Posted , 4 users are following.
Hi
I am trying to start a discussion on the best way of dieting. I have heard of a 5-2 diet but very wary of starting on it. Has anyone else heard of it?
1 like, 4 replies
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sue38604 harriet67221
Posted
Hi Harriet,
I have tried the 5:2 diet and it wasn't for me although others have found it works well. Basically you only eat a limited amount of calories (500) on 2 days of the week, the rest of the time you eat normally. I found that I had to have 2 meals but some only have one. The idea is that you leave as much time between eating as possible. Hope this helps.
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EileenH harriet67221
Posted
I've used it - it is an excellent way of resetting your appetite and portion sizes. You eat a normal diet for 5 days a week and on 2, preferably non-consecutive days, you restrict yourself to 500 calories (600 for men). Chosen carefully that is 3 sensible meals using low calorie foods. You never have more than one day at a time of "restriction" so you don't end up craving things as you often do on a "diet" so psychologically it is good. There are no "forbidden" foods - so you continue to eat a balanced diet. Within few weeks you find you are far less hungry even on the other 5 days and find you are leaving food on your plate and are not hungry between meals - so you learn to cut down all the time which is the whole point. No diet will work for life unless you re-educate your appetite and habits to drop the bad habits that got you to gain weight in the first place.
I'm not sure which version of it Sue has seen - the version I used, Mosely's original, aims for 3 meals a day and it is up to you if you have fewer. On the restricted calorie days they also suggest menus that still include 3 meals if you need them but obviously if you are happy with 2 or even one meal on those days the plate looks fuller! An egg for breakfast is only 70 calories, a bowl of vegetable soup is filling and only well under 100 calories - and a small portion of chicken or fish and a large plate of leafy veg or salad takes up the rest of the calories for the day. There are plenty of zero calorie drinks - teas, plain water and so on.
And a good trick is to use a smaller plate. The size of dinner plates has increased from 8in when I was a child to 12inches or even more now. A 300 calorie meal on a 10 inch plate looks far more than if it is on a 12 inch one!!!!
EileenH
Posted
PS - I forgot to say, it is very easy to fit into normal life, eating out and so on. You choose the days in the week that will be easy to have the "diet" days.
sue38604 harriet67221
Posted