Fast and you shall lose weight. Not sure if I believe it but maybe it has some truth in it. Sure it will restrict calories here and there but what’s not to say that you won’t go binging the following day and ruin all the hard work?
That’s the new dieting advice hitting the papers. The 5:2 diet. The have your cake and eat it to diet only requires you to restrict your daily calorie intake to 500-600 calories twice per week. For the five other days you eat how you like. Can’t be that hard. You could certainly still make 2-3 mini meals with those restrictions but do you really want or need to?
We’ve been told countless of times that restricting calorie intake slows down our metabolisms which means our bodies aren’t burning fat efficiently. In fact, we’ve been advised that our body will actually hold onto the fat instead of letting it go. So I’m not sure how this calorie restriction is supposed to have the right effect.
But then again sometimes we stuff our face with so much food that our digestive system deserves a break. Could that one or two days of limiting our food intake reduce the strain and help our bodies function better? Possibly.
Ok, so you decide to give it a go. 500 calories. No one told you what you should be eating. You’ll have a cup of tea. Maybe a piece of chocolate or a mini packet of crisps and go the rest of the day without. You’re not doing yourself any favors in the nutrient department. Try for some salad dressing free of course and a slice of chicken breast instead along with some grilled vegetables with a sprinkling of herbs to snack on in the evening and it could just work.
I’m not convinced. While I’m all for detoxing and every now and again giving the system a flush with a bit of fasting I’m not sure how it would work long term. I can’t see it being sustainable. Then again, a number of people have claimed that this weight loss method has been quite effective where others have failed.
I guess, like with any diet. You need to find one that suits your lifestyle and your personality. What works for others might not work for you and vice versa.
What do you think of the 5:2 diet? Would you give it a go?
