DIETS

The 5:2 Diet

Let’s face it; the reason why diets are so hard is that you feel that you’re on a diet. Your mind might be on board, but your body is likely hating you for all the treats you’re depriving it of. With the 5:2 diet, you can avoid the inevitable battle of wills and still be able to lose weight. Talk about having your cake and eating it too!

The 5.2 diet is also known as the Fast Diet or Intermittent Fasting. Despite its many names, the diet is quite simple. On 5 days of the week you get to eat normally and not worry about counting calories. For the remaining 2 days you have to cut your calorie intake to 25% of recommended daily calorie intake, which will mean eating 500 calories a day for women and 600 calories for men.

How does the 5:2 diet work?

The days you choose to fast are entirely up to you, as long as they aren’t consecutive. So on 5 days you get to eat whatever you want. This doesn’t mean you can go to every all-you-can-eat buffet and eat all you can. You just need to eat like you normally would. Then on two days, you reduce your calorie intake. By restricting your calorie intake on two days, you’ll encourage your body to burn your fat reserves to keep your energy supply up. The more fat reserves you burn, the more weight you lose. If followed correctly, you can lose approximately 5 pounds in 3 weeks, especially if you combine intermittent fasting with exercise during the normal eating days.

Fast day meals

On 5 days, you can eat anything you want. On fast days, the best low calorie foods are leafy-green vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, cauliflower rice, and roasted lean meat. Recommended beverages for fast days are water, black coffee, tea, or herbal tea. Some dieters suggest starting the day with a small breakfast or taking the first meal of the day as late as possible. You can take three small portions of food spread out over the day as breakfast, lunch and dinner, or opt for two bigger portions for lunch and dinner only.

High carb foods such as pasta, white rice, pizza, and bread are off limits on fast days. Other foods to avoid include processed or refined sugars, alcohol, junk foods, and soda, sports drinks, or juices.

Benefits of 5:2 diet

Some benefits of going on the 5:2 diet include reduced insulin levels, improved insulin sensitivity, weight loss, improved brain function, reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, and stroke, lower cholesterol levels, and an improvement in cognitive functions.

Side effects

While following the 5:2 diet you may experience side effects such as headaches, nausea, dehydration, bad breath, anxiety, and irritability.

Who can adopt the 5:2 diet?

People with type 1 or type 2 Diabetes or any other chronic or acute medical condition should have a doctor assess the suitability of the diet for them before committing to it, as low carb levels can worsen their condition. The 5:2 diet is not recommendable for children, teenagers, pregnant women, lactating mothers, women trying to conceive or those with fertility issues, and people with a history of eating disorders. Malnourished, underweight and people with deficiency problems should avoid this diet too.

The key to successfully following the 5:2 diet is planning. It’s usually best to stick to the same fast days every week so your body can adjust to the routine. Some dieters recommend fasting on Monday to counteract the over-indulgence of the weekend; and on Friday just before the next period of over-indulgence. Once you’ve selected your days, you can plan your meals accordingly. Ingredients for the 5:2 diet meals are readily available in many stores and once you have them it will take approximately an hour to prepare the meal. Since adopting the 5:2 diet consists of cutting the amount of food you eat on 2 days, it’ll reduce your food budget and simultaneously your belly fat. Even Phillip Schofield, Dom Joly, and Jennifer Lopez agree that the 5:2 diet is the easiest path to a healthier body and efficient weight loss.