Eat Stop Eat: How to Build Muscle and Lose Fat by Fasting

Jul 28th, 2009 by Mehdi Posted in Reviews | Print

Eat Stop Eat

I first read about fasting in Steve Justa’s book Rock Iron Steel. He recommends fasting once a week for 20-24 hours. This would make you stronger and clean your body by getting all the toxins out of it.

A few years later I tried Ori Hofmekler’s Warrior Diet. On this diet you alternate daily 20h fasts with 4 hour feedings. I quit this diet after a few days because getting all your calories within a 4 hour time frame didn’t suit my lifestyle.

I didn’t give fasting much consideration after this. Until a few weeks ago while preparing the post How Many Meals Should You Eat Daily. Researching how meal frequency affects your metabolism got me interested in fasting again.

Studies show that eating every 3 hours doesn’t increase your metabolism. Less frequent meals or fasting doesn’t decrease your metabolism neither. Fasting can actually boost your metabolism during the first 36 hours.

But that wasn’t why I wanted to give fasting another try.


Your Relation with Food. For years I ate healthy from Monday to Saturday. On Sunday I ate mostly junk foods. This is now called the Cheat Your Way Thin diet: eating junk food this way accelerates fat loss and keeps you motivated.

It kept me fit. But after 10 years of lifting and eating healthy, I came to a point where I preferred to live without junk food. I wasn’t enjoying it anymore. And I was getting tired of the Sunday’s bloating & laziness.

I knew that the 2 reasons for the junk food consumption on Sunday were my laziness to cook, but also a need for variety. It seemed I needed a break from cooking rituals and whole foods once a week.

I was solving this with the Sunday’s junk food. And while it worked, it bothered me. Because it seemed this was nothing more than a habit. A bad habit. One I wasn’t enjoying and which seemed tough to break.


Fasting. This is what eventually got me to fasting. Too lazy to cook on Sunday? I would fast from now on instead of eating junk food. Fasting also teaches you to control your hunger & cravings. Sounded perfect.

I started looking for books on fasting. I discovered there weren’t a lot of useful ones. Most of them saw fasting only as a detox tool — advising fasting for up to 10 days — and didn’t consider the perspective of weight lifters.

There were only 2 approaches that could work: Martin Berkhan’s Leangains and Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat. I was tempted by Leangains, but since it’s similar to the Warrior Diet (16/8h fast/feed vs. 20/4h), I wasn’t sure I would like it.

More important: Martin Berkhan hasn’t released a system on Leangains yet. So unless you apply to his coaching program, you’ll have to read his blog & search forum posts to understand how it works.


Eat Stop Eat. A reader recommendation eventually made me go for Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat. And since I found the information inside it so helpful I decided to recommend it on StrongLifts.com. So I joined Brad’s affiliate program.

Eat Stop Eat is a downloadable eBook. It counts 90 pages and has the most up to date research about fasting, 46 references to be exact. Brad debunks myths on fasting, gives you all the benefits and explains exactly how to fast.

Eat Stop Eat is easy to apply. The only thing you need to do is fast 1 or 2x a week for 24 hours. You choose which days fit you best. Here are some of the benefits you can expect from Eat Stop Eat:

  • Lose Fat/Weight. Fasting 2x/week for 24h drops your calorie intake by 25%. It also boosts your fat burning hormones.
  • Build Muscle. Fasting causes no muscle breakdown and doesn’t slow down your metabolism. Brad debunks both myths in Eat Stop Eat.
  • Break Food Addiction. Hunger & cravings are often more mental than physical. Fasting teaches you to control both.
  • Save Money. Fasting 2x a week means 8 days per month less food. My monthly grocery bill dropped by about 20%.
  • Increase Productivity. My fasting days are the most productive ones: no cooking, no eating, no need to worry about food, …
  • Increase Energy Levels. You won’t feel tired or lethargic or weak at the gym. My trainings the day after fasting are often the best ones.


My Experience with Eat Stop Eat. I’ve been fasting 2x per week since almost 2 months. Sunday 8pm until Monday 8pm & Tuesday 8pm until Wednesday 8pm. I lift weights Tu/Th/Su, so 2x the day after fasting.

I haven’t experienced any strength loss. I actually feel stronger the day after fasting. I asked Brad if he had an explanation for this. His reply:

The fact that you no longer worry about nutrition, or put as much… dependency … into your nutrition, would let you concentrate on what really matters…

I’ve only lost about 1lbs/0,5kg. But that’s because I eat more carbs to meet my caloric needs. Body fat hasn’t increased although carb intake is higher. Grocery bill has dropped by 20%. Sunday’s junk fests are history.

The biggest benefit for me is increased productivity. I get more work done on the days I fast. Main reason is that those days are longer: no cooking and no eating saves me 3h/day. And I don’t need to worry about food.


Eat Stop Eat & StrongLifts 5×5. If you’re doing StrongLifts 5×5, here’s how your week could look like this when you do Eat Stop Eat:

  • Monday: StrongLifts 5×5 + 8 nutrition rules
  • Tuesday: rest + 8 nutrition rules
  • Wednesday: StrongLifts 5×5 + 8 nutrition rules
  • Thursday: rest + fast
  • Friday: StrongLifts 5×5 + 8 nutrition rules
  • Saturday: rest + 8 nutrition rules
  • Sunday: rest + fast


Special Offer for StrongLifts.com Readers. I reached out to Brad and told him I found the information in Eat Stop Eat useful so I wanted to recommend it on StrongLifts.com. I asked him if he could come up with some special deal.

Brad agreed. As a StrongLifts.com reader, here’s what you’ll get:

  • Eat Stop Eat. The 90 pages eBook in which Brad debunks the myths on fasting, explains the benefits and will teach you exactly how to fast.
  • How Much Protein.Debunks protein myths and teaches you how much protein you really need to build muscle. 121 pages eBook.
  • 10 Day Diet Solution. How to get rid of bad eating habits – like overeating – in less than 2 weeks. This eBook counts 25 pages.

You’d normally pay 109,85$ for this package. But if you order today you’ll only pay 57$ and save 52,85$ (almost 50%).

Click here to get the special Eat Stop Eat package today.

Eat Stop Eat comes with an 8-week risk free money-back guarantee. If you don’t like it, contact Brad and you’ll get your full money back. I’m confident, however, that you’ll like the information in Eat Stop Eat.

You can also get Eat Stop Eat only or the Eat Stop Eat Advanced package which contains additional audio material. Both are available from Brad Pilon’s site, click here now for more info.

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Hardgainers: 8 Reasons Why You Can’t Gain Weight

Jul 23rd, 2009 by Mehdi Posted in Gain Weight | Print

What are hardgainers? Common belief says people who can eat anything they want without gaining weight. They say hardgainers have a “fast metabolism”: they burn everything they eat. Or they don’t digest what they eat.

Myths. Gaining weight is all about eating more than you’re doing now. I know you think you eat a lot, but you don’t. Otherwise you wouldn’t be skinny. Your metabolism & genetics have nothing to do with it. Read on.


8 Reasons Why Hardgainers Can’t Gain Weight. Let’s start with the 8 most common mistakes hardgainers make when trying to gain weight.

  1. Lack of Food. Track your daily calorie intake using fitday. You’ll see that you’re not eating as much as you think you are.
  2. Wrong Food Choices. Foods like salad & spinach are healthy but won’t make you gain weight. You need calorie dense foods like pasta & nuts.
  3. Too Much Activity. A very physical job will burn much of the calories you eat. Without massive amounts of food, you’ll never gain weight.
  4. Training Wrong. You won’t gain weight doing isolation exercises like Curls. But you will with compound exercises like Squats & Deadlifts.
  5. Avoiding Fat Gains. Gaining weight without gaining fat is slow & hard. Usually it leads nowhere. Better: gain weight first, then lose the fat.
  6. No Consistency. No approach will work if you miss workouts, neglect to meet your daily caloric needs and change your approach all the time.
  7. Limiting Beliefs. You believe you have bad genetics, a fast metabolism and that you’ll always be skinny because everyone else is in your family.
  8. No Faith. You’ve given up all hope because everything you tried failed. You believe you’ll be skinny the rest of your life.


How to Gain Weight For Hardgainers. Eat more, eat the right foods, train hard, believe you can do it and most of all be consistent. To gain weight:

  • Set Goal Weight. Rule of thumb: 1kg for each cm above 1m. Check this table for example goal weights based on your height.
  • GOMAD. Drink 1 US gallon (4 liters) of whole milk each day. Every single day, no matter what. Read the GOMAD guide for more info.
  • Eat Every 3 Hours. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, post workout and 2 snacks. Prepare your food in advance so you don’t skip meals.
  • Eat +5000kcal/day. How much calories you need depends upon the individual. But 5000kcal/day will make most hardgainers gain weight.
  • Use Fitday. Track everything you eat so you have accurate feedback on your daily caloric intake. Eat +5000kcal each day, no matter what.
  • Get Stronger. Increase your Squat to 1.5x your body-weight for at least 1 rep. With hips going lower than knees. Check Stronglifts 5×5.
  • Track Results. Take pictures front/side/back, measure body fat using a fat caliper and weigh yourself every 2 weeks. Keep a training log.
  • Believe. You’re not a hardgainer. You were just not eating enough and eating the wrong foods. You’ll do it right this time.
  • Be Consistent. Eat 5000kcal every single day and never skip workouts. Persist until you’ve achieved your goal weight.


For “Stubborn” Hardgainers. If you’re really active, doing a very physical job or commuting to work with your bike each day for 20miles, then 5000kcal per day might not be enough for you to gain weight.

Solution: eat more. Keep using Fitday and weigh yourself every 2 weeks. If you don’t gain weight with 5000kcal/day, eat 6000kcal/day. Still not gaining weight: 7000kcal/day. Still not? 8000kcal/day.

It’s a lot of food, but once you’re used to 5000kcal/day, 6000kcal will be easy. Same when going from 6000 to 7000kcal/day. Read Bluestreak’s story: he ate 9000kcal on some days. Result: 25lbs weight gain in 25 days.


Best Foods to Gain Weight. Calorie dense foods are the best ones for weight gain. Go to NutritionData and search for calorie dense foods. Here are some of the best foods your weight gain diet should include:

  • Whole Milk. Rich in proteins, saturated fats & carbs. GOMAD gets you 2400kcals/day. Whole milk is the best food to gain weight fast.
  • Pasta. 250G pasta equals 1000kcal. Pasta is easier to eat than rice or oats. Although less healthy, white pasta is even easier to eat.
  • Mixed Nuts. Can be expensive but 500kcal/100g, lots of protein to build muscle and easy to take with you. Peanut butter also works.
  • Bananas. The only fruit that really works to gain weight is the banana. Apples come second. Go heavy on bananas.


Meal Plan for Hardgainers. 1 gallon of whole milk and 500g pasta totals for 4500kcal. Eat every 3 hours and you’ll easily get 5000kcal/day. Here’s an example weight gain diet. It’s repetitive but simple & efficient.

  • Breakfast: whole eggs, veggies, orange, green tea.
  • Snack: 1 liter whole milk, mixed nuts, banana.
  • Lunch: 250g pasta, tomato sauce, ground round.
  • Snack: 1 liter whole milk, mixed nuts, apple.
  • Post Workout: 1 liter whole milk, oats, banana.
  • Dinner: 250g pasta, tomato sauce, ground round.
  • Pre bed: cottage cheese, berries, ground flax seeds, 1 liter whole milk.

If you were only eating 2000kcal/day before: persist. It gets easier each day. If you really struggle: build up to it. Start with ¼ gallon whole milk the 1st week and add ¼ gallon each week. You’ll be drinking 1 gallon in week 4.

Eat like that for 3 months and train hard and you’ll realize that you’re not a hardgainer. There’s no way you won’t gain weight if you do the above. Be consistent and you’ll get rid of your skinny look forever.

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