Diet's Come and Go, So Just How Good is the 5:2?

The 5:2 diet is likely to have been a post-round conversation for many women this year as with so many diets to choose from, people normally try the one that is attracting the most publicity and celebrity followers. Sports Kinesiologist and Nutrition Specialist Lance Geringer discusses the latest diet craze.

What is the ‘5:2 diet’?

The ‘5:2 diet’ is based on fasting. The individual eats normally for 5 days and for the other 2 days he/she drastically reduce their caloric intake. This is called intermittent fasting and is done instead of the normal daily calorie reduction, which applies to the majority of popular diets on the market.

Remember, all diets are based on reducing your total calorie intake, whether it’s a small reduction each day of the week or reducing a huge amount on 2 days of the week – which is the basis of the 5:2 diet.

Does it work?

If you do the mathematical calculations for the 5:2 diet, this diet can work when it comes to weight loss. Let me use an example of a normal woman who eats approximately 2000 calories a day. For 5 days, she will eat her normal daily foods that make up the 2000 calories, but on the other 2 days she will eat 500 calories. By adding up the calories over the week, our female example will have consumed 11,000 calories over 7 days instead of her normal 14,000 calories. She has just decreased her calories over the week by 3000, which in weight loss terms is almost one pound (3500 calories normally equals a pound of weight).

That sounds great, but the problem is that we don’t know how much of this ‘almost one pound’ of weight loss is fat as compared to muscle and water. So, the answer to the question, “Does it work?” is “Yes.” But, what percentage of the weight you’ll lose is actual fat can’t be answered, since no real tests have been done on what type of weight loss you’re getting. With any diet, you want the majority of weight loss to come from fat, not muscle and water.

The real question is, “Does it work over the long term?” Well, since it’s such a new diet there is no research showing how effective it is over the long term - only time will tell. Personally, I think the ‘5:2 diet’ will be put on the shelf with all the other diets that have come and gone. Here are just a few that have been called at one time or another ‘the next big diet’:

The Cabbage Soup diet

The Grapefruit Diet

The Atkins Diet

The Zone Diet

Here are the ‘positives’ and ‘negatives’ of the 5:2 diet:

Positives:

You will achieve weight loss

For some, eating normally for 5 days and being strict for 2 days might be easier than doing daily calorie restriction

Negatives:

The weight loss will not be just body fat

The 2 days of intermittent fasting can be mentally and physically stressful in the form of reduced energy for the body and brain

It’s very difficult to go from eating 2000 calories to 500 calories; the body has missed out on 75% of its normal daily food and will signal real hunger and appetite increases to make up for the loss in those calories as you go back to eating your normal 2000 calories.

If you decide that you want to try this diet please let your doctor know you’re on a fasting type diet. Your doctor should always be informed of any changes to your diet.

One last thought on dieting: It doesn’t matter what diet you decide to try, since the key factors for long term success is patience, consistency and that the diet itself fits easily into your lifestyle.