5:2 Diet, Anyone try it?

[jpn321]

Thanks Mamaboss for your support. And good luck to you as you continue.

 

This WOE is very forgiving and you can just start back up again at any time. Things were up and down (mainly up ;)) over the holidays but it was easy to get back on track.

I really recommend the 5:2 Fast Diet forum. Everyone there is so welcoming, supportive and positive. There are never negative comments; they all want you to be successful and most importantly, happy.

 

All the best and I see your cruise is coming up in less than 2 months. This is only my second one and I am so excited. Look forward to hearing about your progress:)

[gerbobs2]

I think I'm going to try this diet. Currently I try to stay under 650 calories during the week days and then that creates a monster in me and I eat way too much on the weekends.

If I limit myself to 2 to 3 days of the 500 calories and then 1200 the other days I may find that I won't go overboard by the weekend but be satisfied but also in a loss.

Hope your all still here may have some questions...

Thank you for writing this thread its been very interesting.

[PinkUK]

I think I'm going to try this diet. Currently I try to stay under 650 calories during the week days and then that creates a monster in me and I eat way too much on the weekends.

If I limit myself to 2 to 3 days of the 500 calories and then 1200 the other days I may find that I won't go overboard by the weekend but be satisfied but also in a loss.

Hope your all still here may have some questions...

Thank you for writing this thread its been very interesting.

 

Hi,

 

I do sympathies with your monster scenario, ultimately I really believe that this form of dieting can help us to listen to when we are really hungry, when we are satisfied and give us back the control we've handed over to that monster. I found delaying beginning to eat every day really helped me because if I never eat before six in the evening then I limit the time in which I'm eating and therefore the calories I can consume, I do this even on the days when I am not fasting. It would not work for me to limit my calories on a feeding day, I would feel deprived and I don't think I would stick with it but we are all different.

 

 

If you decide to give this a try I hope it helps you too. :)

 

Karen

[gerbobs2]

Hi,

 

I do sympathies with your monster scenario, ultimately I really believe that this form of dieting can help us to listen to when we are really hungry, when we are satisfied and give us back the control we've handed over to that monster. I found delaying beginning to eat every day really helped me because if I never eat before six in the evening then I limit the time in which I'm eating and therefore the calories I can consume, I do this even on the days when I am not fasting. It would not work for me to limit my calories on a feeding day, I would feel deprived and I don't think I would stick with it but we are all different.

 

 

If you decide to give this a try I hope it helps you too. :)

 

Karen

 

This gives me hope and a drive to do this right. Cruising Mar 29 so it will be nice to go in a better weight so I can move around better. I have lost 75 lb over a year ago but the weight became stagnate so this is going to give me that boost I need.

First day went great... now I'll ride my bike an hour and do leg lifts for 20 minutes.

 

Gerri

[2red4u]

After reading this and doing a little research on the internet, i decided to try it. I started midweek, last week. Tomorrow is my second fast day. I already made my lunch for tomorrow of stir fried veggies And turkey breast. I'm having a hard time finding low cal lunch items. Dinners have been cod with fresh veggies. What are y'all eating?

[BonTobPat]

After reading this and doing a little research on the internet, i decided to try it. I started midweek, last week. Tomorrow is my second fast day. I already made my lunch for tomorrow of stir fried veggies And turkey breast. I'm having a hard time finding low cal lunch items. Dinners have been cod with fresh veggies. What are y'all eating?

 

 

Hi, when I do this diet I just have breakfast of poached eggs on a slice of toast and then a really light stir fry of veggies and chicken breast or some grilled fish for dinner. I don't eat anything for lunch. I don't find the actual hunger difficult to deal with but I find the days very long. I don't always enjoy my work so if I am fasting and don't stop for my lunch break to eat it makes the day boring. Obviously I eat for the wrong reasons..ie boredom and not when I am hungry. I have only managed to stick to 5:2 for two weeks straight when I attempt this and then I revert to eating every day!

 

 

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[gerbobs2]

I have been eating an apple for breakfast, cabbage with chicken breast for lunch and the same cabbage with chicken for dinner. coffee and tons of water. However I find myself wanting to do the 500 cal for 4 days instead of 2 so I hope that isn't messing me up.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I have been eating an apple for breakfast, cabbage with chicken breast for lunch and the same cabbage with chicken for dinner. coffee and tons of water. However I find myself wanting to do the 500 cal for 4 days instead of 2 so I hope that isn't messing me up.

 

I really think you should stick to the semi-fast only two days a week. It is possible that eating too little will make your body hold onto every calorie and actually derail your losing, also it could be easy to go overboard with this.

 

BTW, I eat 650 calories on my low days, which is much more satisfying, and have lost 15 lbs. quite easily. I eat 1500 on up days.

Edited February 27, 2014 by Nebr.cruiser

[mamaboss]

I really think you should stick to the semi-fast only two days a week. It is possible that eating too little will make your body hold onto every calorie and actually derail your losing, also it could be easy to go overboard with this.

 

BTW, I eat 650 calories on my low days, which is much more satisfying, and have lost 15 lbs. quite easily. I eat 1500 on up days.

 

Totally agree! If you try to eat too little your body will turn on you! I have heard of many people eating the 500 calories 3 days a week but never more than that. I also eat about 600 calories on fast days and 1200 - 1500 other days. The number is really what you find works for you. Recently I have added much more grains. I am off on a cruise next week but when I come back I will continue trying to incorporate more fruit, veggies and grains daily. I really need to work on my exercise. I am hoping to use the stairs more on this cruise. Good luck everyone!

[MJECruising]

Read thru all the comments but didn't see anything about wine during the 5 days. Is wine off limits?

 

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[mamaboss]

Read thru all the comments but didn't see anything about wine during the 5 days. Is wine off limits?

 

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I don't think anything is as long as you count it. As I said above I try to stay about 12-1500 calories so if a glass of wine is 200 calories I could have 6-8 glasses for lunch!! Lol:p

[MJECruising]

Not sure about 6 glasses of wine for lunch :D but planning on starting this weekend. Thanks for all the information. Sounds like a good plan.

 

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[BonTobPat]

Not sure about 6 glasses of wine for lunch :D but planning on starting this weekend. Thanks for all the information. Sounds like a good plan.

 

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Life isn't worth living without a glass of wine!

 

 

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[PinkUK]

I have been eating an apple for breakfast, cabbage with chicken breast for lunch and the same cabbage with chicken for dinner. coffee and tons of water. However I find myself wanting to do the 500 cal for 4 days instead of 2 so I hope that isn't messing me up.

 

Hi Gerri,

 

You will find lots of well meant advice on this forum and others, I would suggest that you have a look at the official 5:2 diet forum also. In my humble opinion it is imperative to research the scientific evidence yourself or you could be in danger of getting very confused by the well meant but conflicting advice you receive. Always remember probably no one who comments on these forums is an expert; myself included.

 

As I understand it:

 

You will lose weight if you limit your calories two days a week to 500 for a woman and 600 for a man however if you are very large or small you may wish to bare in mind that this figure is intended to be 25% of your daily calorie requirements.

 

There are numerous health benefits associated with fasting even if you consume all your daily calorie requirement (2000 for an average woman) in your feeding window. So although you will lose weight on 5:2 simply by reducing your calories two days a week to 25% of your daily requirement and not exceeding your daily requirement on the other five days, you will not gain the health benefits of fasting unless you go for a protracted period of time without eating. Since one of these benefits is to have a positive impact on your insulin levels which in turn makes it easier to lose weight it makes sense to actually fast. ;)

 

The original model of fasting studied by Dr Mosley was alternate day fasting it caused no harm to those who did it, quite the reverse in fact and was effectively fasting three days one week and four the next; literally every other day. This did not appeal to me because I like routine and my weekend off so I adopted a 4:3 protocol. Because you never go for more than 22 hours without eating (assuming that you finish eating at 8pm on a feeding day and then don't eat again until 6pm the next day) there is NOT enough time without food for your body to go into any type of starvation response. It is very important that you eat good nutritious food during your feeding windows.

 

No food or drink is discouraged during your feeding times however you are encouraged to concentrate on eating protein and veggies (which will keep you full) on fasting days because sugar (which hides in it's many guises in so many foods and drinks) is not your weight loss friend.

 

Sugar is not your weight loss friend or your healthy body friend for that matter, it spikes your insulin levels and makes weight loss more difficult. A diet constantly high in sugar can lead to all sorts of health problems including diabetes. Take a look at the Glycemic load of the food you regularly include in your diet and you might be surprised at the foods you eat which are playing havoc with your insulin levels. For this reason I chose to cut down drastically my carbohydrate consumption which is not easy for me because I am a really strict vegetarian. Wheat in particular has been getting a very bad press recently. Calorie free sweeteners are a health disaster and still cause a spike in insulin so it's much better to severely limit and preferably cut out all sugary drinks even low calorie ones. A few sweeteners don't cause the insulin spike and I allow a small amount of stevia in my diet.

 

Sorry about this but exercise IS your weight loss friend. :D take a look at Dr Mosley's program 'The Truth About Exercise' in which he explains how 10 minutes of exercise just three times a week can make a massive difference to your weight loss efforts and your health. Just getting a tiny bit more active will help, walk when you can, take the stairs not the lift; it all helps.

 

Remember you are human, those of us with more than a few pounds to lose will have a long journey; although initially you may lose more it is not realistic to expect more than 1Lb of weight loss a week. During this journey there may be times when you relax (to go on a cruise perhaps) or Christmas or your birthday. It's all ok just jump back on the day after your event and all will be well and if you have a day where you don't manage to stick to the fast, forgive yourself and start again. I think you will find that you soon get used to it and that doesn't happen very often.

 

I am evangelical about fasting because where many other diets have failed for me, fasting helped me to shed 50Lb and in addition I truly believe it will along with the HITT be my best friend in the battle against ageing, cognitive decline, heart disease, diabetes and more! The very best of British (good luck) to all of you who give it a try I wish you a slim and healthy future. :):):)

 

Karen

[rod5007]

I feel for you!!!! I am on a "diet" myself. I dropped 40 pounds in 6 ms. making a few adjustments wi my diet.

-make sure you have "0" carb for breakfast but you can have protein and fat (turkey bacon, eggs, chicken". This will keep your sugar levels at a nomal burning rate thru the day

-lunch and dinner add vegetables

-have a snack of fruit in between

In other words eat every 3 hours

Make sure you drink lots of water and

NO SODAS!!!!

Anything with sugar will spike your sugar levels up and it will turn the burning fat switch off.

Good luck!!!

P.S. I made a smoothie with natural fruits, water plus honey (with NO SUGAR) every day and drank some in between meals :)

[FireStation46]

I tried those pre-packaged meals you see NFL types hawking in TV. Both times for several months I stuck with it. Perhaps a 10% weight loss only to be gained back. You really need to find a medical facility/group that has a diet plan that they monitor with you that also includes group discussion. For those morbidly obese a bariatric procedure may also be an option. The lap-band was yesterday's solution that has been surpassed by the sleeve. Significant health impacts after the surgery may also include a lowering or elimination of Rx meds i.e. Blood pressure , hypertension, depression. Etc. that will not only lead to life style improvements but also can have an impact on your health care and life insurance costs.

 

http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/bariatric-surgery/basics/definition/prc-20019138

 

For those that BMI's are reasonable a visit to your GP, excerise and following a diet may be the way to go. For those that BMI is too high, then surgery/medical supervision/ exercise / diet is a life change.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.html

 

Best to go with a GP and specialists vs. the latest book, DVD fad IMHO.

 

GOOD LUCK!

Edited March 29, 2014 by FireStation46

[FireStation46]

I feel for you!!!! I am on a "diet" myself. I dropped 40 pounds in 6 ms. making a few adjustments wi my diet.

-make sure you have "0" carb for breakfast but you can have protein and fat (turkey bacon, eggs, chicken". This will keep your sugar levels at a nomal burning rate thru the day

-lunch and dinner add vegetables

-have a snack of fruit in between

In other words eat every 3 hours

Make sure you drink lots of water and

NO SODAS!!!!

Anything with sugar will spike your sugar levels up and it will turn the burning fat switch off.

Good luck!!!

P.S. I made a smoothie with natural fruits, water plus honey (with NO SUGAR) every day and drank some in between meals :)

 

Check out Yonana machine on Amazon and elsewhere. The higher end models has less noise in making a natural snack.

[cruisinggadawg]

I stumbled upon this forum last night when I was looking for a forum on the Carnival Valor cruise in June 2014. I am seriously going to do it. I'm 21 years old, 5'4" and weigh 175 lbs, looking to lose around 30-35 lbs. I've tried restricting calories daily for a LONG time now and it just doesn't work for me. I love food and I can't keep it under a certain level every single day, but I do think I'll be able to do it for two days a week! I am a chef so I'm constantly around food which is extremely hard. I'm thinking about fasting on the two busiest days at the restaurant (Wednesday and Friday), but I'm concerned that I'll be getting too much exercise running around cooking and not enough intake to keep me going. I think that if I try fasting on the two slowest days that I'll be too bored to think about anything but food. Any thoughts on this? Any cruisers going on the Valor from June 8-15?

 

 

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[EmmasNana]

I do this way of life. I don't consider it a diet. My weight comes off very slowly, but I only want to drop 10 pounds. I'm in my weight range, but have visceral fat that my dr says could be the reason for my digestive issues. I removed gluten from my diet and that alone enormously helped my problems.

 

At first I thought it would be difficult, but it really isn't. It helps for me to only have my evening meal. If I have breakfast that seems to set me up for wanting to eat again. About 2:00 I start getting pretty hungry, but I know that in a few hours I will eat and that tomorrow I can eat when I wake if I like. If I really want something, I will eat 3 almonds. That usually takes care of my hunger until time for dinner.

 

My typical meal on these days is one small can of tuna, mayo and celery. I eat it on 10 tortilla chips. Sometimes I will have home made vegetable soup.

 

The 500 calorie number is an average. On these "fast" days you should eat 25% of your TDEE. Mine comes out to around 300 calories so that is what I shoot for. On the other days, I eat around 1200. Some days more, some less.

 

On the 5 regular days, I do have a glass of wine.:D

 

You should hook up with the fb page.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I've chosen 650 calories for my low days, because I find this easier to deal with than 500. On those days I usually don't eat until about 2 pm--sometimes later-- and then have a light lunch. Dinner is around 7 and I leave enough calories for a good snack before bed, which for me is quite late (at least midnight) since I am a night-owl. I try to eat only healthy foods on those days, not 650 calories of chips and candy, of course. But, I always have one piece of good dark chocolate!

 

I actually find myself looking forward to the low days, especially if I've had a splurge on the weekend or a holiday. So far i have not felt weak or dizzy, and I do exercise, sometimes quite hard, on those days.

 

This seems to maintain for me; I'm not actually overweight for my height right now, but would like to drop another 10 lbs, mostly 'vanity' weight. To do that I need to count calories on the high days. If I eat around 1500 calories on those days I tend to lose about 1 lb. a week.

[jenb42]

Also try not eating late at night have a cut off like 6 or 7.

 

 

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[ansjefitnes]

I am doing this way of eating for 10 weeks now and lost 6 kg, very happy with the results and its quite easy to do.

 

Have to lose another 10 kg so hope it will be done in 5 or 6 months.

 

Tried a lot of other diets but this one works the best so far.:D

[ludomonster]

I've been doing intermittent fasting for about a month and a half and I've lost about 25lbs. On workdays, I skip breakfast and lunch and usually eat once a day, which is roughly every 20-24 hours. My meals almost always are two-course. First, I load up on sauteed vegetables and then I have some meat. On the weekends, I'm less disciplined, but I tend to skip breakfast and delay lunch, continuing to prioritize vegetables over meats over fats over carbs. I've also eschewed beer. I'm barely exercising and I'm probably as lazy as before I started. I think this is a lot easier than watching what I eat.

[shari08]

I've been doing intermittent fasting for about a month and a half and I've lost about 25lbs. On workdays, I skip breakfast and lunch and usually eat once a day, which is roughly every 20-24 hours. My meals almost always are two-course. First, I load up on sauteed vegetables and then I have some meat. On the weekends, I'm less disciplined, but I tend to skip breakfast and delay lunch, continuing to prioritize vegetables over meats over fats over carbs. I've also eschewed beer. I'm barely exercising and I'm probably as lazy as before I started. I think this is a lot easier than watching what I eat.

 

Hi ludomonster, congrats on doing so well! Are you primarily eating low carb? I recently started, last week, and lost 3.8 lbs. Very easy loss considering I've been eating whatever I wanted this past week. Plus coming from a low carb diet on top of that...but wondering if you're doing the same? thanks!

 

Everyone else, thanks for checking in and letting us know about you all's progress. Very encouraging! :)

[ludomonster]

Hi ludomonster, congrats on doing so well! Are you primarily eating low carb?

 

Thanks. For the most part, I am eating low carb. I'm not terribly strict about it. But if I do eat carbs, I find myself craving them for the remainder of the day. Rather than fight my self control when it comes to more carbs (which gets weaker throughout the day), I avoid them for as long as I can. This gives me less of a window to eat them.

I've also decided not to deprive myself of some of the summer foods that I really enjoy, such as Jersey Corn and watermelon. I also gauge whether I should be more diligent by my weight. If what I'm doing is working, I don't stress out. If it isn't, I'll be extra careful for a few days. I'll also skip weighing myself for a day or two.

 

As for pasta, I substitute broccoli. I've cooked spaghetti squash, but I usually have broccoli on hand.