switching to a new diet every 5 days? - anyone done this?

yirara · January 2019

I could see some problems there if your digestive system is a bit sensitive. Do 5 days of keto and deal with keto flu. 5 days of high fibre diet, and having problems going to the loo. Body gets used to it. Switch to carnivore and eat no fibre again, body is expecting fibre and is ready for it....

tiptoethruthetulips · January 2019

Sounds expensive. I foresee a lot of food wastage.

TavistockToad · January 2019

barbarajaneuk wrote: »

JessAndreia wrote: »

Why do you feel like you need to be following some named diet?

Because it's interesting... It will keep me motivated as let's face it.. Plain calorie counting can get boring after a while and doesn't always fit in with life in general...and I am curious to try them all as you read so much about them in the media. I also want to see if I like a particular one more than others and if I absolutely hate it then it's only 5 days and I can persevere anything for 5 days. If I lose a bit of weight along the way then all is good, If I don't then all i have lost is a few weeks..

can you explain in what situation calorie counting doesn't fit into 'life in general'?

lemurcat2 · January 2019

Cahgetsfit wrote: »

You might need to spend more than 5 days on each diet to truly see the effect of each of them. INteresting experiment, sounds exhausting but good on you for trying.

Maybe 15 days on each would be more realistic? In terms of all the fluctuations and stuff as others above have posted?

This was my thought too. Honestly, I think you'd really need at least 4-6 weeks on each, but certainly 2 at least. Many ways of eating take a while to figure out, and changing food dramatically can need to be worked in more gradually too.

Here's a podcast with a couple of nutrition experts doing n=1 experiments with some popular diets like keto, paleo, DASH, but they are doing 4 weeks on each: https://www.thenutritionwonk.com/single-post/2018/10/24/Introducing-N1-A-New-Nutrition-and-Diet-Podcast

It's interesting, although the episodes come out slowly because of how long each takes. They've done keto and the intro to the DASH experiment.

And I also don't get how choosing a different diet every 5 days is easier than counting calories and eating whatever you want within your caloric budget.

I think some people consider themselves limited in what they can eat when calorie counting. I think it could be fun (if you have the time, I couldn't, but also getting bored with food isn't my problem) to do one week trying a bunch of Italian recipes, one week trying a bunch of Indian recipes, etc., and making them fit your calories. Or maybe trying different eating schedules or patterns, if one did not automatically appeal. I think the shorter time would fit those experiments.

quiksylver296 · January 2019

concordancia wrote: »

That sounds exhausting.

And expensive!

Panini911 · January 2019

Best of luck.

personally i don't do any "diets". i eat a variety of foods i like in moderation. i keep snacks and desserts daily (need my chocolate) cuz that works for me and keeps me happy. Sure some foods i avoid as they are "triggering" and i have a hard time moderating portions but I am working on those skills here and there as well. and they are specific foods not food categories or macros

i don't eat low carb. i don't eat low fat. i don't fast (or IF).

my diet has no name and is one i will need to maintain my entire life (just adding a few extra calories daily to move from weight loss to maintenance).

Redordeadhead · January 2019

You know that the whole 5:2 diet is a 7-day system right? As in, 5 days at maintenance calorie level and 2 days fasting. If you only do 5 days, you're not doing 5:2.

Azercord · January 2019

Instead of using "diets" to narrow your food choices how about every 5 days you pick a different country and make recipes from there. This way you get that something new every 5 days so you don't get bored and you also get to expand your horizons at the same time.

jlemoore · January 2019

concordancia wrote: »

That sounds exhausting.

^ this

TeaBea · January 2019

Okay so your plan is to make dieting really novel and exciting.

What exactly is your plan for maintenance seeing as it's basically fewer calories forever?

debrakgoogins · January 2019

barbarajaneuk wrote: »

Calorie counting doesn't always work for a lot of people (plenty of posts on here how they fell have off the wagon!) They lose motivation, they can't be bothered with all the weighing and keeping track... so maybe what I am doing will be right for some... who knows..

I can't imagine that people who lose motivation for eating what they want, in the right amounts and counting calories would have better luck with attempting to keep track of a completely new diet every five days. This may work for you. If it does, it will be because whatever diets you follow keep you eating in a defecit even if it is not being done intentionally.

eatyogarun · January 2019

Cahgetsfit wrote: »

You might need to spend more than 5 days on each diet to truly see the effect of each of them. INteresting experiment, sounds exhausting but good on you for trying.

I think the Dukan diet is phases that you cycle through. I don't know the specifics but I know it can't be "done" in 5 days.

diannethegeek · January 2019

Doesn't the Atkins diet have like a 2 week induction phase before you even get to the main diet? It's not one I've tried so I may be wrong on that. I like the idea of trying different diets to find the one you like best, but 5 days doesn't even get into the meat of a lot of these programs. I know a bunch of us have said that now, so I'm sure this feels like a big ol' pile on at this point. I hope you're able to take this info on board and rework things so your plan works out. :flowerforyou:

cmriverside · January 2019

So. Good luck?

Are you going to give us 5-Day plans and how they worked for you?

This all sounds so difficult.

I log the food I eat. I eat the food I want in portions that fit my calories. Prosper.

zeejane03 · January 2019

Ok, this actually sounds kind of interesting to me. I'd probably do 2 weeks at a time though, just to have time to get familiar with what you're doing.

You might find this site interesting, a couple of RDs are doing something similar-
https://www.thenutritionwonk.com/

As for myself, in the 7ish years that I've been at this I've experimented with ADF, 5:2IF, 16:8IF, Nutritarian, vegetarian, primal, Nourishing Traditions, DASH, The Great Potato Hack, low carb, WW and now playing around with a whole foods, pescetarian woe. I hear ya on getting bored quickly

eta: someone beat me to sharing the link

Like pp said-they're doing each diet for around a month. This gives them enough time to really try it out and see how it works out for them.

barbarajaneuk · January 2019

Thanks for all the comments, I am day 4 today of the 5:2 diet, still loving it and great not having to feel guilty and calorie count when out for lunch with friends today 😁and i don't have the dreaded fasting days to come as looking forward to switching plans on Friday (Out for coffee and cake tomorrow, hence why this diet fitted in with life this week!). I am doing only five days as it's meant to be a bit of a taster of each diet.. it's enough days to keep me interested and my brain interested in getting my head around how it's done and then i move on.. Will pop the link to the man who did what I am doing here.. he explains it really well AND has actually kept the weight off in the long term.

Https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2907176/amp/The-man-did-10-diets-50-days-one-really-worked.html

zeejane03 · January 2019

barbarajaneuk wrote: »

Thanks for all the comments, I am day 4 today of the 5:2 diet, still loving it and great not having to feel guilty and calorie count when out for lunch with friends today 😁and i don't have the dreaded fasting days to come as looking forward to switching plans on Friday (Out for coffee and cake tomorrow, hence why this diet fitted in with life this week!). I am doing only five days as it's meant to be a bit of a taster of each diet.. it's enough days to keep me interested and my brain interested in getting my head around how it's done and then i move on.. Will pop the link to the man who did what I am doing here.. he explains it really well AND has actually kept the weight off in the long term.

Https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2907176/amp/The-man-did-10-diets-50-days-one-really-worked.html

Interesting article, thanks for sharing! I would have no problem doing this, with the exception of the cabbage diet, because cabbage is just evil

And I totally relate to him about the boredom factor, I really struggle with this now that I'm a few years into maintenance.

I'm curious what the NHS plan is, that he tried and ended up settling on-off to google!

kimny72 · January 2019

If I read it correctly, the article was written 2 months after his experiment. So all we know is he kept it off for 2 months. And he kept it off however long he did by then switching to the NHS diet, because that's the one he thought was actually sustainable. So I'm not really sure what the point of someone else doing this would be as far as accomplishing anything. I still think that if you can tell in 5 days, you could probably tell by just reading up on the diet. Lots of people think a plan is the best plan ever for the first week, and a month later they have given up because it was too hard. That's why New Years Resolutions are always joked about. You'll keep it off if you are able to determine which of the diets you can do long term in the 5 days you're giving them.

I'll also note that he seemed to be working closely with his doctor, and got really sick in the middle of it. And he promptly wrote a book, which he was promoting by publicizing his experiment.

Oh well, I don't understand this at all, but you seem to be really clear on it, so I hope it pays off and doesn't just confuse the heck out of your digestive system.

wingweaver0730 · January 2019

Fflpnari wrote: »

I change my diet every day practically, as long as it is with in my calories.

Pretty much the only right answer lol

French_Peasant · January 2019

I dunno, I too think this sounds interesting and challenging, although I agree with the posters above that I would do each diet for 2-4 weeks at least, to really deliberately test them out so it doesn't come across as overly ADHD and...SQUIRREL!!!

You should open a thread (or just continue this one, I guess, but it might be nice to have a fresh start) laying out your final plan and then updating it with your thoughts and final judgment as you proceed through each diet.

You could also set up an informal polling system and let readers pick your next diet by choosing insightful/inspiring/woo/hug.

switching to a new diet every 5 days? - anyone done this?

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