the 5:2 diet - eat, fast and live longer.

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ok, so I opened up my weekend magazine that comes with the newspaper, and the cover was about the 5:2 diet.

its the biggest thing supposedly since atkins etc etc.

basically you "fast" 2 days a week on 500cals on those days, and eat as you like on the other days.

now this isn't really something I'm into, but I am interested if there is a benefit for fasting once in a while.

also this diet brings up the point of cals in cals out. if you ate maintenance 5 days a week and the EXTREME 1500cals deficit for 2 days thats 3000cal deficit. so, if it doesn't matter when you eat, just how much you eat.

also theres the point of weather its healthy, and if you did just eat "anything" you want you could end up eating back your deficit or more.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9480451/The-52-diet-can-it-help-you-lose-weight-and-live-longer.html

this seems like the new thing, anyone heard of it?


*I'm not doing this diet. just to be clear.
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Replies

  • ledard
    ledard Posts: 19 Member
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    I dont know.... I like food to much to not eat enough of it
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
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    I do IF, but I do 20/4 (fast 20 hours, eat for 4 hours). I love it. I'm never hungry during the day anymore because my body has adjusted to only eating between 7pm and 11pm. 5:2 sounds hard because your body doesn't adjust to it. Too much mixing up of routine.
  • patrox247
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    I don't know much about dieting and/or nutrition so take this for what it's worth, but to me this diet doesn't sound like a good one because it doesn't do the one single most important thing that helps people keep the weight off rather than gain it all back. It doesn't teach consistent daily portion control. If you gave a kid sweets and junk food on certain days and then tried to balance them out by giving them nothing but healthy foods on other days what kind of discipline and habits would you expect those kids to develop? To me losing weight is about a lifestyle. Tricks to lose weight won't work in the long term because the thing that needs to change first and foremost even more than the food you eat is you. If you are a person who views food as a drug to bring you pleasure then it seems to me that might be a sign that your body is controlling you rather than you controlling it.
  • kariinbliss
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    I know several people who do IF, and it does great things for them. That said, any "diet" that says "eat whatever you want on these days" is setting the dieter up for failure. It doesn't matter if you only eat 500 calories 2 days a week if you are eating a gallon of ice cream on the other 5. You must consistently eat healthy food and burn more than you consume to be healthy. Fad diets are just ploys to make money!
  • imafitnesstrainerlara
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    There is ALOT of really interesting research on intermittent fasting. Most of it on rats....

    I think as a weight loss "diet" it is a horrible idea. It would appeal to those looking for a quick fix.

    However the research they do have (even if there's not a ton of human research yet) does show that it increases the life span, helps with insulin resistance, and other really good benefits, so if you can commit to making it a permanent part of your lifestyle go for it. There are many many benefits. I intermittent fasted for a while, and realized it was too hard with my current lifestyle so I just eat a low calorie diet without the fasts now. I did like it while I did it, and I felt really good most of the time, though I didn't do it long enough to see much in the way of results. I did a 20/4 daily split.
  • belben22
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    Sounds like way too much of a slippery slope to me from a well intentioned lifestyle change to an eating disorder...No way would I touch a diet like that...Fasting may help you lose weight short term but I hardly doubt it benefits the body systems &/or brain...

    Starving the body of nutrients is incredibly dangerous and wreaks of desperation to me. I would rather put the effort into creating healthy eating habits for life...

    I would be interested to see scientific research on 'fasting' diets like this and the users across a period of a decade or longer, including brain and organ effects...
  • NocturnalGirl
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    It seems like something that isn't very sustainable for a lifetime. Will they be energized enough to get on with their daily tasks and workouts normally during the long "fast"? It might be possible but it isn't something I would touch because it can easily be a slippery slope to disordered eating habits. Some people with EDs are unintentionally doing this diet in a way (i.e. binge/starve cycle). Psychologically speaking, I'm not sure it's so safe. Really depends on the person
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
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    Just to clarify, IF is not a "diet".

    From what I understand and my interpretation is that It's all a matter of when you eat your calories....it's not about not eating or potentially severe calorie restriction. The concept follows more of a weekly calorie goal, rather than daily. Also, it's not about eating "whatever you want". You would still make the same healthy food choices and/or follow your macro requirements as you would if you were eating every 2-3 hours. It's simply a preference.


    This method is completely sustainable...again, it's all about personal preference and what YOU find works best for YOU.

    I have now been doing IF for about 4 weeks and feel MUCH better. I follow a 14/10 split where I fast for 14 hours (btw, if you eat dinner at 6pm and then don't eat again until 6am that is a 12 hour fast). I really enjoy being able to have full big meals. I find that I feel much more satisfied than eating multiple times/day....but then again that's MY experience.

    Edit to add that I workout 5 mornings per week in a fasted state. I have absolutely no problem with energy whatsoever....again because I'm still eating the same calories as I would otherwise.
  • chubbygirl253
    chubbygirl253 Posts: 1,309 Member
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    I wouldn't even attempt it because I work out for 4 hrs a day usually and there's no way I could work out and only take in 500 calories for fuel. Today I didn't eat anything before my workout and I had to cut it short because I wasn't feeling well.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    I wouldn't even attempt it because I work out for 4 hrs a day

    tangent but WTF? Every day??!!

    And fasted training can be perfectly fine for some people by the way.

    PU: how can the body adjust to an alternate day feeding? How does it know if it is a feeding or fasting day?
  • nikilis
    nikilis Posts: 2,305 Member
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    I watched the Horizon documentary that seems to be where it all started.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AwvLN_HiLY

    its worth a watch. I'm interested in the benefits of fasting, not for weight loss but for the possible "health benefits"
  • Jenky85
    Jenky85 Posts: 190 Member
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    I did this for 2 weeks and lost 5lbs but then fell out of the habit of having my fast days and piled it all back on. I do enjoy it as a diet and like the idea behind minimising cancer risks etc.
  • wannalighter
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    Millions of Muslims do it every year without any negative effect. In fact, thye say it has very postive effects including cleansing the mind and body.

    There is medical evidence to show that fasting is not dangerous to health and, in fact, as postive effects:
    http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/072709p56.shtml
    Sounds like way too much of a slippery slope to me from a well intentioned lifestyle change to an eating disorder...No way would I touch a diet like that...Fasting may help you lose weight short term but I hardly doubt it benefits the body systems &/or brain...

    Starving the body of nutrients is incredibly dangerous and wreaks of desperation to me. I would rather put the effort into creating healthy eating habits for life...

    I would be interested to see scientific research on 'fasting' diets like this and the users across a period of a decade or longer, including brain and organ effects...
  • ChasingStarlight
    ChasingStarlight Posts: 424 Member
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    Heaps of people do IF here, I do 5:2 and fasted today. There is an Intermittent Fasting group here if you'd like to join us of just ask questions. Some people hide it though because others don't get it. We'll all be laughing though when we live to 120!
  • VictoriaWorksOut
    VictoriaWorksOut Posts: 195 Member
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    Fasting is great but must be done properly. There are different fasting for different reasons.

    If you decide to do it, do research first.

    I fast 1 day a week from 6pm to 6p the following day on water only, and resume to regular eating schedule, without compensating me with extra food because my body "starved" for 24 hours. We are far away from starvation, and eating is mostly a habit. For body to starve we would have to go 18-20 days without food, and huger will be so great you will feel that you are going to eat your shoes soles. For me Monday works the best, it is a busy day and goes by quickly.

    I fast because:

    1) Give my body a chance to flush toxins and allergens out. I am mildly allergic to dairy ( I discovered it after fasting for 5 days on water). By not adding anything new into system, my body can clean out slowly and safely what needs to go.

    2) Healing. Body has amazing ability to heal itself if we just give it a chance. By giving 24 hour break from food with drinking a lot of water, my body does not have to work hard on digestion, but instead it can direct that energy on healing itself.

    3) Makes me appreciate and enjoy food more, appreciate the nutritional value, instead of just eating mindlessly and getting my stomach stretched out bigger and bigger for the love of food. And I do love food.

    4) I read just past week "Eat Stop Eat" book online, and it had all the effects on fasting and muscle health information... a lot of info, and all is good.

    5) And to me, personally, this is one of the top reasons why I started doing it, fasting is Biblical. It is recommended and done for different reasons through the Bible.


    It is personal decision to fast. But from all that I read it makes more sense to fast on water only for the benefits in #1 and #2 above. If you are eating something, your body is working on digesting food and does not have break it needs for full benefits.

    Water fasting is not as bad as you might think, I am sure most people had a busy day when they did not had time to stop and eat, and they did not die because they did not had food until dinner. If you do 6pm to 6pm, most of the time you spend sleeping through the night. Get busy through the day, drink a lot of water. Then plan regular, healthy dinner at night and drink a lot of water through the day.
  • KBE1990
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    I sorta do that, some days I only eat 500, and the rest 1,000 - 1,200
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    I sorta do that, some days I only eat 500, and the rest 1,000 - 1,200

    I do not envy your metabolism.
  • tomcat941
    tomcat941 Posts: 47 Member
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    I did IF for a bit. One thing i learnt is that you can't exercise while fasting. I personaly struggle to exercise on a healthy stomach, so when i went to karate without breakfast i ended up fainting. So yeah, if you do it, make sure you don't do it on exercise days. Furthemore, the science behind it is mainl based on males, there isn't enough evidence to support that it has the same benefit for woman. It's interesting to do though, because you listen to you body a lot more, and you learn that hunger comes in short bursts, doesn't build consistently.
    Other than just stopping because of prefering to exercise to fasting, i also stopped because of insomnia. One thing it does is make ou way more alert. I already had insomnia, but with this i ended up unable to sleep for two days. It is a survival instinct, that only happens to females (apparently) and it is meant to help you to search for food if you were in a famine. It's a pain.
    I would recomend it for men, because the benefits were obvious. Wouldn't do it solely for weight loss, that would be a bit, counterproductive to your healthy mindset.
    Watch the eat, fast and live longer documentary and you can see that there are many benefits, but like i said it's only really based on males, so although if you're going to do it ou should go to the doctor, you should deffiantly go if you are female.

    However, i do occasionaly fast, mainly if i have binged the day before, and i'm still full of food. As far as i'm concerned my body doesn't want food, and it willt ell me when it is ready, otherwise i feel like i'm messing up my body more.
  • aga_tanga
    aga_tanga Posts: 4 Member
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    insomnia? heh. me and my girlfriend have been on 24h fasts every 3 days and she sleeps waay too much... like 8 to 10 hours a day. she does light exercise (30' mins elliptical every day) and she's never had any side effects to fasting.
  • katedodds
    katedodds Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi-I have been on her for a while but only filled in my profile today. Opinion seemed very divided about 5-2 fasting. Where would I find support from others on here who are interested and are not frightened of the horror stories? Have been doing it for about 5 weeks and am really enjoying it and feeling positive benefits...