IF versus fast metabolism diet

This topic contains 3 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by Siobhan27 6 years, 10 months ago.

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Siobhan27

1:07 pm
1 Jan 18
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Hi all. I did the 5:2 diet a few years ago with very good results. At some point I hit a plateau, gave up, and over several years gained it all back. This summer I went on the Fast Metabolism diet because two friends highly recommended it. I lost 10 pounds the first month, then hit a plateau. I gradually abandoned it and have gained that weight back.

The 5:2 diet made more intuitive sense to me and it was much easier to follow. The FMD diet involves very complicated meal planning and shopping. You eat 5X a day and vary what you’re eating to “fool” your metabolism and get it burning faster again. It also eliminates a lot of things: no dairy, no wheat, no caffeine, no alcohol. So it’s a “clean food” diet and eliminates foods that slow down your metabolism. I’m 55 and my metabolism has slowed way down so this appealed to me.

However, I can’t see myself giving up these food categories forever, and the complicated menus are hard to juggle when I’m very busy at work. It became a full time job to shop and plan.

So I’m contemplating the 5:2 diet again and maybe combining it with FMD in this way: on the “off” days, to eat those clean foods as much as possible. My issue is that these two diets seem to be based on totally different science. FMD says you have to feed your metabolism to fire it up and that fasting is bad for you, while 5:2 says just the opposite.

Any thoughts?

Couscous

3:50 pm
1 Jan 18
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Hi Siobhan27. I am no expert and have no medical training only the experience of the 5:2 way of life. Reading your post a couple of points stand out. Firstly the 5:2 is easier for you and you lose weight. Secondly the FMD diet is complicated, time consuming and you lose weight. So which is the most effective use of your time and energy to reach your goal of losing weight? Personally, unless it is for medical reasons your FMD diet sounds to complicated, eating 5 times a day? Not for me.
I have thought of combining another type of diet to compliment the 5:2 but the more I read the more I feel a variation of the Mediterranean diet is the answer for me, more veg, legumes and pulses and less meat.
I would suggest you buy a cheap note book that you can carry around with you. Make it your daily food and mood diary and fill it in daily for a month following only the 5:2 way of life. Then if you want to, do it again with the FMD diet only. Compare months and the results and make a decision.
I follow the K.I.S.S. approach, Keep It Simple Stupid, me not you.
Good Luck.

diverdog

5:01 pm
1 Jan 18
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Siobhan27, what you eat is not going to speed up your metabolism. It can however affect how much fat you store. Eating simple sugars and carbs spikes blood sugar and increases fat storage. The only way to speed up your metabolism is to regain the muscle you have lost by lifting weights.

Eating multiple small meals a day may have a small effect on fat loss as it helps to control blood sugar.

5:2 and all other diets cause fat loss because you are eating less calories than you burn. End of story. 5:2 may have some additional health benefits beyond fat loss. Water fasting certainly does. It is also a convenient way to eat.

I’ve eaten to the standard 5:2 diet and it worked for me. Start with the standard diet and eat what you want as long as you don’t over eat. You can fine tune it to your needs as you gain experience.

As for what to eat for optimum health and maximum fat loss? There is no quicker way to start a flame war on here than to suggest elimination of toxic foods! LOL Especially if they are vegetables. Here’s my opinion based on a lot of research and self experimentation. Plants produce toxins to defend themselves from predators like bugs and us! These chemicals called lectins can and do cause disruption in our guts and inflammation throughout our bodies. Some of the worse are whole grains, pulses, nightshades, fruit not ripened on the vine and cow dairy products. Also any animal products fed corn or soy. Do you know that farmers give cows antacid (think 5lbs of Tums daily)so they can tolerate eating corn? You are not eating meat you are eating corn.

So what do I eat. Lot’s of veggies not on the list, pastured eggs and chicken, wild caught fish & shellfish, olives and olive oil, gee, avocado and an occasional grass fed bison burger. Local fruit in season. I eat 5:2 but my fast days are now back to back and I only drink water and black coffee. I do this for health reasons as I am already at my target weight

Siobhan27

1:57 pm
2 Jan 18
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Couscous and Diverdog, thanks for your responses. I’m going to do IF again and based on your responses and insights from other posters, I will try a variation of the Mediterranean diet on NF days. I love vegetables and that diet is much more suited to me than all the meat/protein I had to eat on the FMD. Milk started upsetting my stomach years ago and I switched to soy but then learned on the FMD that soy is used as a fattener for cattle, so now I put almond milk in my oatmeal. I have another question but I’ll put that in a separate post. Thanks again!