How To Make An Every Other Day 1200 Calorie Diet For Men Work

In the 1990's, an American scientist named Jose Luchsinger tested the idea that Alzheimer's disease was caused by the free radicals released by the oxidation of sugar and fat in the brain. The importance of diet, overeating, and diabetes in age-related cognitive decline involves a genetic factor, but Luchsinger learned that people who took a break for eating once or twice a week were significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer's. 

In the course of studying calorie restriction and Alzheimer's disease, Luchsinger also observed that:

• People who skipped a meal 2 or 3 times a week lost weight, even if they made up the calories they missed at the next meal.
• Giving the body a break from food lowers blood pressure, cholesterol, and free radical production (which transforms cholesterol into artery-clogging plaque).
• The weight loss during every-other-day or twice-a-week fasting, really just skipping a single meal, came off from fat, not from muscle.

There are some very specific reasons men get better results from following a 1200-calorie diet every other day rather than every day.

• The pancreas releases insulin to transport the sugars digested from food after meals. Insulin does not just transport glucose into cells. It also "locks" fat inside fat cells so that even if you exercise, your muscles don't burn fat (unless you work out for about 2 hours or more). Skipping a meal means the pancreas does not have to release insulin to cover sugars from digested food and fat cells can release fatty acids and send them to the muscles to be burned.
• Cells use amino acids from food to make proteins. As long as more amino acids are coming in from food, they make proteins rather than repairing proteins. If you don't eat protein foods for about 18 hours, cells get a chance to perform autophagy, a kind of cellular "detox" that allows them to scrap old, misshaped, worn out proteins and improve the health of the cell.
• Giving your brain a break from food not only helps it repair free radical damage, it also stimulates the release of growth hormone. Ironically, not eating, for about 18 hours, increases growth hormone levels so your muscles grow faster the next time you work out. Muscles burn calories. The greater your muscle mass, the easier it is to burn fat calories.

This could even be a fast food breakfast sandwich and some fruit (although not a fast food breakfast sandwich with fries or hashed browns). Then eat a prepared meal of 400 calories, some salad, and maybe a cup of yogurt, or a sandwich and a small bag of chips. Then don't eat dinner, or anything else until the next day.

Your muscles won't be deprived of amino acids even if you work out when you are fasting. The body is capable of Buffering amino acids for use in building proteins for about 48 hours. (This means fasting 48 hours begins to threaten muscle mass. However, fasting for 18 hours does not.) Hard aerobic exercise is not a good idea when you skip meals, but if you do lots of hard aerobic exercise, chances are you do not need to go on a diet.

See Also: Diets That Work: The Pros And Cons Of Low-Calorie Diets

The next day, eat normal meals, but just one plate at each meal, and no snacks. Ideally, eating no more than 2000 calories on non-diet days gets the best results, but even if you continue your old habits, the calorie-reduction day will help you slowly lose weight. You will never be deprived longer than overnight, and you can take credit for your weight loss because you will have accomplished it with your own willpower, without special foods, without classes, without hiring a trainer. If you are diabetic, consult your doctor before pursuing this plan.