits. For this reason, there is a natural tendency for people to gain back weight after they have reached their goal weight. The best 'diet' is no diet at all - learn how to eat a healthy and balanced diet, and you will not need to go on a diet.

Conclusion

The 8-hour diet is cunningly simple - the clock determines when you can eat and what you are encouraged to eat are "power foods". Over time, the 16-hour fasting phase will help the body to recognize that late night 'grazing' is not really a symptom of being hungry, but rather it is more about boredom. This diet is a good way to begin eating more healthy and will certainly help in shedding a few pounds. The "power foods' can form a more permanent foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating - if dieters make the connection between smart food choices and proper consumption levels, this diet will have accomplished something truly remarkable.




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