Book Review: Eat Stop Eat

Okay, I admit it...I am a complete nerd when it comes to books! I will wake up an hour before I have to just so I can read before I start my day. I absolutely love to read and specifically I absolutely love to research new articles and books that come out in the field of health and wellness. Don't judge me...I haven't always been this way, I swear. There is still a small bit of that girl inside me who procrastinates, who just nods and smiles when her husband talks about inventing things that she can't pronounce, and who sometimes rolls her eyes when authority figures aren't looking. You know, the girl that my parents didn't think would finish high school. So that makes me sorta cool, right?

Well, at the risk of being thought a nerd again, I will admit that I just finished an ebook that came highly recommended to me called Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon (I will also admit that I am reading the Harry Potter series as well...if you're going to be a nerd, do it with gusto, I guess!).

Brad has an extensive background in nutrition and fitness and brings to the table a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective combining his experience in the personal training business, supplementation business, and fitness magazine business (among others), along with a reputable university education in the field. What I like best about Brad, is his courage to go against what all the books have taught him and lay out the common sense facts of weight loss and weight maintenance.

The key component to Brad's book is in the title: Eat, then stop for awhile, then eat again. What us nerds call intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting, by definition is "is a pattern of eating that alternates between periods of fasting (usually meaning consumption of water only) and non-fasting." (thank you, wikipedia for the definition!) IF has long been a part of virtually every culture past and present, whether it be for spiritual or health reasons. However, in North America, it has become a lost art and hunger has become something to be feared, rather than something to be sought out and embraced.

Brad brings out many good points in his book, but one of his main points is that all of the diets out there today that are successful in weight loss have one thing in common: lessening one's caloric intake. This is the one and only thing all diets can agree upon for weight loss. Whether that be through the paleo diet (which I follow and recommend), the zone diet, weight watchers, etc. they are all a form of calorie restriction. Brad's approach to weight loss is not in following a diet but by fasting to reduce caloric intake and reduce the stronghold food has on our culture. A fat burning overview can help you construct a clear summarize of what you demand to focus on to accomplish your fat reduction purpose if you're a novice; or serve as a reminder for those who are at an intermediate or more improve stage of their losing weight plan. Applying are seven steps that can serve as methods for your own weight loss program. The first thing that one must understand is that losing weight and losing fat is not the same. Many weight loss applications have misled people into thinking that it is the same, but most diets and weight loss programs only work by causing a person's body to burn more muscle cells and water than actual body fat, more help please visit The Fat Loss Factor. More significantly to me, Brad expels numerous myths related to fasting and hails its' many health benefits, some of which include:

Decreased blood glucose and insulin levels (which helps to prevent overeating by stabilizing your blood sugar levels and thus stabilizing your food cravings)

Increased lypolysis and fat oxidation (lypolysis is the release of fat and oxidation is the burning of fat both of which (according to Brad) are able to happen in the fasted state)

and

Increased norepinephrine and epinephrine levels (your 'fight or flight' hormones that trigger the body to burn fat and feel alert and awake)

There are a lot more but you'll have to read the book to find the rest of these treasures!

Personally, I have incorporated fasting here and there in my life more for spiritual reasons than anything else, but have never made it habitual. I have never considered it to be a healthy thing until the past few years as I have dug more deeply into the paleo lifestyle and researched it as a tool for health and wellness, as well as a tool for spirituality. I have learned a lot through Brad's book and although I don't agree with everything he has to say (particularly his philosophy on exercising), I really appreciate his willingness to use common sense when it comes to weight loss and maintenance. I highly recommend his book to anyone interested in living a healthier lifestyle! You can purchase it by clicking here and for those cool kids out there...don't worry...it isn't very long! I would love to hear your feedback as well and hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Here's to your health!

Check out my fitness blog for more great info!

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