Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice. All statements are merely the opinion of the writer(s). We recommend that patients follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to fasting and weight loss.
DoFasting is a weight loss program centered on the practice of intermittent fasting. The brand's website describes the service as "The fastest track to healthy weight loss."
But is intermittent fasting proven to cause weight loss in research studies? And if so, how much weight loss is possible? Is DoFasting's app better than traditional intermittent fasting? And how do real people describe the effects of intermittent fasting?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we review clinical studies on intermittent fasting to determine if the practice causes weight loss, and if so, how much weight loss it causes.
We'll review the DoFasting app and compare it to traditional intermittent fasting, review the DoFasting Smart Scale, and analyze the ingredients in DoFasting's weight loss supplements.
We'll also feature a popular video where a YouTube creator tried intermittent fasting for 30 days and shared the experience.
Does Intermittent Fasting Work?
Since the DoFasting program is predicated on intermittent fasting, it makes sense to first evaluate whether intermittent fasting works, because if not, it would certainly be illogical to purchase an intermittent fasting app.
A 2020 systematic review of intermittent fasting’s effects on weight loss was published in a leading Canadian medical journal. The researchers analyzed results from 41 clinical trials on the topic.
Intermittent fasting was found to be very effective for weight loss.
In the 27 trials which tracked weight, every group lost weight on average. The weight loss ranged from 0.8% of baseline weight to 13% of baseline weight from the beginning to the end of the trials, which lasted from 2 to 26 weeks.
One of the surprising findings was that “weight loss occurred regardless of changes in overall caloric intake.” This suggests that intermittent fasting has positive effects on metabolism that cause individuals to burn more calories at rest.
Fasting can have secondary health benefits such as normalization of blood sugar and blood pressure, as we documented in our does ProLon really work article on another fasting app.
We will conclude from the available research that intermittent fasting is effective for weight loss.
A popular YouTube channel called "Goal Guys" tried intermittent fasting for 30 days and included before-and-after images, in a video with over two million views:
DoFasting App Review
The most popular part of the DoFasting program is their weight loss app. It costs £11.50 per month on a 6-month plan, and £37 per month on a 1-month plan, at the time of updating this article.
The app offers different fasting options, such as “beginner-friendly” options like a 14-hour fast.
As the user advances and becomes more accustomed to fasting, there are options such as a 24-hour fast that the app may suggest, for up to two total days per week.
This approach seems reasonable to us, because there isn’t yet a medical standard for the most effective type of intermittent fasting. The medical review cited in the previous section included studies on various types of fasting: 16-hour fasts, alternate day fasts, “5 and 2” day fasts and more.
DoFasting's app also offers workout programs and healthy meal recipes, which may be a nice perk but we feel to be relatively unnecessary as these are easily accessible online for free.
We don’t see any harm in using the DoFasting app, but we find it to be somewhat of a waste of money. Tracking hours fasting is very easily achieved manually.
If an individual decides to start intermittent fasting for 16 hours per day, all they need to do is remember (or note down) the last time they ate.
In fact, tracking intermittent fasting is much simpler than tracking calorie intake, which many people who are dieting already do without an app.
Tracking calories can be cumbersome and requires a food scale along with regular updates to a calorie tracking sheet. Tracking hours fasted is easy in comparison.
Put simply, we do not currently recommend DoFasting's app because we haven't seen any clinical evidence that it's more effective than tracking fasting manually, which is easy to do.
However, we have no issues with consumers using this app, nor do we think it's likely to cause harm.
DoFasting Smart Scale Review
DoFasting sells a “Smart Scale” that the brand claims can track various metabolic parameters, such as metabolic age, skeletal muscle mass and visceral fat.
We don’t find any of this information to be very useful, and we don’t believe it provides much value compared to a standard scale.
Metabolic age, which isn’t a clinically-defined term, seems to measure an individual's base metabolic rate, which means how many calories they burn at rest.
At the time of updating this article, DoFasting fails to provide any proof on their product page that this scale accurately tracks metabolic age and visceral fat, as the brand claims it does.
Similar to the app, we don’t see any harm in using this device, we just find it to be a waste of money because the benefits beyond a standard scale are unclear to us.
Losing weight tends to improve all metabolic parameters in overweight individuals, and a regular scale which likely costs a fraction of the price of the Smart Scale ($99) can track weight just fine.
For people on an intermittent fasting diet, tracking weight loss is the most important thing in our opinion. Secondary parameters like visceral fat loss will occur with weight loss, so we don't see any point in tracking these secondary attributes directly.
Appetite Suppressant Ingredient Analysis
The active ingredients in DoFasting's Appetite Suppressant supplement are shown above.
The brand spelled "soluble" and "insoluble" wrong.
Chloride and sodium are minerals included at relatively low doses, and we can't find any clinical evidence that these minerals support weight loss or suppress appetite.
Glucomannan is the core active ingredient, and is a type of fiber.
A meta-study on glucomannan for weight loss found the ingredient to be ineffective, as we documented in our review of weight loss supplement Leanbean.
The inactive ingredients in this supplement are shown below:
Natural flavor is a broad categorical descriptor that can include compounds like solvents and preservatives, as documented in a medical review published in the Food and Chemical Toxicology journal.
Citric acid is a flavoring and preservative agent that's clinically shown to cause whole-body inflammation in some individuals.
Overall, we don't consider DoFasting Appetite Suppressant likely to be effective for weight loss, and we don't currently recommend this supplement due to our concerns about potential efficacy and the two inactive ingredients highlighted above.
ACV Supplement Ingredient Analysis
The active ingredients in DoFasting Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies are shown above.
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is the core active ingredient, and is included at a dose of 500 milligrams (mg).
As we documented in our review on the benefits of apple cider vinegar gummies, the minimally-effective dose used in medical studies appears to be equivalent to around 15,000 mg, or 30x the amount in this supplement.
We're unable to identify any active ingredients in this formulation that we consider likely to cause weight loss at the stated dose, and some of the doses of these ingredients are incredibly low.
Beet juice powder is included at a dose of 40 micrograms (mcg).
According to the USDA, one teaspoon of beet juice powder has a dose of 2,500,000 mcg. This means that one single teaspoon of beet juice powder has the same amount of beet juice powder as 62,500 servings of DoFasting's supplement.
The inactive ingredients in this supplement are shown below:
Glucose syrup, sugar and glucose are all forms of refined, added sugar, and we know from medical research that added sugar consumption in excess is associated with increased risk of heart disease.
Citric acid and natural flavors are included in this formulation, and we explained in the previous Ingredient Analysis section why we consider these ingredients to be questionable from a health perspective.
Overall, we don't consider DoFasting Apple Cinder Vinegar Gummies likely to support weight loss, and we don't currently recommend this supplement due to our concerns about potential efficacy and the inactive ingredients highlighted above.
Our Clean Weight Loss Picks
There are food-based nutrients which have been shown in medical studies to be effective for weight loss.
Dietary fiber was shown in a medical review published in The Journal of Nutrition to cause 16 pounds of weight loss in 6 months when combined with moderate caloric restriction (750 calories per day below baseline).
MBG Organic Fiber Potency+ is our top fiber pick because it's certified organic, provides 7 g of fiber per serving and costs under $1.85 per serving at the time of updating this article.
MCT oil was shown in a meta-study to cause more than one pound of weight loss over 10 weeks. This equates to potential annualized weight loss of 6 pounds per year with less than one tablespoon's worth of MCT oil per day.
Performance Lab MCT Oil is our top MCT oil pick because it's certified organic.
Ginger intake "significantly decreased body weight" according to a 2019 meta-study on ginger and weight loss that analyzed data from 14 clinical trials.
Pique La Ginger is our top ginger product, because it's an organic tea in convenient crystallized form, and all that's needed is to pour the powder into a glass and add hot water.
All three of the products mentioned in this section are entirely free of additive ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
Pros and Cons of DoFasting
Here are the pros and cons of DoFasting in our opinion:
Pros:
- Intermittent fasting is proven to cause weight loss
- Relatively cheap
- More convenient than manually tracking fasting
- App has exercise and diet tips
Cons:
- Waste of money in our opinion
- Smart Scale doesn't have proven accuracy
- We can't find evidence the Appetite Suppressant supplement will cause weight loss
- We can't find evidence the ACV supplement will cause weight loss
- Both supplements analyzed contained questionable inactive ingredients
