This topic really interests me too. I switched to a LCHF way of eating last September (for both health and weight loss reasons) and lost 7 lb without remotely feeling any hunger at all – it really suits me as keeps my blood sugar levels very constant with the result that I naturally eat less and feel satiated. Also has benefit that food tastes great due to delicious things like butter , cream, olive and coconut oil without ever counting calories. I love sweet things but was amazed how easy it was to more or less stop as the additional healthy fat intake really compensated. But I them reached a plateau and although I managed to maintain the 7 lbs loss for 6 months which is an achievement, I do still have another 7-10lbs to lose – seems many people have similar experiences so LCHF isn’t effective on its own I don’t think. Although the 5 2 diet doesn’t specifically advocate low carb eating in general, on the 2 fast days it does recommend you eat protein and veg hence almost no carbs. But I have found that I have a tendency to over compensate on the non-fast days desiring carb rich foods especially sweet things (more a mental rather than physical craving I suspect) but now I am making a conscious effort to eat more LCHF for the 5 days as I think this will stop me over eating. So personally I think 5 2 and LCHF could be the perfect combination! But if the 5 : 2 has the same health benefits as LCHF ( lowering LDL etc etc) then maybe there is need to do both or certainly perhaps just a more moderate version of LCHF (in my view LCHF can be extreme – ketosis for example is certainly not my idea of fun and frankly seems weird!).

I tried eating a mostly low-carb, high fat paleo diet (icluding cheese, cream, etc) some years ago. I’m not a great meat or fish eater, but I managed to find options I didn’t mind so much and found it a relatively straight forward way to lose weight. I lost 14 kg in 15 weeks and felt great, but what with one thing and another, put it all back on with interest.

I’ve found 5:2 equally straight forward and extremely effective, having lost over 9 kg in 6 weeks. However, my main problem with 5:2 is my tendency to binge on “normal” days. Although it’s decreased, I’m still eating well in excess of my TDEE a lot of days. I’ve had to switch to 4:3 for the past 3 weeks to keep the weight loss going, which is okay, but logistically more difficult and I’m really not keen on the prospect of continuing that indefinitely.

Over the past few years one of the ancestral/paleo health-related bloggers I’ve learned most from is Stephan Guyenet, especially regarding recent food reward and obesity research. So taking that onboard, I’m going to switch back to 5:2 from 4:3 and try to use paleo and low food reward principles, as outlinedby Stephan Guyenet (here, for example http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/food-reward-dominant-factor-in-obesity_28.html), to guide my eating every day and try to get the binging under control.

However, I’m going to adhere more to the paleo interpretations of Staffan Lindeberg, who researched the high starch diets and robust health of the Kitavan people of PNG (see here http://www.staffanlindeberg.com/Food.html), rather than the low-fruit, no-starch LCHF approach or the low fruit/animal fat, no-starch approach of Loren Cordain, for example.

So … in addition to Michael’s advice regarding avoiding liquid calories, snacking and grazing, etc, I’m going to reduce the food reward of my meals on normal days by:
1) Steering very clear of binge-triggering fat-high carb combinations (buttered toast, potato salad, ice-cream, baked goods, etc, etc), without excluding regular consumption of fruit and healthy starches (potatoes, etc).
2) Eating more meals that are plainer, minimally-processed and lower energy density, through higher veg content, no added sugar or other sweeteners, and in the case of starches, no added fat.
3) Knowing how much better I felt staying clear of grains (and wheat in particular) on the paleo diet, I’m going to avoid, if not exclude, them and substitute potatoes and sweet-potatoes as my main source of starch.

Couldn’t agree more wiltldnrUSA! Whatever else I end up doing on non-fast days, I’m determined to keep up IF in some form for the sake of my long-suffering body. Very best of luck with your experiments.

Hi Aliens and welcome:

People do whatever they want because 5:2 is calorie based, not food based. But many find one high fat/protein meal in the evening on their diet days works best to reduce hunger.

Here are some tips for those just starting 5:2: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

Hi barefoot and welcome:

You will probably lose quite a bit of weight following a LCHF type of diet. They have been around a long time and are proven safe and effective. The problem with them is that they are expensive and people find them very hard to stick to over time because they are used to eating carbs and when the carbs creep back into their diets, so do the pounds previously lost.

5:2 provides a way of eating that allows you to eat the foods you like and want to eat. That means you do not have to change the types of foods you currently eat and it can continue to work after you lose the weight you want to lose.

The science is that you should probably follow the LCHF type of diet all of the time, but experience is that is very difficult for people previously taught to eat carbs all of the time.

I would work hard on doing 5:2 while at the same time slowly trying to incorporate LCHF foods into my diet.

As they say, whatever works for you – but you are on the right track either way.

Here are some tips: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!