Goodreads is not really the place for diet book reviews (that would be Amazon), but I finished this book, so what the hell. (I even added the cover photo because it didn't have one!)
I read this book not because I need to diet but because I'm tired of people chastising me for not eating breakfast. For years I've managed my weight by skipping breakfast and not eating until lunchtime (noon or later); besides this, I eat normally and don't leave out entire food groups or deprive myself. This works for me, and I feel less hungry when I do this vs. when I do eat breakfast; the more I eat earlier in the day, in fact, the more I eat overall.
Apparently, there is research to back me up! Zinczenko (who's really good-looking and the former editor at Men's Health) writes about the myriad health benefits of intermitten fasting (IF), which is essentially not eating for long stretches of time and then limiting your eating to a shorter block of time.
The "diet" is simple: Eat for 8 hours (whatever you want, in whatever quantity you want, although he does focus on 8 "super foods" such as lean proteins, berries, greens, and whole grains) and then fast (except water and other non-calorie liquids, like black coffee and tea) for 16 hours. The 8-hour eating window can be done at any time that suits you (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; noon to 8 p.m., and so on), and, according to Zinczenko, the benefits of IF can be reaped even if someone does it only three or four times per week.
The majority of the book focuses on research that backs IF (and there's plenty); apparently, fasting allows our bodies to regenerate and burn off stored glycogen, which means we start to burn fat for energy sooner. We have evolved to eat LESS and not all day long, and IF is good not just for the waistline but also our heart, insulin levels, cholesterol, etc.
This book could easily have been a pamphlet, but there's no money in that, so Zinczenko includes long explanations about the super foods, a short FAQ section, recipes (nothing original here, although the recipes are healthy and seemingly simple to prepare), and an exercise section (he suggest working out at least 8 minutes per day - pretty gimmicky and clearly not adequate for most people). None of these sections add much to the book, but overall his writing style is engaging, and the book is an easy read, with some important information about IF (much of which can be found for free online).