I have been using this “lifestyle” approach (it’s not really a “diet” as such) for the past three years. I reduced weight by 9 kilos in the first 6 months and have kept it off. Takes a bit of willpower in the beginning to get over the psychological hump of responding immediately to hunger (as we are so conditioned to do in the western world). The best part is that you don’t have to restrict yourself from any particular foods, which is what makes most other diets “painful” or “boring” after a while.
If you are interested - read one of the many books on the topic that are available. A good one is “The Fast Diet” by Dr Michael Mosely and Mimi Spencer. It really is a way of living that allows you to “have your cake and eat it too”.
I put this here because it is one of the best kept “secrets” in public health and greater dissemination could go a long way to countering the obesity epidemic that is affecting Australian citizens.
I know that fasting is beneficial, but I wouldn’t go as far as saying that eating whatever you want is a healthy habit. Weight-loss and health are two different things.
Michael Mosely did a TV show on the 5/2 fasting method for losing weight and general health, earlier this year I think it was, one of many interesting shows he has done. However, it is only practical if you are not doing much physical activity - when I’m doing hours of hard physical work or a 2-3 hour mountain bike ride, I sure can’t get by with eating almost nothing!
Dieting sure doesn’t help and neither does strenuous exercise, if your a lipodystrophy suffer. It’s drug induced and neither the medical profession or the drug cartel want to admit they have a serious problem with most of their drugs which interferes with the bodies fat processes !. They have a serious conflict of interest problem. Fixing it would require them to admit they can’t fix it even if they tried, because they would have to sacrifice their lust for profit.
There are lots of books on this topic available to read in your local library, and reducing the incidence of obesity and diabetes, as well as cancer and heart disease is so important.
I hope everyone takes the time to do their research and investigate this unusual and different way of eating.
The health benefits far outweigh the majority of weight-loss diets out there, and after trying this method and having blood tests done by my local GP before I started, and 12 months later, the results were AMAZING !!!
My GP told me that this was the best weight loss diet to use not only for weight reduction but MORESO for the associated MULTIPLE health benefits. He also said that most of his patients did not have the self-discipline to continue this way of eating for a long period of time, but if they were disciplined enough, ALL of them had the most astounding benefits to their long-term health.
He said he tried it himself and continues eating in this manner now.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge, and helping other Choice Members improve their health, weight and lifestyle…
Great to hear of your personal results, keep it up!
I myself have never tried the specific 5/2 diet, but I did decide about 7 years ago that I was sick of my hunger controlling me. 2 years prior to that I had taken up cycling and initially lost a lot of weight fast (120kg->95kg) but I was stuck and not losing anymore. I exercised heaps, cycling ~3hr per day but I was perpetually hungry. I would think about food and eating all day.
It irritated me, so I just decided to eat carrots and water during the day and finish with a tiny dinner (like a slice of vegemite toast). First two days were horrible I, then my mind started to adjust, by the end of day 4 the feeling of hunger had gone and I could decide what I wanted to eat or not to eat. Once I had control it was easy to lose weight and match my energy requirements with intake. I felt tired and I had almost no energy on days 2-4, then energy levels returned after a day or two, but I kept the control over my eating.
I’m not advocating this very unscientific, un-tested (and dangerous for some) method to anyone else, but it was what I did to get control of my constant urge to eat.
I believe the 5/2 system attempts to achieve the same thing, the theory is by not eating for periods of time you can eventually resist the immediate urge to eat. If you struggle with self-control then I think this method could work and help you lose weight. Eventually, on your “off” days you’ll find yourself eating less because you have much more control. It’s also probably much safer than what I did. I’d be an advocate for the 5/2.
Is fasting itself “good” for you? I have no idea, there are a lot of claimed health benefits (immune system, brain function etc) for which there isn’t a lot of evidence. Although there is loads of evidence to support the health benefits of weight loss in overweight people. I don’t fast much now, unless I find my hunger or habits creeping in and trying to take over my decision making process. Then I’ll stop eating for a while.
I’ve tried this as well, not so much for weight loss but for the general health improvements as mentioned in Mosely’s program. I haven’t done it long enough yet to obtain any valid results, but it’s surprising how easy it is to stop eating, after the initial hunger pangs stop. I’ve readily found what constitutes 600 calories on the web, since I had no idea before I started, and it’s certainly enough to keep body and soul together.
I have been on the 5:2 diet for 2.5 years years now. I initially began it to lose the weight I had gained whilst taking prednisolone. Over a year I reduced my weight by 10 kg which was my goal. Whilst there are various pros and cons re this way of eating I find it beneficial in that it has taught me to eat healthier food as it is easier to digest and I eat a lot less as large meals make me feel bloated and give me indigestion. So over a week my calorie intake has dropped a lot. It also makes me more aware of what I’m eating and if I want to have a glass of wine or an ice cream I do but adapt my diet for the rest of the day accordingly. You can’t eat loads of snacks, fried fast food or drink alcohol like a fish etc on your non fasting days and expect to lose weight and stay healthy. Others have anecdotally reported lowered blood pressure and lowered cholesterol whilst on the 5:2 eating plan but I cannot comment on that myself.
I found the 5/2 diet to be very effective. I lost 21 kilos by sticking to this regime. However I also improved my eating habits and joined a gym. I “diet” 1 day per week now in order to maintain my weight as it is. At 73 years of age I have not felt this healthy and energetic for years.
I have tried it as well, I don’t need to lose weight but I did feel better on it, however if you are really interested in this, there’s a book called “Fast your way to Wellness” that does the calorie counting for you and gives heaps of delicious calorie counted recipes. It also talks about the different ways you can do it, not just 5 /2, one of them, changing the times you eat to an 8 hour window was just investigated by Michael Mosley on SBS - Michael Mosley, Trust me I’m a Doctor, and all participants health markers improved just by changing the times they ate, lower fasting blood sugars, lower cholesterol etc
If I understand you correctly you are saying that people’s bodies lose the ability to manage fat tissue properly through taking prescription drugs. You go on to say most drugs interfere with body fat processes. How do you know this? Can you point me to some evidence?
If your taking any drugs and you suffer from lipodystrophy, go visit the drug manufacturers website and look up their listed side effects, then ask your Dr. If he confirms the problem, you will have your proof !
Don’t be surprised if your Dr doesn’t have a clue ! or mumbles platitudes for the drug cartel.
If you want to make the claim you should supply the evidence not send me off to find it myself - it may not exist. As your previous post said “most of their drugs which interferes with the bodies fat processes” I thought you would have a ready reference to support that claim. Apparently not.
It also appears to be associated with older antiretroviral drugs.
People with HIV also seem to have a higher susceptibility to lypodystrophy and possibly due to the antiretroviral drugs they take.
Lipoatrophy/Lipodystrophy is the term describing the localized loss of fat tissue. This may occur as a result of subcutaneous injections of insulin in the treatment of diabetes, from the use of Human Growth Hormone or from subcutaneous injections of Copaxone used for the treatment of multiple sclerosis.
From a quick search, the nunber of deugs/medicines that can cause Lipoatrophy/Lipodystrophy appears to be quite limited, but I have not checked the individual side effects of every drug/medicine to confirm this.
It would be interesting if anyone knows of any other drugs/medicines which have Lipoatrophy/Lipodystrophy as a side effect.
To answer your criticism just a few, are the failed cancer drugs …
AZT, DDI, DDC, D4T which the drug cartel provided in desperation to treat HIV in the early days and still do !!
Truvada is known to cause kidney damage, but the drug manufacturer knew this for years, since 2001, had a newer and better drug which didn’t damage the kidneys and they withheld it in Australia until this year. Why you may ask ? because they were making too much money from the earlier drug, and at a guess couldn’t be bothered to go through the tedious and costly TGA approval process for a drug which had already been approved by the FDA in the USA years ago…
It prompts me to ask, why are we (in Australia) so different to the rest of humanity, when so many pharmaceuticals which have been approved by the FDA in the USA. are forced to be reexamined by the TGA again and delayed for many years ?
I could also add, those drugs also cause lipoatrophy, and damage other major body organs, eg: Anemia, liver and kidney damage, tinnitus, especially when used in high doses, and they were and still are…
Many Protease Inhibitors are equally as bad for the reasons I’ve mentioned above. Ritonavir is but one example. There are many more…
The treatments for diabetics and organ transplant replacement also cause these problems.
I know these drugs are nasty because I was a member of a treatments action committee for many years.
The drug cartel and medical profession know these problem exist, but still prefer to make money from them ! A sufferers ignorance is no excuse.
OK some drugs that take quite drastic routes to treat some very serious diseases have bad side effects, this has been known for a long time. I have seen some of these in action and it isn’t pretty. It can be a hard call whether to go that way or not.
In agreeing on this we are a very long way from “… most of their drugs …” .
As well your interpretation that these drugs are still in use due to corruption and collusion between the medical profession and drug cartels lacks evidence.
We are getting way off topic, this one is about a fasting diet I believe.
This is a discussion forum, not a peer reviewed scientific journal.
Please stop asking people to provide “evidence” which is acceptable to you.
From the comments you have made in other forums, nothing people say will satisfy you.
You say you accept climate science yet you continually deny dietary science; don’t you see that this makes people suspicious of your background.
Please provide evidence that you are not linked in any way to the fast food/beverage industry.
True but that doesn’t make it an evidence free zone. If you make claims that are contradictory to mainstream knowledge you need to give reasons. If claiming there are cartels, conspiracies and huge public lies you can’t just expect people to nod and accept it.
No, for reasons already outlined.
Not at all. The ones who fail to satisfy are those who constantly make unorthodox claims and then refuse to engage. If you want to be believed then give people some reason.
My acceptance of climate change science is quite consistent with accepting food and health science and quite incompatible with loony tunes and fake news. You are the only one who says my background is suspicious. Surely my questions are not that embarrassing for you?
I am so glad you didn’t ask me to prove I am not an alien. If I showed you a photo you would spot that I was wearing a human mask. If my fangs looked like human teeth you would know I had them surgically reduced in order to pass for human. There would be no way I could get by your subtle mind! Look very closely at my personal icon. Do you see the coded message? {Batman Lives!}
Further, I would suggest that with the changes to the FDA that are occurring under the current PoTUS, it may be a good thing that the TGA will be verifying all future FDA approved medicines to ensure that they have a full and valid testing dossier.
