Is 5 2 just a fad?

It is unnecessary, but it will work because of the calorie restriction. I feel like you would be better off with just lowering your calories a little bit for everyday than doing that.

.....and if restricting on 2 days works better with someone's lifestyle? If someone simply prefers restricting on 2 days a week?

Clearly that sort of person wouldn't be 'better off' lowering their calories 7 days a week because it wouldn't suit their lifestyle or their preferences and therefore they're far less likely to adhere to it long enough to get the desired weight loss.

Earlier in August, my husband and I watched the BBC special by Dr. Michael Moseley entitled Eat, Fast and Live Longer (we watched it on Netflix) and we were very intrigued with the studies and results cited in the program.

Along with that I read about a small study presented at the American Diabetes Association this past June, summarized here: http://www.clinicalendocrinologynews.com/news/top-news/single-article/two-meals-per-day-better-than-six-in-t2dm/2d5f5b0341895132c201ab087b4334d8.html.

I have Type 2 Diabetes and I am also Insulin Resistant (Metabolic Syndrome). For me personally, eating every 3 to 4 hours just means my body is releasing insulin more frequently in response to the more frequent meals, which in turn does not help my insulin resistance.

I started the 5:2 fasting on 8/12/13 not as a quick weight loss fad, but as a way to increase my health benefits overall (which are listed in the documentary by Dr. Moseley) and mainly to reduce my insulin resistance. I should also note that in mid-July my husband and I changed our eating to reflect a more primal/paleo lifestyle. We also exercise 3 to 5 days a week. While he had great success just doing that (he lost 20 lbs in 5 weeks) I was still experiencing a plateau.

So on August 12th, I started doing the 5:2 IF and this past week have been making a concerted effort to keep my meals to 2 larger ones a day, having a larger meal for dinner as I like to eat in the evenings (or 3 a day with 2 smaller meals during the day and still keeping the larger one for later)! By making these changes it has helped me to break that several month long plateau and I've lost 5 lbs in 3 weeks! Now I know the 'experts' say we should eat 6 small meals, and not eat too much in the evening, but what I started doing 3 weeks ago is working much better for me!

One thing I have discovered is that no matter what you believe about a subject, you can find 'research' to support almost any position somewhere on the internet. Is 5:2 IF for everyone - no. I think the important thing is to do your own research, and find what works best for you, what you can live with for the rest of your life. I have no problem with people who disagree and think 5:2 is a fad, because that is their choice and I have made my own choice!

Who knows? It has been around a while and some people find it helpful.

We do know from studies that meal timing doesn't matter, so it falls within the fine to do, but very likely not helpful beyond helping with individual adherence category, just like any IF strategy or 6 meals a day.

So, if it works for you, that's great, go with it. Just don't think that it's a magical solution.

Magical solution? Magical solution is drinking green tea to make your metabolism faster. That is a magical solution.

5:2 requires planning and it requires work. I much, much rather restrict twice a week and be able to eat what I want the other 5 days. But that's just me.

I must admit that people make us believe that we HAVE to eat. I used to believe that if I didn't eat 3 meals a day + snacks, I'd get heartburn or my sugar would go down and I would slow down and fall asleep.

Uhm.. no.

Apparently I don't have stomach issues anymore, and my sugar issue is gone. How? I have no idea and I don't care.

I never thought that I'd lose weight while moving through different countries, but I am. It might not make sense for some, but it makes sense to me. If it's calorie restriction or not, or if you think it'd be easier to just daily restrict 1300 calories a day.. Well, maybe for you it'd be easier, but for me it's not. The results are the same (weekly calorie restriction), why do you care about the method??

And I'm done with this. This weekend I found that I lost another 1.5 pounds, and a couple of dress sizes (and one size for skirts). All of this in two months. It might be a fad, but believe me when I say that I'm choosing THIS over low fat, low cal, eternally counting, vegetarian lifestyle. And I tried them all.

I'm off to celebrate my fasting day with a huge salad, some coffee and a gigantic vegetables, avocado and feta omelette for dinner! Cheers! :drinker:

I seriously worry about people who do things like this. Overall, net calories for the week are far too low, and there's no need for it. When I was restricting calories I noticed a difference in my mood and energy, and I wasn't even taking it that low. You might not notice until you stop doing it, but there are definitely healthier ways to go about it.

Why can't people sustain it? Clearly some people have....

It is not a fad, Dr Michael Mosely has been doing it for over 10 years, and it was he who made the TV programme that triggered the recent interest

Ir is not a diet plan, it is aimed at health, weight loss is a by product

There are 5.2 groups on here, have a search & take your pick

its a fad diet that is not sustainable for the average person

Why is that?

If you follow the instructions to the dot, you find that your weekly deficit is exactly the same as the one marked by MFP. The only difference is that instead of choosing to create a deficit 7 days a week, you choose to do it on 2 days.

Those 2 days? I call them "salad days" to my RL friends who I'm too lazy to explain this. I basically eat salads with LF dressing and egg white omelette by dinner. I'm not starving. But this way, if I go out to lunch with my friends (as today), I won't have to worry too much about eating out and the secret oil and eating salads every single day. When you travel so much, and you have so much time to explore different countries and cultures.. well.. this way of deficit works much better!

Probably it'd be differnet if I stayed at home all day (as for me, being busy helps a lot).

Overall, I've lost around 5 - 6 kilos in one month and a half (I exercise though) and I still enjoy eating out.

So yeah.. truly it is a fad.. Just like MFP method I guess.

yea because MFP restricts 2 days out of the week for you.

The average person's lifestyle does not function like that. Most people cant sustain a diet such as that. You just started the diet and you only been on it for a month.

My point exactly. You have no room to talk about why its sustainable.

I am a very average person.

I did this for a year (though I don't call it 5:2, I call it IF or Eat Stop Eat). I stopped when I got pregnant. When I finish breastfeeding, I intend to start up again.

Why does it work for me? Because I like to go out to dinner and splurge from time to time. I enjoy a beer after work with my work buddies. I don't like having to stick to 1500 calories per day. Most average people probably would find it hard to stick to 1500 calories per day for years to lose weight. Having a fast day just means you can have a deficit on 2 days a week instead of 7. I think it's way more sustainable than just calorie counting personally.

and you still arent near your target weight.

I dont think 90%+ of people would enjoy this lifestyle.

You have to start this lifestyle in order to lose weight and is not sustainable for yourself. You are proof yourself

I just had a baby - I gained weight when I was pregnant because that's what happens when you are pregnant - I am losing weight again now that I've had the baby. I've actually lost a total of about 160lbs - so your point is moot.

I lost weight when I was fasting and I would happily sustain it as a permanent solution. I just can't do it right now as I need to sustain a second life and can't CR.

I seriously worry about people who do things like this. Overall, net calories for the week are far too low, and there's no need for it. When I was restricting calories I noticed a difference in my mood and energy, and I wasn't even taking it that low. You might not notice until you stop doing it, but there are definitely healthier ways to go about it.

So you are telling me I have no energy on fasting days? Tell that to my 10km runs when I have nothing to eat. Tell that to the marathon I walk every day, and do it better on fasting days.

My mood? Well let's see...... I don't have to take my anti-depressants anymore.... hows that for mood.


I have every 3rd day as a total fasting day...zero calories..... more energy, better mood & oh wait.... still losing as well.





I wish people would just leave it alone already. Just because THEY cant do it for some reason or think that THEY could not do it or think that THEY are doing it better or that THEY know better.... does not mean THEY are right.

I seriously worry about people who do things like this. Overall, net calories for the week are far too low, and there's no need for it. When I was restricting calories I noticed a difference in my mood and energy, and I wasn't even taking it that low. You might not notice until you stop doing it, but there are definitely healthier ways to go about it.

energy storage fat and glycogen are not fully depleted during the day and energby is not shut off at the end of the week. the only reason a 5:2 diet works is due to the caloric density that our foods currently have(processed foods). if people knew how to control their diet that would be much more versatile instead of deciding if this is the day they eat or not