Another week another new diet. We’ve had Atkins, South Beach, Juicing, raw food diet, even Cabbage soup diet had a particularly long lifespan considering how crazy and anti-social it was.
But what’s drastically different about the 5:2 diet is that it has actually been proven to be good for you. You eat what you like on 5 days of the week then reduce your calorie intake for the other two days a week. Men cut
down to 600 calories while women are allowed 500.
The science behind why the 5:2 is good for you actually makes sense. In our modern lifestyle we are used to eating what we want, when we want and our bodies have become unused to being in starvation or ‘repair’ mode as the 5:2 diet calls it. When we do go into repair mode it causes our body to restore damaged cells, in turn using more energy to help us lose weight.
The results of the 5:2 are pretty dramatic. You can lose between 2 and 4lbs in weeks one and two, then between 1 and 3lbs a week between weeks three to six. The one main rule of the diet is not to take two fasting days together, always have a break. When a desired weight is achieved users are advised to scale back to the ‘maintenance programme’ that requires them to only fast on one day a week. This way fans of the 5:2 are not best pleased with the wording diet as they believe its more of a way of life and people do tend to think of diets as pointless and faddy.
Research suggests that fasting in this way can help us to live longer and even ward off serious illness such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Further studies have shown that fasting can help us to reduce levels of insulin, which leads to accelerated ageing as well as reducing blood pressure and cholesterol.
Another factor why 5:2 is being hailed as a revolutionary new eating plan is that individuals report on their non-fast days that they have a sense of control over what they eat, hardly ever eat out of boredom and tend to choose healthier foods. Plus if you are a busy person you can change your fast day so you can enjoy a meal out or the occasional glass of wine at the weekend, something conventional diets don’t let you do.
Sounds too good to be true.
Well it is isn’t actually….but be warned its tough. Having just managed to lose 6lbs in four weeks on the 5:2 diet, I would definitely recommend it. Although I would suggest keeping your fridge pretty empty on fasting days to avoid snacking as 500 calories doesn’t go very far. There are 550 calories in just one medium bar of chocolate. A pizza has 800 calories. You see the problem…
The best suggestion is to plan your fast days very well. To keep under the 500 calorie threshold you must be very careful about what you eat.
Breakfast
One slice of brown toast & poached egg 160 calories
50g Porridge with skimmed milk and raisins 175 calories
Fruit platter (banana, strawberry and kiwi) 130 calories
Lunch
Tuna salad 140 calories
Cream cheese and salmon on wheat crackers 180 calories
Tomato Soup 155 calories
Dinner
Chicken breast & steamed vegetables 200 calories
Poached salmon and brown rice 220 calories
Vegetable risotto 210 calories
And try and be healthy with your non-fast days and the 5:2 diet recommends thirty minutes of light cardiovascular exercise two or three times a week.
