5:2 fasting diet - any experiences/views?

Any one had any experience of this? Good or bad?

it's OK

it's basically a week long calorie reduction exercise where you eat normally for 5 days but have very few cals on the other 2 days. it probably works better than a general calorie reduction programme as it has that 5:2 structure - with a general one it's not so easy to follow a week long regime.   the danger is however is that you overeat on non-fast days as you come off a fast day feeeling pretty hungry!

like all calorie reduction methods, it needs discipline to stick to it.

as for the other supposed benefits - longevity, immunity boost, cancer reduction etc - the science and jury are very much out on that as there's not enough evidence to support any of the theories.

Is it 1 day 'off', twice a week, or 2 days 'off' in a row?

1 day twice a week - we did Monday and Thursday

1 day twice a week on non consecutive days

there were a whole bunch of people trying this at work.......

They did it for about 6 weeks, and really enjoyed it and said it felt beneficial.

However, they are not still doing it so........

I thought it went like this:

• 5/2 with two fasting days is the diet.
• But that is tough so why not split the 2 days off into  two one days off as that is nearly the same. Although not quite.
• Now a whole day without food is quite tough so you can have a few hundred calories first thing and last thing.
• Plus if you feel a bit hungry you can nibble a raw carrot or something.

So I think in the final version you have to skip lunch which isn't where it started. They did a piece on IM Talk recently.

Not tried it, I don't need to diet as I can't get fat.

M..eface

Hee hee, that amused me, meface!

It's really not a difficult concept though, is it - it all boils down to "eat less, run more". I dont personally think skipping lunch twice a week is a great strategy, and I bet a lot of people end up eating the same amount in fewer overall meals, so as a long term (ie 2 months!) strategy, it seems destined to fail. But I expect someone got rich from writing a book about it.

I am planning on giving this a go with a slightly modified version and replacing the calories used when training on fasting days (so not to impact too heavily on training sessions)and eating healthily on the normal days.  As FB puts it, the structure 'may' help me better than a normal reduced calorie diet through the week.  Going to give it 5 weeks and see how I do.  Not planning on doing it long term as heavy IM training will not allow me to do this.

tut Tut TUT

flyaway wrote (see)

Hee hee, that amused me, meface!

It's really not a difficult concept though, is it - it all boils down to "eat less, run more". I dont personally think skipping lunch twice a week is a great strategy, and I bet a lot of people end up eating the same amount in fewer overall meals, so as a long term (ie 2 months!) strategy, it seems destined to fail. But I expect someone got rich from writing a book about it.

If the people at my work are anything to go by, on the non-fast days you can eat even more - make sure you load up on pizza, burgers and milkshakes

Would be interesting to know what Sarahthebookworm makes of this ...

I'm trying this. But sticking  to 500cal and then doing a training session doesn't work (obviously!) so I tend to plan a light swim on my fasting days. I got it wrong yesterday with a bike ride and long swim and felt quite unwell/nauseous later.  I eat normally on the other 5 days and don't wake up hungry either. It has the advantage of keeping me off the booze for at least 2 days in a week. I don't really need to lose a lot of weight, just a couple of extra pounds from January but I'm hoping it will benefit my cholesterol levels and overall health. Its not as hard as it sounds. A dinner of small piece of chicken and lots and lots of fresh steamed veg (no spuds) still come within the calorie limit. And an apple for lunch, porridge for breakfast, its okay. 

Although this is not a new 'fad' it is being reintroduced and promoted by that tv doctor who also does the inventions thing on BBC2 ..... obviously I cant remember hie name but he explained the concept well

Michael Mosley?

Thats the one ... I could see his face and everything!

Doozer, unless you've completely changed from last time I was in your company, you don't need to lose weight??

One of the fat blokes at work does this sometimes, he says it works better if he does the two low calorie days in a row, but he's still a fat bloke.
Cant see how you can train properly and stick to a regime like this. Besides which you know what CRAB would say Dooz - NFRS, simple formula of calories in vs calories out. Also be aware that you have to actually eat enough to lose a bit of weight and train properly, keep your diet clean 80 to 90% of the time and your body should find its optimum wieght for the demands you put upon it. A bit of lean muscle will stoke your metabolism too.

Oh my god, I agree with TR! What is the world coming to?!

To be honest, the whole concept just sounds daft to me. Each to their own though...

TR wrote (see)

One of the fat blokes at work does this sometimes, he says it works better if he does the two low calorie days in a row, but he's still a fat bloke.
Cant see how you can train properly and stick to a regime like this. Besides which you know what CRAB would say Dooz - NFRS, simple formula of calories in vs calories out. Also be aware that you have to actually eat enough to lose a bit of weight and train properly, keep your diet clean 80 to 90% of the time and your body should find its optimum wieght for the demands you put upon it. A bit of lean muscle will stoke your metabolism too.

What does that mean?

TR

I am a big fan of the eat less and move more diet. And ultimately if you are in positive calories you gain weight and negative calories you loose weight.

However there is some tinkering around the edges to do with the calories you burn. Metabolic rate can be altered. Eating chillis and currys increases metabolic rate. Exercising increases burn rate during the exercise and also afterwards to repair, replenish and grow muscles. And yep muscle maintenance burns more all the time.

Extremely low calorie intake can induce a starvation mode in some, reducing long term metabolic rate. Although how the 5:2 diet affects that versus long term negative calorie intake it would be difficult to comment.

Many overweight people get so over a long period. 100kcal extra per day puts on a potential 1lb of fat every 35 days. Over a year that is 10lbs. Over 2-3 years that is 2 stone of weight. For 100kcal/.day which is