Opinions?

Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    http://news.yahoo.com/january-39-biggest-diet-craze-intermittent-fasting-104809668.html

    There are IF groups here on MFP .....so I'd say it definitely works for some. If it fits your lifestyle, try it.

    I haven't tried it, but I like the idea of "dieting" for 2 days.....and manitenance the other 5 days. To me (yes, I'm simplifying it) .....but it's like the "rotation" or "zig-zag" diets that have been around for years. It still comes down to calorie deficit in the end.....just another path to get there.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    If you like to eat a lot at once, it's good. If you like to eat frequently throughout the day, it's not.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    Brilliant. In typical Yahoo "news" fashion, they completely hosed it up by oversimplifying the ideas behind IF.

    RE: 5:2?
    You fast for two days of the week, but not completely -- you eat one-fourth of your typical daily calories, roughly 500 calories for women, 600 calories for men -- and eat what you desire the remaining five days.

    Great. I can now see hundreds/thousands/millions of people not looking further into the 5:2 IF plan and trying this. Only to gorge themselves 5 days out of the week and getting more and more overweight and unhealthy. And, of course, they'll complain that IF doesn't work, because they have no idea what's really going on.
  • mrsamanda86
    mrsamanda86 Posts: 869 Member
    Brilliant. In typical Yahoo "news" fashion, they completely hosed it up by oversimplifying the ideas behind IF.

    RE: 5:2?
    You fast for two days of the week, but not completely -- you eat one-fourth of your typical daily calories, roughly 500 calories for women, 600 calories for men -- and eat what you desire the remaining five days.

    Great. I can now see hundreds/thousands/millions of people not looking further into the 5:2 IF plan and trying this. Only to gorge themselves 5 days out of the week and getting more and more overweight and unhealthy. And, of course, they'll complain that IF doesn't work, because they have no idea what's really going on.

    Yep, pretty much. I think it's great if it works for you. I tried it, but I like food EVERY day lol I have a few friends on here that do it, and have had fabulous results though.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Very inaccurate reporting!
    I've been doing the 5:2 routine for about 18 months - you don't get "incredible weight loss" as the journalist states, you get slow, steady and sustainable weight loss.

    Also this comment "Plus people may opt for unhealthy foods on their non-fasting days, which could potentially lead to nutrient deficiencies and poor eating habits," is a combination of complete speculation and contrary to most people's experience.

    I have certainly found eating light, fresh, tasty food on a fast day cariies over into non-fasting days too. My hunger and feeling full signals are vastly improved.

    I've been maintaining since August in either 5:2 or 6:1 styles and intend carrying on indefinitely.

    @jwdieter - don't understand your comment - are you thinking of Leangains rather than 5:2? There is no need to eat in a certain pattern on either the 2 fasting days or the 5 normal eating days.
  • DeadliftAddict
    DeadliftAddict Posts: 746 Member
    I have been doing it for about 5 months now and I love it. For me, it makes eating more simple. I don't have time to stop and eat every two or three hours. Plus, I don't like eating small meals. I would rather have 2-3 larger meals to get my calories. Plus, I would rather have plenty calories to eat in the evening then eat breakfast and be limited in the evening. Intermittent Fasting has been around for a long time. If you are a breakfast person then it may not be for you. I get up and am in the gym lifting by at least 5:30am and shower and go straight to work. So as you can see skipping breakfast makes things simple for me. I eat my first meal around noon and stop eating around 8-8:30pm. I fast until noon the next day. Simple 16 hour fast 8 hour eating window. It all depends on you. There are no set rules to this getting fit or healthy thing. Find what works for you. If you like eating 5-6 small meals then don't try it. If you would rather eat larger portions then try it. Small meals just make me hungry in an hour. Doing it also helped me to figure out that when I thought I was hungry, I was really thirsty. I drink a lot of water during my fasted mornings now.
  • hararayne
    hararayne Posts: 261 Member
    It's really a pretty flexible way to diet. Doesn't have to be exactly "diet two days, eat normally the other 5".

    If you're someone that likes to eat throughout the day and do so NORMALLY then you can. But say you ate normally for your first two meals and then really splurged at dinner. Or maybe you had a few drinks. To counteract the extra calories you can eat far smaller meals or fast the next day. It gives you a built in mechanism to fix a day that you just fell off the bandwagon.

    The point is to look at your calorie intake and expenditure for the whole WEEK. As long as you remain in deficit WEEKLY you will lose weight. So you can either be very steadfast and sensible every day and not have any fasting days/meals or you can make the occasional "mistake" and correct, or even PLAN a day that you know is gonna be rough on your diet (like every American Holiday there is)

    I'm all for it and attempting to use it this year to get where I want to be for goals.
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    This is going to be a whole thread full of people who didn't open the article and don't know the difference between 5:2 and 16:8, right?
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    @jwdieter - don't understand your comment - are you thinking of Leangains rather than 5:2? There is no need to in a certain pattern on either the 2 fasting days or the 5 normal eating days.

    Yep. My bad. Was thinking daily IF, rather than the weekly version. My opinion on 5:2 is it would be insane for me, but maybe ok for less active people. I was entering hulk smash mode yesterday after eating only 1300 calories by 7pm.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    @jwdieter - don't understand your comment - are you thinking of Leangains rather than 5:2? There is no need to in a certain pattern on either the 2 fasting days or the 5 normal eating days.

    Yep. My bad. Was thinking daily IF, rather than the weekly version. My opinion on 5:2 is it would be insane for me, but maybe ok for less active people. I was entering hulk smash mode yesterday after eating only 1300 calories by 7pm.

    Gotcha - BTW I manage to be very active on 5:2 although training fasted or training on a light calorie day took me a while to adjust. I can now do a full weights or cardio session on a 600 calorie day with no issues. It's had an unexpected benefit of helping my long distance cycling too - much reduced need to feed during the ride.

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