NigelWaring

Has anyone tried the 5-2 diet? It was mentioned in Michael Mosley's TV documentary and although it will control weight its main purpose seems to be to control the growth hormone IGF-1 which is important to the development of children.

In adults the IGF-1 hormone can act two ways. If there is a lot of it, it will encourage the growth of cells by division, if the amount of it is low instead it will just repair DNA defects in existing cells.

With some diseases in adults such as diabetes or cancer it is preferable to have the faulty cells repaired rather that replicated with all their defects.

By eating well for five days then only having 600 calories for two days, Michael Mosley seems to have successfully overcome a couple of hereditary problems, threatened diabetes and high cholesterol. He was fortunate in that he was able to use the resources of the BBC to investigate and solve his family problem and at the same time passing this useful information onto others. As well at the TV documentary there's a book and many websites on the subject.

I'd be very interested in hearing of anyone else's experience with this diet.

commonwealth

Is there a fee for following this diet? Any purchases required?

DeadVim

Heard of it, makes biological sense to give the body a break from processing and allow it some maintenance time (autophagy).

For fat loss then the size of the energy deficit is the only thing that really matters. Some people can eat in low/high cycles more easily than a steady deficit. Calorie cycling is supposed to help fend off metabolic slowdowns that occur with traditional restriction.

All depends if it works for you I guess, a good plan is a sustainable one.

This kind of stuff and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) which the guy also made a good programme about is all the rage right now. Why kill yourself with an hour's jog when 15 minutes of HIIT will do a better job?

Personally I'm on the eat everything in moderation and build exercise into my day plan right now, steady progress is good progress

(Edit) Oh, and focus on hitting my lean protein target too. Lovely stuff, works wonders.

itigo

No, no fees, it's should be called the 5-2 way of eating rather than a diet I guess. My husband has read more about it but I think he follows an eating plan called something different like the warrior diet? Hasn't bought any resources, just read the premise and follows that. Something like undereat during the day and overeat at night?

Deavim is right, whatever plan you want to follow it needs to be a sustainable one......

Dreamy

If you can't follow it for the rest of your life (or a version of it, anyway) then don't do it.

This and Intermittent Fasting in general are big on the forums of myfitnesspal - Nigel, there are loads of threads on the matter with pluses and minuses (probably both to be taken with a pinch of salt) but they'll point you in the right direction if you're interested in finding out more.

I don't think you have to be a member to read the threads but if you do, well it's free.

My internet is really slow tonight so I can't link, but google myfitnesspal.com and then search the forums for 5:2 and/or Intermittent Fasting.

Wol

We took to cruising for holidays a couple of years ago and - guess what? Yes........

I heard somewhere about the 5 - 2 system a tear ago and have been using it - and it works.

The problem with most "diets" is that they stretch, psychologically way into the future: dispiriting to say the least. Putting on weight is almost always purely and simply a question of taking in more calories than you need, so if on average you eat fewer you can lose weight.

The 5 - 2 diet reduces your intake, on average: you eat only around the 600 cals for two days and as you wish the other five. It's easy enough to eat less than normal for two days - they don't have to be consecutive - we all do occasionally anyway when we are busy or haven't time. If we had to eat frugally every day the chances are that we would give up, but I found the 5 - 2 days easy. Monday and Thursday for me!

I went down from 184lbs to about 167lbs over a couple of months - not a staggering loss but one that didn't make me eat the paint off the walls with hunger.

Recommended!

carolinephillips

Just be careful that your body doesn't go into starvation mode and make you feel hungrier than you otherwise would on the 5 days you can eat - it isn't an excuse to eat anything you like, you still need to make sure your diet is balanced and not excessive.

TiddlyPom

'starvation mode' is a myth.

I've tried 5:2 as I do intermittent fasting ... Mostly I was bored to death by the 5:2.

DeadVim

The commonly portrayed idea of the metabolism significantly down-regulating if you don't eat for a day or so is indeed a myth. Especially if you have some fuel on board in the form of fat.

As others have mentioned MyFitnessPal so will I, a great free resource on mobile devices and the web for easily tracking consumption and exercise.

I may even get a fitbit one day to indulge my geeky side, it's a glorified pedometer but I'm a gadget kind of guy.

OzSheila

I've been on it for about the last 3 months. Have to say it is fairly easy to follow. Like Wol my fast days are Monday (easy after a weekend) and Thursday. I use myfitnesspal to count my 500 calories on my fast days (love being able to scan food labels). Other days I don't bother with calories but don't go overboard either.

Trouble is I have reached a plateau so think I may have to resort to ADF (alternative day fasting) If only I could lose the last 10lbs think this would be a diet I could stay on for life.

Alfresco

Yeah, I'm on that. It's working for me.

http://www.nowloss.com/intermittent-...-diet-plan.htm


I hit the plateaus too, but just keep at it. The nice thing is that on e.g. weekends you can splash out a bit without feeling guilty and it will sort itself out the following week.

commonwealth

Don't forget at least 30 mins of exercise 5x a week.

Choose activities that will raise your heart rate to pump blood into your blood vessels and heart muscles and help unclog them.

Alfresco

I always forget that part. I do usually play squash once a week.

carolinephillips

Starvation mode is not a myth, it is a scientific fact. With the 5-2 diet the aim is to prevent the body from going into this mode (usually after 72 hours when the glycogen stores are used up) by only having a very short period of time when the body is having to use up its store and start to convert the fat cells.

DeadVim

Yeh, but that's 3 whole days without eating a thing (not the 600 calories a day in the 5-2) AND the metabolic slowdown isn't as drastic as people portray anyway.

I'm not advocating creating drastic energy gaps for a long time as effective weight loss tends to be of the slow and steady kind but we have to keep the reality of the dreaded 'starvation mode' in perspective.