Our 5:2 saga updated
Published 5.24.2016I have written occasionally about the 5:2 because it is the way of eating that my husband (and because we eat together, me) follows. Two days a week he eats 600 calories total, and the other five days he eats as he always does.
I do the 5:2 as well to the extent that we eat the same light dinners, but I have to admit that I usually wind up eating more than the 500 calories the plan allots me. For me, in fact, the greater restriction two days a week works as a hedge against intake under counting, rather than a planned calorie deficit— as I've explained numerous times here.
The Guardian reports on a recent study compared the 5:2 "fast" diet ( in quotes because followers don't truly fast) to simply cutting calories, and found no difference in weight loss. That's not a surprise, since at base, the 5:2 is simply a different to cut calories, thus making the study fairly pointless. It always and ever comes down to maintaining a calorie deficit in a manner that a person will adhere to.
Why do the 5:2?
One of the benefits of the 5:2 is that followers only have to restrict 2 days out of 7 and the rest of the time can eat normally. The same calorie deficit is achieved in a shorter period of time, plus whatever autophagy or other fasting benefits might accrue from the days of very low calorie eating. Those potential benefits were absolutely part of Michael Moseley's reasoning when he created the 5:2 diet. I don't recall his saying weight loss was faster, but I only watched the TV special, I did not read his book.There are people for whom establishing a daily calorie restriction is pure hell. They. Won't. Do. It.
But, they can tough it out for two days if it means that the rest of the time they can "party on" without thought.
The 5:2 diet is the only (and I mean that literally) altered eating pattern that I have been able to convince my husband to do and to stick with. The result has been weight stability for him, not loss. Actually, to be completely accurate, he did have a small initial weight loss, but over time (3+ years now, hard as that is for me to believe) his weight has simply remained constant. But not gaining any more weight can be a victory, especially for someone not ready to adopt new habits.
The flexibility of the 5:2 is precisely why it works for him. If a social event conflicts we move the date— or even skip it for a week.
My phrase "party on" came in for some criticism at the site where I first made similar comments because it might be misunderstood by those with disordered eating patterns, or who have lost a lot of weight and struggle to maintain. I have to acknowledge the validity of the criticism and admit that I had not considered that possible interpretation.
For my husband, the phrase "party on" literally just means not thinking about restricting intake 5 out of 7 days. On the other days, he (we) eat a maintenance level of calories, neither one of us binges or deliberately overeat. But I can see that if someone has that tendency, than following the 5:2 way of eating is probably not the best idea.
After more than three years of following this diet, it's fair to say that's become part of our life. It is flexible enough that we haven't felt socially hampered by it, though if I'm completely honest, were is not for my crafting dinners on those two nights, the pant would probably be history.
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