What is the 5:2 Diet?

I’ve heard about a lot of kinds of diets and I find it amazing how each of these diet trends have their own disciplines, pros, and cons. Dieting is concerned with calorie intake and regulating the amount of food which you take in. Initially, it really is hard because if you’re used to just eating, I know it’s difficult to suddenly follow a diet routine.

One of the more recent diet methods I came across is the 5:2 diet. Don’t worry, you need not do a lot of math even if the diet’s name is in ratio form! It is also known as the fast diet which makes use of calorie restriction which would be done for two non-consecutive days, and unrestricted eating for five more days. You can think of it as an intermittent fasting, which I think is great if you aren’t able to stick to a strict diet plan for several consecutive days straight.

The main idea is to have controlled eating for two days—nonconsecutive, and unrestricted eating for five days. Those two fasting days would be when you should count your calorie intake. Men may eat only 600 calories a day on fasting days, and women should only eat 500 calories. Usually, the fasting day would only have two meals—breakfast, and either lunch or dinner. These meals should have half of the total calorie count which I think is a great way to make you last through to the next meal.

Although there is still limited evidence as to the effectiveness of this diet, those who have tried it have seen results. You may also feel that you are cutting yourself a lot of slack since you will only have to do this twice a week! Since it is classified as a fad diet, it would be best if you have a discussion with your physician or dietician before trying this diet out. The change may be a bit extreme for some, which is why proper guidance and information on what to best eat on fasting days is must. Any diet you choose to undergo is completely useless if you don’t add exercise into the equation. The two always go together, no matter what diet fad you choose to undertake in.