This topic contains 70 replies, has 18 voices, and was last updated by lilymartin 8 years ago.
Hi Sanj,
I think we’ve spoken about this before.
5:2 is not a quick fix, the average loss is less than 0.5kg per week and you can’t expect a loss after a single fast day as you need a deficit of 3,500 to lose that amount.
You need to follow the diet for a month ensuring that you are not over eating on non fast days and give it a chance to work.
As for exercise, it will not aid weight loss but is great for fitness and toning.
If you haven’t lost anything after a month you are eating too much on non fast days.
Motivation is one thing but it comes and goes. The real kicker is commitment. It comes in to play whether you feel motivated or not. You have your goal, visualise it and allow yourself to do what it takes. Motivation is great and I wish it for you, but commitment is what will get you there. If you take a look at the latest pages in the 4 week challenge, Coda has written some really inspiring stuff. 5:2 works as there are many people on the forum who are proof of that. Good luck and I wish you joy in your efforts.
You can not defy the laws of physics. If you are putting on weight you are taking in more calories than you need. Describe a typical days food intake, what is it? Also what do you drink? Avoid simple carbs like bread pasta rice potatoes. Avoid sugar drinks including fruit juice. Avoid chocolate biscuits cakes. Eat only whole fruit in moderation, NEVER dried fruit. Mine diet is:
Non fast day is:
Breakfast
Small bowl of low sugar high fat plain yogurt with a small handful of mixed berries. Cup of coffee with slash of milk NO SUGAR.
Lunch
100g Tuna, small salad. Apple cider vinegar a splash of dressing (low sugar dressing).
Snack
A handful of almonds or walnuts. Or dry roasted beans. Coffee with splash of milk.
Dinner
Big bowl of (raw) veggie salad. Whatever you like put it in there. Add 100g tofu or chicken or tuna. 100g cheese. Season to taste. Add apple cider vinegar.
Drink LOTS of water. At least 2 litres. Sounds a little boring but my tastes in food are pretty basic.
Fast day:
two cups of coffee with a splash of milk. Lots of water. That’s it. I do this only once per week now as I reached my goal weight and am doing 6:1 maintenance.
There is no magic involved.
I have very simple tastes in food. That’s what I shoot for. Do I achieve that all the time? Of course not but I do achieve it more times than not. When I first started doing 5:2 I used to count calories but being lazy I just couldn’t be bothered after 2 weeks so I decided to just do water fasts. Weird as it sounds I actually found it a lot easier to just not eat anything rather than 500 cals on my fast days. It will take about a month to detox from sugar and simple carbs. Simple carbs have already been broken down into basic sugar while your chewing it in your mouth!! As a side benefit since getting rid of simple carbs all my plaque on my teeth has disappeared! No dentist clean required.
If youre a foodie that likes cooking try and come up with things to cook which do not contain bread, pasta, rice. Spicy veggies and meat yes, grains no. Sugar and simple carbs will kill any attempt at being successful.
The other week we went out for dinner at a local Italian café (4 families + kids in toe). I had pasta probably for the first time in about 6 months. I had a reasonable portion, no wine and a few pieces of garlic bread. When I got home I felt hungry!! Which is just insane considering how much I had eaten. Sugar and simple carbs!!!! Within an hour I was hungry again. I should have measured my blood glucose but didn’t think to do it. Im sure it would have been through the roof which meant everything I ate went straight to fat storage. Hence an hour later I was hungry.
Fruit I stick to the berries or citrus fruits and I have them in moderation. Avoid bananas, way to much sugar content. Vogels I assume is bread? I try and limit bread to one or two pieces per week. none is even better. Bread will sabotage you! Muesli, sorry but that is just sugary junk. If you can avoid any grain based products your chances of success will skyrocket.
HI I just started the 8 week BSD 10 days ago. I weigh in daily and although there can be a fluctuation in my weight I have lost 2.5 – 3 kgs. I have lost 1.5 cm around my waist.
I don’t stick always to 800 calories a day but I do my best to keep as close as I can.
I am absolutely committed to this as I need to lose several kgs and I want to lose belly fat.
I have cut out most alcohol ( used to only have a few glasses a week).
I don’t eat chocolate or sweets AT ALL. Previously I had 1 – 3 pieces a night.
I am rigorous with no carbs, no sugar – and I absolutely adore all carbs , hence I am in the position I am in!
I eat mainly vegetables, lean protein, lots of water, tea and coffee with a bit of milk, some fruit.
One thing I have done is cut down on my portion size a lot. It is interesting to see how big portion sizes have become.
The first 2 days were the hardest but after 48 hours and a few hunger pangs, I seem to have reset my ‘ hunger’ centre and I don’t feel so hungry. By eating smaller portions a lot more slowly I feel full most of the time.
8 weeks seems like a long time but in the scheme of things it is only 56 days and if it means better health well that’s a very good thing.
Sanj, I have just started this week – so far it works, but it is certainly water weight. I think in the context of the traditional 5:2, it is simply a matter of math. 1 pd of fat is the energy equivalent of 3500 cal. To loose it, one need a debt of that many cals.
Eating 500 cal on fast, and TDEE on non fast means about 3000 cal per week (assuming an average of 2000 cal per day). If your TDEE is lower, that will be less. Then of course, there is water weight.
One concept is to stay carb-free (or low carb) on non-fast days. This is in fact similar to what BB is doing 🙂 – and would allow you to look into the many low carb yummy recipes. i also love cooking – and love my wine. So I hope it will work… Perhaps keeping a food journal could help?
Hi Sanj, Lily will probably respond, though thought I’d chime in with what I understand that Lily is doing, which is Dr. Michael Mosley’s 8 – week Blood Sugar Diet which was developed for the purpose of enabling those with blood sugar issues to reset their levels. The program involves restricting calories for 8 weeks, for the most part to 800 calories. Once the 8 weeks are over it is recommended to then follow the Mediterranean diet. I live in Australia and Dr. Mosley and one of the researchers who developed this were interviewed on one of our television talk shows, along with those following the diet, is how I came to know about it, though Dr. Mosley has also written a book about the program which can be ordered through a link on this website.
Hi Sanj
I am doing the Dr Moseley 8 week Blood Sugar Diet – . I have a big fat tyre of FAT stuck firmly around my waist that will NOT shift no matter what I do.I live in Australia and I watched Dr Moseley’s tv programme, borrowed the book from the library and started. It is VERY hard to stick to but as I said, I think I can do it for 56 days.
If I happen to go over 800calories or have a little sugar or a few carbs( and I’m not religiously counting calories but keeping a diary of what I eat which really helps) I don’t beat up on myself – it is MY life after all – I just get back on the wagon for the next meal.
I have tried to eliminate most/all carbs and most/all sugar from my diet.
There are a lot of very easy, tasty meals with calorie intake, carbs etc on the internet and various magazines .
You really have to read labels when you buy things from the supermarket. Today I was shopping and picked up something that looked and sounded very healthy but when I looked at the label it was about 40 gms carb per 100 gms of food! Also lots of food has hidden sugar when you read the label.
I just bought a trolley full of veggies and a few pieces of fruit.
I am a carboholic which has been my downfall ( sob!). I LOVE and eat a lot of bread, rice, pasta, spuds , you name it, all the brown/rye/healthy types but just too much.
So for example today
Breakfast: 1/2 an orange, 1/2 pear ( some fructose I guess), 1 egg scrambled. 2 cups tea with a bit of milk.
Snack : 1 flat white coffee ( took my mum to morning tea and resisted cheesecakes, biscuits, chocolates and the best cream sponges I have ever seen)
Lunch: 1 chicken leg ( not the thigh but just the little leg bit) cooked with onion/mushrooms/worcestershire sauce/chicken stock – very small portion compared with normal size – plus serve of greens/carrots/cauliflower.
I did have a small amount of a rye bun but not bothered – not going to obsess
1 teaspoon of husband’s dessert and I do mean only 1 small teaspoon , just enough to taste
Snack: 8 unsalted peanut halves, 1 peppermint tea ( not really a fan but think of it as medicinal for the diet!), 2 x 4 cm long celery sticks
Dinner : a small bowl of ham and vegetable homemade soup so heaps of veggies and water, very little ham for me
1 white coffee.
6 – 8 glasses of water every day.
When I feel hungry I have a glass of water and that is often enough.
I also try to do 30 minutes physical activity daily.
As I have previously mentioned, I think one of the main reasons I am losing weight ( I think someone glued the scales as I didn’t lose anything for the past 2 days!!) is actually portion size. I am eating off a small plate. Also fasting or eating a lot less than normal seems to reset how hungry I feel and how much I need to feel full. I eat more slowly than normal and put my knife and fork down between mouthfuls.
It is not easy and it is demoralising when the scales don’t shift but I think any healthy way of eating can only be good for your health.
Hi Sanj, I believe this diet will work for you if you stick with it. I used to read posts with fasters referring to “fast days” and “feast days” which led me to believe you could eat as much as you wanted on non-fast days. That just isn’t true for me. I had to calculate my daily calorie need (around 1600) and figure out how to stick to that on non-fast days. I’ve also committed to eliminating ETOH on all weekdays. Having a drink decreases my metabolism, motivation and my discipline. I’m only having a drink with dinner on Friday and Saturday nights now. What’s keeping me motivated to fast (I only do 5:2) is that amazing feeling I have when I wake up the morning after the 36 hour fast. I know I’ve accomplished something that was difficult, but good for my body, with the added bonus that my numbers are gradually going down. Hang in there! You will start to see positive results…
Hi Sanj
I am hoping that by the end of 8 weeks of being very disciplined and seeing that I can cut portion sizes and eat healthily, I will continue to be able to do so after the 8 weeks.
I plan to eat a Mediterranean type diet which is mostly what we eat at present but far too much.
I plan to try to be bit more disciplined with my carb intake too as I have eaten far too many carbs in the past.
Interestingly I lost weight quickly over the first few days but the scales have not moved again today.
However the big plus is that I wore a pair of jeans today that I couldn’t fit into 4 months ago. So the fat is coming off somewhere/somehow. My waist is DEFINITELY smaller than 12 days ago. I also feel really well, not that I felt unwell before but just a bit like an oompa loompa.
As I said yesterday, I think resetting the ‘ hunger signal’ is vital. I often eat just because food is there without considering a) if I’m hungry b) is the food good for me c) how much activity will I have to do to balance the intake. Being mindful of food intake I guess.
I hope this is helping. It is a LONG road ( only day 13) but determined, determined, determined.
Sanj, do you have the fast diet book? If not I recommend you buy it as it contains a lot of useful information, just rememeber that when it says no foods are forbidden and eat what you want it doesn’t mean eat as much as you want. Also bear in mind that anyone who has been successful on 5:2 will agree that processed carbs should be kept to a minimum as they hinder weight loss.
The 8 week BSD diet is aimed at people with high blood sugar issues and is meant as a way of helping them to lose weight and improve their diets. It is not a quick fix but many who don’t have high blood sugar issues are using it as a starting point as there is a menu plan which is great for those who don’t know where to start as far as healthy options an portion sizes are concerned.
Your comment regarding diets working and then regaining weight as soon as you stop tell us everything we need to know about diets and weight loss. We cannot return to our old eating habits as that is what got us overweight in the first place, we have to make a permananet change in our eating habits.
5:2 is a way of life and something that we can do forever to help us maintain once we’ve lost weight. No food supplements, no shakes,bars or meal replacments.
36 hours is the fasting period. You eat dinner on Sunday night then fast until Tuesday morning only eating 500 calories on Monday.
I only eat at dinner time on fast days and it has helped me to eliminate snacking on other days as I know I don’t need to eat every couple of hours.
As for wine, there is someone on the maintenance thread, Purple Vegie Eater, who successfully lost a significant amount of weight and has kept it off for two years. During her weight loss period she had a glass of wine with her dinner on every non fast day. She did the diet with her husband who has cured his type 2 diabetes by fasting, and they are both successful maintainers.
You can lose weight on 5:2 but it takes time to get into it and follow it properly, quick fixes are rarely permanent losses.
Hi Sanj,
I don’t think youre approaching this with quite the right attitude? 5:2 works if youre genuine about it. That means you eat about 500 cal (or less) 2 times per week and the other 5 days you eat up to your TDEE. I recommend that you use the online tools on this site to calculate your TDEE. Then lay out that much food in front of you so you get a feel for what that looks like. How does that compare to what you currently eat?
You do this for the rest of your life, not just 8 weeks. Well at least until you reach your goal weight and then you swap over to 6:1 or something similar to maintain that loss. I went from 92 kg (202 pounds) to 71 kg (156 pounds). I have been in maintenance mode since March doing 6:1. If I revert back to my old eating habits I absolutely know what will happen. I will end up where I started. It really is up to you what sort of outcome you want to achieve.
Any ideas anyone?? I have been doing Dr Moseley’s 8 week blood sugar diet for 14 days. I lost 2.5 – 3 kgs very quickly ( probably water) but lost 1.5 cms from around my waist. I have really reduced my food/calorie intake by at least 1/2 to 2/3, had NO sugar and very little carbs ( only in legumes and a bite of a rye bun.)
The scales remain stuck and I apparently haven’t lost weight for 5 days. This morning I had gained 1 kg!!! So 2 weeks of about 800 calories a day and I am almost back to where I started.
I haven’t done a lot of exercise over the past few days but am more active than before the diet.
BUT the plus is that my spare tyre around my waist is visibly disappearing.The muffin top is going and I have definitely changed my body shape for the best.
I am fitting comfortably in to clothes that were too small or I couldn’t do up at the waist 2 weeks ago.
Just wondering what is happening here?
Thanks Cinque, yes my clothes aren’t lying and it is such a good feeling ( and I do feel smugly virtuous when I resist food I would normally have eaten without thinking!) 😋
But I am wondering about the physiology of what is happening re belly fat/ organ fat loss and the apparent weight gain or not losing weight.
Is it the ‘starvation’ response when the body holds on to calories because of the drastic reduction in calories ?
Listening to the testimonies of people in Dr Moseley’s book they mostly kept losing weight.
I am not stressing about it because it is SO good not to have such a spare tyre and to look and feel better. I am a bit puzzled though.
Hi lily:
You say you lost about 3 to 4 pounds in two weeks. That is quite a bit of weight loss. You might read this to get an idea of how much you might expect to lose – and how fast: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/tdee-for-the-curious-or-why-dont-i-lose-weight-faster/
Good Luck!
HI simcoeluv thanks for the reply.
I have previously done the 5:2 and it worked whilst I stuck with it and lost 1 – 2 lbs a week, slow and steady – but just got lazy and reverted to normal( poor ) eating patterns i.e. too much food too little energy expenditure.
Why I thought I would try the 8 week BSD is that Dr Moseley had lots of overweight people do the diet and they lost astonishing amounts of weight in 8 weeks.
I am currently eating about 1000 – 1200 calories less daily than 2 weeks ago, so average 7000 calories less each week. I am also more active than 2 weeks ago .
So hitting supposed weight loss with a double whammy – less calories plus increased activity.According to Dr Moseley’s book I should be losing weight or stabilising not gaining.
That’s what has me puzzled.
I hate to think where I would be if I had kept eating as I was and being as sedentary as I was.
I thought less food PLUS increased activity would be faster loss.
Lily,
I think your opening sentence pretty well sums it up. You were losing 1-2 pounds but you stopped doing 5:2. Why stop when you were winning the battle?
If you are truly eating 7000 cals less then your TDEE for the week then you would be losing about 1.7 pounds of fat plus some associated water per week. this was happening!! If that is not happening now then you are not eating 7000 cal less per week compared to what your TDEE should be. What is your TDEE and how much are you eating, to say that you are eating 1000 cal less doesn’t really mean much. You may have been eating 3000 cal for example?
How fast were you expecting to lose weight? On average I lost 0.7 pounds per week until I got to my goal weight. This took the best part of one year. I think people fall into the trap of believing all the hype that weight loss fad diets say.
Hi bigbooty.
I am expecting to lose weight FAST. That is the whole point.
I am not doing the 5:2 but the 8 week Blood Sugar Diet( BSD), quite different diets and approaches to weight loss.
I actually am eating at LEAST 1000 calories less daily than 2 weeks ago. I have also cut out all sugar and carbs as previously stated.
For example, breakfast previously fresh fruit, 2 slices toast, 2 -3 cups tea/coffee, sometimes cereal, now 1 piece fruit, 2 tbspns natural yoghurt 1 -2 tbspns blueberries.
Other meals equally disciplined and probably 1/2 to 2/3 less than previously.
The whole idea of the BSD is that you lose a lot of weight and a LOT faster than the 5:2 .
Dr Moseley designed / adapted both these diets. ( He noticed that people who had stomach stapling or similar surgery lost dramatic amounts of weight quickly due to their dramatic decrease in food/calorie intake and that some people reversed their type 2 diabetes.)
The 5:2 is supposed to be slow and steady. The BSD is supposed to be fast and BIG weight loss. 10 – 14 kgs is not unusual on the BSD in the book.
I watched a programme about the fast weight loss method of the BSD and the whole point is that it IS rapid weight loss over a short ( 8 week) period. After the 8 weeks then of course it is a lifestyle change and eating patterns to maintain the loss.
I know the science of the slow and steady method but Dr Moseley says that it can be best to hit weight loss hard and fast to get rid of belly fat and fat around the organs which is what I was interested in. This way goes against current thinking but according to Dr Moseley it is a better way of getting rid of weight – go hard and go fast.
I have seriously cut my intake of food/calories and yes I was overeating previously. I just thought that since I am following the BSD and not the 5:2, weight loss would be faster.
As I said clothes are fitting a lot better, my waist is decreasing , I am changing my body shape but it is not showing on the scales as I thought. ( I know about normal weight fluctuations , water loss etc, but I still thought the scales would read lower!)
Why stop when I was ahead ? Because I adore food!! but now I have to consider my health.
Hi Lily,
If youre a foodie then unfortunately you really cant have your cake and eat it. It just doesn’t work like that. OK Im going to assume that your TDEE is 3000 cal per day based on your current weight. Is that a reasonable guess? If not just enter the correct TDEE below in the calculations.
Lets assume you eat nothing, and I mean nothing every day for one week. Just water. So that is 3000 x 7 = 21000 cal for the week that you would have used energy for with no calories coming in. Fat contains 9.3 cal per gram. So 21000 / 9.3 = 2258 grams loss or about 5 pounds of real fat loss plus some associated water loss. So you will lose 5 pounds per week + some water if you go on a total water fast for the week. Not unheard of but I wouldn’t recommend anyone do that without medical supervision. To suggest that you can lose more really defies the laws of physics and enters the world of fantasy.
getting rid of sugars and simple grain based carbs like bread, pasta, rice and starchy veggies like potatoes is a very good approach not just while dieting but for ever. Good luck with it.
Hi bigbooty. Thanks for your reply.
Yes I am aware of the facts presented. The people who lost a lot of weight on the programme and in the book were in many cases morbidly obese and eating a lot and not well. So when they went on the BSD 800 calories a day they were really decreasing their calorie intake by a huge amount and hence larger than usual weight loss.
In my case my BMI is 28 so not ideal but not obese or morbidly obese but certainly overweight ( I know there are issues with BMI but as a rough guide it is OK).
After seeing the programme and hearing results I simply decided to be a test case of one i.e. me, to see how this diet would work for me. Having done the 5:2 with good results in the past and knowing that we eat pretty healthily but just eat far too much I was interested to see how I would go. I am interested in losing the belly fat as previously mentioned.
I am intrigued that I lost weight early ( mostly fluid probably but still) then a week later after being static with weight I gained 1 kg when I am actually eating LESS than the week before and moving MORE.
I am interested in the physiology. I would have expected further weight loss even if small but not an increase, allowing for daily fluctuations, given serious calorie decrease every day not just as on FDs on the 5:2 and increased energy expenditure.
I plan to re-read the book to see what it says. There is a lot to take in.
One thing I know, I am getting a taste for peppermint tea but I do miss my flat white coffees!
If you are wanting to get into the physiology of weight loss google Jason Fung and watch his youtube lectures. Calories in and energy out is a little too simplistic. The foods you eat have an impact on what happens. All calories are not processed the same. If you are interested in this aspect I recommend you buy yourself a blood glucose meter (as used by diabetics). They are cheap and give you a good insight into what’s happening. The lower you can make you “resting” BG reading the better. I measure mine every morning when I wake up. If you can keep it in the low 4mmol/L then you will lose weight. Fat has no effect on blood glucose, protein has a small effect, with whey protein being the worst (ie most weight watcher type protein shakes aren’t that good) and sugar and simple carbs like bread will skyrocket your blood glucose. High blood glucose means high insulin which means excess glucose is sent to the liver and processed and stored as fat. hence that’s why you are always hungry and hour after a big carb meal!! The excess has been sent to fat storage and an hour later your hungry!!
Thanks bigbooty I will try to google that.
I decided to tweak things a bit and see if it makes a difference. So today for lunch I had a small rye/seed bun with a very small serve of meat and vegetable casserole. It is very cold here today so I am also having a few more hot drinks – tea, coffee ,cacao but limiting the amount of milk to just a few teaspoons. My calorie intake might go up a bit but not over 1000, so will be interesting to see what the scales say tomorrow. ( I don’t live and die by the scales but for the sake of the 8 weeks I am daily weighing).
Possibly just psychological but after the bun I do feel a bit bloated
Hi Sanj and Lily,
I absolutely empathize with you, as I am one of those who used to have great difficulties with any diets that I tried, including 5:2. Only when I followed 4:3 instead of 5:2 is when my weight started to drop and even then I experienced plateaus as you do. 2 weeks ago I switched back to 5:2 from 4:3 and since then I stopped losing weight.
But I am aware that with time even 5:2 will work for me. To second the advice given on this thread: by all means, eliminate all refined sugars and grains from your diet, also on non-fast days. The reason why I don’t worry about my plateau: I did have a large home-made pizza on Saturday, so my body assumes, this is fat-storage time. Yesterday and today I have been fasting to reverse the effect.
The number one rule of losing fat is the rule that Bigbooty explained: if you eat the right foods, it will get your system out of the fat-storage mode. This is why I eat a lot of healthy fats instead or carbs. (Note: healthy fats include olives, olive oil, avocados, nuts, whole fat dairy, butter, but to avoid trans-fats and processed oils such as the falsely healthy-labeled vegetable oil, is essential)
On normal days I eat below my TDEE, but not too much below it. That is, I eat normally, in other words, according to what I can and will continue for a lifetime. (A diet and exercise combination that is not sustainable for a lifetime is doomed to fail, and will invariably yield the dreaded jojo effect.)
It needs to be added though, even if we do everything correctly, to hit plateau from time to time is a natural stage in the weight-loss process. Many of us on this forum experience long plateaus and we eventually all learn to not worry about it. As long as one’s health is the primary goal, and the inches are shrinking or remain okayish, the actual weight shown by the scale remains a secondary issue. And, as it was noted very well on the thread, eventually the scale will catch up.
Joy, joy, joy! This morning the dreaded scales moved downwards after 6 days of being stuck. I know that there are many other factors which are a much better mark of weight loss and wellness and health but it is good to see the numbers decreasing after all the sacrifice and hard work. Thankfully the muffin top has been disappearing all the while and I will be interested to see what the tape says about my waist measurement .
I am definitely eating much less than previously but apart from the odd hunger pang it is a bit easier than I first thought last week.
Still have 5 1/2 weeks to go so the proof will be in the …pudding??
Have been doing various ‘ diets’ – really just changing eating habits – for 6 weeks now. Initially was on the 8 week BSD trying to stick pretty closely to 800 calories daily with no/ very little sugar and carbs. Was somewhat successful but only managed it for 4 weeks as so restrictive ( and winter!). Have introduced a few wholemeal carbs and a little sugar back into eating habits along with still very reduced intake compared with before starting the BSD. Have lost about 5 kgs and kept this off; stats coming down and generally feeling very well in self ( though not unwell previously).
I am definitely more mindful about what and how much I eat. With the warmer?? weather I may consider another stab at a few weeks BSD to see what effect if has. Feels so good to have been proactive in trying to eat more healthily and to have some results to show for it. Hope everyone else out there is going OK
Hi Lily,
What you want to develop is an eating regime that you can do EVERY day for the rest of your life. Otherwise it will just be another diet that will eventually fail. The typical yo you dieting effect. I just did 5:2 lost 45 pounds over the course of a year. hit my self imposed goal weight and I now do 6:1 to maintain. Cut out ALL added sugar and simple carbs like bread, pasta, pizza, rice and get your carbs from vegetables (and some fruit) and it becomes reasonably easy.
HI bigbooty,
yes that is exactly what I am now doing!! The way I am eating now is my eating pattern for ever, hopefully.
Again, I just want to do a short experiment to see if, having already lost some weight, doing the BSD for a few weeks has an effect either way.
I will not cut out any food group however as most dieticians/ nutritionists agree that this is bad practice. I do not have much sugar anyway but I have 1 square of dark chocolate in the evening occasionally. I also very occasionally have a bite of cake or a biscuit.
I will not totally cut out carbs either as the body actually requires some for good health.
Grain bread, wholemeal/brown rice can be OK in small amounts, ditto couscous, pasta etc.
One reason ‘diets’ fail ( and whatever you eat is actually your diet – good, bad or otherwise) is that people cut out whole food groups. This can in some cases be bad for your health as you might miss out on certain nutrients. Sugar is not great I agree but in SMALL amounts occasionally may be OK.
I don’t eat white flour much at all and rarely pastries, cakes etc
Soft drinks, diet drinks are NOT ok probably EVER ( 17 teaspoons sugar in one can or damaging substitutes in diet drinks) I agree but it is usually when people feel deprived that they may start to crave something they are not eating.
Dark chocolate ( 70%) is supposed to be ok in SMALL amounts. 1 square a few times a week I feel is ok.
It’s what I am eating anyway.
One does need to be mindful of ‘the white stuff’ whether sugar or flour but I refuse to be a food vigilante. We demonise food too much. Food is food. Eat some things ( veggies, fruit) much more than others. Some food rarely.
There is more to the obesity epidemic than just ‘ the white stuff’. As a child we were brought up on white bread/pasta/rice, white flour in homemade baked goods – cakes, biscuits, sweets, puddings and not an overweight or fat child amongst us. Look at class photos of the 60s and 70s! Something else is also going on!!
Treats are no longer treated as treats!! Something you have several times a day or weekly is no longer a treat, its a food staple. If you have a piece of cake every day for lunch then that’s not a treat, its a food staple and its a very poor food staple. Food portion is also the a big culprit. It has gotten out of hand. The supersize me mentality. The message that you have to snack between meals is almost criminal. Just ask your parents or grandparents if they snacked between meals? Contrast that with what most people eat and the amount and type of foods eaten now is scary.
It is almost unbelievable how little food you need to maintain a constant weight. Most people would eat WAY beyond what they need on a daily basis and this becomes their “normal” quantity. Im a male, 178cm (5’10”) and weigh 71 kg (156 lbs). A typical days food is: breakfast, a handful of mixed berries with two tablespoon scoops of high fat yogurt. Lunch, 100g of tuna and a small salad. Dinner, a big bowl of raw vegetables + tofu + cheese and some low sugar dressing made into a salad. For desert I’ll have maybe two handfuls of almonds, or an apple. That’s basically it, and that’s enough for me to keep a constant weight. No lack of energy, no sugar crash mid afternoon.
The other common theme I come across in a lot of posts is that people will constantly say that they had to suspend their 5:2 because they went on a holiday or they went to a party or they met up with an old friend. To me that mentality means your treating food like your on a diet. Diets always end up failing. Why do any of those activities imply the need for food? You cant eat what you would normally eat and do those activities? Why does the food intake need to change? Any ways enough of a rant.
Hi Bigbooty
I absolutely agree with you with portion size and treats etc. I think that has a lot to do with weight control. I don’t ever remember seeing my parents or grandparents eating or drinking in the street or the car yet it is very commonplace today!
Portion size and availability of food is different from when we were kids in the 70s. But as I mentioned in previous post it is interesting that we ate lots of the ‘white stuff’, roasts, full cream everything, skin on the chicken, jam and cream on bread as dessert at times but not an ounce of fat on any of us. Can’t actually recall ANY overweight kids in my class/school – seriously.
As mentioned – check out school class photos. Most of us were skinny as rakes and didn’t know what ‘diets’ were.
There are a number of factors at work to keep weight under control.
Since being more aware of what I am eating, I realise that I was eating far far too much for what I was using up. Always knew it but too indifferent to make the changes required.
Glad that I am now though!
Quote: “Something you have several times a day or weekly is no longer a treat, its a food staple. If you have a piece of cake every day for lunch then that’s not a treat, its a food staple and its a very poor food staple.” …. “The other common theme I come across in a lot of posts is that people will constantly say that they had to suspend their 5:2 because they went on a holiday or they went to a party or they met up with an old friend. To me that mentality means your treating food like your on a diet. Diets always end up failing. Why do any of those activities imply the need for food? You cant eat what you would normally eat and do those activities? Why does the food intake need to change?”
I also do this. Because in holidays I am usually exposed non stop to “treats”. Think all inclusive menus in 5 stars hotels in Turkey. So yes, in that week junk is my “food staple”. Because for me that’s the definition of a holiday. Feast, have good time, do stuff that you do not get the chance in the rest days of the year. And I don’t see this as “diets always end up failing”. The contrary. From psychological point of view, this is what can make the difference between success and failure. Because you (not you, generally speaking) can not live forever with the frustration caused by not beeing allowed something you crave. (Yes, if you don’t crave, this is great, but this is not the case for the majority.) The vital thing is that you don’t make your holiday to keep for months in a row. You had fun, eaten for three, but after 7 days, back to normal. First days will gonna be hard detoxing, but this is the price we need to pay. I choose to pay it, because for me the feast-week is mandatory for me to feel “normal”, not in food-prison.
For the parties, is the same logic. If I am exposed to some new junk and I am curios about the taste, I eat. It matters what I do 80% of the week / month / year. The rest of 20% is for psychological purpose. For me is true this “don’t let Perfect be the enemy of Good”. Because sooner or later, “perfect” leads to binge eating.
I have just , as in 60 seconds ago!, heard Dr Michael Moseley of the BSD, 5:2 fame interviewed on local radio.
He re-inforced that people with Type II diabetes who ate 800 calories a day for 8 weeks lost a LOT of weight, often around 15 kgs in 8 weeks and reversed their Type II and had normal BSLs.
He said that they then did 5:2 or similar for long term maintenance.
It is the fasting periods without food ( even overnight) when the body repairs itself. If we are constantly eating the cells are constantly working and have no time to repair.
Dr Moseley keeps his weight off with 6:1 as he got a bit too thin on 5:2 according to his wife.
Intermittent fasting (IF) which is basically any of the eating styles where you really restrict your calorie intake makes you up to 90 % LESS likely not to get dementia – pretty good reason if nothing else to get the calories under control.
Adaline I know how you feel about holidays but have decided it is SO hard to get the weight off that I am inclined NOT to go to the buffets etc. I do try other cuisines and have a few treats but not to undo all the hard work.
Have decided not to go on a cruise recently because some friends went on one and they all put on a few kgs in just 7 days even though they were doing some exercise.
Dr Moseley weighs often so he knows his weight and can keep it regulated. He said to measure around your belly button. The measurement of your waist should be less than half your height for good health and decreased risk of heart, diabetes problems etc.
Bon appetit – just off for a small serve of fish and veggies!
For those like Sanj2710 whose scales refuse to budge – I tend to agree that everyone is different and there are always likely to be those who are more affected or significantly less affected by factors in this diet (for those who have done statistics/ maths I am thinking this may be an example of the ‘normal distribution’ [bell curve] here). If this is the case then you may be one of the unfortunate few at the extreme end of things. However I would have thought evidence of weight loss is not the only positive of the diet – I think it may really help the digestive system for example I am finding a reduction in gastro reflux and improved sleep. So although your body appears to be hanging on to the weight there are probably some improvements that are not so easily measured by your bathroom scales
Hi Trephena
I think you are correct. I have lost 5 kgs on a combination of BSD – 800 calories or close to a day; fast days – 500 calories or less a day; generally cleaning up my diet – eating considerably less and eating a lot better with no/little sugar and no/fewer carbs.
Am sort of in ‘tweak’ mode at present doing a bit of everything!
I weigh daily, measure weekly.
So far have lost 5 kgs as mentioned but the 5 cms lost around the waist and 5 cms from hips is measurable, has been sustainable and is possibly better guide for long term good health.
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We pay tribute to our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Michael Mosley. Michael was an integral part of our lives, […]
Michael is touring Australia this September! Here's a link to dates and tickets. Hope to see you there.
Michael Mosley gives an update for 2019, current research in the field and announces a tour starting in February.
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