A 5:2 update

Published 8.4.2024, updated 8.23.2026: So It's been about a 3-4 weeks since I started following the 5:2 eating plan and I think it's time for an update. The scale hasn't moved much, but I didn't really expect it too. That said, it has moved in the correct direction, and it hadn't been for the past few months.

I listened to a podcast the other day hosted by a dietitian, and good lord, she HATES the 5:2 with a passion and considers it "disordered eating." I just consider it skipping lunch two days a week, but she also said that the calorie count on the 2 days was only supposed to be 500-600 calories, I'd remembered it being 800.

I actually didn't googled the way of eating before I started, but it turns out that the 500 to 600 calorie number is correct. I'm not changing my rules in response though, because I think reducing my intake to 800 calories is enough of a weekly deficit.

I did, however, alter how I'm doing the 5:2 this week. Instead of eating breakfast, I wait until I'm actually hungry to eat (I don't go to the gym on those days— going to the gym definitely causes me to be hungry!). This past week basically that meant that I fasted for the entire day, then ate all my calories at dinner.

This does two things. One, it makes it more likely that the calorie total for the reduced day is 800 or less (800 calories is a decent sized lighter meal. We tend to do fish or seafood on Tuesdays and Thursdays (even if we go to the pub). Second, it means I can eat a regular dinner with my family. This is more important than I realized at first.

I think it would be less of an issue if my husband was also doing the way of eating, but he's not and isn't going to do so. So it's better if I find a way to do it that causes the least disruption in our dinner routine. And at least for this past week, that's meant saving the calories for dinner.

Surprisingly (we'll see how the future goes), fasting hasn't been difficult. If it becomes difficult and I want to eat before dinner, then I will do so. It's really as simple as that. And if I decide that I'm not enjoying the eating pattern or it's not having the desired result (ie the scale declines) then I will stop.

I never really thought of the eating pattern as "disordered" though it is a diet in that I am creating a calorie deficit with the intention of losing some weight. I don't think it's affecting my gym performance at all. Leaving the calories until dinner means that if I prioritize protein and fiber (which I do anyway) then I am in good shape for my morning workout the next day. I think I've said before that I prefer to work out fasted— because otherwise the food comes back up when I'm working out, which is hugely unpleasant.

So is it disordered simply because it's a diet? To lose weight you must create a calorie deficit. That's how any diet (or way of eating) works. If you don't have a calorie deficit, you're not going to lose weight. I wasn't having a lot of success with the moderation I had been trying. I think if I lived alone I'd try a whole foods vegan diet to create a deficit by eating less calorie dense foods… BUT I'd lose weight because of the caloric deficit… not because of the type of food that I eat.

I know for some people just talking about a diet is taboo, but I'm not in that camp. I don't want to track anything or weigh my food, and following this eating pattern (especially with an 800 calorie goal rather than a 500 calorie goal) allows me to create a deficit without doing any of that.

I didn't officially record my starting weight, which was probably not ideal. I do have a "goal weight" that I'd like to reach, but I've had the same goal for several years now. So maybe I'll get to it, maybe I won't. But for now, we remain consistent and see what happens.