FAQs

Hundreds of scientific studies have been published that examine the effect of intermittent fasting on body weight and risk factors for disease. Results from these studies show that intermittent fasting can help people lose weight and reduce belly fat while maintaining the majority of their muscle mass. These diets have also been shown to lower heart disease risk by reducing ‘bad’ cholesterol levels and blood pressure, while increasing ‘good’ cholesterol levels. Intermittent fasting may also be protective against diabetes by lowering insulin and insulin resistance. As if that wasn’t enough, these diets have also been shown to improve brain function and lower the risk for Alzheimer’s disease. To read more about the science and medicine behind SuperFastDiet, click here.

SuperFastDiet is an intermittent fasting weight loss program where you have the option to choose from a number of different intermittent fasting options. Generally, these consist of either two, three or partial ‘fast days’ where you eat less than you normally would, restricting your calorie intake to either a quarter, half or 80% of your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) which is designed to achieve a weekly 20% calorie deficit. These ‘fast days’ are alternated with either five, four or partial ‘non-fast days’ (or ‘feast days’) where you eat normally. Recent studies show that people can lose between 0.5kg – 1kg per week using this method.

Intermittent fasting involves a period of not eating (or ‘fasting’) followed by a period of eating freely. There are several forms of intermittent fasting to choose from, including the 5:2 diet (aka 2 Day Fast), alternate day fasting (ADF), the 4:3 diet (aka 3 Day Fast) and the 16:8 diet (aka Part Day Fast). The 5:2 diet involves 2 days of fasting per week, where you lower to your calorie intake to 500 calories per day (or a quarter of your TDEE). On the other 5 days, you can eat normally, without having to count calories or monitor food intake. Alternate day fasting takes it one step further by adding a couple more fast days per week. More specifically, with alternate day fasting, you alternate between a 500-calorie fast day and a normal eating day, every other day. You can eat the meal all in one go or split it up in to mini meals. The 4:3 diet involves 3 days of fasting per week, where you lower your calorie intake to 1000 calories per day (or half of your TDEE. On the other four days, you can eat normally. The 16:8 diet (or Part Day Fast), is a little different from 5:2, 4:3 and alternate day fasting in that you fast a little bit every day. With 16:8 you are free to eat during an 8-hour window (let’s say 10am-6pm) then you would fast the rest of the day (6pm-10am). You can choose whatever 8-hour window works for you.

As long as you are eating nutritious food this will not be a concern, however, you may want to consider taking multivitamins if in doubt. If you are worried about not getting the recommended intakes of vitamins or minerals while doing intermittent fasting, we would strongly suggest taking a multivitamin/mineral supplement on both fast days and non-fast days. Keep in mind that vitamins and minerals are calorie-free, so they will not count towards your calorie allowance on fast day. Please only take the recommended dosage indicated on the bottle, and only take iron supplements if recommended by your doctor.

TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It’s a way of calculating how many calories you burn each day, just by how you live, what you do and what your activity level is. Calculating your TDEE will help you ensure that you’re eating the right number of calories on both fast days and non-fast days.

It’s worked out as an average activity level over the space of a week. And it’s better to underestimate than to overestimate. For example, if you spend most of the day sitting down, but you exercise a little, opt for ‘Sedentary’ rather than ‘Light Activity’ and you’ll get the best result for optimum weight loss.

It takes about 1-2 weeks to adjust to intermittent fasting. Most people report hunger and irritability during the first couple weeks, but this subsides quickly. Try your best to not give up on the diet during this initial period… it WILL get a lot easier!

One of the things people like best about this diet is the freedom to eat whatever they want on non-fast days. The ability to feel normal (not deprived) every other day may also help people stick to SFD for longer than daily calorie restriction. So, feel free to enjoy the foods you love on non-fast days!

Yes. At least to start with. Once you get used to eating the right amount for your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure), you’ll be able to ease up on counting, but it’s a good idea to count calories even on your non-fast day so that you can ensure you’re not going overboard, especially in the early stages.

Yes. In a recent study, scientists showed that normal weight and slightly overweight people can use the diet to drop the last 2-5kg, and achieve their ideal weight. Just keep in mind that as you are close to your ideal weight, your weight loss will likely be quite slow (about 0.45kg per week). To speed up the weight loss, you may choose to add in an extra fast day, or some extra exercise sessions each week.

BMI stands for Body Mass Index. It’s a widely used way of calculating the optimum weight range for your height. BMI is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in metres squared. It can help give you an idea of whether your weight is in the ‘Healthy’, ‘Under Weight’, ‘Overweight’ or ‘Obese’ range. Keep in mind that BMI is a guide only, and does not take into account age, ethnicity, body type, gender or body composition. BMI should not be used by those under 18, athletes or to calculate healthy weight for pregnant women. We recommend pairing your BMI with other measures such as waist circumference, body fat percentage and having your doctor check other risk factors as well. According to the National Health and Medical Research Council, a BMI of 20-25 is considered healthy for most adults.

Our research shows that people don't (or maybe even can't) binge on the non-fast day. The two day fast is equivalent to 25% of a person’s energy needs, the three day fast is equivalent to 50% of a person’s energy needs and the partial day fast is equivalent to 80% of a person’s energy needs. Essentially, they all result in the same outcome: a reduction in your weekly calorie intake by around 20%. When scientists first started studying this diet, they assumed that people would eat 175% or 150% of their calories on the non-fast day, to fully compensate for eating only 25% or 50% of their calories on the fast days. This isn't the case though. Recent findings show that people only eat about 110% of their daily calories on the feast day, instead of the predicted 175%. Why is this? They don't fully know, but it’s presumed that it involves stomach shrinking, or an increased sensitivity to fullness signals. Studies are currently underway to find out what is responsible for this effect.

Yes, it's fine if you drink alcohol on your non-fast days. However, we generally advise against consuming alcohol on the fast day since 1-2 drinks may account for your entire 500-1000 calorie allowance on that day. Since alcohol is completely deficient in nutrients, it's much better to eat actual food on the fast day.

At this point, scientists have only examined whether the diet works when eating high fat foods. Results from this high fat study indicate that people can lose just as much weight while eating high fat foods on fast days and non-fast days, as compared to eating low fat foods on these days. Whether these same effects are noted with a low glycemic diet or high protein diet, have not yet been tested, but scientists hope to study this soon.

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Yes. However, you may find it difficult to exercise during the first week or two of the diet. We recommend letting your body adjust to the SFD eating pattern for 2 weeks, and then start (or restart) your exercise regimen.

We strongly recommend exercising before the meal on your fast day. People tend to have a hunger surge about 40 minutes after exercising. Thus, if you exercise before your meal, you will have that meal in place to satisfy your hunger. In contrast, if you exercise after your meal, you may be more likely to eat another meal on the fast day to sooth the hunger surge.

Technically, you can, but we don’t recommend it. People tend to grossly overestimate the number of calories they burn while exercising. This happens because most exercise machines overestimate calories burned by 50-100%. For instance, a typical elliptical machine will tell you that you've burned 300-400 calories in 30 minutes, when in actuality, most people will only burn 100-200 calories. Because of this overestimation, people often leave the gym thinking they can eat a 400-calorie snack. However, if they do this (when they've only truly burned 150 calories), they will be eating 250 calories more for the day, completely negating the effect of the exercise!