Has anyone tried intermittent fasting / 5:2 Diet?

ArroganceInStep

There is no special secret to dieting.

Eat enough food to fuel your body, but not so much that you gain weight or gain weight too quickly
Get enough nutrition to support the strain you put on your body
Get enough rest
Exercise

That's it.

Any special diet or plan is just packaging.

I eat one meal a day at night, and a couple protein shakes throughout the day. I do this because I like eating large meals. There's nothing special about my diet though. If my one meal + shakes is under my TDEE, I'll lose weight. If it's over, I'll gain. My wife eats 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. She does that because she doesn't like going for long periods without a snack. There's nothing superior or inferior about her diet versus mine, assuming we're both getting adequate nutrition. Neither of us have hit some perfect harmony where our DNA starts singing Eye of the Tiger and we turn into Neo and beat the crap out of Hugo Weaving.

There's nothing special about dieting, find a program that suits you and that you can stick with, and go for it. Finding a healthy diet that you can sustain long term is the tricky part, but the health benefits folks claim are largely derived from calorie restriction, not in only eating when the minute hand and second hand are at right angles with each other and the hour is divisible by 3.

xRedHeaterx

There is a lot of good information and useful links in this thread, thanks guys. Maybe it's too early to make solid conclusions about the diet and its health gains. I can understand people who have suffered at the hands of various restrictive diets being skeptical, but it pays to be open minded in this game. Oh, and doesn't it say in the bible that Jesus fasted for 40 days straight? .

Still, if you have found something that works without fasting, good for you. I have, but I would certainly consider giving IF a try. It might get the weight off quicker, improve my social life and/or have other benefits. I suspect it isn't for me but I'd like to give it a try for interest and the learning experience.

For those that have tried it, can you do any exercise on your fasting days? I think somebody said they walked. How about weights? I am talking about 5 2 or alternate day IF not the lean gains version.

jaaylow

"In saying that, I do not recommend it to anyone who has had any possibility of an ED or anyone who is hypoglycemic"

I can b hypoglycemic but have not found it a problem at all. The non fasting days I have been following a low GL eating plan and this combined with the 5:2 has really helped regulate my blood sugar. I am not hungry on non fasting days and do not get shaky or irritable.

I have been following the 5:2 diet for 2 weeks now so I am on my third fasting day. My next one is on Thursday. The article in the Sunday Times was great, very helpful. I do feel hungry but just distract myself. Yesterday was my fasting day and I ate, a pot of tescos soup for lunch , total 260 calories, 2 egg onion omelette with loads of herbs 200 calories and half a slice of low GL bread 45 calories, Total 505 calories. As well as really enjoying and appreciating the food, I honestly felt quite good all day. I technically fast 36 hours as I stopped eating at dinner time on Sunday, and only had 500 calories until I woke up this morning.

This morning I was hungry but certainly not ravenous, and I was quite happy with my bowl of porridge, half a grated apple and half a teaspoon of cinnamon. I just dont feel like gorging. I'm finding the experience on the whole quite a positive one as I am enjoying my food more. I am more aware of what I am eating and although I ensure its healthy it also needs to be really tasty!!
Im cooking a lot of Jamie Olivers 15 min meals and tweaking a little to keep the GL's (essentially carbs) down and its working well so far.

Lost 4lbs on the first week.

I dont feel like I have lost anymore but I will resist weighing myself daily and wait until the end of the week.

sijomial

There is no special secret to dieting.

Eat enough food to fuel your body, but not so much that you gain weight or gain weight too quickly
Get enough nutrition to support the strain you put on your body
Get enough rest
Exercise

That's it.

Any special diet or plan is just packaging.

I eat one meal a day at night, and a couple protein shakes throughout the day. I do this because I like eating large meals. There's nothing special about my diet though. If my one meal + shakes is under my TDEE, I'll lose weight. If it's over, I'll gain. My wife eats 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. She does that because she doesn't like going for long periods without a snack. There's nothing superior or inferior about her diet versus mine, assuming we're both getting adequate nutrition. Neither of us have hit some perfect harmony where our DNA starts singing Eye of the Tiger and we turn into Neo and beat the crap out of Hugo Weaving.

There's nothing special about dieting, find a program that suits you and that you can stick with, and go for it. Finding a healthy diet that you can sustain long term is the tricky part, but the health benefits folks claim are largely derived from calorie restriction, not in only eating when the minute hand and second hand are at right angles with each other and the hour is divisible by 3.

Agree with much of what you are saying but it's a bit more complex than this for the health benefits associated with intermittent fasting in particular.
Two groups of mice fed the same diet (same calories), one group could eat their food whenever they choose, the other were time restricted. Marked differences in both weight and health markers were seen.

Time-Restricted Feeding without Reducing Caloric Intake Prevents Metabolic Diseases in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413112001891

HuwaydaS

Fasting for long periods, scientifically isn't very good for you because you wont be getting your daily intake of calories....

Sandyshaw63

Hi,

My wife tried this in the month run up to Christmas, and whilst I am sure there are effective results especially if you try it over the longer term, you have to beware of things such as headaches (maybe due to not deriving enough water from your food...?), and increased tiredness.
She only tried it for a month to see what the results might have been, but she struggled through the 'fasting' days, consuming 500 calories max.

Good luck if you decide to try it, and it would be interesting if you see some great results that you could share on this board.

Me? I only need to 'slenderise' (heard that term on th Hairy Dieters programme recently), and am following a calorie restricted diet.

Mind you, you could do worse than have a look at the Hairy Dieters book, available from the usual shops, and Kindle.

Good luck!!

ArroganceInStep

Agree with much of what you are saying but it's a bit more complex than this for the health benefits associated with intermittent fasting in particular.
Two groups of mice fed the same diet (same calories), one group could eat their food whenever they choose, the other were time restricted. Marked differences in both weight and health markers were seen.

Time-Restricted Feeding without Reducing Caloric Intake Prevents Metabolic Diseases in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413112001891

I see your rat study, and raise you a study that says 'we have no idea wtf is going on'
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9155494

I don't disagree that there may be some small benefit from timing and other such things, but I suspect that it has a lot to do with hormone regulation. The thing is, hormonal response varies from person to person, which would make the 'perfect meal plan' very difficult to determine (that's just speculation, but it makes sense to me). Even with the benefit taken into consideration, I still think adherence is king. If eating X makes you most likely to stick with your diet, it really doesn't matter that Y diet is a bit better.

Bex2Bslim

Hi, quick Q, read most of posts but not all so sorry if I'm repeating here.

Can your 24hrs start from any time during the day, from lunchtime to lunchtime for example?

Vailara

Hi, quick Q, read most of posts but not all so sorry if I'm repeating here.

Can your 24hrs start from any time during the day, from lunchtime to lunchtime for example?

Yes, The Fast Diet suggests trying that. I'm giving it a go at the moment, and it's a LOT easier than fasting from night to night. I'm doing it from evening meal to evening meal. It's too early to say whether it's effective or not. I'm considering doing it 3 times a week instead of 2.

Vailara

Fasting for long periods, scientifically isn't very good for you because you wont be getting your daily intake of calories....

Like most people here, I'm trying to restrict my daily calories anyway. The idea is that it might be easier to restrict a lot on two days out of seven, rather than restrict a little for all seven days.

sjohnny

Fasting for long periods, scientifically isn't very good for you because you wont be getting your daily intake of calories....

Did you even read this thread before you posted this random statement?

momiller54

I started with my first fast day yesterday and found it surprisingly easy to do. I measured out half a pint of skimmed milk and used it in my tea throughout th day and then finished the allowance off with a decaffeinated coffee last thing. This helped keep my hunger pangs at bay. I skipped breakfast and had a light lunch. I had home made vegetable soup followed by sardines with rocket and radishes in the evening. I made the mistake of weighing myself this morning and I was heavier, so I shall resist temptation and only weigh myself once a week. I have eaten sensibly today, but logging my food on here, shows that I eat high protein and low carbs. I have already used up my protein allocation and I am planning a chicken dinner tonight.

JillyCornwall

Bump to read later as been doing 4:3 a few months

Capt_Apollo

i really dislike this thread because a lot of people are going to take the wrong information from it.

Sarauk2sf

Hi, quick Q, read most of posts but not all so sorry if I'm repeating here.

Can your 24hrs start from any time during the day, from lunchtime to lunchtime for example?

Look into ESE (Eat Stop Eat).

Sarauk2sf

Agree with much of what you are saying but it's a bit more complex than this for the health benefits associated with intermittent fasting in particular.
Two groups of mice fed the same diet (same calories), one group could eat their food whenever they choose, the other were time restricted. Marked differences in both weight and health markers were seen.

Time-Restricted Feeding without Reducing Caloric Intake Prevents Metabolic Diseases in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413112001891

I see your rat study, and raise you a study that says 'we have no idea wtf is going on'
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9155494

I don't disagree that there may be some small benefit from timing and other such things, but I suspect that it has a lot to do with hormone regulation. The thing is, hormonal response varies from person to person, which would make the 'perfect meal plan' very difficult to determine (that's just speculation, but it makes sense to me). Even with the benefit taken into consideration, I still think adherence is king. If eating X makes you most likely to stick with your diet, it really doesn't matter that Y diet is a bit better.

And the issue is that the mice were not restricted with the amount they ate - which is not relevant when comparing an IF calorie restricted diet to a non-IF calorie restricted diet.

chrisdavey

Agree with much of what you are saying but it's a bit more complex than this for the health benefits associated with intermittent fasting in particular.
Two groups of mice fed the same diet (same calories), one group could eat their food whenever they choose, the other were time restricted. Marked differences in both weight and health markers were seen.

Time-Restricted Feeding without Reducing Caloric Intake Prevents Metabolic Diseases in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet
Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413112001891

I see your rat study, and raise you a study that says 'we have no idea wtf is going on'
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9155494

I don't disagree that there may be some small benefit from timing and other such things, but I suspect that it has a lot to do with hormone regulation. The thing is, hormonal response varies from person to person, which would make the 'perfect meal plan' very difficult to determine (that's just speculation, but it makes sense to me). Even with the benefit taken into consideration, I still think adherence is king. If eating X makes you most likely to stick with your diet, it really doesn't matter that Y diet is a bit better.

And the issue is that the mice were not restricted with the amount they ate - which is not relevant when comparing an IF calorie restricted diet to a non-IF calorie restricted diet.

The other issue being that we are humans, not rats.

melaniecheeks

It's an approach to eating. It might suit some people and not others.

It's not really fasting (ie eating nothing), it's a reduced calorie window.
I don't think the odd down day interspersed with days of 1200+ eating are going to trigger starvation mode.
Many people on this site quite rightly condemn faddy cleanses like the lemonade cleanse or detoxing, stating that your body does that itself. Well, this is a way of ensuring that your liver is doing it's job.
I like alcohol - but I make sure I have a few days a week without it. The 5:2 approach is for me a similar attitude to food.

Plus, I know I got to the weight I was (am) by eating too much. Reducing that dependence or habit is going to be a key factor in success.

Sophie_UK

I have done a fair amount of background reading into fasting and the health benefits of fasting (not starving) are what made Intermittent fasting appeal to me, although the weight loss is an obviously a bonus! 24 hours isn't enough to put your body into starvation mode, particularly if you follow the 5:2 diet and consume 500/600 calories.

I think the bottom line is people should do their homework and understand how fasting works and how to make it work for them if weight loss is the aim. Research using mice/rats shouldn't be written off just because it is not carried out on humans. Rodents are a very useful model for much scientific research, they are mammalian and have similar (albeit not identical) systems to us.

)

Sarauk2sf

I have done a fair amount of background reading into fasting and the health benefits of fasting (not starving) are what made Intermittent fasting appeal to me, although the weight loss is an obviously a bonus! 24 hours isn't enough to put your body into starvation mode, particularly if you follow the 5:2 diet and consume 500/600 calories.

I think the bottom line is people should do their homework and understand how fasting works and how to make it work for them if weight loss is the aim. Research using mice/rats shouldn't be written off just because it is not carried out on humans. Rodents are a very useful model for much scientific research, they are mammalian and have similar (albeit not identical) systems to us.

)

They are a good starting point but there are some very significant differences between how we react and mice/rats react.