5:2 diet - who is doing this?

roguex_1979
roguex_1979 Posts: 247 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there,

I recently read something about this diet and I'm wondering how it really works.

Is it a case that over a 7 days period, your deficit is still actually 3500 thereby allowing you to lose 1lb a week, or is it really a case of eating what you like on 5 days and then very low calories on the 2 fating days, or is there something completely different that I'm missing?

I'm not a skeptic, I genuinely want to know if this is something that people have tried and found it works. So far, I have been eating about 1300 cals a day (although I seem to have more cheat days than I care to admit, although I do log everything, so I'm not surprised when I don't lose or put on) and this has yielded about 0.8 - 1.2lb loss a week, which is good, but someone mentioned you can lose 14lbs in 6 weeks on this diet.

Can anyone explain it or point me in the direction of where I can find out more information?

Thanks!
:flowerforyou:

Replies

  • roguex_1979
    roguex_1979 Posts: 247 Member
    I know you're out there; I can hear you fasting!
  • Mousiechan
    Mousiechan Posts: 11
    My husband and I are doing this and have been doing so for 4 weeks. It definitely works; he has lost 2.5 kg and I have lost 2 kg since starting. We bought Michael Mosley's book on Amazon and follow his guidelines. Also called intermittent Fasting. It is not hard to do and it's good as the calories are restricted for one day and then you're OK until the next fast day.:drinker:
  • geecee77
    geecee77 Posts: 149 Member
    I started it a week ago using Kate Harrisons book. Finding it easier to do the two 500cal days than I expected.
  • tinydancer4
    tinydancer4 Posts: 114 Member
    i tried it, but it wasn't for me. I just couldn't get through a whole day at work on 500 calories! I do know a lot of people who are doing it though and it seems to work for them. Particularly the men, for some reason!
  • EmmaKarney
    EmmaKarney Posts: 690 Member
    What makes this any more effective than just spreading your calorie deficit over 7 days equally?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    There is a lot more to it than just creating a weekly deficit by having two very low calorie days.
    Have a look at this website for more info - http://thefastdiet.co.uk/
    Well worth reading the book.

    There's a group on here - http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/7953-5-2-fasting

    My wife and I have been following the 5:2 regime since August, I hit goal weight in January and my wife has lost 35lbs to date.
    By the way the idea is not to lose weight quickly, that would indicate that someone is either very overweight to start with or they are calorie restricting on the 5 normal days of the week as well as having a large calorie deficit on the 2 fasting days.
  • roguex_1979
    roguex_1979 Posts: 247 Member
    So, to those who are doing the diet, how many calories do you eat on the 5 normal days? My problem with my weight gain is that I was really overeating, but I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't lose weight at all if I carried on the way I had...
  • MsPudding
    MsPudding Posts: 562 Member
    So, to those who are doing the diet, how many calories do you eat on the 5 normal days? My problem with my weight gain is that I was really overeating, but I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't lose weight at all if I carried on the way I had...

    I'm doing 5:2 and sometimes 4:3. On the normal eating days I aim to eat to my TDEE (2110 in my case.) The other thing I did was set my TDEE to sedentary so when I do exercise it's on top and therefore I eat back the exercise calories.

    I was pretty scared initially at the amount of food I'm eating on non-fast days, however the scales don't lie and the scales say that in 3 weekly weigh-ins I've lost 11lbs and my BF% on the scales has gone from 52% to 48%. I'm near the end of my 4th week now - weigh-in tomorrow.

    As said above though, it's not just about the weight loss. Yes, the fast days create a weekly calorie deficit and that will make you drop pounds, but early studies are also suggesting that eating this way speeds up the metabolism and gives you the benefits of alternate day fasting; lowering of 'bad' cholesterol, triglycerides, blood/glucose and the studies done thus far on animals show lowering of risk towards cancer, stroke, heart disease and Alzheimer's. Now obviously we don't yet know if those results will hold true when done in humans - but the bottom line is that the results gained so far from humans have all been positive. There doesn't seem to be a downside to IF other than feeling a bit hungry on some days.

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