For the record, you posted a question on a forum, where other people also post questions and comments. Some people have posted questions and comments underneath yours. Don’t like em? Shame.

Well, somebody has a belly full of bitterness just waiting to be dumped on random strangers. Good job they built the internet 😀

i love the diet threads on here.

one day you will be forced to post your swimsuit photo under your advice.

Female colleague has recently started this fast diet thing, on Thursday she fasted, on Friday on top of the regular Friday bacon and sausage sandwich, she caught up on the cakes and cookies she had missed the day before.

i can see how it can/could work, i can also see that like any other eating plan its open to interpretation/abuse and as a result will fail to produce results in some people.

OP – hungry. Pint of water, down in one.
if you have the shakes however, might be the sugar crash from whatever you have previously eaten. You are not supposed to be starving yourself.

I’ve not done 5:2 because if I’m honest I’m to much of a piglet, I think I’d die if I cut right back but the other half does it twice a week. Only thing I can suggest without having personal experience is make sure you are drinking lots and lots of water through the day (3L or so), fruit/green tea etc. Drop the bran and swap for protein source? 500 is hardly anything so don’t get too stressed if you go over. Finally, make sure the food you have on the non ‘fasting’ days is all healthy and nutritious and gives your body what it needs, it would, I should imagine, fuel you up a bit more for the fasting days?

This is an interesting thread, as much for the content and debate on topic as much as it is for a bit of people watching!

I am doing this to reduce the 25% free body I have at the moment and would chip in with the following:

1, Eating less on 2 days of the week may be helpful for some people, based on the fact that for some 2 days of high effort is easier than 7 days of consistent “dieting”

2, The fast days seem to make you think about food in a different way, basically a better understanding of the calorie content of food to keep to the 600 calories means you are less likely to blow loads of calories on the other days

3, I think there is also an emotional investment in that on fast days you put effort in, then you are less likely to make poor food choices on non fast days (weight watchers is successful partly because of a financial and group investment like this)

4, I am not sure about the claims of this diet replicating a more historically appropriate diet (early man struggled to get enough food). But there does seem to be some positive markers e.g. Leptin etc in studies suggesting that this way of eating has physiological benefits.

Hope this adds to the debate!

OP One of the things this diet may do is help you “listen” to your body, if you are shaking / bonking then clearly food would be a good idea! Protein is digested slowly and may help?

And that’s the key, isn’t it. Any diet you can’t sustain is ultimately pointless; you fall off the wagon, go back to old habits, and the only thing you’ve got to show for it is a bigger habit.

A successful diet has to be a change in your relationship with food; eat better, healthier, balanced. You can’t just starve yourself for a fortnight then go back to the cake and pies thinking it’s a magic bullet.

The science behind intermittent fasting is explained in the horizon program ‘ eat, fast and live longer’.

Basically it showed how it can help reduce cholesterol, reduced levels of insulin like growth factor (linked to some cancers), help control blood sugar levels and bit also showed that it could stimulate neuron growth in the brain possibly helping to prevent the onset dementia.

They were looking into it as it has been regular practice in many cultures and those that do it swear by the health benefits. The guy basically sets out to see if it can reverse the age risk associated with aging and his test results show he achieves this.

I found the program very interesting, especially as I have always had random days where I eat very little. So it hasn’t made me change my diet – I can just ignore comments that I should eat more ‘regularly’ more easily now.

The program is worth a watch – but not if you just want to moan at people about fad diets and reiterate ‘eat less exercise more’ constantly. The program is only for those who are keen to see what its actually about 🙂

Hope you manage to sort your hunger issues vickypea and stick with it – I have always eaten a little later in the day and had some kind of protein – eggs are good.

The research surrounding intermittent fasting shows that this isn’t actually true – it’s more like 2-3 days of fasting before your body goes into “storage” mode.

Ok but over a protracted period I’ve found that it works for me, as a large part of the problem is psychological and the desire /need to eat can easily lead to a binge. My missus lost 5 stones in a 5 month period 18 months ago (she’s 5’1″ and has steadily lost 1/2 lb a month since then to reach her current 8 stone) on a very low fat diet and virtual reversal of the 5:2. My concern was that as soon as she started to eat ‘normally’ again her weight would balloon. This hasn’t happened and the only thing she is careful with is food with very high fat content .

Not a method to be recommended but as she said herself (as a long term yoyo dieter) it was the only way she could do it, as she needed to see and feel quick results to keep her going. As far a hunger goes and how she coped with it she freely admits she was constantly ravenous but when it all became too much she would give in and have ……. wait for it ….. A Freddo! 😀

I follow my own 2:5 diet – watch what I eat for 5 days a week and then on the weekend eat what I want. Seems to work – gone from 90kg to 83kg since March.
Also have given up drinking and only drink water, which has helped.

Nothing wrong with that. Everything in moderation; if she’d had 12 Freddos, that’s where we start to have issues.

And that’s guaranteed to work in 100% of cases is it?

Most of the people on this thread do that, ojom, we’re not stupid. We just want to lose a bit more than we currently have.

Haha.

I find it very difficult to lose weight; if I eat less I just get more tired. However, I also don’t gain weight very easily either if I eat more and move less.

Hmm, that’s interesting, maybe someone should do some research…

Don’t imagine it – try it for a fortnight. you might be surprised? It’s not 500 cals per day, it’s 500 cals for a day, two days a week. You won’t die, my bet is that you’ll feel hungry, probably about 2 in the afternoon, then it’ll pass and you’ll be OK once you’ve had your dinner.

Excellent work David. “I don’t know anything about it, but that qualifies me to say why it isn’t correct and how I can make it better”

Again – maybe do a bit of reading up on it BEFORE rubbishing it.

In fact – Has anyone that has rubbished the 5:2 on this thread actually read any of the books / articles on it, much less actually tried it?

No. It’s repetitive and boring.

Maybe some if the smartarses rubbishing the various diets, 5:2 in particular, could give their qualifications and some justifications, so those of us who have actually read a bit about it and are interested in the physiological aspect of weight loss could assess the merits of their criticism.

Thanks in advance and apologies for repeating much of what theotherjonv said ^^^^ but I get a bit tired of people giving simplistic glib answers without anything relevant to back up their comments. 🙄

No. It’s repetitive and boring.
Maybe some if the smartarses rubbishing the various diets, 5:2 in particular, could give their qualifications and some justifications, so those of us who have actually read a bit about it and are interested in the physiological aspect of weight loss could assess the merits of their criticism.

Thanks in advance.

OK I will go into more detail limit alcohol consumption to bare minimum or even better go teetotal. A lot of eating habits are psychological so looking at what drives your bad eating habbits could be worth a crack or improving your overall mental wellbeing. Perhaps going pescetarian,vegi or even vegan could help limit the number of unhealthy foods consumed. Half way through writing this just looked at what the NHS says on the 5:2 diet. http://www.nhs.uk/news/2013/01January/Pages/Does-the-5-2-intermittent-fasting-diet-work.aspx

Says there is limited evidence that it works and suggests the following.

eating a healthy balanced diet with at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day

taking regular exercise

drinking alcohol in moderation

[EDIT]Some of my colleagues find those calorie counter apps really good, I have a steps app that encourages me to walk more.

That’s a really important apostrophe in that title… 😉