I’m a 27 year old woman from the Netherlands and I’ve never ever been on a diet. Until I saw ‘Eat, Fast and Live Longer’. (I’m so glad my mom told me about it – she saw it and found it very interesting). So I watched it and immediately got interested in the 5:2 diet. The idea that you can create a much healthier self with so little effort really spoke to me (I’m lazy as *** (well, it’s more that I find exercise immensely boring) and love pies, cakes, sweets and a (more than) occasional Irish Coffee so this is perfect).
I seriously can’t believe I haven’t thought of this diet myself. (Alright I have thought about starting with one healthier meal a week, and then expanding that but the idea stayed too vague to follow it through.) The concept is so easy. Amazing that fasting two days a week is enough for your body to repair itself.
I’ve had 4 fasting days now in two weeks (I started my first fasting day the day after I watched the programm) and it’s fun to see how fast the change is. And by change I mean how fast I’m getting used to not eating for a longer period of time. I used to (like up to two weeks ago) get really hungry an hour after I ate breakfast, and couldn’t survive a morning without a few snacks. I would often feel weak and get trembling hands after not having anything for two hours, and feel like I would collapse any second. The first day of fasting was pretty hard, and my thoughts were constantly with my empty stomach. But I survived (of course). The second fasting day I was hungry sometimes, but not that bad. And the thirth and fourth I hardly noticed anything.
Now I have the fast diet book and I read it halfway through (so far) I figured that it’s better to eat something in the morning and the evening, which makes sense because then your body endures a long period of not eating, instead of what I did, very small portions divided over the day. But on my last fasting day I didn’t eat anything till three (since breakfast) and that was mostly because I thought I should propably eat something, cause this can’t be good, not being hungry. So I think I can manage to stretch it out till six. I’m very curious at the health benefits. Of which most aren’t clear till in about 40 years but it’s worth the wait.
An added bonus is that I eat more fruit and vegetables because there’s hardly any calories in them and I found that they’re actually quite delicious (I ate vegetables of course but just one kind a meal, and now several) so I’m adding extra vegetables to my ‘normal’ meals. And I’m now more likely to eat a handful of grapes instead of a few cookies when I want a snack. But the fun thing is, I’m not very interested in those snacks anymore. I go without food for longer times on my normal days too. It’s also nice to know that if I’m ever without food for some reason (stuck on the road or something) I don’t have to fear the hunger and weakness that accompanied it before.
Now I’m hoping I’ll get less interested in pies and such naturally (this weekend it didn’t help I met up with a few friends and ate a minimum of 3 pies/cakes a day, we love to eat and drink when we’re together) but I trust that will get less without me forcing myself not to take it anymore, and still, my fasting days can compensate a little now, before it was and-and. But I’m ‘working’ towards a more healthy eating patterns on my non-fast days, which seems so much easier now I know I can keep it up for two days a week already. Gives me confidence and a feeling that I do have self-discipline (a trait I was convinced I lacked).
I wonder if as an extra bonus I’ll lose some weight. Not a lot (which is not necessary) but I could lose a few pounds. I wonder if I’ll get more interested in working out once that happens. It seems like things are reversed with me. I first have to see the change before I’m able (and motivated) to put in the work. So here’s hoping for that.
Anyway, this was quite a long story for an introduction, and I can’t blame you if you stopped reading two sentences in but I never really join forums also so I thought now that I’m starting new things I might as well do it right.
8:43 am
24 Jul 13