The 5:2 Diet— Again

Published <enter date>: One of the good things about deciding to reformat my old work is that I read my old writings. This gives me a chance to rework them if needed (in this case not) or realize that what I’ve done in the past I still agree with.

I had success with the 5:2, in that I lost weight. Not rapidly, but I did lose weight, and I haven’t put any of it back on. That’s due to my gym sessions and the fact that I added cardio back into my gym routine. In fact, I have a couple of days of only cardio that I added to my gym routine. The running (the original intent) didn’t work out, but walking on an incline did. I stopped doing the 5:2 when I started having gastrointetinal distress, but I think I’ve solved that issue by upping my fiber and water ingestion.

I also eat more protein, some of it plant but not all (sorry vegans). Basically, I want to lose weight faster, and so I’m going to skip lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays and eat a lighter dinner meal. I am not informing my husband of my intent, though of course I will tell him in the unlikely event that he notices my change in lunch habits. I’m not going to go through my rules again, because I’ve published they previously, and I’m not changing any of them. My breakfast will remain the same— in addition to my breakfast cookie and pudding, I’ve added a smoothie as a “fiber bomb” for my gut. That should handle any gastrointestinal distress that my body feels.

Lyle McDonald has written a new book, and I listened to him describe it on the Chasing Clarity podcast earlier. Essentially, his “new” diet is a combination of his rapid fat loss diet (wherein you eat tons of lean protein and nonstarchy vegetables) and internittent eating. I swear he was describing a higher protein 5:2; In fact, I said out loud while listening. His big idea is that most people can hard diet for a day or two, IF they know that a day of higher calories is coming.

I don’t have a argument against this, but it IS the idea behind the 5:2 way of eating, though Michael Moseley didn’t focus on protein. Essentially McDonald doesn’t proscribe total calories, just total protein. You can eat whatever you want as long as you get in the amount of protein, and doing that you won’t want to or need to eat more. I should emphasize here that the portein is suppoed to be lean. Tofu (which is what my breakfast pudding is based upon would be qualify. But I’m not following McDonald’s diet, and I’m not a bodybuider. Which is by and large the audience for the Chasing Clarity podcast.