5:2 Diet Craze

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  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Averaging 1650 calories/day with the 2 fast days.

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    Todays MFP goals (13th just about over here)

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    So, you're eating at a deficit on a lot of your 'feeding' days too? Is this an active choice or by accident?

    Both my dad and I were tempted by this style of eating after watching the programme. However, I then read the various articles about how it was less clearly beneficial for women, so I think I'll leave him to it :laugh:

    It is big news here in the UK. A friend hopes to use it after she's lost weight on a shake-based diet, making the 500kcal days shake days. I hope it works for her because she is great at losing but not so great at keeping it off.
  • Jude_V
    Jude_V Posts: 72 Member
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    I think there's a reason why women are recommended to only eat 500 a day and men 600 a day on fasting days - I am guessing it helps with the health benefits and if you eat 1000 then it's just not going to trigger the body reactions you listed in your post.

    Hiya...yes the reason is that it's 25% of the average woman's daily calorie allowance (2000) and I've only ever seen that as the explanation for the 500 cal figure. My TDEE is almost 3000 - 25% wouldn't quite get me to 1000 but, if it were more manageable for some people starting on the 5:2 I'd take a risk and say it's probably worth it...maybe until you get used to it?
  • caribougal
    caribougal Posts: 865 Member
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    Over eat five days a week and make up for it by under eating two days a week? Why? Just eat better all the time. It's simply not that difficult.

    Yeah. Not judging, but this is what I don't get about this and similar eating patterns, like IF.

    I did a daily deficit for 10 months and lost 23 lbs. I decided to try out 5:2 just to change things up, and it got me the last 3 lbs to goal. It's just another approach to eating at a deficit but focusing on a weekly goal rather than daily goal. And as a poster above says, the science is not conclusive yet about the benefits of fasting but it's promising and I look forward to more research showing up in this area.
  • Keiras_Mom
    Keiras_Mom Posts: 844 Member
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    For those who say they can't eat just x00 kcals a day, I think there's a twist. The rule is that you have to eat 500/600 kcals in a 24 hour period which means prior to that 24 hour period, you can have a nice big feed at 11am and a nice big feed at 12 noon the next day, with a light dinner of 500/600 kcals on the evening of the first day. Which means you've had just 500/600 kcals in a 24 hour timeframe but during each day you may well have eaten 1500 calories! Another rule is that you're not supposed to do "fasts" two days in a row (they're not proper fasts as you are eating light snacks whenever you want to a total of 500 or 600 kcals).

    Not true. Per the documentary, AND the book, it's 500 calories or fewer between sleeping periods, NOT within a 24 hour period. You're effectively fasting nearly 36 hours.
  • xxTracey
    xxTracey Posts: 85 Member
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    I'm on week 3 its actually not that difficult, even just having home made soup which is super low in calories but still fills you up its actually not as dificult as it seems. I'm on a fast day today, had weatabix fo breakfast, having soup for lunch and a yoghurt and i still have like 150 calories left so could always just have more soup if i get hungry later xx
  • Brads2ndLife
    Brads2ndLife Posts: 72
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    So, you're eating at a deficit on a lot of your 'feeding' days too? Is this an active choice or by accident?

    Pretty much an accident. I am trying to eat whenever i am hungry #1, and then fitting in suitable calorie snacks/meals as I learn how big they need to be.

    Drinking 6 litres of water per day helps me eat to a low calorie level without hunger pang problems I think.

    It's weird I can do it coming off probably 4000+ calories every day for a long time. But glad I can for now.
  • fattyfoodie
    fattyfoodie Posts: 232 Member
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    Bumping for later.
  • toutmonpossible
    toutmonpossible Posts: 1,580 Member
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    It's not a "craze." In the video, Eat, Fast and LIve Longer, journalist Michael Mosley (who has a medical degree) discusses various forms of fasting, including 5:2.

    http://video.pbs.org/video/2363162206/
  • Loisxyz
    Loisxyz Posts: 17
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    I had the same issues with binging on non-fast days and quit after 5 months. I hadn't lost an ounce over all that time and had actually put a bit on. I think you need slightly more than 500 calories if you are overweight already although my already slim friends have done well on it.

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