The fast diet (5:2) thoughts?

As far as I can see the way for success is finding a way of eating that supports the energy balance you need and is sustainable for you.

I tried 5:2, it wasn't sustainable for me I became a right nightmare. Very quickly made excuses to give up. some people have success with 5:2, some do IF with daily windows. So might be worth trying a couple of ways and seeing what fits.

As for tips this website has amazing recipes and the rough kcal counts (obviously measure when you make yourself) Many are less than 500 kcal

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/52 - their 5:2 collection

I can't link to the groups on the phone, but you can use the search function to find the general IF group and the 5:2 specific group.

Personally, I've been very happy with it. Minimal food two days out of the week where I'm busy and then a butt ton of calories the other 5. I actually decided to cut out a day recently because I dont have enough to lose to justify a pound a week.

There's nothing wrong with trying it out and stopping if it's not your thing.

ive never personally tried this because i would know how you choose which days to go low on. ive met lots of people who have been successful long term with it. They basically live on soup for two days per week.

CooCooPuff wrote: »

I can't link to the groups on the phone, but you can use the search function to find the general IF group and the 5:2 specific group.

Personally, I've been very happy with it. Minimal food two days out of the week where I'm busy and then a butt ton of calories the other 5. I actually decided to cut out a day recently because I dont have enough to lose to justify a pound a week.

There's nothing wrong with trying it out and stopping if it's not your thing.

Here are the group links...........

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/100058-5-2-fasting

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/8628-5-2-diet

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/49-intermittent-fasting

OP - if you can manage the 500 calories days, you'll be fine. Didn't work well for me, but I do eat a little less Monday - Thursday so that I can eat at maintenance on the weekends. So I'm zig-zagging my calories a different way. Whatever helps you stay the course.

Take the "documentary" with a grain of salt. I had the book and the "proof" for the diets medical claims were: my blood work before....my blood work after. A lot of factors could have affected Dr. Mosely's blood work (exercise, food choices, genetics, etc). Now he's on to hawking a blood type diet (shades of Dr. Oz).

It's not a diet, per se, more like re-arranging your weekly calories, a dieting strategy. Will it work for you? Nobody knows. You need to try it to find out. Try it for a month and see how it goes. If it doesn't feel sustainable, then it doesn't work for you.

For me, having fasting days works like a charm and makes dieting easier (which is the whole point of the plan, to make dieting easier). You might still need to track your calories to make sure you don't overdo it on your maintenance days, though.

I do alternate day fasting sometimes and I thrive on it, but paradoxically, 5:2 did not work for me as well. On alternate days I get into this routine and motion of fast/eat/fast/eat...etc. The repetition and monotony makes it easier for it to become habitual where fast days are just a part of the plan. On 5:2, I dreaded fast days because I spoil myself all week then comes a fast day which feels like an abrupt halt to my habits. For some people alternate day fasting may feel like too much and 5:2 may feel just right, for others no kind of fasting is sustainable. Try and see how you do on it and then decide if it's something you wish to continue doing.

I'm starting it next week I have a problem with willpower & evening snacking so I'm also thinking about giving 16:8 a go at the same time so I don't go over calories in the evening.

Just make sure you eat the right amount of calories on non fat days - not too few or too many. Check your TDEE. I'm eating less than my TDEE, but that's because my TDEE is a ridiculous 2100 and if I'm eating healthily & clean then I struggle to eat that much - however if it was chocolate I'd have no problem!

Feel free to add me, would love a fasting buddy X

I started in December at the suggestion of a friend who has been doing it for years. I really like it and it's taught me to pay attention to my weekly nutritional info instead of just my daily goal. This has been a huge shift for me because I used to (wrongly) feel like if I messed up a day, then there was no way to recover and that the whole week was a toss in. Now I know that I have 5 days where I can eat some of my guilty pleasure foods, two days where I'm strict, and it all equals a Deficit at the end of the week. I've lost 12 lbs since starting it.

It took me a while to figure out the way of eating that works best for me, but I do a sort of mix of 5:2 and 16/8 (really more like 19/5) usually. And throw in some longer fasts every few months. My body just does really well with long-ish periods of not eating due to digestive issues.

It really is whatever works best for you. Whatever is sustainable for you.