5:2 fasting diet anyone?

ElGordoyFeo

Hello
Yes, on the fast diet too.
Michael Mosely's programme certainly explained the benefits.
I guess I'm doing this principally for the health benefits - want to lower my blood pressure, lower risks of diabetes etc
And lose weight in the process.
I'm a scientist and I'm afraid despite all the 100's of diets and regimes, it is still calories in v. calories out!
Hopefully by following this I'll get healthier and lose weight too.

Happy to befriend anyone trying the same and has similar profile to me!

ElGordoyFeo

I appreciate peoples comments, but unfortunately as we all know - diets, like clothes, are not "one size fits all" and I find this kind of diet far easier and sustainable than anything else I have tried.

To sum this up, all I can say is that you are terribly misinformed that 500 calories a day anytime is sustainable or even healthy.

Our bodies are not that different when you base a diet off of TDEE and BMR, anyone can have success by eating the right amount of food, not by starving themselves.

I think fbmandy is missing the point - you only reduce your cals to a quarter on 2 non-consecutive days - normal for the rest of the week, which is the real motivator. Only having 600 cals for a day is not unhealthy and it is sustainable for 2 non-conec. days a week. In fact it is natural! We feast on the big kill then when it's gone we forage for berries until the next big feast. We have evolved into a must-have 3 meals a day, every day and we're getting fat & unhealthy. Have a look at the Horizon programme:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvdbtt_eat-fast-live-longer-hd_shortfilms#.UOOjXKz47XS

It seems to be working. It's not a diet it's just a way of living.

ndj1979

I do lean gains 18/8 ....skip breakfast...20% of cals at lunch then largest meal is post workout..I still eat about 2400 calories a day.

www.leangains.com

I started three months ago and have gone from 16% body fat to 13% body fat....

If you feel comfortable with doing the 5:2 then give it a shot for four weeks and see how it goes...I prefer IF 18/8 because I can continue to eat normal calorie/macro intake during the week and do not have to have a 24 hour fast day or low calorie day..but that is just me...

ndj1979

Actually, doing that will put you behind, not kick-start anything.

Calculate your TDEE and eat a 15-20% cut from that. You have to fuel the furnace to keep it burning strong.

meal timing has nothing to do with metabolism...this is the biggest myth out there.....I used to buy into this line of thought too, but it is not true. You get a small metabolic burn by eating six small meals or whatever...but you can get the same burn with one high calorie/high protein meal because four hours later you body will still be breaking down protein which is what causes the increase in metabolic burn in the first place...

JessHealthKick

...but I still don't really understand how a calorie of one thing is better or worse than a calorie of another?

I live of 1200kcal a day, and I can tell you that eating HEALTHY is so important.

You can go to Maccas and get a meal that is close to 1000 calories and has very little nutrients that is good for your body - your body doesn't function on simply X calories, but rather, functions on nutrients etc. It is so SO imperative people have the correct nutrients for a healthy body and healthy life, so simply counting and eating 5 chocolate bars a day is not the way to go.

If you wanna see my diary feel free to add me as a friend I have had a reasonably healthy lifestyle as a kid (always home cooked, always veggies at each meal, never takeout until university) so I am very much so in the rhythm and simply refining my life style.

What also concerned me is you say 'diet'. You should never diet. You should change your lifestyle. Live for your body and your health, not 1month in the year when you fast and play with your body, but in the long run!

Anyway, good luck with everything - just try not to fast too much, don't see it doing any good, I just imagine you starving your body of vital nutrients. Especially if all you will eat in the day is a sandwich and banana

Mcstephen

We have just started on the 5:2 diet and with very careful planning it's not feeling too restrictive. A lot of research shows that our 'normal' eating patterns are all wrong, our bodies haven't adapted to our ever increasingly inactive lifestyle. Apparently it takes a few thousand years to make small changes, this is why it is easier to hold on to weight than it is to lose it. The 5:2 diet sounds more severe than it is; for five days every week you eat a normal diet and the other two you eat a couple of low fat, high fibre, lean protein meals. This means that the fasts are only a few hours long. The body is designed to cope with this style of lifestyle, no one is proposing that you go for very long without food it isn't really a true fast.

So far we normally have some porridge for breakfast; made with water and seasoned with salt, at lunch time usually it's fat free 100% vegetable soup with spices and fresh herbs to pep it up, maybe a small piece of fruit when I get in and for dinner something like grilled chicken with roasted veg or steak and salad. All in all it's a very healthy diet with no processed food. Dr. Michael Mosely's book and the documentary that went with it were really interesting. Obviously this lifestyle won't suit everyone and it isn't just a short term quick fix: the research is worth checking out. It isn't as drastic as it sounds and it does actually give you quite a lot of freedom.

The results are proving that for us it works and it many ways it is less restrictive than calorie counting 24/7. One thing we have found on your non restricted days is that you don't go mad. During the first week My 20 year son thought he would have a few treats, so for elevenses he had a mocha and a chocolate croissant and then when it came to lunch time he struggled to eat his packed lunch of a ham salad roll and a lowfat yogurt with a piece of fruit- he's 6'2" and is into weight lifting so it wasn't eaxactly a huge lunch anyway.

We intend sticking with it as for us it works. Read more about it before you dismiss it as a fad diet. I admit the name is of putting and is a little misleading as it isn't really a true fast.

martinh78

do you get to eat whatever you want on the 5 days? Then I don't see how you would lose unless your average intake is at a deficit..

No, you eat normally for those five days. Normal as in a normal healthy diet, not normal as in big macs and pizzas as often as you like. I eat 1600 Cals on my feeding days as that's what I was eating before I started IF. You are right, your average intake would need to be in deficit to lose weight.

I'm trying it for health benefits rather than weight loss, although I do need to kick start my BF% downwards as that had stalled.

chrisdavey

Join the intermittent fasting group and red the faqs. Disregard must peoples advice here.

ElGordoyFeo

Join the intermittent fasting group and red the faqs. Disregard must peoples advice here.

I think most people can make their own minds up Chris. And although the 5:2 regime is a type of IF it does deserve its own group.
Dr Mosely's programme/book were well received and the science well tested.

chrisdavey

IF group, 5:2 group. Whatever Basically, asking for advice on anything IF is generally not a good idea on the main forums because of the misinformed masses.

Fatandfifty3

Hi, I'm doing the 5:2 or something similar. You seem to have kicked a hornets nest on here! For what it's worth I've been doing it for a week and had a good response all in all. We are all different and what works for one will not necessarily work for another. Its Whatever Works For You. It works for me. The 'fast' days I find I look forward to as there is no pressure to eat and balance stuff. I find I'm not constantly thinking 'What can I eat/what should I eat?' as I know the next day I can eat well. My body certainly likes it.
Feel free to friend me.

AmandaW01

I will be genuinely interested to see the results a year or two down the line. I won't be attempting this - I suffer with severe hypoglycaemia if I don't eat regularly and a decent amount - I did try a fasting diet a while back and was so ill after a few weeks of it that I had to stop - but that's me and my body. If it works then great - the whole natural thing though.... we have been farming for millenia and keeping animals, we are several hundred generations from cave man and hunter gatherer.... Yes, our bodies can cope, whether its healthy - I don't know, I'm not a doctor and only time and research will tell :-) I say go for whatever suits you, whatever works for you, and take what you can from other people but listen to your body - it alone knows you and what will work best for you :-)

elizamc

I appreciate peoples comments, but unfortunately as we all know - diets, like clothes, are not "one size fits all" and I find this kind of diet far easier and sustainable than anything else I have tried.
I am fat, not stupid, and I have researched fasting diets, particularly for the health benefits. I am not advocating them for anyone else; was just curious if anyone else had actually tried it as I keep reading in the newspapers how popular they are. Although apparently not here!

I know just what you mean, its what works for you, that will work long term and is manageable and sustainable. I found a really supportive MFP link on here this morning but can't find it now, will message it to you when I find it!

thechickentrain

I find doing IF 16/8 daily a more stress free system and easier way to IF, Rather than doing it for solid days at a time, you can lose 1-2 lbs per week easily.

acpgee

After seeing the BBC Horizon documentary I did 5:2 between August and October of 2012 and lost 10 kg in three months. I did cheat by netting 500 on fast days by doing a big cardio workout, rather than only eating 500 cals.. No problems training while semi-fasted. So in that respect I probably didn't get some of the other health benefits associated to intermittent fasting such as lower triglycerides and improved insulin sensitivity.

Pros: I lost weight more steadily than I do now at a similar daily calorie deficit. I liked having an extra buffer of calories to eat on the weekends for coping with social events. I thought that I would find occasional extreme deprivation easier to deal with psychologically than the constant low level deprivation of calorie counting. After all, if you crave something naughty you only have to wait one day to have enough calorie budget to make room for it.

Cons. I found the fasting days quite tough. I stopped while on vacation and never re-started.

I think the key is is psychological: Can you deal with occasional extreme deprivation better than constant low level deprivation? My GP used to fast one day a week whenever he noticed his weight creeping up, by the way, so I think it is a sustainable lifestyle. I never noticed any detrimental metabolic effects with this eating pattern. I even enjoyed that strange metallic taste in your mouth associated with ketosis, because it meant i was burning fat.

Searley_Pants

I've been doing it since January and I love it, ignore all the know-it-alls on here (they are actually ignorant know-sweet-*kitten*-alls haha), like some have said, you can research it for yourself and make your mind up, I have found I actually look forward to my fast days now! My piece of advice which I tell EVERYONE whether they're 5:2 or not is to download the change4life app, it has some great meals on there that you can have on fast day as well. Also I find it is much easier to plan your fast days out in advance so you're not planning as you go and thinking about loads of different food! Feel free to add me, my diary is open and you can see my fast days for ideas!