Anyone tried the 5-2 Diet?

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121

Nrdsb4 - I am trying a variation of this recipe today: http://www.skinnykitchen.com/recipes/low-calorie-egg-white-scramble-with-spinach-and-onions/ I only have full fat feta, though, so don’t know if I will add it, or will add less, since I do need some protein. I may go with a few cherry tomatoes instead. Estimate with my changes increases calories to about 150-160.

Plus, I am having a sweet potato, plain, around 112 calories.

Then I will have a cup of blueberries: 83 and a cup of strawberry halves: 50

Total so far: 400

Finally, a romaine lettuce salad (around 30 calories 3 cups shredded), green peppers (1 cup, 30), and a bit of grilled chicken for remaining protein (how much depends on whether I add the feta to omelet above).

It may come out to a bit over 500 but I like the balance of protein, greens, and fruits, which I think is more important than sticking exactly to 500. I have already had a ton of water today.

Thank you for making me plan my day! It makes it easier to stay focused. Taking the dog for a hike right now so I can look forward to eating when I get home.

P.S. Did great all day yesterday with really solid food choices, then cheated at night with hershey kisses and a few potato chips. Ugh. But I am trying to hold myself accountable to you all :slight_smile:

122

I gave this a try last evening just to see if I could do 500 calories. I was fine not eating during the day but did have a couple cups of coffee that helped. I ate around 5:00 pm and simply made myself a turkey sandwich:

2 slices of Arnold Oat Nut Bread - 240 calories (very satisfying bread with lots of taste and texture)
4 ounces of Boar’s Head All Natural Spicy Tuscan Turkey Breast - 140 calories
Lettuce and Tomato - 20 calories
Smear of Mayo - 50 calories

TOTAL : 450 calories

I found the evening harder to get through since I was at home.

123

So something like this sounds very doable. I don’t remember what I did when I tried it before, but I literally binged by the end of the day each time I tried it. Maybe the difference is making sure to eat at intervals vs. putting it all off to the end of the day.

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If you normally eat 1500 calories/day, by having two 500 calorie days you’re essentially eating 2,000 fewer calories per week. Isn’t easier to just drop ~300 calories per day? I would think it’s better for your body.

I was surprised to learn how few calories women need when they reach 50. A person my size and height needs only 1200-1400 calories/day. I was eating 1600-1800. In the last 5 years I gained 30 lbs. Since January I’ve lost 25 of them and it’s been relatively painless. I’ve tinkered with different combinations of food to see what fills me up and what keeps my brain working at it’s most optimal. I weighed my food in the beginning to learn what portion sizes looked like. I haven’t given up any foods at all. I cut down on portion sizes, limited the frequency of tasty foods that don’t fill me up for long (linguine with white clam sauce, most rice dishes, and breads), and cut down on things that add empty calories (olive oil, butter, and sauces). I eat when I’m hungry and still have small portions of dessert when I want.

My concern with this diet is I don’t see how it can be a lifestyle change. When you go back to your normal eating habits, how will you keep the weight off?

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Maintaining one’s weight (oversimplifying, but basically calories in=calories out) and losing weight (creating a calorie defecit) are not the same thing. Now, if you are trying to maintain a lower weight than previously, you certainly cannot go back to your former habits, but neither should you need to continue to try to create a calorie deficit. I guess the trick is figuring out what your maintenance allowance should be. Maybe fast one day instead of two?

If I knew the answer, I wouldn’t be on this thread. Other things obviously come into play, such as simple carbohydrate consumption and ability to process said glycemic load, which varies from person to person, exercise, genes, etc.

126

I have read a bit about maintenance and that is what many people do, try fasting one day a week and see if that keeps them maintaining.

127

Well, per my post #120 above, I forgot about salad dressing. So if I add that, I have to forget one of the cups of berries. Also will add some cucumbers to my salad, I love them and they are really low cal (16 calories in one cup of slices).

I have finally gotten on the extra virgin olive oil/balsamic vinegar/lemon bandwagon and off bottled dressings with lots of sugar & sodium added. Nevertheless, 1/2 TBS of olive oil, 1/2 TBS balsamic vinegar, and lemon still adds up to 75 calories, and that’s not a lot of dressing, but it’s enough to add flavor.

I also use the above (more of each), plus garlic, to marinade my chicken & fishes before grilling. In fact, I just remembered I have some salmon marinating, so that will be my main protein today instead of the feta & chicken, because I have to adjust for the extra calories in the marinade.

This is the way I am trying to eat on the 5 days as well, but it isn’t easy! I do add friendly carbs, like Ak Mak crackers, to make sure I am getting some balance. (Also I really do believe that an apple a day - I buy organic - is very good for you! Medium size apple is about 72 calories).

I am not in maintenance, I need to lose. When I hit my target, I plan to continue this 5-2 plan more or less, since, like many others here, I am in mid-50’s and just plain cannot eat like I used to. I am also around 12-1500 calories daily, given my age & height, just to maintain. Ouch. I also exercise nearly every day, nothing too dramatic, but enough to get me off the couch.

My main issue, as mentioned in an earlier post, is all the planning (shopping, preparing, cooking). I am lucky to work only part-time, with an empty nest, so I am biting the bullet and taking this more seriously, since I have no excuse. I am looking at it like a work project. You only have one body, and all that jazz.

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I also wish I had fed my kids better. All those packages of Kraft mac & cheese - ugh! But eating healthy seriously is time-consuming (justifying my bad parenting) :slight_smile:

I realized the other day, well into this diet, that all I think about is food, what the next healthy thing is, how to make it, etc. But then I realized that all I thought about before, when getting to this unacceptable weight, was food, so there really is no difference except I am not grabbing the first packaged thing out of the fridge or pantry anymore!

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@austinmshauri wrote

5:2 (or more like 6:1 for me) is my normal-there is no diet. I eat what I want for 5 days, I fast one or two days a week. It’s a lifestyle choice.

I can’t see ever not doing it since it feels pretty much a part of who I am, and it keeps me feeling good and in my target weight range. Sort of like walking-I can’t ever see not walking as part of my life, and drinking soda-I can’t ever see that as part of my life, either (I haven’t had a soda in decades except for really odd special occasions). I decided to make the change when I read the book, decided to try it, and had SUCH a hard time going one day without eating-1 day!

I was like, wow, I need to think about what I’m doing here or I’m going to end up like my mother, eating entire bags of potato chips in one sitting and enternmann’s pastries traight from the box, and her going from tall and slim to stooped and morbidly obese in about ten years-that was an unescapable poster child for me-the person who used to eat super healthy and was strong and lean started making bad food choices and boom, in ten years it was all gone.

That’s not going to be me. I’ll let something else be the death of me-like getting run over by bulls in Pamplona when I’m 95.

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@austinmshauri With all lifestyle changes, both long term and temp, if they work for you and you get to your desired body, maintenance is key. You find yourself gaining weight again? Go back to what worked for you.

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It’s so easy for young people with their young metabolisms to make changes and see results quickly, and to give glib advice.

For many women in the 40 and over set it’s an entirely different ball game, and “going back to what worked for you” doesn’t take into account whatever hormonal calamity your body is foisting on you today, and what worked when you were in your 20’s or 30’s may not be appropriate.

132

Just lemon squeezed as a dressing works for some and has virtually no or very few calories. Dressing can add a ton of calories, depending on what it is and how much it is used.

133

I don’t think Calicash means going back to what I did in my 20’s. I saw 20 in the rear view mirror a long time ago. I do think that diets have to be individualized. The foods that fill my sister up don’t fill me up and vice versa. She’s right that I had to find what works for me and do that.

I don’t have a 500 calorie meal plan, but I do have ~1,000-1400 calories/day plans. How much I eat depends on how hungry I am (which varies depending on how active a day I’m having). A typical day may look like this:

Breakfast: A light English muffin (just thinner than the regular size, not lighter due to fake ingredients) with a tsp of jam and a tsp of natural peanut butter, coffee with a Tbsp of real half and half, and a piece of fruit.

Midmorning snack: A piece of fruit and 3 oz. of raw carrots and a glass of water.

Lunch: 2-3 oz of lean meat, chicken, or fish, steamed veggies, and a starch (baked potato or corn, etc.), and salad with lemon juice and a touch of salt (from olives or capers). Sometimes I add a couple chopped nuts, and/or raisins, or a couple chunks of avocado – something to spice the veggies up a little. I drink water with lunch and dinner.

Afternoon snack: Fresh fruit and a plate of raw veggies (sometimes with a Tbsp of peppercorn ranch dressing) and a glass of water.

Dinner: Similar to lunch. Once in awhile I’ll have a small hamburger on a lite English muffin with baked fries (if all we have are the frozen then I may eat 4 or 5 of them) and a salad, or half a hot dog on a roll with a Tbsp of baken beans, a vegetable salad, and a green vegetable (baked brussel sprouts, peas, or steamed broccoli)

Evening Snack: Fresh fruit, plate of veggies, half an English muffin, an ounce or 2 of sharp (Italian) cheese, or a small bowl of raisin bran with whole milk, or a salad with lots of raw veggies and a tbsp of light vinegar based homemade dressing

Dessert: 2 or 3 Hershey’s kisses, or a scoop of ice cream with a Tbsp of chocolate syrup, or a cookie, or a bowl of fresh fruit (a mix of oranges, apples, kiwis, berries, bananas, a few raisins, and a couple of chopped walnuts.)

Parties can be handled if you’re careful. I start the day with a light breakfast and usually eat a piece of fruit and 3 oz of raw carrots before I go so I’m not starving. Over the Memorial Day weekend I went to one where there were several types of homemade salad (I took a Tbsp of each), baked beans with horseradish (I ate 2 Tbsp), baked mac and cheese (I took a tsp just to taste), hamburgers (I ate half of one without the roll), and 2 kinds of cake, fudge, oatmeal apple bars, and fresh berries (I ate a bite of my husband’s cake, a quarter inch slice of the fudge, a bite of my sister’s oatmeal bar, and a bowl of berries). It was all really good. I only drink water when I’m out so I can enjoy more of the food. I was hungry later in the evening. When that happens I add another small meal – I usually have a couple ounces of protein (a tsp of peanut butter on a light English muffin or a couple ounces of grilled chicken), a piece of fruit, and maybe an ounce of hard cheese with a vegetable salad. I wouldn’t be able to do a 500 calorie day, although sometimes I have to make an effort to eat 1,000 (the minimum the MyFitnessPal app allows). I average 1200 calories/day (400 fewer than I was eating), so I’m losing weight, but I don’t feel like I’m on a diet. I wish you all a lot of luck.

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@MotherOfDragons I’m referring to what helped you lose weight. Not referring to what you did when you were younger.

135

I know. My point was that what worked in the past may not work now because your body is different now.

@austinmshauri the point of the 5:2 is to not restrict your diet on the 5 days. I can see why you would not want to do a 500 calorie or fast day given what you’re eating now-I wouldn’t be able to tolerate it either. It’s antithetical to the 5:2 way of eating.

136

Well, for some of us it’s not at all easier to do that. The idea of having to count calories daily and the feeling of being on a diet all the time–those are problematic and defeating for many. I would fail miserably on @austinmshauri’s 1000-1400 calorie a day plan. But that’s me. No one is saying the 5-2 diet is ideal for everyone, but for some, because of psychological issues or lifestyle or whatever, it may work best, and the diet that works for someone is the “right” diet for that person. (Even this diet will work differently for different folks. Personally, putting all 500 calories into one meal doesn’t appeal to me–I prefer a noshing scenario.) This morning (a non-fast day), I had a reasonable portion of my favorite granola for breakfast without checking the nutrition label or worrying about how much almond milk I poured over it. That was nice. I didn’t feel deprived and the word “diet” didn’t cross my mind. But I didn’t follow it up with one of the donuts Dunkin Donuts is handing out for free today, because I’m not bingeing either.

As for what’s better for one’s body, I haven’t seen anything that suggests this plan is at all harmful, and some who have written on it believe it is actually healthful. Plus it avoids the plateau-ing problem that kicks in on most diets once the body adjusts to a constant reduction of intake and reacts by slowing the metabolism. (This was a huge issue for many of the Biggest Loser alums–it appears their metabolisms have permanently slowed to a surprising extent.) As I said in an earlier post, early man did not have, and modern man in in primitive societies does not have, a stable and constant supply of calories on a daily basis, so it makes sense to me that the human body has evolved to easily handle sporadic days of reduced eating without any adverse effects.

Meanwhile, my D’s birthday is in a few days, and I’ll be making her favorite cake AND eating a good-sized slice guilt-free, because the day before is a 500 calorie day.

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I did not say no to a free doughnut today :D.

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yup, I just noticed that on news, MotherofDragons. I LOVE doughnuts, they are my serious downfall (I only have maybe 2-3 a year, because they are just so awful for you, and in fact, I do feel awful after i eat them). But oh, yum, I love them.

On to my sweet potato, maybe it will fill me up.

139

Often I’ll just have a cup of coffee in the afternoon and not be hungry after that.

If I need a snack it’s one of these:

One Carr’s whole wheat cracker (40 cal) with 1 tsp peanut butter (31 cal)

Three or four carrot sticks (16 cal) with a tablespoon or two of hummus (25-50 cal)

1/4 non-fat greek yogurt (32 cal) , with 1/4 cup blueberries (zapped 15 sec) (21 cal), with 1 tsp or so of maple syrup (17 cal)

I could have one of these five times a day and be less than those 500 calories.

140

So, today was supposed to be my second fast day. But I caved. Not in a big way…I probably ate about 800 cals, maybe 900. My plan is not to beat myself up, I still ate less than a normal day. I have trouble with all or nothing thinking when it comes to exercise and eating.