If you’re on the 5:2 diet and not quite feeling the love, you may be affected by some of the minor side-effects that some experience.

Here we share some of the more common symptoms people experience:

Feeling cold

Not surprisingly the winter weather can really take a toll on your body, especially on days when you eat less. When dieting, your body may produce less heat due to burning fewer calories.

Plan ahead to wear an extra shirt or fashionable scarf during fasting days to combat the lack of internal heat generation.

Irritable/snappy

How well do you handle the 5:2 fasting days?
How well do you handle the 5:2 fasting days?

You may experience this sometimes on the evening of a fast day. This is normally due to being hungry and/or stressed. Combat this with planning a snack later in the day, such as fruit.

Dizziness

This can be caused by low blood pressure, which should be checked by a doctor (and hopefully was before you started your diet!), and can also be brought on by low blood sugar.

There are a number of things that can help from feeling dizzy during dieting.

  • Try drinking a bit more water (you should be drinking a lot anyway).
  • Add a little salt into your diet: low blood pressure plus a lot of water can equal a lack of sodium in your body.
  • Add some natural sugar to your diet in the form of fruits.

If the dizziness continues, see a dietitian or doctor and get some bloodwork done, and be sure your vitamin/mineral levels are correct.

Lack of desire to exercise

Many people experience a lack of motivation to go to the gym during or just after fasting times. This could be in part due to the lack of energy (calories) your body has during the two fasting days. This is normal and can be due to not performing well while at the gym.

As stated in a previous post, just take your time when exercising and know your body is in repair mode, so don’t push it. On the morning after a fast day, a good breakfast is important to renew your energy, so be sure to get a good meal before hitting the gym on those days and should feel more energized.

Have you experienced any other side effects the 5:2 fasting diet? Let us know below and we will add them to this list with a solution!