Eat Stop Eat – A Unique Twist On Intermittent Fasting?

Eat Stop Eat Review

My First Experience With Intermittent Fasting

A good few years back, I read about intermittent fasting online. The website article was pretty convincing so I decided to give it a go. Though fasting gets damn easy once you get used it, it’s always difficult to stomach in the beginning. I tried it for a few weeks, saw some decent results, but decided to stop because those fasting days were just too damn difficult.

I would rather just have stuck to a strictly-monitored low-carb diet, just as long as it meant I could eat whenever I wanted.

The next time I tried intermittent fasting was after I read Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat. There’s one thing this book does that no amount of reading on the internet will do for you. It’s this one single factor that gave me what I needed to stick through with intermittent fasting, to the point where my fasting days actually became easier than my eating days.

What is this one single factor that made the difference? Well bear with me for a sec and I’ll tell you in a bit.

My Honest, In-Depth Review Of Eat Stop Eat

I’ve seen a lot of other reviews for Eat Stop Eat on the internet, but none of them really go inside and give you an in-depth look at what the book is all about. Now I’m not going to try and sell the book to you, in this review I’ll simply present the facts and let you decide if the book is right for you.

So here's the number one biggest question people have when deciding whether or not they should buy the book:

“What’s Unique About Eat Stop Eat – What Will It Do For Me?”

It’s true that you can read about intermittent fasting online and gather all the information you need to get started for free. But I personally benefited from Eat Stop Eat in a way that I didn’t from all the stuff I had previously read online.

See, after a good 7 years of being a personal trainer and almost a lifetime of studying health & fitness, I’ve come to realize that the single most important factor that decides whether or not a person will actually stick to a new health program, is whether or not you believe the method will actually work.

If you start out with intermittent fasting when you’re not too sure if it will work, you just want to “give it a go” to find out what happens, then chances are you’ll try fasting a few times and then just give up in the first few weeks.

If on the other hand you are totally and utterly convinced that this method will work, then despite the difficulties you face with fasting in the beginning, you will persist through the few initial weeks of discomfort, until intermittent fasting becomes an easy and natural part of your life.

Brad Pilon is a pioneer in intermittent fasting. This guy has thoroughly done his research, and in his book, Eat Stop Eat, he outlines all the scientific evidence you need, to be totally convinced that intermittent fasting will work for you.

If you’re going to try any new method of dieting, exercising, or learn any new skill, the first thing you need to do is to be convinced that the method will work. When it comes to intermittent fasting, from the many books I have read on the topic, Brad Pilon is by far the most convincing in his book, Eat Stop Eat.

If you want to try intermittent fasting, then I strongly recommend you let Brad explain to you why it will work before you jump in.

In my opinion, that is the biggest selling point of the book.

“What Else Is Unique About Eat Stop Eat?”

It’s true that “Eat Stop Eat” sounds like just a fancy name for “Intermittent Fasting”. But what  makes this book different from a a generic guide on intermittent fasting, is Brad draws from his own experience and goes into detail about his own unique recommendations on how you should fast.

Details like how often should you fast? How long should you fast for? What can and can’t you eat during a fast? How do you train while you are fasting?… He explains what to do when you find fasting too difficult, how to avoid common fasting mistakes, how to fit intermittent fasting into your lifestyle – what if for example, you’ve just started a fast and your friend calls you to go out for a munch? Brad not only gives you a detailed overview of intermittent fasting, he gets into all the nitty-gritty stuff as well.

What Do I Like Most About Eat Stop Eat?

There are of course, a lot of other things I like about the book, but here are my favorites. The first two I’ve already mentioned.

  • Uses lots of scientific evidence to convince you that intermittent fasting works. This gives you the motivation you need to persist through those difficult first few weeks of intermittent fasting.
  • Brad gives you his own unique take on how to fast intermittently. He gets into all the small details, so you always know what to do, while at the same time, backing it all up with scientific evidence.
  • It’s an easy read. Though the book is full of scientific references, it’s written in a way that non-scientists can understand.
  • It’s pleasantly short (I hate long books). The latest 5th edition has 176 pages, with 145 pages of content (the rest being a long FAQ section, followed by over 2 hundred scientific references).

Meh, What Do I NOT Like About Eat Stop Eat?

No book is perfect, and even Eat Stop Eat has its faults.

I think Brad disses all other diets a little too much in his book. Low carbohydrate diets have worked really well for me and my clients, but Brad is adamant that carbs are not the culprit, it’s all about eating “less”. Though eating less through intermittent fasting does work, so does eating less carbs.

I remember it was the great Vince Gironda who said you should stop counting calories and start counting grams of carbs in your diet. And Vince is hands down the biggest body sculpting guru there ever was.

Vince Gironda

“Start counting grams of carbohydrates. Forget counting calories.”… Vince Gironda

In my opinion, Brad also gives too much weight to the whole calories-in VS calories-out theory of body fat reduction. Though reducing your calories does help you to reduce body fat, we also know that your hormones play a big role in deciding whether you store any of the calories you take in as fat. Your hormones (and hence the amount of fat you store) are controlled largely by the type of food you eat.

Now the above are just a couple of points I disagree with. Brad still offers a lot of value in his book.

A Look Inside The Book

Who Is Brad?

Brad starts out by explaining who he is and why you should listen to him. He studied nutrition in university, then went on to work for the research & development department in one of the world’s leading supplement companies. After 6 years he had enough of the lies this industry spews out for the sake of profiteering. He left and went on his own journey to discover the truth about nutrition and fat loss, and that’s where Eat Stop Eat was born.

An Intro To Intermittent Fasting

Brad really works his magic in the first few chapters. He gives you all the scientific evidence you need to realize that intermittent fasting really does work. It’s all based on the premise that…

Prolonged caloric restriction is the only proven nutritional method of weight loss.

Now though I also believe there’s enough evidence to back prolonged carbohydrate restriction, it’s still true that the single most scientifically proven way to reduce body fat is to cut down your calories. I like to use starving Ethiopians as an example – you don’t see any of these folks walking around with a weight problem.

It’s also true however, that in reality, low calorie diets don’t work for most people. This is because it’s near impossible for most people to maintain a low calorie diet in the long-run. A low calorie diet can make you miserable, kill your energy, and stop you from enjoying all your favorite foods. Brad explains how intermittent fasting is different.

When you get into it (and I’ve experienced this too), you’ll find that intermittent fasting is actually a fun way to restrict your calories without feeling one bit deprived (you actually feel a great sense of achievement instead). You also don’t have to avoid your favorite foods, because you get to eat what you like on your eating days.

The Disappearance Of The Fasted State

Brad also explains how fasting has been a part of the human experience for as long as humans have existed. It’s only in the modern day that we have instant access to food 24/7, every single day of the year, and it’s no coincidence that we are also suffering from the highest rate of obesity in human history. Brad blames it all on the “disappearance of the fasted state”.

Can You Really Eat More And Lose Weight?

Brad talks about how the diet, food and supplement industries all benefit from you and me eating more. The whole “eat more and lose weight” mantra we hear today is part of a big conspiracy to get us to consume more and spend more of our money.

When it comes to weight loss, a lot of scientific research is funded by big industry, and unless you have a solid foundation in science, it’s hard to know what to believe. That’s where someone like Brad and his book, Eat Stop Eat, really come in handy.

Here are a couple of interesting facts straight from the book:

  • Each day in the United States, the food industry produces enough food to supply every single person with almost 4000 calories.”
  • “On top of that, 10 billion U.S. dollars per year goes into the advertising and promotion of this food.”

Busting Those Fasting Myths

Make no mistake. Eating makes us fat, and being fat makes us unhealthy and it makes us unhappy. So why then do we think we have to keep eating every few hours to maintain our health? There are scaremongers out there who tell us we have to eat protein every 3 hours or our muscles will break down, that if we don’t keep eating every few hours, our metabolism will go down and we’ll get fat, we’ll become hypoglycemic, lose energy, get dumb, stop moving and so on.

Now while some of this stuff is true for long-term fasting that lasts 3 days or more, Brad explains how none of it is true for intermittent fasting, where each fast typically lasts for 24 hours or less. And he backs it all with plenty scientific evidence.

The Myriad Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting

Unlike what the food and supplement industries will have us believe, fasting is good for you.

We humans have been fasting throughout most of history. Throughout most of history, we have had to work hard for our food. There were days when food simply was not available, and days when there was simply no time to eat because there was too much work to be done.

Whether you believe in evolution or natural selection, it makes sense that our bodies have come to expect short periods of deprivation – it’s ingrained in our DNA – and just like with exercise, our bodies have learned to benefit from fasting. And yes, the science confirms it. Brad goes on to explain how intermittent fasting actually benefits your metabolism, your capacity to grow muscle, your ability to lose weight, the functioning of your brain, your insulin sensitivity, ability to fight cancer, control your blood glucose levels… the list goes on.

The Eat Stop Eat Way Of Life

This is where Brad really draws from his own experience of the kind of intermittent fasting regime that works best.

He also talks about the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle, and explains why it's so easy to stick to.

In my experience, Eat Stop Eat is easier on my life than a lifestyle of no diet or nutritional regulation whatsoever. Seriously, once you get used to fasting, you start to look forward to your fasting days because they're so super-easy and super-productive – no having to go shopping for groceries, no cooking, no preparing meals… and it makes you appreciate food all that much more when you DO get to eat. Brad puts it best when he says:

“In fact, with Eat Stop Eat you are losing fat by doing nothing: not cooking, not eating, and not worrying about what you will eat when you’re eating”

As well as giving you a general overview of how you should fast, Brad goes into all the nitty-gritty little details that you really need to know.

  • The single most powerful method that really makes fasting a breeze (p108).
  • How to fast without knowing that you are fasting – 2 simple techniques that make fasting easy (p123).
  • How to handle specific problems, like what to do if you find the first half of a fast really easy and the second half impossible to get through (or the other way round). Brad gives you a simple tweak to totally eliminate this problem (p108).
  • What to do when you are sick (p110).
  • How to mold Eat Stop Eat around your current lifestyle – like what if your friends suddenly decide you have to go for a meal with them on your fasting day? Here’s what to do… (p109).
  • What can and can’t you eat during a fast? on p110 Brad outlines 7 drinks that are permissible during a fast. These drinks have zero-calories, yet do a great job at curbing your hunger. Also, is it OK to consume say coconut water, xylitol, or other ‘almost' calorie free foods?
  • How to start out fasting (p108).
  • 2 common mistakes newbies to intermittent fasting make (p111).
  • The single most important trap that most new intermittent fasters fall into, and how to avoid it (this is also the one reason why most Muslim fasters in Ramadan never actually lose any weight) (p114).
  • How to avoid ‘fasting burnout' – a surefire way to failure (p110).
  • What to do to avoid ‘dreading' your next fast. How to ENJOY your fasts instead (p111).
  • The two forms of intermittent fasting that guarantee success, and the method of intermittent fasting that almost guarantees failure (p111).
  • How to use the magic of positive reinforcement to make intermittent fasting a success for you (p111).
  • The one single method that helped me (Garry) get to my first 24 and 36 hour fast with ease (second half of p124).

How To Eat On Non-Fasting Days

Brad really covers all bases by giving his advanced nutritional guidance on how you should eat when you are not fasting.

On page 122, he answers the question a lot of new fasters have in mind – “Will there still be any benefit from fasting if you totally stuff your face on your eating days?

How To Work Out With Eat Stop Eat

Like me, Brad recommends lifting weights while intermittent fasting. Studies have shown that resistance training while intermittent fasting helps to preserve muscle mass.

As I discuss in my advanced training program, the Chest Sculpting Blueprint, resistance training is the single most effective type of training for sustained fat loss, muscle growth, and physique development. Combining resistance training with intermittent fasting has been working wonders for my clients.

Brad shows how much of an honest and genuine guy he is by admitting that he is not an expert in training. His specialty lies in nutrition. Saying that, as a personal trainer myself, I can see that Brad’s exercise advice is pretty darn sound. When you visit his Eat Stop Eat page, you’ll see that he has a pretty sculpted physique himself, so I think he’s being a tad too modest in his book. I suspect Brad knows more about training than he lets on.

In his book, Brad gives you all the details you need to structure a training program around your intermittent fasting lifestyle. He covers the essentials of training very well, like progressive resistance, how often you should train while intermittent fasting, how many reps and sets you should do. On p132, he also helps you design your own workout program.

Is It Worth Doing Cardio With Eat Stop Eat?

On page 134, Brad outlines an interesting study, where a bunch of obese women were put on an extremely low, 520-calorie per day diet. They were divided into 4 groups:

  • Group 1 did no exercise.
  • Group 2 did cardio for 1 hour 4 days a week.
  • Group 3 did resistance training 4 days a week.
  • Group 4 did resistance training AND cardio 4 days a week.

The results of this study were shocking, and revealed to you on page 134.

Will combining Eat Stop Eat with cardio enhance your weight-loss efforts? Brad answers this question on pages 134-137.

The Rest of The Book

Brad finishes off with a section on the health benefits of exercise, followed by a section on how to “keep it off” with Eat Stop Eat, and a very detailed and useful FAQ section, answering common questions like…

  • What if fasting gives you headaches?
  • How quickly will you lose weight on Eat Stop Eat?
  • Do you need to take any supplements while fasting?
  • What do you do about post-workout nutrition while fasting?
  • What is the best thing to eat when you break your fast?
  • How do you cure a growling stomach?

Summary

Wow, that was a hell of a long review. If you hate reading like I do, then I apologize, I just wanted to cover everything so you can make an informed decision on whether this book is right for you.

Just to quickly summarize, I’ve read many books and articles on intermittent fasting, and the two main reasons you would want to get a copy of Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat, are:

1. Brad being a pioneer in the field, is the best guy to convince you that intermittent fasting will actually work. I’ve tried intermittent fasting in the past and failed. It was only after reading Brad’s book that I finally managed to stick trough with it, and now I’m reaping the benefits.

2. Brad draws from his own experience to give you unique insights on how you should do intermittent fasting. He tells you about common mistakes that make newcomers to intermittent fasting fail, and tactics that can almost guarantee that you succeed.

There’s a lot of stuff in the book that you don’t see talked about anywhere else – not on the internet, and not in any other book, simply because Brad is a pioneer, and he is drawing from his own personal experience.

The book contains lots of convincing science, yet is packaged in a way that even your grandma could understand.

He gives you both a detailed overview of intermittent fasting, and answers all the nitty-gritty questions that everyone wants to know about, but no-one seems to be answering. Like how often do you fast? How long should you fast for? What can and can’t you eat during a fast? What do you do when you find fasting too difficult? How do you avoid common fasting mistakes? And how do you fit intermittent fasting into your lifestyle?

I have a few disagreements with Brad, but that doesn’t change the fact that his book has added a lot of value to my life. For the first time, I can easily maintain a flat chest and abs without feeling in any way deprived. This is the only method of body fat reduction that I have actually found enjoyable.

A Special (Free) Offer From Garry Davidson

A Free Guide That Replaces The Things Eat Stop Eat Misses Out…

I’ve written a short, 40-page report that covers the details Brad Pilon misses out in Eat Stop Eat. The report, called “Fasting For Fat Loss,” is the perfect companion to Eat Stop Eat, and I’m giving it away for FREE for a limited time. I’ll tell you how to get it below.

Fasting For Fat Loss – Why Would You Need It?

Here are some of the things that Fasting For Fat Loss covers, and Eat Stop Eat Does not.

Though Brad tells you how often to train, he doesn’t mention whether it’s OK to train on fasting days, VS training on non-fasting days. In Fasting For Fat Loss (p22-24) I give you a detailed explanation of why it may actually be beneficial for you to train on your fasting days. I also tell you if you should train in the beginning, middle, or end of the fast, with a section on “Training Tips For The Fasting Man”.

In Fasting For Fat Loss, I have a detailed section (p25-26) on how to lose man boobs with intermittent fasting.

In Eat Stop Eat, Brad only dedicates 2 short lines (on page 110, paragraph #5) to describe how you should fast when you first start out. In Fasting For Fat Loss, I have a whole chapter that shows you how to ease into fasting so you totally bypass that initial difficult phase. I describe how you can gradually acclimatize your body to fasting, what to do if you find fasting too difficult, “sneaky tactics for beating the hunger”, and how to “cheat” during a fast.

On page 33, I give you an account of my typical fasting day. Here, I tell you about a method that’s I really think is 10x more effective at killing hunger during a fast, than any method Brad mentions in his book. Well OK, Brad does mention it indirectly, but you’ll never know what it is unless you read Fasting For Fat Loss.

On page 32, I tell you about the one method responsible for helping me do my first 24-hour and my first 36-hour fast with EASE. To this very day, this one method helps me fast easily, WITHOUT bingeing as soon as I break my fast, without overeating on my eating days, and without feeling one bit deprived while on my fast.

When you get your free copy of Fasting For Fat Loss, you’ll realize that it’s a good book on its own, and it’s the perfect companion to Eat Stop Eat – it replaces the things Eat Stop Eat misses out.

How Do You Get Your Free Copy Of Fasting For Fat Loss?

Eat Stop Eat - Fasting For Fat Loss Offer

If you get yourself a copy of Eat Stop Eat using either one of the links below, just send me an email with a copy of your order number, and I’ll send you a copy of Fasting For Fat Loss for FREE.

It’s my way of saying “thank you” for reading my stuff.

Click here to get your copy of Eat Stop Eat

Why Am I Giving Fasting For Fat Loss Away For Free?

I’ll admit that I do want something in return. Fasting For Fat Loss is a new book, and it’s still a work in progress. I want to develop it more by adding in more content, so I’m giving it away for free because I need your feedback. The details on how to leave feedback are in page 41 of the book.

Click here to visit the Eat Stop Eat home page

6 thoughts on “Eat Stop Eat – A Unique Twist On Intermittent Fasting?”

    • Hi Markus. I have no objective data on whether intermittent fasting is better than low carb dieting. I have personally gotten excellent results from low carb dieting alone. My results skyrocketed when I added intermittent fasting (IF) to the mix. With my clients, there are those who are getting great results with either IF, or low carb. But by far the best thing you can do is to combine the two – where you intermittently fast twice a week, and eat low-carb on your eating days.

      When it comes to implementation, each approach has its pros and cons. Some find IF easier than low carb dieting, while others find the reverse to be true. Give ’em each a go and see how you get on. Like I say though, your best bet is to do both.

      Reply
  1. I like your review, but I think you've fallen for some of the same "tricks" that Brad talks about in his book with regards to your optimistic comments on carbohydrate restriction.  You say "though eating less through intermittent fasting does work, so does eating less carbs."  What you are failing to realize is that you are proving Brad's point in that very statement (his point being that calorie restriction is the only way to lose weight).  The reason that eating "less carbs" works is because taking in fewer carbs invariably leads to eating fewer calories.  Carbs tend to be less filling than protein.  Eating a high protein, low carb diet is an easy way to "trick" people into eating fewer calories while feeling full.  It's very hard to eat at a calorie deficit if you're eating high carb foods that aren't very filling.  But in the end, it's about the calories – period.  The bottom line is this: to lose weight, you must have a caloric deficit.  It doesn't matter if it's low carb, high carb, etc provided that you are in a calorie deficit in the end.  Even the books that tell you that you don’t have to count calories still ultimately trick you into eating less, by adjusting what you can eat (and sometimes when you can eat it). Low-carbohydrate, low-fat, the Zone, you name a diet and they are making you eat fewer calories in the long run. There’s simply no way to escape that, no matter what magic they promise.  It seems that you've sort of fallen for the low carb gimmick without realizing that it isn't the low carbs that's causing the weight loss – it's the lower calories.

    Reply
  2. Hi Garry,
    I already bought Eat Stop Eat more than one year ago and I’m glad for your review today. Especially re eating anything including carbs AND training while fasting. I have noticed myself that I have far more energy while working out after fasting for 12 or even more hours. Cant make sense of it my self. Could you send me your companion guide to Eat Stop Eat? Many thanks.

    Best,
    Jan

    Reply
    • Hi Jan. One reason you have more energy while training in the fasted state, is less of your body’s blood supply and resources are being expended on the process of digestion, so more of it can focus on your muscles, heart and lungs.

      You can get my intermittent fasting guide here:

      https://chestsculpting.com/untold-man-boob-secrets/

      If you bought Eat Stop Eat via the link on this page, then please email me with your order number and I’ll send you a free copy of my program.

      Reply

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