BAH Winter Weight Gain. Has anyone tried the 5:2 diet?

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Hello everyone,
I am needing to shed some extra weight gained over the cold winter we have had here. I would like to lose at least 5kg.
Wondering if anyone has tried the 5:2 diet?
It appeals to me as you eat normally for 5 days with no calorie restriction and then fast for 2. ( fasting being a day of 400 cals , not a complete fast)

Wondering if anyone has had success with this type of eating plan?
 
My dietitian told me to stay far far away from diets like that.
 
my dad is huge into health since he was diagnosed with diabetes last fall.
wheat is bad
get on a good diet plan
then 5:2 can work. but you have to work towards it, not just go all the sudden into it as that can damage your body. he has lost an incredible amount of weight (at least 70 pounds) and over 10 inches as well.
that's the short version and i have 1 minute left of work, so more on all of this tomorrow!!
 
MoondancerMilkyWay said:
my dad is huge into health since he was diagnosed with diabetes last fall.
wheat is bad
get on a good diet plan
then 5:2 can work. but you have to work towards it, not just go all the sudden into it as that can damage your body. he has lost an incredible amount of weight (at least 70 pounds) and over 10 inches as well.
that's the short version and i have 1 minute left of work, so more on all of this tomorrow!!
Click to expand...
Thankyou for the reply, and what a wonderful result for your Dad. Is his diabetes under control now?
 
He is doing much better now since he started his awesome new lifestyle changes and his diabetes is very much under control. he is hoping soon to be off of most of not all of the medications he was taking previously. he is also working out (walking) every day. he will be 60 this year and is in better shape than I am! I'm very proud.

he had/has a goal of weight to lose each month (5 lbs or so) and sometimes he gets stuck and the first time he got stuck and his weight wasn't budging for about 2-3 days, he decided to not eat one day. then he lost the extra little bit. since then he's worked a little harder and found the 5:2 and said that it works, but like any kind of fasting or huge change you are making to your diet and lifestyle unless it's something serious then don't jump right into it.
proceed with caution.
 
I have done it (having a break at the moment and I'm sure you understand why!) but upped the 2 days to 600 cals as with my health issues it is safer. Works well but do ease into it, I was told to start at 800 cals and one day then wind it down over a few weeks. Having said that I do have a few health issues.
 
Thanks to both of you , thats great advice, I think I will start slowly for sure.
 
Do you drink soda, Slinky? Just cutting out soda has made a huge difference for me. All the extra weight I put on is about gone, just by eliminating one thing.

I sure do miss drinking that delicious high fructose poison though. It is yum. Sorrow.
 
evilbunnyfoofoo said:
Do you drink soda, Slinky? Just cutting out soda has made a huge difference for me. All the extra weight I put on is about gone, just by eliminating one thing.

I sure do miss drinking that delicious high fructose poison though. It is yum. Sorrow.
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No, I don't drink soda at all, usually just soda water or coffee. Half of my issue is that I have no motivation to exercise as it's winter here and it gets dark too early.
 
Oh, Slinky I understand. Motivation is my major obstacle. I work a very physical job, but never lost weight I gained after a surgery. I knew my weight gain was primarily from sodas, but didn't want to give them up (everyone has at least one guilty pleasure, mine is Dr Pepper). Everyone's weight struggles are different.

Could you possibly suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder? It could explain both weight gain and lack of energy. Adding some vitamin D to your diet certainly couldn't hurt, and might just help a bit! It's so hard when there's little sunlight to be had to help perk up your body!

Here's it's 100°f (about 37°c). I would give you sunshine if I could!
 
I also suffer from lack of motivation, hah. It's just so hard to get yourself to do something that you hate doing in the first place. Let me know how it works out. I need to do something about my weight too. This 5-2 sounds like an interesting idea.
 
Why wouldn't you moderate your diet for 7 days and eat a healthy amount of calories everyday? The fact that there is no claorie restriction for 5 days makes absolutely no sense if improving your health (and thus, probably losing weight as a result) is your goal. That may actually encourage overeating since you know you won't get much for 2 days. A healthy "diet" is one that you follow 7 days a week while still allowing for the occasional cheeseburger or piece of chocolate cake. The fact that people lose weight on this diet is not surprising. Most fad diets do work in that sense- at least in the short run- but they are neither healthy nor sustainable long term. Most adults need a ABSOULTE MINIMUM of 1000 calories a day for brain and resting functions.

I am a registered dieititian and nutritionist teaching college courses and working as a consult in a hospital. I never recommend fad diets. You should concentrate on other small changes instead. If you don't eat much fruit, for example, your goal could be to have 1 piece of whole fruit everyday. You can gradually build on small measurable goals like that to get where you want to be. This will also naturally cut out some of the junk food and, as you meet these goals, your motivation will go up as you start to succeed and feel better! The weight loss part really should be secondary. Feel good will translate into look good!

You can do it!
 
I don't believe the 5:2 diet is no holds barred for 5 days and nothing for 2. pretty sure it's a moderate/average diet for 5 days and a lower calorie diet for 2 days.
 
My mom and I actually went on a diet back in October, and I've lost 70 pounds myself (still got a bit to go, though). All we did was cut the carbs. We cut out bread, cereal, pasta... switched to lower carb versions of them (The bread and cereals we order online and the pasta we use is Dreamfields, which is a low carb pasta). Plus you just cut down on the size of your meals. Eat the suggested portions. Also cut out the processed foods and fast foods. Eat meat, real vegetables, fruits that aren't super high in the natural sugars. We drink almond milk instead of dairy milk. Any kind of snackage we have is sugar-free. If I drink soda, it's diet soda. But drink a ton of water. At least 64 ounces in a day is what's recommended. Eat lots of fish. If you need to get anything canned or jarred (we need spaghetti sauce after all), try to make sure it's no sugar added. They make tortillas that are carb-friendly as well, which is what I like to use in place of bread for sandwiches and such. You can still eat cheese, just as long as it's not the processed stuff. I usually go with a nice sharp cheddar. We do eat and drink Atkins products. Their chocolate shake is to die for and it gets me through the morning, because it has a lot of fiber and protein, which is what makes you feel fuller without eating so much. Exercising is definitely a big part of it, though. We joined a gym.. as around here in the winter it's too cold to do anything outside (though that won't be a problem soon). Maybe you should try that. It's always fun to watch tv while walking on a treadmill or being on the elliptical. An hour, at least, for every trip and for a couple days a week. Then work your way up to every day. I know you're only trying to lose a little bit weight, but cutting carbs can make a big difference, and then you can just keep yourself balanced between going low carb/no carb, and exercising and once in a while having those guilty pleasures we all have (I have mine when my parents aren't home >.>).

And what kept me motivated was seeing the dramatic loss of weight in the beginning of the process. Now it's just second nature that we eat like this and keep all the bad stuff cut out. My weight as sort of plateued out, but things have gotten a bit stressful with everything that's been going on. I just eat the part. I haven't worked out in a while. Maybe when this whole moving this is done.
 
Aadra310 said:
Why wouldn't you moderate your diet for 7 days and eat a healthy amount of calories everyday? The fact that there is no claorie restriction for 5 days makes absolutely no sense if improving your health (and thus, probably losing weight as a result) is your goal. That may actually encourage overeating since you know you won't get much for 2 days. A healthy "diet" is one that you follow 7 days a week while still allowing for the occasional cheeseburger or piece of chocolate cake. The fact that people lose weight on this diet is not surprising. Most fad diets do work in that sense- at least in the short run- but they are neither healthy nor sustainable long term. Most adults need a ABSOULTE MINIMUM of 1000 calories a day for brain and resting functions.

I am a registered dieititian and nutritionist teaching college courses and working as a consult in a hospital. I never recommend fad diets. You should concentrate on other small changes instead. If you don't eat much fruit, for example, your goal could be to have 1 piece of whole fruit everyday. You can gradually build on small measurable goals like that to get where you want to be. This will also naturally cut out some of the junk food and, as you meet these goals, your motivation will go up as you start to succeed and feel better! The weight loss part really should be secondary. Feel good will translate into look good!

You can do it!
Click to expand...

Hi Aadra, thankyou for the post, The thing that appealed to me about the 5:2 was that I didnt have to be restricting all the time but only 2 days per week. Calorie counting does get old after a while, I find I get very bored and the last thing I want to do is to be counting. My main problem is that work stress causes me to just grab whatever is there at the time, I also eat when bored. I always find the Winter time difficult as I have no motivation to go out in the cold and its dark when I get home from work. Your suggestion about doing one small thing is good one, I'll certainly try and take that on.

MoondancerMilkyWay said:
I don't believe the 5:2 diet is no holds barred for 5 days and nothing for 2. pretty sure it's a moderate/average diet for 5 days and a lower calorie diet for 2 days.
Click to expand...
I was actually reading a facebook group for 5:2, and there were members doing just that. LOL. Pigging out for 5 days and fasting for 2, some eating nothing at all. I do agree that there are wrong ways to do this. Those who are sensible about it, like earlier in this thread, seem to have had the best result.

SkippetyDoo said:
My mom and I actually went on a diet back in October, and I've lost 70 pounds myself (still got a bit to go, though). All we did was cut the carbs. We cut out bread, cereal, pasta... switched to lower carb versions of them (The bread and cereals we order online and the pasta we use is Dreamfields, which is a low carb pasta). Plus you just cut down on the size of your meals. Eat the suggested portions. Also cut out the processed foods and fast foods. Eat meat, real vegetables, fruits that aren't super high in the natural sugars. We drink almond milk instead of dairy milk. Any kind of snackage we have is sugar-free. If I drink soda, it's diet soda. But drink a ton of water. At least 64 ounces in a day is what's recommended. Eat lots of fish. If you need to get anything canned or jarred (we need spaghetti sauce after all), try to make sure it's no sugar added. They make tortillas that are carb-friendly as well, which is what I like to use in place of bread for sandwiches and such. You can still eat cheese, just as long as it's not the processed stuff. I usually go with a nice sharp cheddar. We do eat and drink Atkins products. Their chocolate shake is to die for and it gets me through the morning, because it has a lot of fiber and protein, which is what makes you feel fuller without eating so much. Exercising is definitely a big part of it, though. We joined a gym.. as around here in the winter it's too cold to do anything outside (though that won't be a problem soon). Maybe you should try that. It's always fun to watch tv while walking on a treadmill or being on the elliptical. An hour, at least, for every trip and for a couple days a week. Then work your way up to every day. I know you're only trying to lose a little bit weight, but cutting carbs can make a big difference, and then you can just keep yourself balanced between going low carb/no carb, and exercising and once in a while having those guilty pleasures we all have (I have mine when my parents aren't home >.>).

And what kept me motivated was seeing the dramatic loss of weight in the beginning of the process. Now it's just second nature that we eat like this and keep all the bad stuff cut out. My weight as sort of plateued out, but things have gotten a bit stressful with everything that's been going on. I just eat the part. I haven't worked out in a while. Maybe when this whole moving this is done.
Click to expand...

Well done on your great results :)
Cutting carbs certainly doesn't agree with me, I get cold and feel awful, and my temperature drops. Thats the thing, I don't think there is one diet fits all, we are all very individual, thats awesome that you found something that works so well for you.
 
Ah, you were interested in the 5:2 because you would only count calories for 2 days instead of 7. That makes sense as it would be a lot less time involved! Let me suggest that you don't count calories at all. It's tedious and sometimes not at all helpful. Calorie counting is a popular but a very restricted and limited way to look at health and overall diet. Having said that, understanding your calorie needs and being familiar in a general sense of the amounts of calories in food is a very good idea. A lot of my students and patients are shocked to learn about not only the fat in cheese, but just how many calories it contains, just as one example. But rather than counting exactly how many calories your cheddar provides, it might be ultimately more useful to know that cheese is high in fat and calories. This should be something you don't eat lots of and may be an excellent place in your diet to purchase a reduced fat product (and thus, lower calorie).

I've never counted calories and don't recommend any one else (that doesn't have an immediate serious dietary health related issue) do. It's hard, it's boring, it's too easy to quit. But, you could start reading food labels and getting a good understanding of how many calories are in your products. Again, small steps. Next time you go to the grocery store and you automatically pick up the same cereal you always buy, take a moment to read the label. You might find out really fast that some of your usual items are really high in calories, sodium, sugar, or fat. That would be a good opportunity to find a similar but healthier alternative or at tleast promote awareness of exactly what you're eating... one product every grocery trip!

And for anyone who is on the cutting carb thing, what you are trying to do is cut out PROCESSED carbs. Carbohydrates convert to sugars which should be your primary energy source. In other words, most of your calories should come from carbs. Carbs are found across the food chain- dairy, fruit, vegetables, grains, and beans. Attempting to cut carbs too strenuously is not healthy. What you can cut is all the added sugar in convenience products- baked goods, candy, soda, chips, etc. I thik there is a lot of confusion in the general population about carbs and you should know that carbs are good... in the right amounts from the right sources! Unless you are a diabetic, eating fruit as part of healthy diet is not going to cause weight gain just because it's high in sugar. Fruit is low in calories and often high fiber and high water. Same with vegetables and beans. The average and aware person really can't eat enough to worry about the sugar content.
 
Skip, I barely recognized you this spring! :D You lookin' AWESOME, lady!!

Just putting a note in here that people with metabolic and endocrine diseases and disorders can't always expect the same results from a strict diet as a person not afflicted with these issues. Similarly, being on medications that carry a side effect of weight gain can be especially troublesome to work around. Toss in a bit of CFS and life gets especially challenging.

My personal suggestion from experience is to have a good working relationship with your doctor, and always look into any suspected illnesses before starting a diet or weight loss program. ;)
 
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