“Fasting is effective where simple caloric reduction is not. What is the difference? Obesity is a hormonal, not a caloric imbalance. Fasting provides beneficial hormonal changes that happen during fasting and are entirely prevented by the constant intake of food. It is the intermittency of the fasting that makes it so much more effective.

Fasting has been used throughout human history as a tremendously effective method of controlling obesity. By contrast, the portion control strategy of daily caloric restriction has only been recommended for the last 50 years with stunning failure. Yet, conventional advice to reduce a few calories every day persists and fasting is continually belittled as an outdated, dangerous practice akin to blood-letting and voodoo.”

There are many misconceptions about fasting; the primary one is that it is starvation. It is important to understand the difference between the two. This article from Intensive Dietary Management should help explain that: The difference between calorie restriction and fasting.