The newest dieting craze: Not eating

Should we really be getting bathing-suit ready by all but giving up food two days a week?

That's one way to loose weight.
(Image credit: ThinkStock/iStockphoto)

You've heard of the Scarsdale diet, the South Beach diet, and, of course, the almighty Atkins. But if you're tired of counting carbs and fats, why not just give up eating altogether?

That's the crux of the latest weight-loss fad: The Fast Diet. Dr. Michael Mosley of Britain has created a semi-starved army with his best-selling book of the same title. Also known as the 5:2 Diet, the gist is that you eat whatever you want five days a week, and then the other two days, you "fast" by consuming a quarter of your normal daily allotment of calories.

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Emily Shire is chief researcher for The Week magazine. She has written about pop culture, religion, and women and gender issues at publications including Slate, The Forward, and Jewcy.