5:2 diet

Mojisola

Mamjak wrote: »

I'm a bit confused though by the 2 conflicting ideas for the 'fast' days. Some eat their 500 cals spread over the day so they dont get too many hunger pains, faints etc but the science-y bits I've read about this says that to kick start your body to produce the right hormones etc you need to completely go without food for at least 16hrs.

There's an overlap between two different styles - Intermittent Fasting (if you google it, you'll find loads of websites) has been around for years. This involves not eating for blocks of 16+ hours and can be done every day. There's no calorie counting.

The 5/2 method is to only eat 500 calories on two days a week, spread out however you want.

I would chose one and try it for month or so and then, if you want, tweak it by combining the other one.

Jei70

As I mentioned before, I eat only one 500 kcal meal on a "fast" day. Late lunch/tea time. That is not just because I think that 2 x 16 hrs break for the digestive system is a good idea; it's also because the more I eat, the more I want to eat, and having 3 little meals would just make me ravenous!

I have already noticed that on the fast days I don't think about food at all until it's 3pm or so; on the days I eat breakfast, I feel peckish by 12-1 pm. Eating just once a day helps me manage my hunger better. Also, I gain so much more time (no thinking about what to make for dinner/breakfast, and no cooking).

Clearly, this is my own perspective, and other people may be better off doing it the other way round. Are you the kind of person who thrives on many small meals, or would you prefer to forget about food until it's time for a huge salad*?


* My salads include a mix of leaf, fruit and root (grated) vegetables, some fish, eggs or meat, and are dressed with a tiny splash of EV olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Yum!

Mamjak

Thanks for all those replies. Think I will try to go without food as long as can in day cos i am the same in that i get hungry quicker when I eat. Only thing that makes it hard is still having to sort food for 4 children and DH although he is thinking of joining me on it too.

That salad sounds lovely! Been craving lots of veg & fruit at moment, think body is ready for this

david_silva

Detoxing is big business nowadays through diets, scrubs and fasting. Salons are popping up everywhere with the latest 'star' of the moment and their 'new' detoxing programme promising wonders.

Keeping your liver in a healthy state should be a priority and by eating a healthy varied nutritional diet of good food for good health keeps our own personal detoxifier - our liver, working to rid our body of toxins and to go about its endless tasks.

Looking after your organ is vital, as everything we ingest, inhale or absorb through our skin has to be detoxified and refined.

Damage can be caused to the liver through a poor diet made up of high fatty foods, high alcohol intake, chemicals - in the air we breathe or apply to the skin, and through drugs.

Obviously we all need to take prescribed drugs at some time in our lives so whilst taking the medication make sure you are eating a diet of good high nutritional food to help the liver detox. Drugs taken regularly for recreational use have been shown to cause serious problems.

Fatty degeneration of the liver is caused by excessive fat build up and impairs the ability to function and handle fat properly, this allows fat to be stored around the body accumulating often around the waistline or being deposited as cellulite under the skin.

50 per cent of people aged 50 and over now suffer with fatty degeneration; this is a much higher rate than at any time before.

Common symptoms of this are having 'a spare tyre' or potbelly and being unable to lose weight. The size of our nations waistlines has hit the headlines many times recently due to poor diets and lack of exercise, even though today we have access to so many good foods all year round:beer:

melbury

Well I knew it would happen - have put on 4lbs since last weekend, feel like a complete overstuffed piggy:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

I am almost looking forward to next week and getting back into the normal regime of 5:2.

melbury

david_silva wrote: »

Detoxing is big business nowadays through diets, scrubs and fasting. Salons are popping up everywhere with the latest 'star' of the moment and their 'new' detoxing programme promising wonders.

Keeping your liver in a healthy state should be a priority and by eating a healthy varied nutritional diet of good food for good health keeps our own personal detoxifier - our liver, working to rid our body of toxins and to go about its endless tasks.

Looking after your organ is vital, as everything we ingest, inhale or absorb through our skin has to be detoxified and refined.

Damage can be caused to the liver through a poor diet made up of high fatty foods, high alcohol intake, chemicals - in the air we breathe or apply to the skin, and through drugs.

Obviously we all need to take prescribed drugs at some time in our lives so whilst taking the medication make sure you are eating a diet of good high nutritional food to help the liver detox. Drugs taken regularly for recreational use have been shown to cause serious problems.

Fatty degeneration of the liver is caused by excessive fat build up and impairs the ability to function and handle fat properly, this allows fat to be stored around the body accumulating often around the waistline or being deposited as cellulite under the skin.

50 per cent of people aged 50 and over now suffer with fatty degeneration; this is a much higher rate than at any time before.

Common symptoms of this are having 'a spare tyre' or potbelly and being unable to lose weight. The size of our nations waistlines has hit the headlines many times recently due to poor diets and lack of exercise, even though today we have access to so many good foods all year round:beer:

I struggle to lose weight due to underactive thyroid. Before I developed this condition the weight used to come off quite easily:(

MrsTinks

well I've been planning on doing the 5:2 for a while now and as we've joined the gym too it's a perfect time Whilst I'd love to loose lots of weight (ok 2 dress sizes LOL) then our main incentive is actually to get more energy... we're both always tired and frankly we want to do so much more with our daughter So no time like the present! Tuesday will be the first fast day
Will be going through the thread to look for ideas for the 500 cal meals

Mamjak

Sorry if its been mentioned before but I have just discovered a FREE website for recording my food diary and working out calories etc, myfitnesspal.
Really easy to set up and will hopefully help me in my new lifestyle from now on.

sapphireeye

I think this thread might just be what I didn't know I was looking for! I lost a lot of weight in September but unfortunately it was because I had a ruptured appendix and sepsis! I wasn't able to eat very much at all but my skin looked the best it has ever looked and it showed me that I can cope on minimal amounts of food. I've put weight back on since then, especially over Christmas and so I was looking for a way to get it back off again without having to go through the slavery of calorie counting every day. At the weekend my boyfriend and I like to make our own version of takeaway (maybe a curry or something) and I don't really want to be having to weigh every single thing. In the past I've found that I spend so long trying to work out what I can eat to fit in my calorie allowance that I'm constantly thinking about food and driving myself crazy, so I think something like this would really suit me.

So, I could have two weekdays where I only eat 500 calories (I'd probably have them all at dinner, because although I love breakfast I've discovered that once I start eating for the day I can't stop) and the rest of the days I can eat as normal (including at the weekend when we make our takeaway). Do the fasting days have the effect of decreasing the amount you can physically consume on feast days? That would be an added bonus for me!

rugby7170

Just joined. What a great site.
I started on the 5:2 diet 3weeks ago and have fasted 7 times. It's been fairly easy and I have lost about 4kg so far (9 lbs). My aim is to lose 12 kg over the next year.
The thing about this diet that makes it so easy to do is that on a fast day I know that tomorrow I can eat whatever I want to. But the interesting thing is that I don't overheat the next day. I just eat normally.
My question to you all is: does anyone know if there is any scientific or medical advice about the best way to eat on the fast days. My way has been to eat about 600 cals spread over 3 small meals. I know it works in terms of weight loss, but is it the best way in terms of the other health benefits.
1. 600 cals in one meal only or three meals?
2. Why 600. Would 500 be better, or 400?
3. What exactly to eat on fast days? Low fat, low protein?
4. On non fast days is it better to eat healthily?
5. Should I have 16 hrs of non eating? In my case I would not eat until lunch on the fast day.
6. Is 4:3 better?
I wouldn't have a problem adjusting my diet for any of the above points but does it matter? I know there has been advice here saying just do what is best for you, but if it was better to do something slightly different then it would be good to know.
Thanks for any help you can give on this. It may be too early for there to be any proper scientific studies but just thought I would start the discussion.