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

2

Replies

  • eatyogarun
    eatyogarun Posts: 59 Member
    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.
  • zeejane03
    zeejane03 Posts: 993 Member
    edited 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 :D

    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.
  • zeejane03
    zeejane03 Posts: 993 Member
    edited 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 :p 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
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    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.
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
    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!!! :D 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.
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
    paperpudding wrote: »
    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

    From my limited understanding the point of 5:2 is to balance the 5 heavier eating days with 2 lighter ones.

    If you just do the 5 and then switch to avoid the 2 lighter, semi fasting days - I cant see how that would work or how it is trying out the diet.

    In her initial post she said she was making it 3:2. Although the 5:0 sounds like MY kind of diet!
  • barbarajaneuk
    barbarajaneuk Posts: 19 Member
    paperpudding wrote: »
    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

    From my limited understanding the point of 5:2 is to balance the 5 heavier eating days with 2 lighter ones.

    If you just do the 5 and then switch to avoid the 2 lighter, semi fasting days - I cant see how that would work or how it is trying out the diet.

    I think he started with this one on the basis that he had had 2 heavy eating days preceding starting the diet.. so effectively did 2 days heavy, 2 days fast, 3 days heavy 😁
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
    Well it sounds like you are going to enjoy this a lot so fair play to you.

    Personally and like a lot of the other posters I can't imagine how this will work in practice over shuch a short time frame.

    So what I gather you will be doing is eating a variety of foods in different combinations and different ways at different times and that fit in with your lifestyle.

    Pretty much what I am doing now except I am counting calories. (sloppily :) )

    Please update us with your progress and whether it helped you or not. Any experiment is a valid experience whether it succeeds or fails and it is all good information to pass on.
  • barbarajaneuk
    barbarajaneuk Posts: 19 Member
    @kimny72 totally understand and any feedback is good and welcome, it's the "calorie counting is the only one that works" comments. I am no newbie to dieting, as said previous I lost a lot of weight a few years back (not cal counting) and have kept most of it off. I got to a point where I was happy but bored and stopped doing it, but I did maintain. I never reached where I wanted to be ultimately and I tried to do the plan I did before but it wasn't doing anything for me and basically I couldn't be bothered logging everything and was cheating a lot. I know people bounce from one to another but that tends to take the route of "diet for 2 weeks.. get sick, forget to log everything, cheat and then go back to eating everything in sight for 2 weeks and start another plan" I am starting a new plan without a gap and effectively will always be in deficit on a constant basis so hopefully will lose weight.. the only rules of dieting are eat less and move more and I am implementing that so time will tell 😁
  • Anniebotnen
    Anniebotnen Posts: 332 Member
    I think this is a very interesting concept, and I hope it works for you! It’s definitely important to find something that will keep you motivated. I hope you will keep us updated on your progress.

    I do think a lot of people here are partial to calorie counting, because that’s what worked for them. I remember being blasted by some people when I first joined for saying I wanted to limit carbs. (I ended up losing the weight by both counting calories and limiting carbs, which also works great for me in maintenance). What I think many people are concerned about is how you will keep the weight off once you reach your goal, if you do it by switching “name’ diets every few days. Losing the weight is really the easy part, compared to keeping it off. You will obviously need to figure out what will work for you to maintain your weight loss, before you get to your goal.
  • tmoneyag99
    tmoneyag99 Posts: 480 Member
    barbarajaneuk wrote: »
    MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »
    Why not just eat a variety of stuff? Those diets only work so long as they help you stay in a deficit. Are you going to eat this way long term?

    I figure this way I can pick a diet that fits in with my life that week and roll with it.

    How about you just do meal planning and plan your meals accordingly. If it's a busy week plan accordingly.

    The ultimate question is this : "Is this sustainable for me forever" If it's not, then you'll be back here in the next 80 days and trying to find something knew. This sounds like the ultimate yo-yo diet.

    Better yet, journal your eating and lifestyle habits that directly impact your weight. THEN pick 1 habit to change. Start with the easiest ones first. ie cut out soda, drink more water. Also identify the habits you know you're never going to give up. Build those into your daily calories.


    For example I'm never giving up my morning coffee with heavy cream. It's built into my daily calories and I don't even log it.

    This book maybe a better option. Having sustainable weight loss is about creating habits that you can carry over from year to year.

    https://amazon.com/Mini-Habits-Weight-Loss-Suffering/dp/0996435441/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1547688789&sr=8-3&keywords=habits+weight+loss
  • barbarajaneuk
    barbarajaneuk Posts: 19 Member
    edited January 2019
    @Anniebotnen, I think I will have no problem maintaning afterwarda as I have maintained my current weight for the last three years following a loss of 48lbs. Its generally a low fat healthy diet, but funnily enough it is quite high in carbs (so opposite to yours, which is fascinating and just shows that different regimes work for different people!) I want to lose about another 24lbs or so but not overly desperate to do so, I have tried cutting down and cal counting but I end up cheating and back to square one so embarking on a different sorts of diet is going to be so strange, hence why only 5 days and if i don't like it, it really doesn't matter it was only 5 days and won't make me miserable or tempted to cheat as I hopefully will be still motivated to do the next one!

    P.s.. not wanting to lose all 24lbs in these 80 days.. 10lbs and I will be 😁😁
  • barbarajaneuk
    barbarajaneuk Posts: 19 Member
    @tmoneyag99.. that's what I do every week, week in week out.. I don't yoyo and have maintained a previous weight loss for 3 years.. so I know a healthy sustainable diet.. but I'm bored, I don't always want to always plan, I want to mix it up a bit, see what the different diets are all about and give it 2 and half months to try them, have a bit of a laugh with my friends when they ask what one am I doing this week 😂.. it's not meant to be serious or a plan for life and if I had a massive amount to lose, I would think again but I haven't, chances are I am not going to gain, I will hopeful lose and then go back to my normal maintenance plan.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,282 Member
    barbarajaneuk wrote: »
    @kimny72 totally understand and any feedback is good and welcome, it's the "calorie counting is the only one that works" comments. I am no newbie to dieting, as said previous I lost a lot of weight a few years back (not cal counting) and have kept most of it off. I got to a point where I was happy but bored and stopped doing it, but I did maintain. I never reached where I wanted to be ultimately and I tried to do the plan I did before but it wasn't doing anything for me and basically I couldn't be bothered logging everything and was cheating a lot. I know people bounce from one to another but that tends to take the route of "diet for 2 weeks.. get sick, forget to log everything, cheat and then go back to eating everything in sight for 2 weeks and start another plan" I am starting a new plan without a gap and effectively will always be in deficit on a constant basis so hopefully will lose weight.. the only rules of dieting are eat less and move more and I am implementing that so time will tell 😁


    I don't see calorie counting is the only way that works on here - what I see is CICO is the only way that works.

    Which is true.

    And calorie counting is just a tool to monitor that and achieve weight loss/ maitenance/ gain as desired.

    Am not sure how you know you wiil always be in a deficit if you do not log and calorie count with at least semi accuracy.

    Of course you can just trial eating x way and know you were in a deficit after a month if you lost weight - I say a month because you need that long to allow for minor fluctuations.
    Can't see how you will know this of any diet after 5 days.


  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited January 2019
    I'm not critical of not counting calories. I've done lots of things besides counting calories and found some of them successful for both maintenance and losing. I also like the idea of trying out different diets (I've done it, and am thinking about doing a DASH experiment motivated by the n=1 podcast I mentioned). I don't think you actually understand any diet based on 5 days, and with something like how you feel doing it or 5:2 or WFPB or Atkins/keto, I don't think it really gives sufficient understanding. (I don't even like W30, but it gives a whole "how you feel on the first week or so" run down that assumes the first 5 days will get increasingly hard but that it will feel better after that, which is likely true for people for whom it's a huge transition.)

    But if you enjoy it, that's cool.
  • JBanx256
    JBanx256 Posts: 1,479 Member
    The plan I'm currently on requires at least 2 weeks on "base" (you then adjust based on progress - some people will do a full 12 weeks on base and then just go to maintenance (which can last as long as wanted/needed, but a minimum of a month); others will make multiple adjustments over the course of 12 weeks before they move to a maintenance phase). 5 days would not yield any meaningful data or changes.

    But hey, whatever works for you.

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