Intermittent Fasting 5:2

eldamiano

Personally, I cant think of many more things less appealing than starving yourself for over a quarter of your life. Each to their own I suppose.

rybo

Interesting that the detractors are those who have never tried it and have no real information about it.

Yanicka1

I had great success with 5:2 but I stopped since starting crossfit, it made me feel too depleted for such an intense exercise.

casamystic

JourneysbyLK wrote: »

Hi

It has been a while that I have been on MFP!
Just wondering if anyone has had or having success on the 5:2 Intermittent fasting with doing 500cals 2 days a week. My interest is in health more than weight loss for mind clarity and possible prevention of Alzheimer's or dementia.
Cheers
Lynne

Hi folks. Never posted here before. I am currently on a weight loss program, since mid July. Precision Nutrition. I also decided to try at the same time intermittent fasting having read the book. I have done lots of diets and fasts in my life. Diets for weight loss and fasts for general health. Familiar with them both. I am almost 3 months in to the Precision Nutrition and also the intermittent fasting program. The PN has lost of exercise and strength training and I have been doing the IF 2 times a week. I find the IF to be really easy to follow. 500 calories 2 x a week. Most of the rest of the time my diet is really good. Lean protein, lots of veggies. Some fruits, not much sugar etc. So far I have lost a lot of weight, almost 17 pounds. I am stronger from the strength training. What I did notice one month in to the IF is my total cholesterol had plummeted 30 points since the last time I had it checked when I gave blood. I gave blood again last week and am waiting to see the results. My cholesterol was borderline high so this was a welcome event. I am very interested in seeing last weeks results. This is something that the book indicates does happen for some folks. If so, this is a trend that helps support that this is a "healthy" method for me to continue both for weight loss and general health. My life is very physical and I find that it is very easy to fit in 2 low calorie days a week. Of course I would rather not. But if it helps provide me with better blood chemistry, and weight loss then I will continue to do it until I am down to a weight I want to be. Then I might play with one day a week. Anyway, my two cents from a little bit of experience.

TeaBea

Since the upgrades......the group is now here:http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

I'm trying intermittent fasting, the 5:2 version. The 500 calories days aren't too bad as long as you are prepared. I still have to do some logging, or I tend to eat too much during maintenance days.

I don't do any exercise on the 500 calorie days....those are rest days. I save workouts for maintenance days.

LeonCX

The 5:2 "documentary" was quite deceptive, imo. The day after his 500 calorie day, they show him pigging out on fast food. It suggests you can "eat anything you want" on your non-fasting days. The problem is, you can't do that and expect to still lose weight. I was more interested in the anti-inflammatory effect of alternate day fasting, and not it's claims for weight control.

alazio

Can't do this. Eating too little in a day gives me a terrible migraine.

hotasfire36

This is interesting. I may try this

TeaBea

dulceproductions wrote: »

I'm following something called "The Rotation Diet" and have had great success. I rotate my calorie intake for a couple days at a time. It rotates from 600 to 1200 and then back to "normal". Not sure if the 5:2 follows the same concept, but from what I've read here in MFP forums, it sounds like it.

Um...no

AKA....Zig-Zagging.......I've done that (1980's). The 1980's version of the Rotation Diet was 7 days of dieting. If I remember it was something like a week of 600, 900, and 1200 calorie days. Weekly average was under my BMR (and under 1200 even) .....so I wouldn't do that one again.

Sounds like your version of Rotation Diet has been re-vamped. It's funny how these old diets come back. The Dolly Parton Diet is now called the "Fat Burning Soup" diet.

5:2 is different. It's 2 - 500 calorie days (1 or 2 meals usually) and 5 days of maintenance. My maintenance runs about 1,800. My entire deficit is created in 2 days. I've been losing about 1/2 pound a week.

Fasting is supposed to have lots of health benefits. I've never had bloodwork done before & after, so I can't personally attest to it. There have been a few studies pointing to various health benefits.

jvs125

I tried 5:2 and I also tried a 18:6 eating window. It wasn't for me.. With 5:2 I would overeat after a fast day and it was just too inconsistent for me. I need my days to be alike.. And on 18:6, well I was so hungry by the time it was time to eat, it wasn't pleasant for me or anyone around me. I lost at first but then gained back and more. So I guess I was just eating too much during my window, which is weird because I only had two meals in a small plate, no seconds, no snacks and no sweets. I still don't get why it wouldn't work, but even if it did, as I said it wasn't fun. For me, it just seems better to spread out my calories evenly throughout the day, every day. Too bad for me, since the science behind it seems compelling.

phanmale13

I was sceptical - always been overweight even as a young child and the only diet that *really* ever worked for me was when I was a guinea pig for Rosemary Conley's flat stomach plan. Unfortunately, I now take regular medication and it appears that it's causing a constant battle with my weight - a struggle just to maintain. I've tried all sorts, weight loss clinics, diet chef, even resorting back to the diet that actually worked for me with little or no success. Before I get the "eat less, exercise more" comments, I was working out at the gym for 30 minutes a day, an intensive zumba workout 4 times a week and using the Wii Fit at home until I was told it was accelerating my bipolar highs and to stop completely (advice from a GP). The only time I managed to lose weight simply was to stop taking my medication and within 2 weeks I'd easily lost 7lbs. At an annual medical, the nurse actually agreed that my medication was probably playing a part but of all the weight loss tips and tricks, the only one she mentioned that I hadn't tried was the 5:2 - nothing to lose so I thought I'd give it a go.
3 weeks on and I've lost over half a stone, and inches from my measurements.
On an 8 mile round trip walk with my son (I walk a lot) and a 5:2 conversation, he actually compared it to a lot of animal's normal diet - quite frequently, animals in the wild will eat their kill, then eat very little until the next available food on tap.
While it's working, I'm going to stick to it....

Tubbs216

phanmale13 wrote: »

... I was a guinea pig for Rosemary Conley's flat stomach plan.

Is she still around? I think I still have a copy of her Hip & Thigh Diet on my shelf somewhere!! LOW FAT was the name of the game then, wasn't it. Never heard of the flat stomach plan though.

Glad to hear you're having success with 5:2. I keep thinking about it, more from the health perspective than for weight loss though.

phanmale13

Tubbs216 wrote: »

phanmale13 wrote: »

... I was a guinea pig for Rosemary Conley's flat stomach plan.

Is she still around? I think I still have a copy of her Hip & Thigh Diet on my shelf somewhere!! LOW FAT was the name of the game then, wasn't it. Never heard of the flat stomach plan though.

Glad to hear you're having success with 5:2. I keep thinking about it, more from the health perspective than for weight loss though.

It was 1994 and I had my success printed in the book when it came out! I had to do follow a diet sheet that hadn't been published at the time and give feedback after 4, 8 and 12 weeks. I lost 4 dress sizes and was the slimmest I'd been in years (before and since).

Think her stuff is mainly based online now and she still follows the 5% fat rule although she does have a version of the 5:2 although the calorie deficit isn't as low as the 500 for women/600 for men.

As I said, I was sceptical about the 5:2, but got a copy of the book cheap during a supermarket shop, watched the "eat fast, live longer" documentary and thought I'd give it a go! There is a lot of information available on the internet and it isn't a costly diet unlike slimming groups or diet foods that you can buy. I'm not saying they don't work, just that they didn't work for me. It's been a constant struggle to keep my weight stable and not gain any more weight, but personally, so far at least, have found the 5:2 concept easy to follow and it's working!