Gabourey Sidibe's social media followers know she has a voice like no other. Case in point: That time she crafted the perfect burn for trolls hating on her Golden Globes look in 2014."To people making mean comments about my GG pics," she tweeted, "I mos def cried about it on that private jet on my way to my dream job last night. #JK."

Good news for fans of the actress' wit, they can now revel in it sans restriction of 140 characters or less, thanks to her new memoir, This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)out today.

The cover of 'This Is Just My Face'(Photo: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

While the Empire star doesn't shy away from serious topics like being raised by an abusive, polygamist father, bulimia, and her weight loss surgery, her humorous tone that garners compulsive likes and retweets is still present.

Take the chapter in which she takes readers behind the scenes of a phone sex company. Yes, for a short time, Sidibe was what she calls a "talker."

"Honestly, I thought Id be walking into a dungeon with girls in ripped underwear chained to radiators who were moaning into receivers in phone booths,"she writes, imagining what the environment would be like. In actuality, Sidibe states the office seemed more like "an elementary school classroom" adorned with colorful banners and inspirational messages.

But Sidibe admits the job at times felt "demeaning." During the interview process, Sidibe says she was informed that she should portray herself as white, although she observed "the average talker" at the company was "a plus-size black woman." When detailing the different types of "talker" personas, she says "Ebony girl" was the least popular, adding, "It hurt my heart to cut my words and suck my teeth in an effort to sound more 'black' for the caller."

Before her two-month anniversary, she was promoted to receptionistand stayed at the company for three years.

Author: check.(Photo: Keenon Perry, Plethora Media Group)

Sidibe also infuses humor into a recount of her weight loss surgerywhich she failed to mention to her family or the Empire crew.

Prior to her procedure, she aimed to lose 10 pounds by working out and hiring a personal chef, which she acknowledges as "hella fancy."She still made sure to have a last-minute indulgence, as post-op she would have to stick to a liquid diet for three weeks.A few days before surgery she washed down Popeyes chicken, biscuits and fries with a Dr. Pepper and had her fill of champagne and tequila at a wedding.

Sidibe shares the scariest part of the whole ordeal was the thought of going back to work on the FOX series without having warned anyone about the laparoscopic bariatric operation or its impending results. Ultimately, she decided the inconvenience of my morphing body would be outweighed by the pride theyd feel for my handling my own (expletive) and getting healthy by any means necessary.

Even with that newfound confidence, she admits to feeling nervous on the morning of the procedure that no one in her family knew about. I was filled with butterflies, she writes, but kept imagining them being shot down with the surgeons lasers.

Sidibe also explains her decisionwas not fueled by vanity.

I did not get this surgery to be beautiful. I did it so that I can walk around comfortably in heels," she shares. "I want to do a cartwheel. I want to not be in pain every time I walk up a flight of stairs. I want to stop worrying about losing my toes.

We are all here for taking care of yourself.

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Gabourey Sidibe details weight loss surgery, being phone sex operator - USA TODAY

A new study suggests there is no significant difference between fasting and the other popular weight loss strategy of simply restricting how many daily calories you consume. A new study suggests there is no significant difference between fasting and the other popular weight loss strategy of simply restricting how many daily calories you consume.

(CNN) - Whether you watch what you eat by counting your daily calories or practicing intermittent fasting, either approach can be effective for weight loss, a new obesity study suggests.

Intermittent or alternate-day fasting requires routinely alternating between eating little or no food and then feasting in your daily diet. It has become a growing weight loss trend in the US, UK and other regions around the world.

The small study, which published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday, suggests there is no significant difference between fasting and the other popular weight loss strategy of simply restricting how many daily calories you consume.

"We basically showed that they both produce a clinically significant amount of weight loss," said Krista Varady, a professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois in Chicago and lead author of the study.

"Instead of being better than calorie restriction, it's the same," she said about alternate-day fasting. "So, it's kind of like an alternative to calorie restriction."

The study involved 100 obese adults in Chicago and was conducted between 2011 and 2015. The adults were randomly assigned into three different groups. For one year, each group had to adhere to either an alternate-day fasting diet, or a calorie restriction diet, or no diet.

For the alternate-day fasting diet group, participants could eat only about 25% of the calories that are recommended for a daily diet on fasting day, which was about 500 calories, and they fasted every other day. Fasting days alternated with feasting days, during which each participate could eat up to about 125% of the recommended calories.

The current US Dietary Guidelines estimates that various adult women need a range of 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day, depending on physical activity level. Estimates for adult men range from 2,000 to 3,000, depending on physical activity level.

For the calorie restriction diet group in the new study, participants simply restricted their daily calorie intake to about 75% of what's recommended.

Members in the fasting and calorie counting groups were provided meals for the first three months of the study and then were on their own for the last nine months, Varady said. Throughout the study, all participants were provided with counseling on portion sizes, how to monitor calories, and read food labels, she said.

By the end of the yearlong diet sessions, those in the alternate-day fasting group lost about 6% of their original body weight, whereas those in the calorie restriction group lost 5.3%, Varady said.

Even though both the alternate-day fasting and calorie restriction groups experienced similar weight loss amounts on average, the researchers found that a higher percentage of participants in the fasting group cheated on their diets, compared to the calorie restriction group.

The dropout rate in the alternate-day fasting group was 38%, versus 29% in the daily calorie restriction group, the researchers found.

"Even if the weight loss was a primary end point, I think that the question is really: What is the best strategy to get people to stick to a diet?" said Eric Ravussin, a professor at Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center and a co-author of the new study.

"We know daily calorie restriction -- if you have to count your calories everyday and all that -- it's a tough one. I think that there's some hope that this alternate-day fast, or modified fast, would be a better or easier strategy, but ... the dropout rate is kind of alarming," Ravussin said.

Varady said that, before the study, she thought the alternate-day fasting would be an easier diet to adhere to because it allowed for a "break" from dieting everyday.

"We were a little bit shocked to see that it was actually the calorie restriction group that seemed like they could stick better to their daily calorie goals. Whereas the alternate-day fasting group, they were kind of wavering," said Varady, who authored a book about alternate-day fasting called "The Every-Other-Day Diet."

"Instead of eating the 500 calories on the fasting days they were eating a couple hundred calories more on those days," she said.

Varady is already hoping to conduct follow-up research to track the various diets over a longer period of time, she said.

In the future, she would like to explore whether allowing study subjects to voluntarily opt to join either a fasting or calorie restriction group might influence study results.

All in all, the new study showed that alternate-day fasting may be difficult to follow, but can be effective in reducing obesity, said Valter Longo, a professor at the University of Southern California and director of the university's Longevity Institute. He was not involved in the study.

However, "because it requires a major effort every other day, it is unlikely to be applicable to the great majority of the obese population, particularly in the absence of the close monitoring carried out in the clinical study," Longo said.

For overweight or obese adults who might be interested in alternate-day fasting as a weight loss approach, Varady advised to take the time to really determine whether it is the best option.

"Alternate-day fasting doesn't seem to work very well in people who are frequent snackers. People who need to eat every two hours, they don't tend to fare well on this diet, whereas people that just naturally tend to go a long period of time without eating, like four to five hours ... those people actually tend to do much better," Varady said.

"I really think people just need to find what works for them," she said. "Not one diet fits everyone."

Additionally, fasting potentially could be harmful for people with certain health conditions, such as diabetes -- so consult your doctor before attempting any major changes in your daily diet, such as alternate-day fasting.

"I don't think there's anything magical to the diet at all," she said about alternate-day fasting. "I think it's just another way of tricking people into eating less food or helping people to kind of monitor how much food intake there is, or how much food they're taking in."

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Study: Fasting no better than calorie counting for weight loss - Tristatehomepage.com

Getty Images (3); Gif by Lauren Margit Jones for TIME

Losing weight is hard, which is why weight loss experts have long searched for different approaches to make it easier for people. One strategy gaining steam is intermittent fasting , where people fast or lower their calories substantially for a short period of time. (This diet plan also has potential lifespan-extending benefits .)

But new research published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that the fasting diet may not be the weight loss key it's been hyped up to be.

In the new trial, researchers wanted to know whether people who tried a fasting diet would be more successful than those on a standard diet. They told 100 people with obesity to follow one of three diets for a year. Some were told to cut their calorie consumption by 25% per daya typical calorie restriction dietwhile others did an alternate-day fasting diet, where they ate about 500 calories on fast days and whatever they wanted on feast" days. The last group, which served as the control group, ate what they normally would.

MORE : You Asked: What's the Best Way to Lose Weight?

The researchers expected that the people in the fasting group would lose more weight and have an easier time sticking to the diet than regular dieters, but the results didn't reflect that. At the end of the year, people who did the fasting diet and those who just cut calories both lost an average of 13 pounds. However, people in the fasting group actually had a harder time sticking to the diet, and more people in that group dropped out of the study.

MORE : 100 Super Healthy and Filling Foods

I really thought people would have an easier time and lose more weight on the [fasting diet] and I was shocked they lost the same amount, says study author Krista Varady, an associate professor of nutrition the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of the book The Every-Other-Day Diet. The take-home message for me is that this diet isnt for everyone.

The researchers also did not find significant differences in other health measures between the dieting groups, like blood pressure, heart rate or insulin resistance. Varady says that while half of the people in the fasting group "could barely do the diet," there were several people who were very successful, losing between 20 to 50 pounds. Those findings suggest that some people do respond well to the diet.

Still, what works for one person clearly doesnt work for everyone. If people have failed other diets, maybe this will work, Varady says. People will pick what diet works best for them."

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Fasting Isn't Better for You Than Regular Dieting - TIME

Via, Detroit Medical CenterForget about the stereotypical image of a doughnut-eating cop; in the Motor City it has become totally outdated, thanks to the 61-Day Challenge, a partnership between the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) and the Detroit Police Department (DPD).

James E. Craig, Chief of Police for the Detroit Police Officer, who believes physically fit officers are better equipped to perform their duties and keep their communities safe, implemented the programwith cadets given health and fitness benchmarks that they must reach and maintainto keep the force held to high standards. In its fifth year, the campaign focuses on fitness, nutrition, health education, and commitment to living a healthier life.

Every year, participants challenge each other to lose weight, lower blood pressure, and increase their overall health. The program provides health screenings and educational sessions that have helped hundreds of police officers drop thousands of pounds. The program doubles as a way to raise awareness to obesity while also giving police officers a chance to better serve and protect their community. (In Michigan alone, an estimated 30.7 percent of adults were classified as obese, and another 34.9 percent were classified as overweight.) Raising awareness to the problem and providing a solution, Detroit Medical Center (DMC) has been teaming up with the Detroit Police Department (DPD) to get law enforcement fit and healthy for the job since 2012.

Over the years, this program has delivered stellar results! says Chief Craig, who notes that, along with officers losing thousands of pounds, theyve also been able to forgo medications for conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. (Dont miss these incredible weight-loss transformations.) Some of the participants were even able to find serious health-related issues thanks to the complimentary screenings provided by DMC.

In addition to physical health, the program also addresses mental health. Officers need to have a clear mind in order to perform at the highest level and physical fitness is a great way to alleviate the stresses that come with the job. This profession produces an extreme amount of stress and if the officers dont use a positive refuge like exercise, it is easy for them to turn to reckless habits as coping mechanisms, says Chief Craig.

The challenge has raised officer morale, too. When officer morale is high, productivity increases. The DMC challenge and the pledge DPD takes not only makes law enforcement more physically capable to protect and serve, but also works to improve their mental state of health, says Chief Craig. As a result, the community is stronger as a whole.

Chief Craig says he borrowed the idea from his good friend, Reginald Eadie, MD, regional COO at Detroit Medical Center and author of the program. His approach to a community focused health and wellness program inspired me to take it back to my department and from there, the partnership was born.

As part of the partnership, DMC physicians to speak to the officers and staff about various health condition and community outreach nurses conduct health screenings at the precincts. at both our headquarters and precincts.

DMC 61 Day Challenge creator, Dr. Eadie, explains, The DMCs 61 Day Challenge was created to serve as a resource for individuals and groups, like the Detroit Police Department, who are looking for guidance in support of their wellness activities. Partnering with the Detroit Police Department fulfills our mission of helping people live happier and healthier lives. Its our honor to support the men and women who protect our communities.

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Detroit's Police Department: Weight Loss Story | Reader's Digest - Reader's Digest

DEAR DOCTOR: Can you give me some ideas on how to lose weight while using a wheelchair? I'm 66 and need a wheelchair to get around. When the distance is short enough, I use crutches. I'm on a tight budget, but try to work out as much as I can, with very little results. I'm getting depressed because nothing seems to work.

DEAR READER: One look at the multibillion-dollar weight-loss industry, and it's clear that staying fit is difficult for many of us. And while limited mobility certainly adds to the challenge, with creativity and determination, you can win this battle.

When you use a wheelchair, it's particularly important to get fit and to maintain a healthy weight. Even a few excess pounds can make it more difficult to get into and out of a wheelchair. In that same vein, you need your shoulders, arms and abs to remain strong so you can easily move into and out of the chair, and to prevent injury as you do so.

Let's start with what you eat. Focus on a diet made up of a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, dairy products, healthy fats, legumes, whole grains and leafy greens. Limit added sugars, and cut out empty calories like sodas and processed snack foods. The key here is to adjust your diet to your level of physical activity.

One tool that really works (and takes a bit of courage to do honestly) is keeping a food diary. Even if just for one week, write down everything that passes your lips. The details will jolt you into awareness and, quite possibly, motivate you to make some changes.

As for exercise, the days of the sedentary wheelchair-user are over. There are several exercises you can do from your chair.

With a pair of hand weights, you can keep your biceps, triceps, pectorals and even your abs strong and toned. Resistance bands are another way to maintain strength and range of motion.

An exercise ball is an excellent workout tool. Hold it above your head and, as you engage your stomach muscles, slowly rotate from left to right and back again. Lift the ball above your head and slowly lower it, again engaging your abdominals. Hold the ball above your head, once again engaging your abs, and perform slight tilts to the points of the compass.

With all of these, the idea is to start slow and gradually build up repetitions. Stop if you feel any pain. And be sure to drink water and stay hydrated.

Is there a senior citizen center in your area? Many of them have exercise and yoga classes that can be adapted for someone using a wheelchair. Some even have sports teams that will make room for a rolling athlete.

A challenge for all of us as we get older is social isolation. A group activity can help you feel connected, which will raise your spirits and keep you motivated.

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Weight-loss options exist for the wheelchair-bound - Auburn Citizen

Until recently, Joy-Anna Duggar was not one of the most high-profile members of her famous family, for no rhyme or reason.

In a clan the size of the Duggars, there are bound to be certain siblings who receive more attention from fans and producers.

That's changed in a big way, though.

These days, however, Joy-Anna is engaged toAustin Forsyth and fans are loving the flurry of activity leading up to her wedding.

Buta new photo of the 19-year-old has sparked concerns about how well Joy-Anna is handling the pressure of living in the limelight.

The image of Joy-Anna with her younger sister Josie shows that the bride-to-be - who will marry Forsyth in October - has lost a considerable amount of weight in recent weeks.

Is that cause for alarm?

Many card-carrying members of DuggarNation have congratulated Joy-Anna and commented favorably on her new appearance.

Others, however, have expressed concern - and reached their own conclusions - about how quickly she seems to be shedding the pounds.

The above photo of Joy-Anna and Josie was posted on the Duggarsofficial Facebook page over the weekend, and the comments section was a testimonyto the strangely mixed reaction from fans.

"Wow. So beautiful!!! wrote one awe-struck follower.

I couldnt believe that was Joy!! She lost weight!!"

I didnt even recognize Joy until I noticed Josie, another commented, gushing over the picture of the siblings and adding:

Joy must have lost weight she looks so great.

Would-be brides slimming down before their wedding day is hardly a foreign concept, but some fans believe that Joy-Anna is slimming down much too rapidly.

She looks good but she is not a naturally thin person," one critic said. "Shes probably starving herself. She wont keep the weight off."

"She will gain again after the wedding, wrote the fan.

Others among theDuggar faithful hypothesized as to exactlywhy Joy-Anna and her sisters all maintain such svelte figures.

Could it be due to their strict religious beliefs?

Why it is important that the Duggar girls become underweight? It is not fair for the young ladies in the Gothard IBLP to be under so much pressure to be thin," wrote one concerned observer.

Yes, many believe that as with every other aspect of their lives, it's the Duggars' religious beliefs that guide their diet and exercise routines.

Indeed, the teaching materials for the controversial Institute of Basic Life Principles, which forms the religious basis for much of the Duggars' belief system, have much to say on the topics of diet and nutrition.

God is concerned about overeating and being over-weight, one passage reads.

Weight control requires consistent conformity to Gods principles of living.

In a 2014 interview with People magazine, family matriarch Michelle Duggarrevealed that she had battled bulimia as a child.

She credited her husband Jim Bob and the IBLP with helping her overcome her eating disorder and body image issues.

In the recent memoir Growing Up Duggar, the ladies of the Duggar clan shared their own weight loss struggles with fans:

When we were younger, most of us could eat about anything we wanted to and not gain weight," the text reads.

"But those times have changed. Weve found that most of us older Duggars have a tendency to gain weight."

Whatever they're doing, it appears to be effective.

That doesn't mean, of course, that their chosen method of shedding pounds is necessarily healthy. What do you think?

Is this something to worry about? Or are the fans once again picking apart photos a little too obsessively here?

Joy-Anna Duggar: 13 Things to Know About Me!

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Joy-Anna Duggar Weight Loss Photo Stirs Controversy - The Hollywood Gossip

Washington Nationals center fielder Adam Eaton tore a ligament in his left knee and his season is likely over, the team confirmed Sunday.

General manager Mike Rizzo said Eaton has a full thickness ACL tear, plus a meniscus tear and a high ankle sprain.

In Fridays 7-5 loss to the visiting New York Mets, the 28-year-old Eaton stepped awkwardly on the bag when he beat out a throw to first in the ninth inning. He fell down and then needed assistance leaving the field, keeping weight off his left leg.

Its probably the worst pain Ive ever felt in my life, Eaton said. When I heard it pop I thought it was my ankle, and it was my ACL, it wasnt my ankle. I looked down to basically see if I saw any bones and make sure that everythings still there.

Eaton, who went on the 10-day disabled list Saturday, was Washingtons biggest offseason acquisition, arriving from the Chicago White Sox in a trade that included the Nationals top two pitching prospects plus a 2016 first-round draft choice.

He was hitting .297 with two homers and 13 RBIs, reaching base safely in 20 of 23 games for the NL East leaders.

Pirates Kuhl injured Pittsburgh Pirates righthander Chad Kuhl left his teams game at Miami in the fifth inning Sunday after he was hit in the leg by Dee Gordons sharp one-hopper.

The ball caromed off the inside of Kuhls right leg near his knee, and he collapsed in pain as Gordon reached on a single. Kuhl was examined by a trainer, rose and threw several warmup pitches but then left the game, walking to the dugout accompanied by manager Clint Hurdle.

Brewers Braun leaves Ryan Braun left the Milwaukee Brewers game against Atlanta because of arm soreness and tightness in his right trapezius, a large muscle that extends from the shoulder into the upper back. Braun was removed after the sixth inning, but said he didnt expect to go on the disabled list.

Rangers claim Kozma The Texas Rangers claimed infielder Pete Kozma off waivers from the New York Yankees and made room for him by sending utility man Jurickson Profar to Triple-A Round Rock.

Kozma was designated for assignment by the Yankees on Friday when shortstop Didi Gregorius was activated from the 10-day disabled list after recovering from a right shoulder strain sustained while playing for the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic.

The 29-year-old Kozma was one for nine in 11 games with the Yankees. He made three starts at shortstop.

A first-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2007, Kozma is a career .221 hitter in 286 games. His first five big league seasons were with the Cardinals. Kozma spent 2016 with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Yankees system.

Davis is ailing Orioles first baseman Chris Davis was removed from the starting lineup about an hour before game time because of a sore right elbow he was 0 for 7 with five strikeouts since he was hit on the elbow Friday by a pitch from New Yorks CC Sabathia. Davis played first base late in the game.

Rangers donating proceeds The Rangers are donating the proceeds from Sundays Texas 2 Split drawing to the relief and recovery efforts after the violent tornadoes and storms in East Texas on Saturday. Four people were killed during the storms near Canton.

The thoughts and prayers of everyone in the Texas Rangers organization are with the families who are mourning the loss of loved ones and with everyone who was affected by these massive storms, said Texas Rangers Foundation chairman Neil Leibman in a release.

The Rangers Foundation conducts the Texas 2 Split Raffle for every home game at Globe Life Park. One fan has the opportunity to win half of the net proceeds raised each game, with the remaining proceeds benefiting the Rangers Foundation and its many community initiatives and programs.

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MLB notes: Nationals confirm Eaton has torn ACL - STLtoday.com

Losing weight is hard when it seems like youll spend every day of the rest of your life deprived, poking at oatmeal and steamed broccoli. So, in the past few years, fasting diets have become popular. You eat very little one day, sure, but the next day you can eat all the burritos and burgers you desire. Then, not only do you lose weight more quickly, it makes it psychologically easy to hold on in the long run.

This makes intuitive sense. But a new study published today in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine suggests this might not be the case for a specific type of fasting diet called alternate-day fasting. The researchers randomly assigned 100 obese participants to either fast every other day, go on a more traditional diet, or do nothing at all. After a year, the people in the fasting group didnt lose more weight, or have more health benefits, compared to the normal weight-loss group and more people dropped out of the fasting group.

People in the fasting group ended up both over and undereating

That doesnt mean that alternate-day fasting doesnt work, says study co-author Krista Varady, a professor of nutrition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. It just means that its not necessarily much more effective than normal dieting. Varady has led the research on alternate-day fasting, and has even written a book promoting it. (This information is included in the papers conflict of interest disclosure.) Her previous studies suggested that this regimen helped people lose weight more quickly, was easier to stick to (once you got over the first two weeks, which are challenging), and had good effects for other health indicators like cholesterol. But those studies only followed the participants for two or three months. Todays study is the first long-term and randomized study weve had on alternate-day fasting, following participants for an entire year. Some people might be disappointed if youre pro-intermittent fasting, but its just exciting to have this type of high-quality data out there, says Grant Tinsley, a Texas Tech University professor who has studied intermittent fasting and was not involved in the study.

For todays study, the people in the alternate-day fasting group were told to eat about 25 percent of their normal daily calories on their fast days and 125 percent on their feast days. The people in the normal dieting group just cut about 25 percent of their calories every day. Nobody was allowed to join a gym. At the end of the year, both groups had lost about 6 percent of their body weight, and there werent a lot of differences when it came to things like cholesterol, insulin resistance, and blood pressure.

When it comes to the lack of other health benefits, Tinsley says this may be because alternate-day fasting is not exactly a true fasting diet. Individuals usually take their one meal in the middle of the day, so that breaks up the fasting period in half, whereas some other programs have the goal of prolonging that fasting period because of the various metabolic changes, he says. In some ways, its really just a very low-calorie intake one day, so its possible that could play a role.

Its important to note that about 30 people dropped out of the study, which always skews the data, especially when there are only 100 people to begin with. Plus, more people dropped out of the alternate-day fasting group, and the people who remained had trouble sticking to instructions. I was pretty shocked to find out that people had a harder time sticking to alternate-day fasting than they did daily calorie restriction, says Varady. They were eating more calories than prescribed on the fast day and also eating less calories than prescribed on the feast days than what we thought, whereas daily calorie restriction was pretty good at sticking to their calorie goals.

This means that, in the end, the fasting and normal dieting groups ended up eating much more similar amounts of food. It also suggests that sticking to the diet is challenging in the long run. Jason Fung, a doctor who runs an intermittent fasting clinic and was not involved in the study, says that trying to restrict to 500 calories might be harder than not eating at all. People have to understand that if you start eating, youre going to want to continue eating, he says. Its like when you have to go to the bathroom when you start peeing you gotta pee out the whole thing and it takes a lot of willpower to stop. In his clinic, he frequently counsels people to fast for an entire day or more and just plan their schedule around that, instead of rummaging in the cupboards and trying to control themselves. He also works to create more individualized plans, though he acknowledges that there are high dropout rates there, too.

Fasting research has only picked up in the past couple of decades, so we still dont know a lot about why some people might find it easier than others. Ultimately, says Fung, the data suggests that both calorie restriction and fasting are viable options for weight loss.

Ive done alternate-day fasting for years, on and off, along with regular dieting. I always liked the idea of fasting more, especially since Im not a snacker and have always had erratic eating patterns anyway. I liked not feeling deprived all the time, and knowing I could have a proper meal in 12 hours helped with the fast days. But over time, it became too hard to stick to.

For now, Fung says, fastings effectiveness might depend on preference. I dont think that theres one approach that really works for everybody and you really have to find what people like, some people like chocolate and some people like vanilla, you cant say one is wrong and ones right, he adds. Its a personal thing, but in a randomized trial like this, youre taking people and saying you are getting chocolate, do you like it? and might be shoehorning them into a dietary method which doesnt work.

Fung has a point: it really is incredibly easy to go over the fast day allotment, which for someone of my size is 500 calories basically two Clif bars. But I also run and just cant go entire days without eating. The schedule was hard on my social schedule, since people unfortunately dont invite you out to dinner on neatly alternating days.

Alternate-day fasting isnt the only type of fasting diet, Tinsley, the Texas Tech professor, points out. Theres the 5:2 diet, where you fast for only two days a week, or various types of intermittent fasting where you only eat within a certain time interval. Theres even a fasting-mimicking diet where you fast for five days a month thats been shown to have good results, though that version of fasting hasnt been used enough to have a lot to compare it to. Varady adds that todays results shouldnt be generalized too broadly. Next, her team is doing research on the effects of alternate-day fasting on diabetics.

In the end, the diet made me too irritable on my fast days and even the promise of a large meal in the future didnt make me less prone to yelling at everyone. I still go back to ADF every so often, but Ive become more realistic about what I can handle.

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Fasting every other day isn't as good of a weight loss method as you think - The Verge