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5 2 Diet - anyone tried it?

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5 2 Diet - anyone tried it?

Postby Yoland » Tue Feb 16, 2016 12:18 am

During my recent period of being unwell I have sought solace in food I'm sorry to admit, so I have put on quite a bit of weight. I've been hearing about this 5 2 diet. Has anyone tried it and what do you think of it?

Does it work?
Is it difficult to stick to?
What are your recipe ideas for your 500 cal days?

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Re: 5 2 Diet - anyone tried it?

Postby WhitefieldFoodie » Tue Feb 16, 2016 12:39 am

Works for me. I find it very easy to stick to. But as all lifestyle changes as soonas I relapse i find it hard to get back on the horse.

500 cal days are all veg. Loads of the stuff. Add that to lots of spicies and herbs and you can make it through.

Mind, i am lucky as its 600 for me :)

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Re: 5 2 Diet - anyone tried it?

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Feb 16, 2016 8:25 pm

I find it easy to stick to most of the time, and when I first did it I found I lost a lot of weight (then I stopped and put 2/3 back on, not coming off so fast this time)

You have to remember it's not primarily intended as a weight loss strategy (though I know a diabetologist who is half the man he was from following it)

WhitefieldFoodie - I find turning at least some of the veg into soup makes it more filling for longer (this has been shown to work in tests), and a bit of protein also helps to stay full
Today I have had a bought Skinny soup + 2 ryvita with very low fat soft cheese for lunch (a shade over 200 calories)
Supper will be a bit of salmon cooked with fennel & some prawns and a few extra veg ( ashade nder 300 calories

I'd recommend anyone starting it to watch the Horizon programme that kick started it
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lxyzc

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Re: 5 2 Diet - anyone tried it?

Postby Suelle » Tue Feb 16, 2016 10:59 pm

I've lost 25kg on the 5:2 diet, over the last three years. Last year there was only a 6kg loss, but as I approach my goal (of a BMI in the 'normal' range), I find I'm happy enough to lose weight slowly.

This is the first time, having been overweight for all of my adult life, that I have found an eating pattern that a) I can stick to and b) maintains the weight loss. Every other time I've dieted, weight has gone back on, but not with this way of eating.

As a bonus, I no longer need medication for high cholesterol or high blood pressure and the frequency of pain in my arthritic knees has lessened.

If you are using 5:2 for weight loss, you do have to be careful not to overeat on the 'normal' eating days. You will be cutting out 3000 calories on your 2 fasting days, but it is all too easy to eat 600 extra calories a day on the 5 other days. I cut out breakfast altogether and eat much smaller portions of carbohydrates on the days I'm not fasting, when I'm pushing for a bit more weight loss. If I'm just coasting along to maintain the weight loss, or having a restaurant meal, or on holiday, I'm not so strict.

I found it easy to stick to, but I don't bother trying to concoct special meals for fasting days - I eat a salad at lunch time and either another salad (summer) or a bowl of soup (winter) in the evening, reckoning on about 200 calories for each meal (no carbohydrates and only a very small amount of protein), leaving me 100 calories for something with chocolate in. I only drink water or black coffee on fasting days.
The blog which does what it says on the tin:

http://mainlybaking.blogspot.co.uk/

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Re: 5 2 Diet - anyone tried it?

Postby Stokey Sue » Wed Feb 17, 2016 12:20 pm

25 kg! :clap :clap

Well done Suelle

I prefer having something that resembles an ordinary meal on a fast day, partly because I like playing with my food but also because as you say I need to be careful on the 5 days too, so training myself in the calorie cutting tricks

For example, I intend to make a 5:2 recipe for chilli con carne, it makes 4 generous portions, so I'll probably end up eating a couple on non-fast days, admittedly with more sides, but still being careful and keeping the calories low

I do use a certain amount of pre-measured stuff on fast days, the Glorious Skinny or New Covent Garden Skinny soups for example, and sometimes a pack of prepped stir-fry veg

Do be careful using published fast day recipes - recalculate the calories unless from a source you trust, I've moaned about this before, but my rule of thumb is that unless weights are given for all main ingredients, it probably isn't accurately counted I've seen "1 potato", "1 ball of mozzarella" for example and the calorie counts were definitely not as low as required

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Re: 5 2 Diet - anyone tried it?

Postby Suelle » Wed Feb 17, 2016 1:08 pm

I think the way to deal with 5:2 is one day at a time - you might not be eating much today, but tomorrow you can eat normally.

Also if you lose control on a fast day, and eat too much, you can turn it into a normal day and fast tomorrow.
The blog which does what it says on the tin:

http://mainlybaking.blogspot.co.uk/

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Re: 5 2 Diet - anyone tried it?

Postby Gillthepainter » Thu Feb 18, 2016 7:43 pm

Commiserations on the weight gain, Yoland.
I was there for 2 years, banged on 2 stones over my ideal weight for no reason other than access to a kitchen all day long.
Cakes, don't even particularly like cakes, crumpets, biscuits, but mostly sweets.

Personally couldn't do it on my own I'm afraid.
I have indeed tried the 5:2, but it aggravated a problem for me.
Although I've met enough people who have dramatic results with it, just as Suelle and Sue have .... you've got to admire it.
Sue is pretty petite, I saw her last month, hi Sue.

My chosen meal at the time was yoghurt breakfast, & omelettes. I ate a 3 egg omelette with tomato/avocado/sweetcorn on the side. But I adore omelettes.


Me, I joined a personal trainer group of 4, in the listed building where I paint.
There are 2 of us left, and since June 1 I have reached my ideal weight again. I gave myself 1.5 years, but have reached it in 7 months.
Now it is coming down more with no effort on my part.

I weigh what I was when I was 40 (could mean anything).
It costs me £120 a month, but I spend so much less on food.
I'm fitter than I've ever been, which didn't really need help.

And am wearing my old London City clothes that don't go out of fashion, giving me a new wardrobe.

Whatever you try, make sure it's not faddy.
If your weight yo-yos, it might be a bad sign?
With mine, I might not lose anything as a consequence, but then all of a sudden 2 kilos would come off, eg over Christmas it dropped. And it never goes back on.
I haven't put a single pound on - but have sometimes plateau'd.

Good luck.

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Re: 5 2 Diet - anyone tried it?

Postby Petronius » Fri Jul 15, 2016 4:52 pm

Just for interest I mention Breadandwine recently completed 1175 press ups in an hour for charity.

http://nobreadisanisland.

He's a great advocate of 5:2 and a couple of months younger than me. Scary!

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Re: 5 2 Diet - anyone tried it?

Postby jeral » Sat Jul 16, 2016 7:09 pm

Wow! I had to look twice to see if I'd read the number right. Many congratulations to Paul - that sure is going some - at any age.

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