What is a 5: 2 diet and does it really help you lose weight?

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

You don't have to starve, and in a few weeks you can lose about 5 kilograms.

What is a 5: 2 diet

The 5: 2 diet is a type of intermittent, or intermittent, fasting. With this diet, most of the time, namely 5 days a week, you eat anything. And in the remaining 2 days, limit the number of calories to a quarter of the daily value. For adults, this is approximately 500-600 kcal per day.

Why the 5: 2 Diet Is Really Good

500-600 kcal is enough to keep you hungry.

In addition, there is an important rule that further protects against hunger: fasting periods should not follow in a row. They should be spread in such a way that there is at least one full day of calories in between.

Adda Bjarnadottir Nutritionist, M. A. in Nutrition, expert edition.

A common 5: 2 diet chart looks like this. You fast on Mondays and Thursdays, limiting your meals to two or three small meals, and at other times you eat normally.

Days can be shifted. For example, dieting only on Tuesdays and Fridays or Mondays and Saturdays. Choose the schedule that suits you best. Just make sure there are breaks between restricted days.

The author of the diet, British science journalist Michael Mosley, who popularized his creation in The Fast Diet, actually pursued exactly this goal. How does the Fast Diet work? / The 5: 2 Fast Diet - do not torment people with prolonged hunger strikes. A diet that only rarely counts calories is easier than traditional diets.

How Scientifically Effective the 5: 2 Diet Is

There is little research on this particular diet. A little more science knows about intermittent fasting in general, and this data can be applied in part to a 5: 2 regimen. Here's what you get.

Diet 5: 2 helps to reduce weight in the same way as regular daily diets

In one small study, Krista A. Varady, Surabhi Bhutani, Monica C. Klempel, Cynthia M. Kroeger, John F. Trepanowski, Jacob M. Haus, Kristin K. Hoddy, Yolian Calvo. Alternate day fasting for weight loss in normal weight and overweight subjects: a randomized controlled trial / Nutritional Journal scientists have learned how fasting every other day affects people - that is, a diet similar to 5: 2. lost more than 5 kg of excess weight on average. Moreover, it was mainly the fat mass that was gone, and the muscle mass remained almost unchanged.

By the way, if you combine a 5: 2 diet with regular exercise, the weight will decrease even more Surabhi Bhutani, Monica C. Klempel, Cynthia M. Kroeger, John F. Trepanowski, Krista A. Varady. Alternate day fasting and endurance exercise combine to reduce body weight and favorably alter plasma lipids in obese humans / Obesity (Silver Spring). At least this is true for obese people.

There are also larger projects. Thus, in a large meta-analysis of Iolanda Cioffi, Andrea Evangelista, Valentina Ponzo, Giovannino Ciccone, Laura Soldati, Lidia Santarpia, Franco Contaldo, Fabrizio Pasanisi, Ezio Ghigo, and Simona Bo. Intermittent versus continuous energy restriction on weight loss and cardi systemabolic outcome The review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials / Journal of Translational Medicine, which includes 11 studies, compared interval diets, including 5: 2, with regular diets. And they came to the conclusion that intermittent fasting leads to exactly the same weight loss and improved metabolism as constant strict dietary restrictions.

Diet 5: 2 Probably Reduces Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

There are many studies 1. R. Michael Anson, Zhihong Guo, Rafael de Cabo, Titilola Iyun, Michelle Rios, Adrienne Hagepanos, Donald K. Ingram, Mark A. Lane, Mark P. Mattson. Intermittent fasting dissociates beneficial effects of dietary restriction on glucose metabolism and neuronal resistance to injury from calorie intake / Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2. Leonie K. Heilbronn, Steven R. Smith, Corby K. Martin, Stephen D. Anton, Eric Ravussin. Alternative-day fasting in nonobese subjects: effects on body weight, body composition, and energy metabolism / The American Journal of clinical nutrition. 3. Mark P. Mattson, Ruiqian Wan. Beneficial effects of intermittent fasting and caloric restriction on the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems / The Journal of nutritional chemistry. in animals and humans, which show: various types of intermittent fasting improve glucose metabolism, reduce insulin levels and at the same time increase the sensitivity of cells to this hormone.

Translated from scientific to human, this means this. Most likely, intermittent diets, including 5: 2, are effective in preventing type 2 diabetes. However, from the point of view of evidence-based medicine, this statement is still not convincing. More research is required.

Diet 5: 2 Possibly Reduces Risk of Coronary Heart Disease

Such observations are voiced by Is the 5: 2 diet a good way to lose weight? / Heart Matters magazine experts from the British National Health Service (NHS). But again with a note: there is still little data, further research is needed.

Who shouldn't try the 5: 2 diet

Most often, intermittent fasting is safe. But for some people, calorie restriction, even brief ones, can be harmful.

Nutritionist Adda Bjarnadottir, expert at the popular medical publication Healthline, lists The Beginner's Guide to the 5: 2 Diet / Healthline for those who should be careful with the 5: 2 diet. These are:

• people who have ever been diagnosed with an eating disorder;
• those with frequent drops in blood sugar;
• pregnant women and lactating mothers;
• children and adolescents;
• those who have type 1 diabetes mellitus;
• people who are underweight or those who, for various reasons, lack nutrients (for example, the same vitamins);
• women who are trying to get pregnant or have fertility problems.

If you want to try the 5: 2 diet, the best way to get started is by consulting a therapist. This is especially important if you are in one of the listed risk groups or if you are diagnosed with any type of diabetes. Is the 5: 2 diet a good way to lose weight? / Heart Matters magazine.

How can you eat on fasting days

Choose any of the options convenient for you:

• three meals a day in small portions, for example, it can be an early breakfast, afternoon snack and late dinner;
• early lunch and early dinner;
• timely breakfast, late lunch and missed dinner;
• one meal a day, that is, you can get the entire daily amount of calories, for example, at breakfast or at lunch, skipping other meals.

What can you eat on fasting days

To stay full, choose low-fat, low-calorie foods that are high in fiber or protein. Experts from the medical publication Medical News Today recommend including in the diet:

• vegetables, that is, cabbage (white cabbage, Peking cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower), zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, leafy greens;
• white fish, namely hake, pollock, mackerel, sea bass, freshwater fish species;
• chicken eggs;
• legumes, these include beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils;
• unsweetened yoghurts, low-fat cottage cheese;
• tofu cheese;
• dark berries (blackberries, blueberries), they help to quench cravings for sweets without unnecessary calories;
• a variety of liquid soups, such as vegetable soups.

In addition, on fasting days, you should drink more water and herbal tea: the liquid fills the stomach and helps to keep the feeling of fullness.

Considering all this, the menu with three meals a day may look like this:

• breakfast - an omelet from a couple of eggs with vegetables;
• lunch - soup with a slice of dried whole grain bread;
• dinner - yogurt with berries and herbal tea.

And with two meals - like this:

• lunch - steamed white fish and salad of cabbage, cucumbers and boiled eggs;
• dinner - chickpeas with stewed vegetables.

But in general, you can choose any dish that tastes good to you. The main thing is to fit into a quarter of the daily calorie intake.

This material was first published in June 2015. In June 2021, we updated the text.