Is the 5:2 diet on your mind?
Often when we find a new diet, we go looking for reviews or testimonials, but some of them sound so fake and impossible. It’s just hard to know what to believe.
Yes, you want to lose weight quickly and you are happy to do what it takes including fasting to lose weight, but you want to make sure that what you are doing works and is healthy for you.
“One day I was walking through the staff workroom and there was a donut sitting there. I’m not a huge donut fan, but I do like sweet things. It was a fasting day and I thought to myself, I could eat this, but it would be the only thing I could eat all day …… John.”
Being on the 5:2 diet is a great way of learning to tell the difference between actual hunger and being thirsty.
Does this sound like you?
I don’t know how many times I’ve thought the exact same thing myself… “I really don’t like XXXX but I could really do with a sugar hit right about now”.
But when you start a 5:2 diet or start fasting to lose weight, you quickly realize, like John did, that when you are fasting, you really don’t want to lose precious calories on nutritionally devoid foods that are only going to leave you hungry in half an hour’s time.
“I plan to make this a lifestyle change. There are moments that are difficult, but like anything, a little will-power and positive self-talk (along with a few sips of water) and the cravings passed …. Josh.”
Honestly, this is the hard part about any diet, so why should fasting to lose weight be any different? Yes, you can lose weight quickly, but to make that weight loss sustainable, you need to stick with it and see it as a lifestyle change rather than a diet.
Josh has the right idea here – water is perfect for making those cravings disappear. Often those feelings of hunger is really just thirst. Being on the 5:2 diet is a great way of learning to tell the difference between actual hunger and being thirsty.
“This is how I usually diet. I set a date to start, I binge on all the foods I love and won’t ever be able to eat again, then I start the diet and long for all those foods I binged on for the weeks leading up to the diet…..Ticia”
If you diet in a similar way to Ticia, now is the time to set yourself in a new direction. Instead of setting a date to start, start now. Instead of binging on all those foods you love, spend a couple of hours finding new recipes to love – ones that are good for you, ones that will help you lose weight quickly and ones that are easy to prepare.
Starting the 5:2 diet
When you are starting out on the 5:2 diet and it’s one of your fasting days where you can only eat 500 calories, the last thing you want is to stand in the kitchen preparing food. What seems to work for many in the same position is to start the week by doing a cook-up so some meals and snacks or treats.
Freeze some meals and write on the containers what the meal is and how many calories it has; keep others in the fridge with the correct serving size and put some snacks in ziplock bags that you can just throw in your handbag ready to go with you wherever you are. These are great tips that make fasting to lose weight quickly much easier and helps get over the ‘mindset’ demons that can raise their head and impede your success.
“I learned to control my hunger rather than have it control me … Bec”
Lose Weight Quickly with the 5:2 Diet
Isn’t this the aim of every diet? Sure, we might go on a diet to lose weight, and you might be going on the 5:2 diet to lose weight quickly, but behind every well planned and executed diet or lifestyle change you take on, you will learn new habits.
One of the best things about a fasting diet plan is that you learn how to control your hunger; you learn different ways to cope with stress, anger, and tiredness; different ways to cope with lots of food being put in front of you, and generally learn when you really are hungry. Rather than as Bec said let the emotions and comfort eating control you.
There have been a number of studies about Fasting to lose weight and the 5:2 diet and there are many benefits associated with it; not all of which is centered on weight loss and fat burning alone. The other noted benefits include:
- reduced inflammation
- reduced cardiac risk
- reduced cholesterol levels
- a boost to your immune system
- enhanced tissue repair being some of the many benefits.
- reduced levels of insulin spikes and insulin sensitivity.
“I am so pleased with the results of this program. … I’m 73 and have lost 4.5 kg over the past 5 weeks. Could not do this on the Atkins or other diets that I’ve followed over the years. Have a long way to go but feeling so much better than before the program…. Lynette”
Finding quality testimonials and reviews about some diets is difficult… they often seem hyped up. But when searching for the opinions of others as to whether this 5:2 diet works, whether you are looking to lose weight quickly or are doing it for other health reasons, the testimonials seem to show that many people couldn’t be happier with the results and the level of success they have achieved.
So does the 5:2 diet really work? My experience has lead me to believe that yes it does; it actually works! I’ve decided that not only will I be fasting to lose weight, which of course will have its benefits; I am looking forward to developing greater awareness around food. I know that if I can become aware of when and why and what I eat then that should help me in so many ways!
So rather than keep thinking about the diet and spending more time researching why don’t you actually get to it! Click here and join the 4-week beginner’s challenge now.
