The Alternate Day Diet

Do you despise dieting? Is it hard for you to control your cravings day after day? If so, you may be a good candidate for the Alternate Day Diet, described by Dr. James Johnson in his 2008 book. On Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, you can indulge yourself in absolutely anything. But on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you stick to a strict regime of low-fat yogurt, lettuce, fruits, and veggies.

The Alternate Day Diet is based on animal studies in which mice who were only fed every other day experienced incredible health benefits, including increased longevity. Since it would be difficult/dangerous for humans to do the same, instead of not eating, Dr. Johnson proposes that you ‘nibble.’ A typical M/W/F diet for him includes a protein shake, a salad, broth-based soup, and a piece of fruit – and that’s all you eat for one entire day. He takes in about 20% of his typical caloric intake on his dieting days. However, once you’re in the maintenance phase, you can eat about 30-50% of typical intake on your MWF dieting days.

On the non-diet days, you can eat anything you want. The potential problem with this, of course, is that people will binge and nullify any progress they were making. However, proponents of the diet say it actually prevents bingeing because of the variety it offers. Since most dieters binge because they are bored or frustrated with the monotony of low-calorie meals, the Alternate Day Diet makes constant variety easy and can ward off the urge to binge.

Scientifically speaking, cutting your calorie counts every other day may activate a gene called SIRT-1, discovered by Harvard researchers and dubbed the longevity gene for its work in promoting the lifespan of irreplaceable cells, which allow people to live longer. A small study demonstrated that alternate day dieters with asthma experienced a dramatic reduction in symptoms after only two weeks of the alternate day diet. The dieters also had a reduction in oxidative stress markers, which can be signs of future cancer, heart disease, or arthritis.

In repeated studies with primates and mice, diets that involved systematic feeding every other day yielded significant health benefits. The animals were fed only every other day with a diet that consisted of 30% fewer calories than usual. It has been proposed that alternate day eating could ward off everything from Alzheimer’s to cancer to heart disease, as well as diabetes and obesity.

The Alternate Day Diet has proven successful for many followers of Dr. Johnson, who used the diet to lose an incredible 35 lbs. in only three months. However, its long-term success in humans has yet to be demonstrated. Eating a variety of healthy foods on both the dieting and non-dieting days is one key way to ensure that you lose weight, regardless of how closely you follow this plan. It’s also unknown whether there are any risks to dramatic caloric reduction. However, it seems like a promising potential tool for people who constantly struggle with dieting and weight loss.

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