How is it that a person can lose weight if they binge eat all the calories with three big lies from McDonald's? The quantity as well as the quality of the food must absolutely be taken into consideration. Abbott mentions the importance of overall food intake when it comes to weight loss and, along with another diet book, quietly advises against overindulging in periods between fasts, but does not specifically consider this detail important in its description of the weight loss method. which makes it rather unconvincing (James, S.