Intermittent Fasting: The 5:2 Hack
Intermittent fasting has been proven to have several impressive health benefits including improved overall health, Insulin resistance, increased longevity, fat and weight loss. However, calorie deficits and fasting isn’t something that everyone can commit to! That is where, less restrictive IF approaches like the 5:2 come in.
So what is the 5:2 anyway?
The 5:2 also known as the fast diet is an alternate day intermittent fasting approach that allows you to eat normal for 5 days and eat not more than 600 calories on 2 non consecutive days.
Many true fasters will argue that the 5:2 is in fact, a fast mimicking diet and not a true fast because you eat way more than you fast. Usually, for Intermittent Fasting to work and for weight loss to occur, the plan is to fast more and eat less. Eating “normal,” to many long time intermittent fasters, is the reason we gained the weight in the first place. That said, is this an approach you want to turn to for weight loss benefits at all? Yes! and No and I will tell you why in a little bit.
I believe most people who turn to this method are probably not looking for a significant weight loss change. It’s great for someone that wants to shed off a few light pounds here and there that will go un-noticed or simply, for people who aren’t really looking for weight loss perks at all, but rather other health benefits that come with fasting in general.
opt for high fiber high protein food during your fast days.
The traditional 5:2 and how it is done
When done traditionally, most people champion this method because it is simple and you basically get to fast only 2 days a week. Others see little to no change at all, making the 5:2 one of the least powerful tools for weight loss in the IF family. This is because you cycle between fasting for 2 non consecutive days and eating “normal” for the other 5 days of the week with extreme caloric deficits.
Curious to try it out, then go for it and keep in mind the following best practices in order to get the best out of it;
Consume nutrient dense foods with high fiber and protein when your eating window opens to provide a feeling of fullness and nutrition benefits with minimal calorie consumption.
Make sure to keep hydrated throughout the day. If you choose to drink your calories with detox drinks, there’s really not much restriction on what you consume even during your fasting window as long as total calorie consumption for the day is kept to not more than 600 calories for men and 500 for women.
Avoid over indulging and snacking on the wrong kinds of foods on your “normal” eating days.
Because there’s extreme caloric deficits, you have to meal prep and plan ahead making sure to count your calories every time on your fast days, to avoid mindless eating. If you don’t already know how to count your calories, don’t worry! I’ll show you how to do this in my upcoming videos.
Keep busy to avoid creating an environment that leaves you prone to snacking.
Most effective when combined with exercise.
consider taking a multivitamin to help you reach your nutrition goals.
Which 2 days you choose is up to you as long as there’s at least one “normal” eating day between them.
like all IF fasting approaches, this diet isn’t recommended for a certain group of people especially if not under medical supervision like kids, people with eating disorders, pregnant and breastfeeding women, those with underlying health conditions and old people.
How to eat on your fasting days solely depends on you. For example you can choose to divide these 600 calories into 2 to 3 small meals if you cant manage long fasting hours.
If you’ve done the 5:2 this way, let me know if its been great for your weight loss journey, how much weight you lost and how long it took to get to your current or desired weight. If you have no idea where to begin with meal planning, look up for some online resources on delicious and healthy 500 calorie and less recipes for inspiration. like this 20 healthy 500-calorie dinners you can make in 20 minutes
You can also purchase and read several books and cookbooks available for the 5:2 Intermittent fasting approach, including the best-selling book The Fast Diet by Dr. Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer.
Personally It’s a NO for me because there’s a lot of restrictions in terms of calorie consumption and no real benefits during the fast either as you can eat or drink your calories throughout your fast. To eat 500 calories a day, weirdly enough I’d rather do OMAD or an extended fast and break it with a satisfying nutritious meal.
Image from Amazon.co.uk
How to tweak the 5:2 for actual weight loss benefits
There’s a likelihood that you will not see any real results of weight loss by the end of the week or for however long you choose to do it for, if you choose to do the 5:2 the traditionally recommended way. This is because you may have made up for the calories lost in your 2 non consecutive days with the calories consumed on the other 5 days of the week
However, the simplicity and flexibility that comes with intermittent fasting allows for you to tweak this less restrictive IF method to make it work for weight loss. That brings me to my YES! and why if done this way, you can actually start to see those pounds shed off.
The 5:2 with its extreme caloric fluctuations makes you wonder? What is normal? Is it 3 meals a day? Is snacking allowed? Is drinking caloric beverages okay? After all, that is the normal for most people.
That “Normal” is what took me from being a UK size 8 woman to 5 dress sizes bigger.
As a long time faster, my normal today, is the 16:8. So, what If I choose to stick to that for the 5 days of the week and choose to do OMAD on the other 2 days consecutively? Once you have my normal, the last thing you want to do is think about food all day and yet keep counting calories to make sure your’e restricting your intake extremely. That’s just a lot of work that nobody needs as it’ll make fasting those 2 days a complete nightmare and the possibility of just sticking it out to your “normal” and never actually doing the 2 days fast is higher.
Fasting works because it is a lifestyle. For your body to adopt to it you have to do it everyday! That’s why many of us combine a few different types to make it work as long as we can fast most days of the week every week.
Personally I think it will be quite challenging trying to keep your calories to an absolute minimum every 2 random days a week after eating “normal” the other 5. Overtime, it’s bound to get frustrating and make you quit faster and possibly build a difficult cycle of overeating once your feeding window opens.
However, Choose your normal wisely if you must and make the 5:2 work for you. My normal and yours could be totally different and still work.
What does your 5:2 look like and would you restrict your calorie intake to 500 or switch it up with another restrictive IF method like OMAD? Let me know in the comment section below and i will see you next week!
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