Intermittent fasting or the 5:2 ‘diet’ – the first 5 weeks

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I wrote a post about this approach the other day: This system captured my attention so I decided to give it a try. I’m just beginning week 6 so I thought I’d let you know how it’s been so far. To recap quickly, the idea is that you eat normally 5 days a week, and the other two (ideally not consecutive days) you limit yourself to 800 calories. After reading about the health benefits of fasting and some other people’s experiences, I thought I would try to get through the day without eating. That would give my body a period of around 22 hours without a meal, and enable me to eat with the family in the evening. It also avoids the need for weighing and measuring ingredients and calorie counting because it should be easy to enjoy a regular meal at less than 800 calories. I just couldn't be bothered with all that faff. Since I love food and have little will-power around it I wasn’t sure if I’d manage this, but I haven’t found it too difficult. The key, as other people have said, is that each time it’s just one day; you tell yourself that the next day will be back to normal. I get through the day with the aid of hot drinks and making myself wait a little bit before the next one. So I start the morning with hot water with a slice of lemon, and wait until about 10:30 for my first coffee. I allow myself a splash of milk in my coffee – 100 ml of milk is only 66 calories and that’s about twice as much as I use in a day so I figured 33 calories wasn’t worth worrying about! I always take a long time over my drinks anyway so that gets me through almost to mid-day. I’ll have another in the early afternoon and by then it’s almost time to get my daughter from school, and then with one thing and another the rest of the afternoon flies past and it’s soon dinner time. I certainly appreciate the meal when it comes but I don’t find that I eat any more than usual. Today we are planning to have salmon with vegetables (carrots, kale, and maybe some beans with a bit of celeriac and broccoli from the garden) and some noodles or cous cous. Maybe a spoonful of yogurt for dessert. If I’m tempted to get a snack I take my mind off it by doing something else, ideally something more active. The hardest part is when the girls come home and want snacks – it’s so easy to nibble a slice of cheese, a biscuit or a handful of raisins while I’m getting these things for them. It certainly makes me realise how easy it is to eat out of habit or just because it’s there. I made the mistake of not taking any measurements before I started so it’s hard to tell if it’s made any difference on that front. I did weigh myself when I was away from home but since we don’t have scales at home I won’t know whether anything has changed until the next time! My trousers do feel more comfortable around the waist though, and I no longer feel as if I’m lying on a cushion when I lie on my front in bed, so that’s all good! The main reason behind it however it that it is meant to improve the chances of a long healthy life – only time will tell on that front! All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2019.