The FastDay Forum

I am a bit - bemused? concerned? - that the Dieticians Association of Australia puts 5:2 way down near the 'worst' end of it's annual summation of the best and worst diets of 2013:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/h ... 6797295697

Is this because we can 'eat what we like' on feast days? Or they think fasting is inherently dangerous? Or they have some medical knowledge we don't? Have they not investigated it in detail?

Just wondering what people think ... any dieticians out there who can elaborate?

Primary objections to 5:2 generally come from people who can't (or don't care to) distinguish the fasting part of the diet from an eating disorder and the feast/fast cycle from binge/purge.

I looked at the link to the US News and World Report list. It had this to say about 5:2:

The widespread concern among experts about the diet’s lack of nutritional guidance on non-fasting days contributed to its poor overall performance. The fast diet earned just 2.5 stars, putting it toward the end of the pack, outranking only the raw food, Atkins, Paleo and Dukan diets. “The red flags are no restrictions on non-fast days and no guidance on what constitutes a healthful eating pattern,” one expert said. “This could lead to poor food choices or lack of portion control on non-fast days.”

I suspect a lot of us have the same concerns.

But, then, perhaps the very thing that raises red flags is what makes it so sustainable…

And… anyone who hasn't done it doesn't necessarily realize how IF changes your appetite over time, getting at the portion control comment. I can't remember if it is discussed in the book.

So, I guess the success of 5:2 depends on us making (mostly) sensible choices on our non-fast days — and the fact that 5:2 doesn't 'lay down the law' in this regard, with heaps of rules to follow, or lists of what you 'should and shouldn't eat', gives it a lower ranking in the dieticians' eyes.

It's really agnostic about what you eat, as my husband says. And we're still sticking to it

Well having done some of the others I would put 5:2 up at number one.

Pretty simple.

It is the medical establishment and government saying that the diet does not comply with the proper way to eat and lose weight. As the medical establishment and government know what is right and wrong, what works and does not work and what should be eaten and what should not be eaten (to lose weight or otherwise), 5:2 is obviously a dangerous fad not to be embraced by the general public.

Take heed. We who follow 5:2 may be classified as revolutionaries! Jail may be next.

[Debs]

Given that Krista Varady has put doughnuts and burgers on the front of her Every Other Day diet, I guess I can see where they are coming from. The reality is though, if the official guidelines worked no one would be overweight and the diet industry wouldn't be worth billions!

I guess all 'foodies' like me would have to be put in jail too then for not conforming to etsablsihed eating rules!!

Perhaps a prerequisite for success with 5:2 is that the dieter is a reasonably intelligent, reasonably educated person (seems to be true of virtually everyone who posts on this forum).

The same characteristics are not true of many people in the general populace. Dieticians included.

The organization ranking 5:2 so low for not providing guidance on what to eat is made up of the same sort of people that, in the US FDA, feel it is necessary to have "Contains wheat." listed separately from the ingredients of a package labeled wheat bread. Or, as the package of walnuts I am looking at right now reads, "Ingredients: Walnuts. Contains Walnut."

Are package regulations in other countries this inane???

And the more I think about it (since I'm hanging around here not going to bed like I should be...) the more I'm not just bemused and concerned, but also depressed to read this. There are so many people who will read this ranked list and decide not to try 5:2 because it's a fad and dangerous and clearly too hard to stick to and ... damn it all, Wendy, just go to bed!!

Ignore the fluffy summarizing article and the lovely lady below (well maybe not her for a second or so, guys) and go to the US News and World Report link at the top. Once there click on the title for a diet of interest to expand the details of the full report.

For the Fast Diet as but one example notice that the researchers fall back on the "Government recommends..." and the "Goverment advises..." repeating the very dietary percentages that has made people obese for the last 50 years. Puhleeeze!

Does the quote "The beatings will continue until morale improves!" ring a bell with anyone? Duh!

Review the evidence especially the contrary stuff where ever you find it. Learn to challenge it all to think for yourself. The choice couldn't be more obvious. This works, theirs hasn't, can't, and won't.

Seems to me to be related to a typical limited view of professional experts that are active in a certain field. 'We know about diets (the content of what you eat), there is nothing on that, so it is not working at best or dangerous for people at worst'. They seem to be unable grasp the larger picture, where the motivation of people to stick to their 'diet' is one of the most problematic aspects in order to make it work. That comes as no surprise, as they are trained in food choice and its medical consequenses, not in how you can change behaviour (the psychological/social factors that explain our eating patterns). The same goes for most of the medical experts working in the field. So the main point I would say is their lack of ability to look over the borders of their limited professional field.
As we all know the strength of 5:2 is on the motivational side (and that is also related to your freedom to chose food on feed days and the lack of strick rules that you have to be committed to). However, we also know that a 'more or less' sensible diet on feed days is needed (no bingeing) and that a sensible or healthy diet helps to improve results (see our results from the questionnaire the-5-2-lab-f10/5-2-questionnaire-results-stats-and-everything-must-read-t10065.html)
So the most important lesson would be to stress that the 5:2 diet does not imply an 'anything goes' on feed days, but a 'more or less sensible food choice' on feed days. Within this approach there is lots of freedom to eat whatever you like, and this is one of the major motivational factors for its success (especially compared to most of the other/official approaches).

Given that Krista Varady has put doughnuts and burgers on the front of her Every Other Day diet, I guess I can see where they are coming from.

and we've got a pizza slice here!

Thanks all for your awesome replies! xxxooo

In the U.S. it was ranked 28th. I think part of it, is just because it's so new and not enough people have lost weight on it yet. But, what everyone else said too. It's considered "hard" to fast for the 2 days, even though for all of us it's easier!