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The Johnson UpDayDownDay Diet

The Johnson UpdayDownday Diet is a weight-loss and health-promotion plan that advocates alternate-day calorie restriction. It was developed by Dr. James Johnson, M.D., who invented the plan after "realizing the implications of a 2003 study on alternate-day calorie restriction in mice." The diet promises to help you lose weight and keep it off, as well as reduce your risk of heart disease and spur anti-aging effects, by activating the SIRT1 gene (also called the "skinny gene"), through restricting calorie intake every other day.

  1. Practicing the Diet

    • The Johnson UpDayDownDay Diet requires you to undergo a two-week "induction" phase to activate SIRT1 gene, which involves consuming no more than 500 calories every second day ("down days") during this period. On the other days ("up days"), you can eat as much as you like. After the induction phase, you must set your own weight-loss goals and calculate how many calories you may consume on "down days" (you can still eat as much as you want on "up days"). This calculation can be performed using a tool on the Johnson UpDayDownDay Diet's website. The diet encourages you to increase your calorie intake on "down days" slowly, once you have reached your desired weight.

    Short-Term Effects

    • The Johnson UpDayDownDay Diet promises that you will lose weight quickly because the SIRT1 gene, which the diet activates, inhibits the storage of fat in the body. Because the diet claims that its alternating-day structure makes it easy to follow and maintain, it claims to give you better chances of success than other diets. In addition, having less of a chance of lapsing is supposed to eliminate feelings of guilt that come from breaking more conventional diets.

    Long-Term Effects

    • The Johnson UpDayDownDay Diet promises to reduce the effects of aging by combating inflammation through the reduction of "oxidative stress" on the body, and by improving "the function of mitochondria in cells." In addition, in slowing the aging process, the diet claims to reduce the risk of such diseases as "heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, asthma, allergies, arthritis, and diabetes."

    Reception of the Diet

    • The Johnson UpDayDownDay Diet has been reviewed in a number of places, and seems to be cautiously accepted. World of Diets suggests that while the program is easy to follow, it warns that overeating might occur on "up days," countering the effects of "down days." Healthy Eating World warns that although the diet may work for some, its success depends largely on a person's eating habits, metabolism and motivation. An article in the Daily Mail from 2009 argues that while the diet may have healthy benefits, they are most likely due to weight loss itself, and not to the activation of the "skinny gene."

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