The fast diet, 5:2, intermittent fasting - call it what you will, but this is the latest craze in the ongoing saga of weight loss. You may or may not have heard about the newest diet on the scene, but in a nutshell it consists of eating what you like for 5 days of the week (although there is no set calorie intake on these days, common sense should prevail), and then the other two days, consecutive or not, you limit your intake to 500 calories (600 for men) over a 24 hour period.
I won't go into huge detail as there are a lot of articles about 5:2 all over the internet, but back in August last year the BBC showed a Horizon documentary following doctor and broadcaster Michael Mosley on his weight loss journey whilst on the 5:2 diet. He managed to lose a stone in 6 weeks, and 25% of his body fat. Pretty impressive, no? The fast diet also boasts health benefits such as cutting the risk of stroke, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, as well as slowing the ageing process. I mean, what's not to like?
So after the dreaded juice detox, which you can read about here, I decided it was the perfect time to try out this miracle diet. Now, I've always had an issue with my weight. I'm not saying I'm morbidly obese or anything, but I've never really been happy with my figure. If I hear of the latest diet fad, a treatment that promises to rid those dreaded love handles, or even a new cream or beauty product that claims to shift inches from your waist, I'll try it. However, I always know deep down that none of these things actually work and losing weight is just down to good old fashioned healthy eating and regular exercise.
I'm also not one for sticking to a diet for longer than a couple of days. I just can't deprive myself of every kind of delicious treat for a long period of time (I have the biggest sweet tooth). I mean, you can totally eat that irresistible piece of cake, the packet of crisps that you just can't say no to and the glass of wine or 4 after a hard days work. But the key word here is moderation, and that is something that I struggle with. This is why the 5:2 diet works well for me. Yes, you have one day of feeling hungry, but you fight the urge to grab that 4pm sugar fix because you know that you can eat whatever you like the next day. Simple.
So after my giant ramble, I'm sure you are dying to know how I got on in the first week. Well (surprisingly) I managed to lose 2lbs. I say surprisingly because I haven't exactly had a great eating week on the other 5 days. A pancake filled weekend, followed by two nights out for dinner in a row, and a random craving for pop tarts mean I haven't eaten too well. But that just shows that this works as I've still managed to lose weight.
So how did I use my 500 calories per day?
Day 1 - Monday
Breakfast - One boiled egg (70 calories)
Lunch - Cup A Soup (87 calories), 2 Salt & Pepper Flatbreads (84 calories)
Dinner - Stuffed red pepper (129 calories), 100g boiled white rice (119 calories), roasted courgette (21 calories)
Total - 510 calories (yes, slightly over but I did have a brisk 1.5 mile walk home which I figured would make up for the extra)
Day 2 - Thursday
Breakfast - Porridge sachet made with water (98 calories), teaspoon of golden syrup (16 calories)
Lunch - 1/2 Pot of Puy Lentil & Roasted Tomato Soup (190 calories)
Dinner - 1/2 Pot of Puy Lentil & Roasted Tomato Soup (190 calories)
Total - 494 calories
So my thoughts so far is that this way of eating is totally do-able for me. Be really strict with myself two days of the week, and reap the benefits when I get on the scales. I'm not saying the fast days are easy, they do take a lot of will power and you will feel hungry most of the day. I found that drinking lots of water every time my tummy rumbled helped a bit, and I also drank green tea throughout the day.
I'm going to keep this going for a month and see how I get on. I'm not planning on eating like this forever, but I am going to try and reach my ideal weight and then see what happens.
Megan x
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