Is anyone doing the 5:2 diet?

Fourth week in myself! 590 calories Mondays and Wednesdays, 2,360 calories every other day

It's been pretty good so far. I was a little hungrier this Monday, but it's the week before TOM. If I overeat, it's around then.

For recipes, I just heat up some veggies on a pan with an egg for lunch, different veggies with eggs and beans for dinner, finish everything with a little yogurt and sugar free jello, and add black coffee in between. Timing is more important for me than the actual meals themselves- I had a near 500 calorie salad at a restaurant this Wednesday around 7pm.

It feels less restrictive overall because my weekends are eating at maintenance. Some general advice for TOM is eating at maintenance, which I plan on doing most days of the week.

There's a few group on MFP. I don't know how to link to it on the app, but search 5:2 fasting.

On my 2 fast days, I try to wait until lunch to eat. I'll have black coffee in the morning. Some of my fasting meals:
A pouch of tuna mixed with a little mustard, light salad dressing (very little), chopped onion and celery and sugar free sweet relish or dill if you prefer. Mix up and eat on some shredded cabbage (bag from produce section).
OR steam some white fish with herbs and seasoning and have with low cal green veggies. Or sub some skinless chicken in place of the fish.
OR a sandwich meat rollup on a low calorie tortilla with lettuce and a laughing cow cheese wedge.
OR leftovers of 200 cals, if it is something I made and I'm sure of calories.
If I am hungry in-between, I'll snack on celery sticks or crunchy romaine lettuce. I usually have some cals left for a snack of yogurt or popcorn .
It usually takes a couple of weeks to get used to those low cal days. I try to keep busy by running errands and getting out of the house. (I'm retired.) Don't know that I would want to fast on a real high activity day. Also drink a lot of zero cal beverages. I try to keep my lunch and dinner to about 200 cals and snack 100.
I'm sure my menu sounds sad to most people but I'd rather deprive myself a little on two days to have more food on the other days. My husband does this plan, too but he usually eats out lunch at work-- a small portion and eats what I prepare at night. I'm not sure that he is really sticking to his 600 calories but hey he is eating less and prefers eating this way. I am always very meticulous with my calorie counting all the time. Funny that I am not usually starving for breakfast the day after a fast day. If I have an "eat out", I usually eat either a very light breakfast or none to save calories for later. I am losing right on 1 pound for every 3500 cal deficit. I totally believe in CICO (calories in calories out).

I tried 5:2 (the Michael Mosley fast diet version) briefly and found it didn't work for me - I didn't seem to get the appetite suppression that you're supposed to get, and ended up eating enough just to maintain, rather than lose, on the non-fasting days. (I think this was one of the criticisms by the author of the alternate day diet - that Michael Mosley assumed 5:2 would work in the same way as alternate day in terms of natural calorie reduction. Whereas I think his argument was that 5:2 seemed to be the right balance between something that would work and sustainability). I also found the calorie counting fiddly, and felt deprived on the fast days.

Having said that, I know people for whom it has worked brilliantly. So this is not a criticism of it - just my personal experience. I think there are some recipes on his site, and I notice that he now recommends low carb "Mediterranean" eating when not fasting.

Since then, I've started doing 24 hour (roughly) fasts - eating an evening meal, and not eating until the next evening meal - about three times a week. I actually find that easier than 5:2! It's easier to not eat, than to count calories in tiny meals. And no fasting recipes needed! This is more like Brad Pilon's "Eat, Stop, Eat". I also think that I may get more health benefits from a longer period of fasting, rather than 500 calories spread out of over a day.

23susu23 wrote: »

It usually takes a couple of weeks to get used to those low cal days.

I was expecting to feel crappy my first fast day, but I think doing 16:8 for a while made it a lot easier.