Healthy Living Today: The Fast Diet | Video

Van Tieu | 3/7/2013

The latest diet trend comes to us from the U.K. It`s a diet that claims you can eat anything you want. No counting calories, no cutting out your favorite meats or carbs, for a part of your week. It`s wildly popular and chances are, you`ll start hearing more about this new diet here in the States.

The latest diet book has topped the U.K.`s Amazon best seller list with a four and a half star rating since it`s release in mid-January. Author, Dr. Michael Mosley, lost 20 pounds in nine weeks and saw his cholesterol go down. Brits are eating it up and now it`s made it`s way across the pond. It`s called "The Fast Diet."

The basic idea is that you can eat pretty much whatever you want for five days and for two days, you fast. But you can at least eat 25 percent of your daily calorie intake. That`s roughly 600 calories.

"Having those two days on a lower calorie diet helped the average caloric intake to be less over that reach of seven days," said Nicole Enzminger.

Enzminger is a licensed registered dietician at Sanford Health. She says the fasting diet, may not just be a fad.

"It did have legitimate research behind it`s recommendations."

Intermittent fasting isn`t a new idea. The research looks at ancestors who lived in feast or famine conditions. Where people would gorge after a catch, and eat less while waiting for their next meal. The book claims that just after a few hours of fasting, the body stops storing fat, and starts burning fat.

"Even though you`re fasting those two days, you didn`t rebound and overeat. The other days, you ate pretty normal," Enzminger said.

Though called the Fast Diet, it isn`t a quick fix for weight loss. To reap and sustain the benefits, a person would have to stick to the eating schedule for a long time.

"It would be more of a true lifestyle change," Enzminger said.

Like any diet, it isn`t for everyone.

"It`s still in the research phases and because everyone has a genetic make up, it may help some people more than others," Enzminger said.

Enzminger says you should always consult your doctor before trying any new diet.

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