Has anyone ever tried the 5-2 Intermittent Fast Diet

[dontoearth]

https://thefastdiet.co.uk/

 

The link is just the basics about the program.  I saw the BBC documentary on this diet approach.  He also has a 'burst' exercise approach!  Has anyone tried this before?  Success?  Failure?  Too hard!  No results? etc.

 

From the website:

If we were to distill the Fast Diet into a single sound-bite, it would all come down to 5:2. That’s five days of normal eating, with little thought to calorie control and a slice of pie for pudding if that’s what you want. Then, on the other two days, you reduce your calorie intake to 500 calories for women and 600 calories for men.

Since you are only fasting for two days of your choice each week, and eating normally on the other five days, there is always something new and tasty on the near horizon. In short, it’s easy to comply with a regime that only asks you to restrict your calorie intake occasionally. It recalibrates the diet equation, and stacks the odds in your favour.

[JSixpack]

Yes, friend of mine doing it successfully, lost about 30 lbs already (maybe another 50 to go). It's the only diet he's been able to stay on. I used it to lose 10 lbs I had gained over a long vacation to the USA.

 

Key points:
* The weekly loss is generally small...a little under 1lb per week (data from over 4000 users).
* Some people lose a lot of weight in the first week but then plateau such that after a month or so the weight loss still works out at 1lb per week.
* Some people are lucky and have managed to lose more
* Some people are unlucky and have lost less
* People whose BMI is already in the healthy range are more likely to lose more slowly (around 0.5lb/week)
* People whose BMI is high are more likely to lose quickly (around 1.75-2lb per week)
* Men lose weight faster (1.1lb per week) than women (0.8 lb per week)

For people who choose to fast more often:
* The weekly loss doing 4:3 is only slightly more than with 5:2 at around 4oz more per week (228 users)
* The weekly loss doing ADF is a little bit higher at around 1.2 lb per week (51 users)
#averageloss

 

https://forum.fastday.com/tracker.php?p=stats

https://authoritynutrition.com/the-5-2-diet-guide/
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-52-diet
http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/538311/5-2-diet-meal-plans-what-to-eat-for-500-calorie-fast-days

 

http://nypost.com/2016/03/23/forget-calorie-counting-this-is-the-real-secret-to-weight-loss/

 

 

Edited August 5, 2016 by JSixpack

[dontoearth]

On ‎8‎/‎5‎/‎2016 at 5:47 PM, JSixpack said:

Yes, friend of mine doing it successfully, lost about 30 lbs already (maybe another 50 to go). It's the only diet he's been able to stay on. I used it to lose 10 lbs I had gained over a long vacation to the USA.

 

Key points:
* The weekly loss is generally small...a little under 1lb per week (data from over 4000 users).
* Some people lose a lot of weight in the first week but then plateau such that after a month or so the weight loss still works out at 1lb per week.
* Some people are lucky and have managed to lose more
* Some people are unlucky and have lost less
* People whose BMI is already in the healthy range are more likely to lose more slowly (around 0.5lb/week)
* People whose BMI is high are more likely to lose quickly (around 1.75-2lb per week)
* Men lose weight faster (1.1lb per week) than women (0.8 lb per week)

For people who choose to fast more often:
* The weekly loss doing 4:3 is only slightly more than with 5:2 at around 4oz more per week (228 users)
* The weekly loss doing ADF is a little bit higher at around 1.2 lb per week (51 users)
#averageloss

 

https://forum.fastday.com/tracker.php?p=stats

https://authoritynutrition.com/the-5-2-diet-guide/
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-52-diet
http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/538311/5-2-diet-meal-plans-what-to-eat-for-500-calorie-fast-days

 

http://nypost.com/2016/03/23/forget-calorie-counting-this-is-the-real-secret-to-weight-loss/

 

 

Thanks.  This was a lot of really good information.  I have hit a brick wall even with bodybuilding and diet so fasting and getting a 1 lb a week loss looks like real progress to me.  I will be giving this a try.  I especially liked the quote from the doctor advising you not to tell anyone you know that you are doing the fast as you are opening yourself to idiot abuse.  People with no medical background, no training in nutrition, or exercise seem to go on holy terrors whenever anyone tries a new diet plan.  I had luck with Atkins years ago and a 'well-meaning' friend showed up with a Last Will and Testament kit.  I am not kidding.  He is well over 300 lbs today.  I know the Atkins proved out and the body normalizes in one year on cholesterol but I am already dangerously high so I won't try that one again.  If only I had stuck with it!  Thanks again for the incredible response.

 

[Alive]

There are some good youtube videos on this. Listen to Jason Fung. You can also do this to some extent by just skipping one meal a day if you can do it longer. Stop eating a 6pm and eat lunch after 12 the next day and you have 18 hours fast.

 

I just finished my first fast ever this morning. I had may last meal on Thursday and just at at 10 am this morning. My last meal was a high fat meal so I think that go me through the beginning without a problem. Anyways, I had only water for 40 hours and I wasn't hungry. It surprised me and made me think I could go longer if I were working or busy taking my mind off food.

 

I plan to try to add the 18 hour fasts in during my week. I have no formal plan other than to do this and cut back on the sugar a bit.

 

You can listen to Jason Fung talking to Robb Wolf of Paleo Solution about related issues and fasting in this.

 

http://robbwolf.com/2016/05/10/episode-20-dr-jason-fung-obesity-insulin-diabetes-and-weight-management/

 

[dontoearth]

8 hours ago, Alive said:

There are some good youtube videos on this. Listen to Jason Fung. You can also do this to some extent by just skipping one meal a day if you can do it longer. Stop eating a 6pm and eat lunch after 12 the next day and you have 18 hours fast.

 

I just finished my first fast ever this morning. I had may last meal on Thursday and just at at 10 am this morning. My last meal was a high fat meal so I think that go me through the beginning without a problem. Anyways, I had only water for 40 hours and I wasn't hungry. It surprised me and made me think I could go longer if I were working or busy taking my mind off food.

 

I plan to try to add the 18 hour fasts in during my week. I have no formal plan other than to do this and cut back on the sugar a bit.

 

You can listen to Jason Fung talking to Robb Wolf of Paleo Solution about related issues and fasting in this.

 

http://robbwolf.com/2016/05/10/episode-20-dr-jason-fung-obesity-insulin-diabetes-and-weight-management/

 

Thanks for the link!  I have done the two day fast (600 calories for a man) on the 5-2 diet plan this week.   It worked and my long plateau from not losing any weight finally ended.  I'm down half a kilo on the week.  I always hated breakfast so I am planning on two no breakfast days this week.   I discovered Dr. Fong a few days ago and after seeing a youtube interview was so impressed I ordered his book from amazon DHL here to Thailand with the thai book import fee of $9.  My hotel wifi is miserable I could not get the kindle reader or book download.  However, some days it is good for the youtube.  I am really impressed with his research.  He seems to have had the foresight to tackle all of the old wive's tales (pardon my politically incorrect phrase) with scientific studies right up front.  He debunked the muscle loss theory, the you will over eat and gain weight theory right up front.  So many good diet plans have been destroyed by the medical community in the past with worn out 'truisms' that aren't true or backed up by research.   Good Luck 2 U and let me know how the fast work out.  I will probably post my results in a week or two.

[ricklev]

I did it for a couple months but drifted off it.  It wasn't that easy for me and when I went traveling I slipped.  

 

However, I lost 5 kilograms and my blood pressure quickly went from and average of  140/90 to 120/75 or so.  Can't argue with that!

 

 

[JSixpack]

17 hours ago, ricklev said:

I did it for a couple months but drifted off it.  It wasn't that easy for me and when I went traveling I slipped.  

 

However, I lost 5 kilograms and my blood pressure quickly went from and average of  140/90 to 120/75 or so.  Can't argue with that!

 

 

 

Traveling is a problem. Scheduled lunches and dinners are a problem. But, as you know, you can change your fasting days; a one-day fast is better than nothing and in fact fasting one day a week is considered "maintenance mode." I've been doing maintenance in part because fasting seems to have a number of benefits anyway. I also feel a bit more comfortable about having the occasional splurge.

 

My friend I wrote about earlier took to 5:2 like a duck to water, no difficulty at all from the beginning. I thought it pretty challenging the first week. Most people do get used to it. I brought it up to a Thai friend of mine who could well lose a few and the response was not surprisingly a shocked silence!

[phetphet]

He (Dr. Michael Mosley), also follows recommends another diet. Similar but 800 calories a day, called the "8-week blood sugar diet" that he himself follows after being diagnosed as diabetic. I think the Fast Diet is a slightly milder version of that one.

 

He has books out on both the "8-week blood sugar diet" and the Fast Diet. Both available on Amazon and in Kindle versions.

[JSixpack]

3 hours ago, phetphet said:

He (Dr. Michael Mosley), also follows recommends another diet. Similar but 800 calories a day, called the "8-week blood sugar diet" that he himself follows after being diagnosed as diabetic. I think the Fast Diet is a slightly milder version of that one.

 

He has books out on both the "8-week blood sugar diet" and the Fast Diet. Both available on Amazon and in Kindle versions.

 

There are a number of variations on the intermittent fasting approach: http://dailyburn.com/life/health/intermittent-fasting-methods/ The OP asked about 5:2 specifically. It seems to have the largest following and documentation. Any of them should work. Guess as with all diets you pick the one you can stick with. 

[FruitPudding]

I personally feel that the 16:8 version of it is much more doable.

[dontoearth]

4 hours ago, FruitPudding said:

I personally feel that the 16:8 version of it is much more doable.

    Could you give a few more details about that?

[metisdead]

A post of a profane nature has been removed. 

[ExpatOilWorker]

Michael Mosely tried it. I eat light (600 Kcal) on Wednesdays, so kind of a 6-1, just to keep the cholesterol in check.

 

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvdbtt_eat-fast-live-longer-hd_shortfilms

[ExpatOilWorker]

Horizon "What is it like to be obese", suggest that having the "wrong" fecal matter can make you fat.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03xkz3d

[tominbkk]

It works well!  I actually do a total fast, I try to do two days a week.  There is one called the Start-Stop-Start diet, the 5-2 allows you 600 or less calories on fast days, while SSS none.  For me I find fasting easier while in ketosis.

[FruitPudding]

2 hours ago, dontoearth said:

    Could you give a few more details about that?

 

Certainly.

 

Fast 16 hours per day and eat only during an 8 hour window period.

 

Example, start eating at 11am and finish at 7pm.

 

That's it.

Edited September 5, 2016 by FruitPudding
Spelling

[FruitPudding]

Oh and just to clarify: you must do that everyday (not only 2 days a week).

[Dagnabbit]

Currently doing 3:4 - Mon, Wed, Fri doing juices from Lifestyle Juicery - they deliver on Sunday, I freeze Wed & Fridays juices.

 

It's quite painless.

[Denim]

As a matter of interest , are people using this diet also completely giving up alcohol or only not drinking on the two fasting days ?

[JSixpack]

46 minutes ago, Denim said:

As a matter of interest , are people using this diet also completely giving up alcohol or only not drinking on the two fasting days ?

 

Up 2 u how you want to use your 600 calories on those days, but alcohol, esp beer, has so many that it crowds out any real food w/ nutrients. In short: completely give it up, yes. The hardest part, really but a good thing to do anyway. Fortunately you shouldn't do your two days in a row, but space them out. Whew!

[Denim]

26 minutes ago, JSixpack said:

 

Up 2 u how you want to use your 600 calories on those days, but alcohol, esp beer, has so many that it crowds out any real food w/ nutrients. In short: completely give it up, yes. The hardest part, really but a good thing to do anyway. Fortunately you shouldn't do your two days in a row, but space them out. Whew!

 

Yes.....I was thinking of giving up alcohol anyway. Not really fat but have put on 5 kilos over the past 8 months which I put down to increased alcohol consumption and reduced exercise. Quiting booze will also save me about 3000 baht a month.

[Dagnabbit]

On 10/3/2016 at 6:42 AM, Denim said:

As a matter of interest , are people using this diet also completely giving up alcohol or only not drinking on the two fasting days ?

 

Is your presumption that most people drink alcohol every day?

[JSixpack]

6 hours ago, Dagnabbit said:

 

Is your presumption that most people drink alcohol every day?

 

I didn't read it that way and doubt he'd make such an unreasonably broad assumption. I think he meant something like "or just being sure not to drink on the two fasting days if you wished to drink." "Completely" means on "no other days during the week," which could imply just one day--or more. That said, I suspect say it's not uncommon for expats & tourists to drink everyday in Thailand, esp. Pattaya, but I don't really know (or care) and doubt anyone else does either: anecdotes are the coin of this realm. 

Edited October 5, 2016 by JSixpack

[Taggart]

Yes, you have to find a fasting routine that you can stick with.  I looked at the 5-2 diet about a year ago, and I wasn't really interested in even trying it.

 

Then a few months later I saw Dr. Bert Herring MD describe his Fast-5 eating plan on a youtube video.  He started it back in 2005 so it's not exactly the new kid on the block, nor does he seem to be making any money off it.  Basically it's a five hour eating window every day, where you can eat whatever you want during that time.  I'm just experimenting with it a little right now, just using one day a week for the last few weeks where I eat between 11 a.m and 4 p.m. and I quite like it.  In another couple of months I may decide to start doing the Fast-5 on a daily basis and see how it works out.  Average weight loss supposedly is about the same as the other fasting ideas, about 1 lb per week.  I'm not fully compliant with it, but I'll be using this in conjunction with a mostly high carb, low fat way of eating I've been on for the past couple of years. 

[JSixpack]

23 hours ago, Taggart said:

I'll be using this in conjunction with a mostly high carb, low fat way of eating I've been on for the past couple of years. 

 

I hope you've considered all the implications of high carb, low fat. Anyway you might take a look here:

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/05/opinions/debate-low-fat-diet-ludwig/index.html

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/opinion/sunday/always-hungry-heres-why.html?_r=0

 

 

 

[Taggart]

Thanks but I'm really not interested in low carb diets.

 

For my first meal of the day, I'll just continue with my usual cooked oatmeal porridge with some berries and after that have some more fruit.  I haven't decided exactly what I'll have for my second and final meal of the day, but for sure I will include whole grains, starchy vegetables like potatoes and sweet potatoes, coloured vegetables, fruit, beans and lentils.  This will all start in early December so it will be interesting to see if I can continue on Fast-5 on a daily basis for five months.  Will give it a try.

[robblok]

16 hours ago, Taggart said:

Thanks but I'm really not interested in low carb diets.

 

For my first meal of the day, I'll just continue with my usual cooked oatmeal porridge with some berries and after that have some more fruit.  I haven't decided exactly what I'll have for my second and final meal of the day, but for sure I will include whole grains, starchy vegetables like potatoes and sweet potatoes, coloured vegetables, fruit, beans and lentils.  This will all start in early December so it will be interesting to see if I can continue on Fast-5 on a daily basis for five months.  Will give it a try.

Low carb is not for everyone and those that exercise hard often prefer to have some carbs in their body. Personaly i need carbs in my body during my training. I try to eat most of my carbs around my training time. 

[tropo]

On 10/15/2016 at 10:45 AM, robblok said:

Low carb is not for everyone and those that exercise hard often prefer to have some carbs in their body. Personaly i need carbs in my body during my training. I try to eat most of my carbs around my training time. 

Low carb diets are easier to follow for people just doing cardio who don't have any particular performance goals.

 

It's a different story if you're trying to get stronger or add muscle mass. You have to treat carbs as a necessary fuel.

 

[robblok]

17 minutes ago, tropo said:

Low carb diets are easier to follow for people just doing cardio who don't have any particular performance goals.

 

It's a different story if you're trying to get stronger or add muscle mass. You have to treat carbs as a necessary fuel.

 

I know.. but not only a fuel.. the rise in insulin also helps the nutrients to get in your muscle and speed up the repair process. Insulin is anabolic and needed to build / repair muscles. Problem is that insulin does not differentiate between putting fat in fat storage and protein and nutrients in muscle. However if you eat carbs around your training sessions the insulin will choose to put the carbs as fuel in your muscle and the proteins and other nutrients in your muscle. Carbs are useful.. and insulin is too.. just have to manage it right. 

[KittenKong]

I've been doing this 5:2 diet for a couple of months. It definitely does work for me. I find it easier to use the variant of simply not eating anything at all on the two days as I have no real idea what 600cal is anyway. So just lots of tea and water, and maybe one slice of toast.

 

I've lost 3kg so far.

 

I find this much easier than trying to exercise (I hate all activity apart from walking, and always have done) or trying to follow any sort of calorie or food-type related diet. This diet I could do forever without even noticing.