Lose Weight on the 5:2 Diet

The 5:2 diet

Have you heard of the 5:2 diet?

This is a weight loss diet where you can lose weight fast just by eating less for two days per week and then eating normally the rest of the time.

It sounds too easy and it is. I have tried this diet and lost weight successfully. Anyone can do it. It's more like intermittent fasting because those two days you eat less which is like a fast diet. There are other forms of intermittent fasting like having a ten-hour window to eat and a window where you fast for so many hours ie. a 14-hour fast or a 16-hour fast. But this is another topic that will be talked about in another article.

In the past, I have lost weight by sticking to the 5:2 diet. I lost one and a half stone on this diet. It actually gets easier the longer you do it.

On the 5:2 diet, you eat fewer calories on your two fast days. Women must have 500 calories and men 600 calories on these two fast days. My fast days were on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but you can do three fast days if you wish i.e. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The rest of the time you eat normally, but do not overdo it. I eat at least 1500 calories the rest of the time, so I would make sure I could lose weight. It's an easy lifestyle diet that I recommend. You can also do intermittent fasting alongside the 5:2 diet and have a ten-hour window to eat and fast for 14 hours. Presently, I am eating within a ten-hour window ie. 11 am to 9 pm. It would enhance health benefits using intermittent fasting whilst on the 5:2 diet, but I have just started this way of fasting around a week ago. I will write more on this topic soon when I have more results on how it went for me.

Foods to eat on fast days

You can eat anything you want but you have to stick to 500 calories (women) or 600 calories (men).

Here is a list of foods that I eat on Fast days:

Food

Fruit - Bananas, Apples, Pears, Oranges, grapes, peaches, melon.

Eggs

Fish - white fish, salmon, tuna.

Chicken or any kind of meat, such as pork, lean beef, or pork loin chops.

Cottage cheese

Low-fat cheeses like spreads

Vegetables - all kinds

Wholemeal bread is allowed, but make sure it is within the 500 calories.

Drinks

Drink water at least two liters per day if possible and you can mix this with green or Oolong tea. Coffee and English tea are allowed on fast days.

Feast days

On feast days, you eat anything you want but within moderation. I stick to 1500 calories on feast days. Eating as healthily as I possibly can, which means I do not overdo it on sweet foods like cakes or chocolate. On feast days you can have a glass of red wine with dinner if you want but you must never overdo it. A maximum of two small glasses of red dry wine (ie. Merlot or Shiraz) is the maximum on feast days. Red wine is better as it is full of antioxidants.

The 5:2 diet with type 2 diabetes

The 5:2 diet has helped me to lose weight fast and it has become an easy healthy lifestyle diet for me. I recommend this way of dieting to anyone including diabetics (I am diabetic and it works for me). It is easy when you know you can eat more food the following day. So, give it a go… it's an easy lifestyle diet!

Watch the following This Morning show video about type two diabetes doing the 5:2 diet:

Another This Morning video:

There is a book called the 5:2 Diet with recipes of foods you can eat.

The 5:2 diet book by Kate Harrison will explain the process of the diet and what it can do for you.

Learn more from the following video about the 5:2 Diet:

Also published on Medium.com

©️ Denise Larkin 2022. All Rights Reserved.