Is JUDDD too good to be true?

ALittleSwanny

So I've been looking into JUDDD after a recommendation from someone else with the same metabolism problem I have (Hashimotos) and it looks too good to be true! I've seen lots of success stories but I was wondering if anyone here had any to share? And of course negative stories! I'd love to hear both sides of the experience!
Please if you've been doing JUDDD tell me:
*how long you've been doing it
*how much you've lost on it
*the pros
*the cons
*how easy it is to get into it

jetlag

There is a JUDDD group here where you will get loads of info. Also google ADF, which is basically what JUDDD is.

Preliminary evidence would suggest that it is a good, safe diet and not too good to be true, no, but I suggest you do your own research (there are several clinical trials suggesting its efficacy) and I have yet to find any suggesting it's dangerous, but would be interested to see them.

SJVZEE

So I've been looking into JUDDD after a recommendation from someone else with the same metabolism problem I have (Hashimotos) and it looks too good to be true! I've seen lots of success stories but I was wondering if anyone here had any to share? And of course negative stories! I'd love to hear both sides of the experience!
Please if you've been doing JUDDD tell me:
*how long you've been doing it
*how much you've lost on it
*the pros
*the cons
*how easy it is to get into it

I am a JUDDD success story Started it towards the end of last October, at my highest weight ever (around 171lbs). I had just had some blood work done and my fasting glucose number was border line pre-diabetic. I lost a grandfather to diabetes and that was the push I needed to lose the weight. I stumbled onto JUDDD on another forum and it was a life changing moment for me! I have a healthy relationship with food now, I totally broke my night time mindless snacking habit and I'm the healthiest I've ever been. I had blood work done towards the end of my weight loss phase and my numbers were fantastic, including a fasting glucose number of 89 Oh, and I'm wearing size 4 jeans now instead of size 14s!

I lost almost 50lbs with it, from end of October to around April of this year (I started transitioning to maintenance in March and started cutting back on my low calorie days, still continued to lose though and I'm now 10lbs under my original goal weight).

Pros-
-you only 'diet' every other day, which I think is the biggest reason why it worked for me. I could eat normal/as I wanted every other day and that gave me the motivation I needed on my low calorie/fasting days. There's always tomorrow! The crazy thing is, I never woke up on my normal days and binge ate-in fact, a common issue is people just aren't hungry on their normal calorie days. I always made sure to eat higher calories on those days, but I never ate mindlessly or felt that I had to make up for my fasting days.

-it's very flexible. I took a break during Thanksgiving week and Christmas week and ate as I pleased, which included several parties. Afterwards I'd just get back on my rotations and within a few days I was hitting new low weights again

-NO food group restrictions at all. I did JUDDD with the typical SAD diet.

-I learned the difference between real hunger and habitual eating. This is a huge lesson to learn, if you're going to be successful in maintenance. I was able to break my night time snacking habit, which was a big factor in my gaining weight.

-while JUDDD doesn't tell you how to eat, it was a starting point for me to eating healthier. You really learn how to get the most food for your calories on those low calorie days and I began eating more veggies. As I've transitioned into maintenance that's become my new focus

-on many of my low calorie days I'd get crazy amounts of energy. I also never felt run down or lethargic on those days. I actually started designating more physical work on those days because of the energy I felt.

-JUDDD is very forgiving. If you have something come up (a party, work event etc), you can just take a break and then afterwards resume your rotations.

Negatives-

-the first couple low calorie/fasting days are hard, as you figure out the best way to do them. Some prefer to eat one large meal at supper time and then just drink coffee/tea the rest of the day. For me, doing small portions every couple hours worked best. After I figured that out my fasting days went really well

-weight loss is not linear with JUDDD, but instead is a series of 'bounces' and 'whooshes', with an overall downward trend. I highly recommend only weighing yourself twice a month-after your first low calorie day of the month and then again after your last low calorie day of the month. That will give you an accurate picture of your losses. Weighing yourself daily or even weekly is not going to give you an accurate picture. I've seen many people on the other forum get frustrated when the scale bounces and they get discouraged. With JUDDD you really do need to step away from the scale!

I no longer do JUDDD since I'm in maintenance, I do a different version of IF now (8:16). I truly enjoyed doing JUDDD for weight loss though and highly recommend it! My mom is doing it now, after seeing how it worked for me, and she's lost almost 30lbs and for the first time in her adult life is no longer obese

The book for the plan is called The Alternate Day Diet by Dr. James Johnson and he also has a website that has all the info/calculator you need to figure out your calorie amounts.

ALittleSwanny

So I've been looking into JUDDD after a recommendation from someone else with the same metabolism problem I have (Hashimotos) and it looks too good to be true! I've seen lots of success stories but I was wondering if anyone here had any to share? And of course negative stories! I'd love to hear both sides of the experience!
Please if you've been doing JUDDD tell me:
*how long you've been doing it
*how much you've lost on it
*the pros
*the cons
*how easy it is to get into it

I am a JUDDD success story Started it towards the end of last October, at my highest weight ever (around 171lbs). I had just had some blood work done and my fasting glucose number was border line pre-diabetic. I lost a grandfather to diabetes and that was the push I needed to lose the weight. I stumbled onto JUDDD on another forum and it was a life changing moment for me! I have a healthy relationship with food now, I totally broke my night time mindless snacking habit and I'm the healthiest I've ever been. I had blood work done towards the end of my weight loss phase and my numbers were fantastic, including a fasting glucose number of 89 Oh, and I'm wearing size 4 jeans now instead of size 14s!

I lost almost 50lbs with it, from end of October to around April of this year (I started transitioning to maintenance in March and started cutting back on my low calorie days, still continued to lose though and I'm now 10lbs under my original goal weight).

Pros-
-you only 'diet' every other day, which I think is the biggest reason why it worked for me. I could eat normal/as I wanted every other day and that gave me the motivation I needed on my low calorie/fasting days. There's always tomorrow! The crazy thing is, I never woke up on my normal days and binge ate-in fact, a common issue is people just aren't hungry on their normal calorie days. I always made sure to eat higher calories on those days, but I never ate mindlessly or felt that I had to make up for my fasting days.

-it's very flexible. I took a break during Thanksgiving week and Christmas week and ate as I pleased, which included several parties. Afterwards I'd just get back on my rotations and within a few days I was hitting new low weights again

-NO food group restrictions at all. I did JUDDD with the typical SAD diet.

-I learned the difference between real hunger and habitual eating. This is a huge lesson to learn, if you're going to be successful in maintenance. I was able to break my night time snacking habit, which was a big factor in my gaining weight.

-while JUDDD doesn't tell you how to eat, it was a starting point for me to eating healthier. You really learn how to get the most food for your calories on those low calorie days and I began eating more veggies. As I've transitioned into maintenance that's become my new focus

-on many of my low calorie days I'd get crazy amounts of energy. I also never felt run down or lethargic on those days. I actually started designating more physical work on those days because of the energy I felt.

-JUDDD is very forgiving. If you have something come up (a party, work event etc), you can just take a break and then afterwards resume your rotations.

Negatives-

-the first couple low calorie/fasting days are hard, as you figure out the best way to do them. Some prefer to eat one large meal at supper time and then just drink coffee/tea the rest of the day. For me, doing small portions every couple hours worked best. After I figured that out my fasting days went really well

-weight loss is not linear with JUDDD, but instead is a series of 'bounces' and 'whooshes', with an overall downward trend. I highly recommend only weighing yourself twice a month-after your first low calorie day of the month and then again after your last low calorie day of the month. That will give you an accurate picture of your losses. Weighing yourself daily or even weekly is not going to give you an accurate picture. I've seen many people on the other forum get frustrated when the scale bounces and they get discouraged. With JUDDD you really do need to step away from the scale!

I no longer do JUDDD since I'm in maintenance, I do a different version of IF now (8:16). I truly enjoyed doing JUDDD for weight loss though and highly recommend it! My mom is doing it now, after seeing how it worked for me, and she's lost almost 30lbs and for the first time in her adult life is no longer obese

The book for the plan is called The Alternate Day Diet by Dr. James Johnson and he also has a website that has all the info/calculator you need to figure out your calorie amounts.

Wow thank you so much for your story! I'm so excited to give it a shot! I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me about your journey well done!

ALittleSwanny

There is a JUDDD group here where you will get loads of info. Also google ADF, which is basically what JUDDD is.

Preliminary evidence would suggest that it is a good, safe diet and not too good to be true, no, but I suggest you do your own research (there are several clinical trials suggesting its efficacy) and I have yet to find any suggesting it's dangerous, but would be interested to see them.

Thank you!

SJVZEE

So I've been looking into JUDDD after a recommendation from someone else with the same metabolism problem I have (Hashimotos) and it looks too good to be true! I've seen lots of success stories but I was wondering if anyone here had any to share? And of course negative stories! I'd love to hear both sides of the experience!
Please if you've been doing JUDDD tell me:
*how long you've been doing it
*how much you've lost on it
*the pros
*the cons
*how easy it is to get into it

I am a JUDDD success story Started it towards the end of last October, at my highest weight ever (around 171lbs). I had just had some blood work done and my fasting glucose number was border line pre-diabetic. I lost a grandfather to diabetes and that was the push I needed to lose the weight. I stumbled onto JUDDD on another forum and it was a life changing moment for me! I have a healthy relationship with food now, I totally broke my night time mindless snacking habit and I'm the healthiest I've ever been. I had blood work done towards the end of my weight loss phase and my numbers were fantastic, including a fasting glucose number of 89 Oh, and I'm wearing size 4 jeans now instead of size 14s!

I lost almost 50lbs with it, from end of October to around April of this year (I started transitioning to maintenance in March and started cutting back on my low calorie days, still continued to lose though and I'm now 10lbs under my original goal weight).

Pros-
-you only 'diet' every other day, which I think is the biggest reason why it worked for me. I could eat normal/as I wanted every other day and that gave me the motivation I needed on my low calorie/fasting days. There's always tomorrow! The crazy thing is, I never woke up on my normal days and binge ate-in fact, a common issue is people just aren't hungry on their normal calorie days. I always made sure to eat higher calories on those days, but I never ate mindlessly or felt that I had to make up for my fasting days.

-it's very flexible. I took a break during Thanksgiving week and Christmas week and ate as I pleased, which included several parties. Afterwards I'd just get back on my rotations and within a few days I was hitting new low weights again

-NO food group restrictions at all. I did JUDDD with the typical SAD diet.

-I learned the difference between real hunger and habitual eating. This is a huge lesson to learn, if you're going to be successful in maintenance. I was able to break my night time snacking habit, which was a big factor in my gaining weight.

-while JUDDD doesn't tell you how to eat, it was a starting point for me to eating healthier. You really learn how to get the most food for your calories on those low calorie days and I began eating more veggies. As I've transitioned into maintenance that's become my new focus

-on many of my low calorie days I'd get crazy amounts of energy. I also never felt run down or lethargic on those days. I actually started designating more physical work on those days because of the energy I felt.

-JUDDD is very forgiving. If you have something come up (a party, work event etc), you can just take a break and then afterwards resume your rotations.

Negatives-

-the first couple low calorie/fasting days are hard, as you figure out the best way to do them. Some prefer to eat one large meal at supper time and then just drink coffee/tea the rest of the day. For me, doing small portions every couple hours worked best. After I figured that out my fasting days went really well

-weight loss is not linear with JUDDD, but instead is a series of 'bounces' and 'whooshes', with an overall downward trend. I highly recommend only weighing yourself twice a month-after your first low calorie day of the month and then again after your last low calorie day of the month. That will give you an accurate picture of your losses. Weighing yourself daily or even weekly is not going to give you an accurate picture. I've seen many people on the other forum get frustrated when the scale bounces and they get discouraged. With JUDDD you really do need to step away from the scale!

I no longer do JUDDD since I'm in maintenance, I do a different version of IF now (8:16). I truly enjoyed doing JUDDD for weight loss though and highly recommend it! My mom is doing it now, after seeing how it worked for me, and she's lost almost 30lbs and for the first time in her adult life is no longer obese

The book for the plan is called The Alternate Day Diet by Dr. James Johnson and he also has a website that has all the info/calculator you need to figure out your calorie amounts.

Wow thank you so much for your story! I'm so excited to give it a shot! I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me about your journey well done!

No problem, I love passing the info on

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

I've never done JUDDD but it seems like it'd be fine/safe. My only issue is that I wouldn't be able to stick too it. It's too complicated. I'd rather just eat my one meal a day of essentially the same exact foods every day and not have to think about it. I just lift, make the same recipes, take my vitamins, eat, then go to sleep. No thought necessary. I don't need to know if it's an up day or a down day or any of that stuff.

pjsdj

I've never even heard of juddd? Can somone fill me in?

Keiras_Mom

As you know, I do JUDDD. I've lost 129 pounds and 119 of those were from JUDDD. It took me a year and a half, but I also took several maintenance breaks along the way (the last one for 4 months). It's a very healthy way to manage your weight, as long as you aren't prone to EDs.

pjsdj, if you google JUDDD, you'll find Dr. Johnson's website. There's a calculator which gives you your calorie allotments. It's a very easy plan, basically eating very low calories one day, and maintenance calories the next day, rinse and repeat. There's nothing to buy, no membership fees, no special foods. That's why I love it. It's a form of intermittent fasting. If you've heard of 5:2, it's like that, but came out several years before, and it's alternate days instead of 2 days per week fasting.

My numbers (at my current weight) are around 1750 calories for my up day (UD) and 330 or so for my down day (DD). On UDs, I eat whatever I want, up to that 1750 calories or so. On DDs, I often skip breakfast, have a small Wendy's chili for lunch, and a salad for dinner. It's really not that hard and after a few DDs, your body gets used to it.

ALittleSwanny

As you know, I do JUDDD. I've lost 129 pounds and 119 of those were from JUDDD. It took me a year and a half, but I also took several maintenance breaks along the way (the last one for 4 months). It's a very healthy way to manage your weight, as long as you aren't prone to EDs.

pjsdj, if you google JUDDD, you'll find Dr. Johnson's website. There's a calculator which gives you your calorie allotments. It's a very easy plan, basically eating very low calories one day, and maintenance calories the next day, rinse and repeat. There's nothing to buy, no membership fees, no special foods. That's why I love it. It's a form of intermittent fasting. If you've heard of 5:2, it's like that, but came out several years before, and it's alternate days instead of 2 days per week fasting.

My numbers (at my current weight) are around 1750 calories for my up day (UD) and 330 or so for my down day (DD). On UDs, I eat whatever I want, up to that 1750 calories or so. On DDs, I often skip breakfast, have a small Wendy's chili for lunch, and a salad for dinner. It's really not that hard and after a few DDs, your body gets used to it.

Ever since you told me to look it up I've been amazed! Did my first DD today thank you so much for telling me about this! I have high hopes that I'll be successful! xx

rosiesmall1

Hey there, just butting in as I also have Hashi's, currently doing 5:2 but interested to see how you feel doing this if you have started.

Loseitdolly

Bump.
I have been doing JUDDD for just over one week, but given the fact that it was over the course of the thanksgiving holiday and I ate freely, I am in absolute shock at how well it is working. I am combining it with 30 minutes of running (about 3 miles) on my UP days. Today my weight fell below a set point number (that is what I call it at least) but basically the weight my body seems to stop losing at & that I have not gone below in 3 years. During the past three years I have not been able to get below this number with 6 months on weight watchers or with diligent 1300 calories a day with exercise 4x a week for weeks at a time or on the Tim Ferris 4 hour body diet - beans and protein and veg with 1 cheat day a week (could only stick to that one for a month). Anyhow, I have kept the 15 lbs I originally lost with weight watchers 3 years ago pretty much off and yet have about 10lbs to go to get back to my happy pre baby weight. So these are the last 10 vanity pounds, because I am at healthy weight now, but those old favorite skinny jeans don't fit. And now on a whim last week, I found this JUDDD and it seems to be what is going to get me there! Knock on wood it seems too good to be true! Today I am 2 pounds closer (after 2 UP days that I just decided due to the holiday to not be super strict about - maybe 2500 cals on each day with wine and pie a la mode)! Anyhow today is back to a down day 500 cals and I will eat a small bowl of oatmeal, some diced up melon and cucumber with lime and chili, a gardenburger with mustard and sprouts and tomato on a lettuce wrap, & some hearty homemade cabbage veggie soup. Tomorrow I will eat 2000 cals (healthy with lots of veg, but throw in some pasta or bread & a pudding) and then keep alternating. The JUDDD forum seems pretty inactive. I wonder why when it works!!

vickysail

I love it. It's the only system that worked for me that didn't dump me into a plateau.

If you do it right, (check out the form at Dr. Johnson's web site) plug in the numbers and follow the curve down regarding allowable calories, it's a no brainer, and to to put it simply, it works.

I lost around 50 lbs on JUDDD before falling off the wagon. (Emotional trauma set me off).

I am now back on track, and expect the same results the second time.

Did I mention I was 50 when I started, and did absolutely no exercise?

Great writeup on pros and cons, by the way. *thumbsup*

It's also called the 4:3 diet. You do it by following a cycle of eating many calories one day, then restricting it to anywhere from 200-600 calories the next, depending on your desired rate of loss.

dianesheart88

Bump...

I am interested in the topic. I am a 5:2 fast dieter.

dittmarml

I started 5:2 4 weeks ago and switched to JUDD/ADF/EOD 2 weeks ago. Overall I've lost 4 pounds in 4 weeks with almost no exercise and find it pretty simple, with the exception that Ive had some GI issues - however, when I went to this WOE I was also switching from vegan to non-vegan (found it too difficult to do this sort of calorie restriction and also get enough protein as a vegan) - so I suspect it's all been a bit of a shock. Al of it is manageable and I think things will settle down soon…so far I'm very pleased.

lagina19871

I really want to try this diet, ill be stating it this sathurday.

366to266

I am totally confused. I just input my stats here:

The Alternate-Day Diet – Down Day Recipes – Weight Loss with Alternate-Day Calorie Restriction

choosing the sedentary and 35% option and it says "down days 1703 calories and normal 4866 calories."

Whaaaaaat?

MoveitlikeManda

Iv just been on the site and put my details in and it gave me 2146 for UD's and 533 for DD's.

My question, on UD's do ya have to meet the full cal count you have been given??

So like, if i did decided to give JUDDD ago on my UD could i stick to 2000 clas or would that 146cals really be needed?

(this is my first ever post, only stated using mfp on thursday and have been lurking around the boards getting info on all kinds of things lol)

Goosie71

I started this too yesterday. Using yesterday as my up day and today as my first down day.

So I'm starting on 2576 for my upday and 533 for my down day - that with light exercise 3 days a week.

I don't think you need to eat your full upday allowance but you clearly shouldn't go over it.

BeckyMBisMe

fascinated and will be checking into this.

jacqui2494

I have just heard about JUDDD diet from another forum. I am starting today. I think it may be easier than anything else I have tried as you only have to survive until the next morning.
I have been into the Smarter Science of Slim podcasts for 18 months and have been trying to eat and exercise the way they prescribe. Whilst I am very satisfied that SSOS is a very healthy method, I have not been able to get any success in getting rid of this fat. I have certainly felt healthier and that is a good thing.
I am going to use JUDDD and combine it with lower carbs as well. I am hoping that this combo may start having the desired effect.
I have been hitting the gym pretty hard of late, doing HIIT and eccentric weights exercise. One would think that the scales are inaccurate because of doing this exercise, but my problem is that I also measure myself and so I know that the fat is not moving.
I will give an update in about a month and give the changes in my vital statistics.