A pilot study suggests that eating a low-calorie diet two days a week can be a great alternative to a consistent low-calorie diet for people with type 2 diabetes who find it difficult to eat this way. The efficacy of such a diet is well known, but not all people can tolerate it. Scientists decided to test, and what if limiting calorie intake is not a family, but only two days a week, but for a longer period of 28 weeks. During this time, 39 study participants lost an average of 7.1% of their weight with an average baseline body mass index (BMI) of 35.8 kg / m2.
The remaining 40 participants who ate a continuous 800 kcal / day diet for 8 weeks followed by 4 weeks of staged re-recovery of calories lost 9.7% of baseline weight by week 12 with an average baseline BMI of 36.9 kg / m2. They then switched to the Mediterranean à la carte diet and recovered by week 28, so their overall weight loss from baseline was the same as that of the participants in the first group.
During the experiment, the study participants were provided with remote, but full-fledged support from an endocrinologist, nurse, exercise specialist and psychologist. All this was done through a mobile application. Participants were also able to log their food, upload photos, weight, blood glucose and physical activity information, and 51% participated in a group forum.
