Eat, Fast and Live Longer (BBC Program)

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Replies

  • Baileys83
    Baileys83 Posts: 152 Member
    5:2 eater here and I LOVE it - really works for me. No headaches or other ill feelings on fasting days - between 1200 and 1500 5 days a week and 500 for for 2 random days. I actually plan my days round my life - if I know I am going to be out for lunch then I obviously won't fast on that day. I am loosing the weight and feel really good. Had so many comments on how good I look especially since I only had my third child 11 months ago :)
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    It works for some people. It's in its early days, yes, so studies as to its effectiveness are ongoing. Like any approach to eating, some methods are more suitable to certain types of people. This is definitely NOT for anyone with an ED tendency, children or those still growing (who shouldn't really be on MFP but lets leave that aside...), and pregnant women.

    500 calories , twice a week, is actually very livable with long term, given that on the other 5 days you can eat at maintenance level, so evenings out or social events are very manageable. Dr Mosely, of the documentary and book, switched to a 6:1 approach once he'd reached his goal weight.

    Some people find their energy levels are just fine, if not increased. I had a 500 cal day yesterday, and completed a 5k run this morning before breakfast, beating the time that I did that route last week by almost 2 minutes. So I don't find it negatively impacts on my performance. But when I'm doing more endurance type runs, I wouldn't attempt to do those in a fasted state.

    If you search the "groups" here on MFP you'll find at least 2 on this 5:2 approach.
  • Imanido
    Imanido Posts: 186 Member
    Thanks for posting, before comenting I would love to see the program. There seems to be quite interesting links to follow. I have tried IF for a short time while on the cutting phase. It is hard but I am always open to see/read about results in studies/research independently of how comfortable or uncomfortable it might seem to follow. As they say in my country ("knowledge doesn't take space") :-)
  • marsellient
    marsellient Posts: 591 Member
    Here's a review from Dr. Yoni Freedhoff (Bariatric Institute, Ottawa)

    http://www.weightymatters.ca/2013/04/diet-book-review-fast-diet.html
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    I'm not convinced about the 'Live Longer' part - I'm pretty sure it'd just feel longer.

    Some people do well on IF. For others it's a terrible idea. I've been observing several collgeagues following the 5:2 plan. Some of them didn't last a day, others lasted a couple of weeks, and a couple are actually doing well.

    Those that couldn't keep it up felt terrible on fasting days - tired, no energy, headaches, grumpy, etc. and then ended up eating more on non-fasting days because they felt they'd earned it.

    Those that are doing well are indeed losing weight at a steady rate. However I don't know anyone that's been on it long term to know if it's possible to keep the weight off long term. Many people are successful at losing weight. Very few are successful at maintaining the loss.
  • Iron_Feline
    Iron_Feline Posts: 10,750 Member
    Here's a review from Dr. Yoni Freedhoff (Bariatric Institute, Ottawa)

    http://www.weightymatters.ca/2013/04/diet-book-review-fast-diet.html

    Excellent article and address all my concerns about the benefits being more anecdotal than backed by science. Especially the studies done on IGF-1 as that is one of the reasons people go on about the diet, interesting that the studies don't back up the the anecdotal evidence on Dr Mosley's study of one,

    This comment is very interesting

    " Dr. Varady's work with ADMF dieters which showed that folks randomized to intermittent fasting ala The Fast Diet's style for 6 months were far less likely than those randomized to more traditional caloric restriction to want to sustain the intervention (58% vs. 85%)."

    This goes with my thoughts that it would be fine to do it for a while, but most people would do better with learning to eat in moderation everyday as a long term sustainable way to lose weigh and keep it off. I think for a lot of people this is just the latest fad diet - people looking for a quick fix - where they can justify their over eating on 5 days as it is balance out by the 2 fast days.

    Again - I'm sure it works for some people but for most I think a moderate deficit and learning healthy eating habits is better in the long run.
  • caribougal
    caribougal Posts: 865 Member
    I'm not convinced about the 'Live Longer' part - I'm pretty sure it'd just feel longer.

    Some people do well on IF. For others it's a terrible idea. I've been observing several collgeagues following the 5:2 plan. Some of them didn't last a day, others lasted a couple of weeks, and a couple are actually doing well.

    Those that couldn't keep it up felt terrible on fasting days - tired, no energy, headaches, grumpy, etc. and then ended up eating more on non-fasting days because they felt they'd earned it.

    Those that are doing well are indeed losing weight at a steady rate. However I don't know anyone that's been on it long term to know if it's possible to keep the weight off long term. Many people are successful at losing weight. Very few are successful at maintaining the loss.

    I have no idea if this is true, but I'm betting that for those who are used to a higher carb diet, starting IF can be very tough. Those symptoms are often called "the carb flu" and it sucks. It takes about 3-10 days to adjust to lower carbs. So if you only try IF for a week or two, you might feel those symptoms more acutely. Some people push through, others quit. I've been eating at a lower carb level for about 10 months now. Even before IF, I was able to naturally go for much longer stretches without getting that shaky hypoglycemic feeling and obsessing about food the way I used to get with SAD.

    So, again, I have no idea if this common, but I think the transition to IF for me was easy because my body was already used to being in ketosis. I don't test my ketone levels, but I assume I go in and out regularly. I definitely can tell I'm in ketosis on fasting days.
  • Keiras_Mom
    Keiras_Mom Posts: 844 Member
    I'm not convinced about the 'Live Longer' part - I'm pretty sure it'd just feel longer.

    Some people do well on IF. For others it's a terrible idea. I've been observing several collgeagues following the 5:2 plan. Some of them didn't last a day, others lasted a couple of weeks, and a couple are actually doing well.

    Those that couldn't keep it up felt terrible on fasting days - tired, no energy, headaches, grumpy, etc. and then ended up eating more on non-fasting days because they felt they'd earned it.

    Those that are doing well are indeed losing weight at a steady rate. However I don't know anyone that's been on it long term to know if it's possible to keep the weight off long term. Many people are successful at losing weight. Very few are successful at maintaining the loss.

    I have no idea if this is true, but I'm betting that for those who are used to a higher carb diet, starting IF can be very tough. Those symptoms are often called "the carb flu" and it sucks. It takes about 3-10 days to adjust to lower carbs. So if you only try IF for a week or two, you might feel those symptoms more acutely. Some people push through, others quit. I've been eating at a lower carb level for about 10 months now. Even before IF, I was able to naturally go for much longer stretches without getting that shaky hypoglycemic feeling and obsessing about food the way I used to get with SAD.

    So, again, I have no idea if this common, but I think the transition to IF for me was easy because my body was already used to being in ketosis. I don't test my ketone levels, but I assume I go in and out regularly. I definitely can tell I'm in ketosis on fasting days.

    5:2 has nothing to do with carbs. Not sure where this is coming from. If I want my full 500 calories in chocolate on my fasting day, I can do that (though I don't). :tongue: I do 5:2 for maintenance with no restrictions as to what types of foods I eat. I eat carbs, sometimes around the SAD levels and sometimes lower, just depending on what I feel like that day.
  • caribougal
    caribougal Posts: 865 Member
    I'm not convinced about the 'Live Longer' part - I'm pretty sure it'd just feel longer.

    Some people do well on IF. For others it's a terrible idea. I've been observing several collgeagues following the 5:2 plan. Some of them didn't last a day, others lasted a couple of weeks, and a couple are actually doing well.

    Those that couldn't keep it up felt terrible on fasting days - tired, no energy, headaches, grumpy, etc. and then ended up eating more on non-fasting days because they felt they'd earned it.

    Those that are doing well are indeed losing weight at a steady rate. However I don't know anyone that's been on it long term to know if it's possible to keep the weight off long term. Many people are successful at losing weight. Very few are successful at maintaining the loss.

    I have no idea if this is true, but I'm betting that for those who are used to a higher carb diet, starting IF can be very tough. Those symptoms are often called "the carb flu" and it sucks. It takes about 3-10 days to adjust to lower carbs. So if you only try IF for a week or two, you might feel those symptoms more acutely. Some people push through, others quit. I've been eating at a lower carb level for about 10 months now. Even before IF, I was able to naturally go for much longer stretches without getting that shaky hypoglycemic feeling and obsessing about food the way I used to get with SAD.

    So, again, I have no idea if this common, but I think the transition to IF for me was easy because my body was already used to being in ketosis. I don't test my ketone levels, but I assume I go in and out regularly. I definitely can tell I'm in ketosis on fasting days.

    5:2 has nothing to do with carbs. Not sure where this is coming from. If I want my full 500 calories in chocolate on my fasting day, I can do that (though I don't). :tongue: I do 5:2 for maintenance with no restrictions as to what types of foods I eat. I eat carbs, sometimes around the SAD levels and sometimes lower, just depending on what I feel like that day.

    My point was just that I suspect that I adjusted easily to 5:2 because I already eat low carb and could go for long stretches without feeling hungry already. And, that I can have a pretty filling meal with 500 cal if it's a lower carb meal. I normally eat Paleo/Primal, so that's my normal on both fasting and non-fasting days on 5:2.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    I'm not convinced about the 'Live Longer' part - I'm pretty sure it'd just feel longer.


    That joke used to be made about Calorie Restriction (CR) a regime in which people eat very few calories every day. Many more people seem to like IF, although it's not for everyone.

    There's no conclusive longterm evidence for humans, but IF is supposed to help people live better, not just (or necessarily) longer. The program discusses theories of how it can prevent or delay the onset of certain diseases.
  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member

    Someone may have answered this already, but yes, some IFers are very athletic. A popular program is called "Leangains."

    IF is very sustainable for many people. First, it prevents them from over-eating and thinking about food all the time, second, there are physiological benefits associated with short-term fasting. You'd know the latter if you'd watched the video.


    IF isn't completely awful, I can see that.

    I didn't want to watch a long video about fasting, as it's not something that fits well with my goals or training.
    My performance sucks if I withhold food.........
  • toshtogo
    toshtogo Posts: 1
    I have been on this diet for about 12 weeks so far and today i found out that my A1C went from 7 before I started the diet to 5.9 today...which is in the normal range. My doctor & i are very happy. He wanted to give me meds for diabetes, and i asked him if I could try this instead, he was skeptical and cautioned that if it works I would have to stick with it. I have gotten used to the fasting and it is not such a big deal anymore. The diet is flexible, so you can change your fast day if you have a party or dinner scheduled...and you dont have to count calories the other days. I have lost 15 pounds and feel great and will continue the diet...I may switch to fasting 1 day when i reach my target weight (5 pounds more) and keep track of my A1C to see if it changes that.
  • NYCNika
    NYCNika Posts: 611 Member
    Why do some people enjoy putting their bodies through constant stress?
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