Alternate day, 5/2 diet

sandy771

For those that never saw the Horizon program about 6 weeks ago this is a diet where you eat what you want on one day and fast (for blokes < 600 cals) on the next. The 5/2 variant is you eat for 5 days and fast for 2. It may still be on iPlayer.

I have been doing the 5/2 variety for just over 3 weeks (4 lots of fasting and 3 eating) as of this morning (the end of a two day fasting session) I have lost 13lbs!! My weight will of course go up over the next 5 days as I eat normally but the trend is very much downward but peak to peak is probably better than 8LBs.

As its summer (ish) down in the South West their has been lots going on and I have been out for meals/BBQs on 6 occasions since I started (and eaten what i wanted with no thought about diet content or quantity) I have also carried on going to the pub at weekends.

The bit about this diet that helps me is the fasting days when you fancy a snack their is always an end in sight and it seems much easier to stick with it than when I have been on a traditional diet. You can also pick your fasting days, I do Mon/Tue or Tue/wed - depending on what is happening that week. You can also split the days but I think that is less good (their are health benefits to the diet other than weight loss - watch the prog).

Of course getting out on my bike and beasting myself for about 4-6 hours a week also helps knock of the weight.

thought one or two of you might be interested.

sfichele

What was your starting weight? And can you be sure you've lost fat as opposed to muscle+fat?

sandy771

16st 7lbs

sfichele wrote:

And can you be sure you've lost fat as opposed to muscle+fat?

Is that some sort of trick question - of course I can't.

mcnultycop

You can if you get your body fat measured. I do that at the gym every couple of weeks. You can get home devices to do it, though (although I just stick a quid in the gym machine, but they have them at supermarkets and Boots if you aren't a member of a gym).

YeehaaMcgee

What... How... eh?
How do they measure your bodyfat at Boots? Surely it's a guess at best?

supersonic

They have a machine that passes a current through the body and measures the resistance of the fat!

YeehaaMcgee

supersonic wrote:

They have a machine that passes a current through the body and measures the resistance of the fat!

Really? Sounds erotic!
Might go get that done over lunch tomorrow. Do they offer a happy ending?

sandy771

Sorry for short answer - what i should have said "of course I can't because these machines are shite" They are very sensitive to hydration levels and also a crap at determining where fat is - I am interested in losing fat from my belly (and neck). They are good at showing trends as long as you test in the same conditions

However, the benchmark I use when dieting is how many holes do I use on my belt...

I really don't try to over-think it as some people do.

YeehaaMcgee

sandy771 wrote:

I am interested in losing fat from my belly (and neck).

Fat neck? I've never heard of that before.
Anyway, I've been led to believe you can;t really lose weight from a specific part of your body, it all just kind of generally reduces. The reason your belly is the last to shrink is because there's a whole load more fat there than, say, your scalp.

Chunkers1980

So bums and tums classes are no good?

sandy771

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

sandy771 wrote:

I am interested in losing fat from my belly (and neck).

Fat neck? I've never heard of that before.
Anyway, I've been led to believe you can;t really lose weight from a specific part of your body, it all just kind of generally reduces. The reason your belly is the last to shrink is because there's a whole load more fat there than, say, your scalp.

Really? I generally go up or down a few collar sizes as my weight changes.

Agree, I can't choose where I want to lose the weight from, although you can work to tone differnet areas. But in my case their is naff all weight on my legs and arms (but quite a lot of muscle) and far too much around my belly.

As I said i dont over think it and worry about fat percentages, BMI's etc. When I can see my knob without sucking in my belly i'll be happy.

YeehaaMcgee

Chunkers1980 wrote:

So bums and tums classes are no good?

Yes. Good rule of thumb is that any dietary kind of thing aimed at women, will be complete and total, utter borlorx.

andhr

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Chunkers1980 wrote:

So bums and tums classes are no good?

Yes. Good rule of thumb is that any dietary kind of thing aimed at women, will be complete and total, utter borlorx.

New diet fad amongst the women at work is 'raspberry ketone', apparently raspberries make you thin... right!

miss notax

One of my (male!) work colleagues is doing the 5/2 diet - seems like a good way to have a really grumpy and miserable Monday and Tuesday to me

I don't see what's wrong with the rather old fashioned approach of just eating sensibly (ie massive take-away one day = salad and a bit less to eat the next) plus exercise.... But then again I am cynical of all these diets. I just eat what I want and go on a really long bike ride to burn it all off.

Now, bring on the cake

sandy771

Miss N

I have not seen any pics of you but I expect that my breasts are bigger than yours, probably because you have the will power and metabolism to eat sensibly and i don't.

I wish I could eat sensibly but if 50+ years has taught me one thing - it's that I can't. I eat out a lot (and party) quite hard so biking is my way of balancing the equation, it enables me to enjoy life. However I can do with losing a few stone, a target of 13-14 would be ideal, it will make the biking more fun and of course has lots of other health benefits. I wish I could do what my wife does and just eat (mostly about the same as me) and be near my ideal weight (in her case 9st) but I can't.

Anyway about to go fill my camelback for tonights ride (about 2.5 hours - third time out this week).

Don't know why he is grumpy - I actually find the 2 days of dieting quite nice, especially if they follow a heavy weekend. We are all different though.

YeehaaMcgee

sandy771 wrote:

my breasts are bigger
I eat out a lot
quite hard
has lots of other health benefits.
I wish I could do what my wife does
in her
tonights ride (about 2.5 hours - third time out this week).

Don't know why he is grumpy.

Reading between the lines here seems like a new 50 shades phenomenon :shock:


Aaaaaaaanyhooooo.
If you have the willpower to fast for two days, then you have the willpower to just eat a little less each day, and ride more.

brooksie50

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

sandy771 wrote:

my breasts are bigger
I eat out a lot
quite hard
has lots of other health benefits.
I wish I could do what my wife does
in her
tonights ride (about 2.5 hours - third time out this week).

Don't know why he is grumpy.

Reading between the lines here seems like a new 50 shades phenomenon :shock:


Aaaaaaaanyhooooo.
If you have the willpower to fast for two days, then you have the willpower to just eat a little less each day, and ride more.

sandy771

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

sandy771 wrote:

my breasts are bigger
I eat out a lot
quite hard
has lots of other health benefits.
I wish I could do what my wife does
in her
tonights ride (about 2.5 hours - third time out this week).

Don't know why he is grumpy.

Reading between the lines here seems like a new 50 shades phenomenon :shock:

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Aaaaaaaanyhooooo.
If you have the willpower to fast for two days, then you have the willpower to just eat a little less each day, and ride more.

no I don't

YeehaaMcgee

Yes, you do. Eating a little less each day is no harder (in fact, probably a lot easier) than eating virtually nothing for two days.
Just grit your teeth and get to it.

sandy771

No I can't - I have been trying to do that for 30 odd years.

Normal dieting means a change of lifestyle for the next 6/12 months, there is no realistic end in sight so when people fail, as they do, they usually give up. This diet works because when I feel like a snack on my fasting day (well 500 cal day) I don't because I think that tomorrow or worst case the day after I am off the diet and can have what ever I want for the next 5 days.

It's prob hard to fathom if you have never had a weight problem.

YeehaaMcgee

sandy771 wrote:

No I can't - I have been trying to do that for 30 odd years.

Normal dieting means a change of lifestyle for the next 6/12 months, there is no realistic end in sight so when people fail, as they do, they usually give up. This diet works because when I feel like a snack on my fasting day (well 500 cal day) I don't because I think that tomorrow or worst case the day after I am off the diet and can have what ever I want for the next 5 days.

It's prob hard to fathom if you have never had a weight problem.

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, it's not going to be a 6 month thing. Eat less for a while, and your appetite reduces. Keep at it, and you'll end up eating a bit less.
I've given up drugs, drinking, smoking and over eating - it's all just getting the right mindset.

Or, since we're on a biking site, to put it another way...
Imagine it as getting up a huge hill. Yeah, the first time you do it it's hard, and you'll not want to do it again. But force yourself, and it will be a little easier.
Keep at it and keep at it, and the hill won't bother you at all.

mcnultycop

I changed my food and exercise habits, just by being sensible, and lost 4 stone in a year, 6 stone in total. I've let it slip a bit and half a stone sneaked back on, but I've just tweaked my diet again and it's coming off again. Fad diets don't work because you only do them for a limited time, so when you stop you can't sustain a weight. My diet is brilliant, loads of meat, eggs and veg, 7 days a week.

sandy771

I always wonder what the agenda is of people who post "I lost x pounds by doing a 'normal' diet", is it "look how good I am, aren't I clever!"?

I expect that everyone knows that if you cut down and eat sensibly that you will lose weight. But, if it was as easy as you smart arses suggest then the 40% of people in this country who are classed as overweight wouldn't be.

In my case I can keep my weight stable by exercising as much as I currently do but what i need to do is get a few stone off. This is happening. The trick is to find a diet you can sustain, I know I can't sustain a normal diet (for long enough), I have tried. I also know that given the choice of continuing to enjoy life as I do or cuting back and eating and drinking sensibly then I would choose the former. This diet allows me to be good when I want to be good and be bad for the rest of the time. That suits me.

Most generally accepted stuff starts as a fad, I expect weight watchers and slimmer sworld were once. Not suggesting that this diet will become mainstream but if it helps a few people then it is a good thing. My Dr thought it was.

YeehaaMcgee

sandy771 wrote:

I also know that given the choice of continuing to enjoy life as I do or cuting back and eating and drinking sensibly then I would choose the former.

Sorry to be blunt, but with that attitude, you will never, ever, get and stay thinner.
Making a temporary change will sove nothing, you need to get your head into the state where you're making permament changes to your lifestyle.

sandy771

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

sandy771 wrote:

I also know that given the choice of continuing to enjoy life as I do or cuting back and eating and drinking sensibly then I would choose the former.

Sorry to be blunt, but with that attitude, you will never, ever, get and stay thinner.
Making a temporary change will sove nothing, you need to get your head into the state where you're making permament changes to your lifestyle.

Why not? as I said above, I can keep my weight stable it follows that if I lose a stone or two then I will be able to maintain the new weight.

YeehaaMcgee

But you can't keep your weight stable. You've said that you've been trying for years, well if that was the case, then any short term dieting would have gradually resulted in weight loss, since you would have maintained that reduced weight.
You also wouldn't have got so big to start with.
You're going to have lower energy requirements as you get thinner, meaning that as you lose weight, you will have to eat less and less. Seriously, it's a complete life long change, not a quick fix.

njee20

How does this work if you actually want to do exercise rather than just be lazy? Presumably <600 calories a day will mean that if you happen to be riding on those days you'll be pretty ruined, particularly the second?

Yesterday I had a pastry for breakfast, rode 25 miles to work, had a 500 calorie lunch, rode 25 miles home and felt crap. Considering I'd already exceeded the daily allowance, I'd really not want to repeat that having eaten no dinner. Not the best 'use' of my calories I know, but still...

Strikes me as a way to either over eat on the 'good' days or send your body into starvation mode.

mcnultycop

sandy771 wrote:

I always wonder what the agenda is of people who post "I lost x pounds by doing a 'normal' diet", is it "look how good I am, aren't I clever!"?

I expect that everyone knows that if you cut down and eat sensibly that you will lose weight. But, if it was as easy as you smart arses suggest then the 40% of people in this country who are classed as overweight wouldn't be.

There is no agenda, I'm responding to a post in the "health, fitness and training" section of an internet forum. If no-one responded forums wouldn't work too well.

I struggled with my weight for ages. It isn't easy to cut back and eat sensibly, it's really difficult, but it is sustainable once you get in the habit.

sandy771 wrote:

In my case I can keep my weight stable by exercising as much as I currently do but what i need to do is get a few stone off. This is happening. The trick is to find a diet you can sustain, I know I can't sustain a normal diet (for long enough), I have tried. I also know that given the choice of continuing to enjoy life as I do or cuting back and eating and drinking sensibly then I would choose the former. This diet allows me to be good when I want to be good and be bad for the rest of the time. That suits me.

I can still have a day or two where I eat less well, it's Friday today so I've had a bacon, sausage and egg sandwich. I'm not going to punish myself by eating so few calories for two days that my body starts consuming the muscle put on through training.

sandy771 wrote:

Most generally accepted stuff starts as a fad, I expect weight watchers and slimmer sworld were once. Not suggesting that this diet will become mainstream but if it helps a few people then it is a good thing. My Dr thought it was.

Weight-watchers is hardly a fad, it just makes eating sensibly easier and gets people to motivate each other for a couple of quid a week. It isn't something I've ever tried, I prefer to do things my way.


I know by making the changes I have made to my life I will never be huge again. I enjoy the training, I feel miles better and I have learnt to live with less Guinness and Twix.

Fantastic Mr Fox

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Chunkers1980 wrote:

So bums and tums classes are no good?

Yes. Good rule of thumb is that any dietary kind of thing aimed at women, will be complete and total, utter borlorx.

No they're not bollocks at all. Bums and Tums classes will include exercises that work muscle groups in your core and bum so will help to tone them. So from that POV they're totally legit.

They'll also help you to lose fat in those areas, as well as every other area you may have excess fat in. Targeted weight loss is a myth.

styxd

I cant really see how this diet can work for anyone who does alot of exercise. Fine if you're a lazy fecker, but if you're riding your bike alot it'll be next to useless.

Fantastic Mr Fox

styxd wrote:

I cant really see how this diet can work for anyone who does alot of exercise. Fine if you're a lazy fecker, but if you're riding your bike alot it'll be next to useless.

As I understand it, its 5 days normal eating and 2 days <600 cals. Even if you're training like a boss you should have 2 rest days a week - so fast on the rest days. Simples.