Dr. Varady is a scientist who developed this diet and then systematically and patiently collected evidence regarding its effectiveness. I've been on the diet for six weeks and two days and have lost 18 pounds. I kept up a fairly demanding exercise program throughout, so this contributed to the success I've had. Admittedly, the first week required some resolve but after that I found my body adjusted to the every-other-day schedule. I found I had lots of energy on fasting days, which was a surprise. Another surprise was not waking up and over-consuming rampantly on feast days. I've read some disparaging comments about this diet that do not respect either the research findings or the personal stories of successful adherents. My guess is that this diet will eventually become the treatment of choice for weight loss.