[wilsonnb2]

I'd be curious to know why the many online advocates of intermittent fasting (and other time restricted diets) think it's any different than the many other fad diets that have come, gone, and come again.

Diets in general seem to bring out the obsessive optimization that many (especially on this website) are prone too and the "one quick trick" mentality.

I'll be surprised if there is ever any better advice than "eat food. not too much. mostly plants".

[scottLobster]

Because unlike other fad diets I've actually experienced weight loss, less hunger, better focus, more stable energy levels, lower blood pressure, better sleep, not to mention cost savings on food, since starting a 16/8 intermittent fast. YMMV, but for many people the benefits are quite stark and palpable beyond possible placebo effect.

Sure it's annecdotal, but there's serious science behind some of the benefits (see this article among other studies). To flip your question around, why are you skeptics so certain that it's just another fad diet that will come and go? IF can actually be a useful enforcement mechanism for the first two parts of "eat food, not too much, mostly vegetables"

[wilsonnb2]

> why are you skeptics so certain that it's just another fad diet that will come and go?

Because, like most skeptics, we have seen this pattern before. Supposed scientific support and loads of anecdotal evidence are common to all popular fad diets. The scientific support of IF is also much less solid than it's advocates would have you believe.

> IF can actually be a useful enforcement mechanism for the first two parts of "eat food, not too much, mostly vegetables"

I agree with this - so can basically any other fad diet. People that recognize IF as a method of enforcing a basic CICO diet, I agree with. There are plenty of people that, like any other fad diet, think that IF is somehow special in ways unrelated to it's restriction of calories. That's what makes it the same as any other fad diet to me.

> I've actually experienced weight loss, less hunger, better focus, more stable energy levels, lower blood pressure, better sleep

People report this from atkins, vegan, paleo, keto, juice cleanse, weight watchers, south beach, etc. I am happy that you've found a diet that works for you. I hope that everyone finds a healthy diet that works for them.

I just want people to realize that CICO will always be the key to weight loss regardless of how it is achieved, and "eat food. not too much. mostly plants" will (probably) always be the key to a health diet.