Intermittent Fasting - Part 5
Intermittent Fasting - The 5:2 Method
This method of fasting is a gentler way because you still get to eat.
In a nutshell, you eat normally for 5 – 6 days per week and then have 1 – 2 non-consecutive “fast” days where you only consume 500 calories (or 600 cal for men).
Calorie counting is not necessary on your normal eating days and only on the fast days until you can judge how much food equals 500 cal. For women, eating 2-3 small meals on your fast day tends to be best and men may do better with one larger meal that day. Eating lots of nutrient-dense veggies helps stretch your food intake :).
There are very few studies on this method, so this is based mostly on anecdotal evidence. I’ve worked with a large handful of post-menopausal women using this technique very successfully.
How to start –
Choose one fast day in the beginning, ease into two fasting days per week only if needed. Choose a day that’s fairly relaxed so you can begin to understand how your body will react.
Many people have said that their first 2 fasting days are a bit difficult, but it becomes easier over time. If yours continue to be difficult, then stop. Your body doesn’t like this method.
Stay hydrated and enjoy lots of water, tea, and broth to cut your hunger. Enjoy nutrient-rich food like homemade soups, salads, etc.
After your fast day, eat normally. You don’t need to do anything special on the other days.
What I’ve heard –
The women I’ve worked with that have tried this technique have found it to be easy once they got into a good habit. Their energy stayed high and even felt better on their fast days vs. non-fasting days. These are a good sign that your body is on board and it’s a healthy tool instead of a diet.
When to stop –
If you feel REALLY hungry the next day, tired or light-headed on your fasting day, or you start dreading your fasting day. This is a sign your body would like you to stop please :).
Benefits –
In a study done on rodents, this method of eating less a few times a week (3x in the study) helped to reduce inflammation, asthma, auto-immune diseases (RA specifically), and hot flashes. This is just one animal study, but it’s promising (and included female rats, yay!). It looks like it creates some of the benefits of longer fasting but in a gentler way.
How to figure out your calorie count
I REALLY dislike calorie counters…but sometimes they’re necessary. For your first few fasting days a calorie counter might be helpful. Stop using it as soon as you feel comfortable with what 500 – 600 cal looks like. Here’s a decent one:
https://www.myfitnesspal.com
If you have any questions, jump to our private Facebook Group or the Ask Lisa page :)
Head over to Part 6.