Fasting 5:2

I knew someone who tried it. It doesn't work because 500 calories is too few leaving you in starvation mode (not to mention hungry beyond belief). Try 1,200 calories a day every day. It's much more sustainable

I sense a lot of incoming abuse
Have fun

I'm doing it. They also call it intermittent fasting as there are many ways to do it. Some do 5 feast and 2 fast; 4:3 (that's what I'm doing), there's a EODD - strictly every other day. I've tried out different combinations and I think I've finally figured out what combination works for me. Some recommend 1 meal, some say 1 snack and 1 meal, some say eat your only meal at lunch, etc. So originally I did 5:2 and it worked while I did it. I lost 7 lbs and I could tell I was going to keep losing. Ever had that feeling where you feel the lbs melting off? But I got sidetracked when I went to a week long seminar and quit. Once I quit it was hard to get back to and when I finally did I simply could not follow through. I was starving which I didn't understand because I wasn't starving the first time I did it. Then I read the Every Other Day Diet where it's strictly every other day and I did that for a week but it didn't jive with my lifestyle. One weekend you might be fasting on a Sunday next weekend a Saturday - I need my weekend free of fast days. But what I did pick up from the EODD is eating a 100 calorie snack at lunch and a 400 calorie dinner. My snack is always protein and with that to tie me over I've been able to stick to a 400 calorie dinner. I fast on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. So far so good and I've lost 4.6 pounds but I'm only on week one and only have fasted Monday and Wednesday. Tomorrow will be my 3rd fast day and I'm anxious to see what I will weigh on Monday after a full week and following two feast days-Sat and Sunday. My TDEE is 1,989 calories so I'm trying to stick beneath that on feast days. I wish MFP was set up to accommodate a fasting schedule but if you eat too low of calories on a given it won't calculate your future weight. It would be nice if it would take a 7 day of average calories to determine who much you'll lose in 5 weeks.

Its not necessary and sets a lot up people up for a binge by being too restrictive.

I do ADF. There's a great supportive FB group called Alternate Day Fasting (ADF).

bm920 wrote: »

Its not necessary and sets a lot up people up for a binge by being too restrictive.

That would depend on the person. It's all about preference.

Debssssssssss wrote: »

Anyone seeing any benefits from this? What has been your experience with it and would you recommend it?

Yeah, it works great. IMO, it's easy once you relax and get used to actually being hungry instead of getting faked out by blood sugar crashes.

I cut about a dozen pounds, down to ~11% BF in a little over a month. Check out the group on here if you want.

I'm doing it - I actually did it last summer for 6 weeks to lose those last few pounds. I put weight on over christmas so I'm back at it and already lost 7lbs.

I find it easy as long as I'm well prepared!

You must watch the Horizon Documentary on 5:2 fasting by Dr Michael Moseley. Not only is weight loss an outcome of properly fasting, but there are many other great things like improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Do your research before asking opinions of people who know nothing about it. You can eat so much for 500 cals and it's just for 2 days a week. I would even go so far as saying it's easy. I will never embark on a low calorie diet again, 5:2 has taught me a lot about my eating habits, when I am actually hungry or when I am just thirsty. I feel generally healthier. Check the Facebook pages if you're on facebook (5:2 Intermittent fasting Diet and The 5:2 Diet are two which I am a member of. Each have over 25,000 members and they continue to grow as more people stop being opinionated and actually start learning. Good luck.

http://thefastdiet.co.uk/why-fast/
Dr Michael Moseleys website is very helpful

http://kate-harrison.com/5-2diet
Kate Harrison is known worldwide for her contributions to 5:2 such as recipes and starting the facebook page I mentioned above.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lxyzc
Horizon Documentry (available UK - you may need to search for it if you are not in the UK)

I tell you what works for sure but is kinda not enough calorie wise,but food wise it can be possible and satisfying.
1000-1100 calorie a day diet.
Works for me,if you can do it for a week you can lose at least 3 pounds(depends on how much you have to lose)
But it can't be good if done for too long period of time

I have done it for health reasons and one of the benefits is that you do lose weight. However, good planning is a must and it is not a green light to eat whatever you want for the other days of the week.

I think the diet works for people who have realistic expectations (i.e. weightloss is slow and steady). It is probably not the best diet for those who prefer to graze all day, I would say they would be best to stick to something else, perhaps the GI foods that will leave them feeling fuller through the day.

Try this group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/8628-5-2-diet you'll find lots of people following the diet plan here.

Would you exercise on fast days? Or would you have those as your rest days? And would I still have 1200 cals on none fast days? X

Been doing this for two and a half years both for weight loss and maintenance.
Wonder when "starvation mode" is going to kick in?

Suited me far better than every day calorie restriction for weight loss and this way of eating fits really well into my life.
Also finds it supports a very heavy training regime extremely well. At the moment following a 6:1 pattern (six days small surplus to cancel out the one day large deficit).