Another new joinee here, though like many i have been following the 5:2 concept since August-ish. So, firstly, hello!
Perhaps a little more unusually, i was not drawn the idea due to a desire to lose weight (tbh, if anything i wouldnt mind putting a bit on) - i have always been around 21-22 on the BMI chart, dont go to the gym, but do a bit of aerobic exercise each week as well as doing a few weights at home and am perfectly happy with my body as it is. I actually chose to give this thing a go for the healthy mind + staying younger longer benefits. Which are unfortunately the things which are that much harder to track. On a day to day basis, these things cannot be measured, and the lack of any real proof of the benefits means i am down to almost blind faith - which isnt something i am accustomed to being entirely unreligious!
With such intangible benefits, there have been times when i have asked myself if following this lifestyle is actually worthwhile. I love eating, and all of my favoured social activities involve usually vast amounts of calories, so aside from the occasional moderate wave of hunger that we all know and love, i am also up against the loss of 20% of my social life! haha. But thankfully, and this is another very big draw to 5:2 for me, on the feast days, i really go to town. cheese on toast just before bedtime? absolutely! pop in to MCDs everytime i pass one? yep! love it! :p
So i guess the question is, to those who have researched this whole thing somewhat more than myself, weight loss benefits aside, how confident would you be that there really are ANY significant benefits of the sort i hope for? i know i am asking for you to assign some kind of value to that which is impossible to value, or nail jelly to a wall if you will, but i am asking it all the same!
Along with that tricky to answer question, one or two more....... I have found 5:2 fasting (600 cals) to be very manageable - dare i say it; easy, but i am not sure if this has been down to a partial cheat. We all know water is very good for you, and largely, the more the better - i have always consumed a lot of water, and i find that on my fasting days, drinking water can make things easier. Drinking quite a bit regularly through the day keeps hunger at bay, though of course it necessitates frequent trips to the loo (all exercise i guess!), but the way that water really helps is the one big meal (i am not a 3 meal sort on fasting days, though im sure this would work equally well in that instance).... but yeah, just pre meal, i drink a good litre of water, and then another litre during the meal. Doing this i can be quite full on 2-300 cals after zero calories for 24+ hours. I often find i cant even finish my beans on toast (a fave for fast days) due to feeling too full. So, the question is, does avoiding the hunger by drinking water throughout the day negate the mental benefits? On Horizon, a lot was made of the link between the noggin and the belly - you feel hungry, your brain tries to think hard to get food, thus your brain is exercised and thus you can still do crosswords when you are 150. Without the hunger, am i going to be putting down my pen by the time i hit 70? haha.
Anyway, dont want to drag out my hello post any longer. Thoughts and comments on the questions will all be happily received, even if you arent too confident of the answers you provide.
Brief bit of info incase relevant to the above, i am 28, male, about 6 foot and about 11 stone.
Cheers - Dazz
Perhaps a little more unusually, i was not drawn the idea due to a desire to lose weight (tbh, if anything i wouldnt mind putting a bit on) - i have always been around 21-22 on the BMI chart, dont go to the gym, but do a bit of aerobic exercise each week as well as doing a few weights at home and am perfectly happy with my body as it is. I actually chose to give this thing a go for the healthy mind + staying younger longer benefits. Which are unfortunately the things which are that much harder to track. On a day to day basis, these things cannot be measured, and the lack of any real proof of the benefits means i am down to almost blind faith - which isnt something i am accustomed to being entirely unreligious!
With such intangible benefits, there have been times when i have asked myself if following this lifestyle is actually worthwhile. I love eating, and all of my favoured social activities involve usually vast amounts of calories, so aside from the occasional moderate wave of hunger that we all know and love, i am also up against the loss of 20% of my social life! haha. But thankfully, and this is another very big draw to 5:2 for me, on the feast days, i really go to town. cheese on toast just before bedtime? absolutely! pop in to MCDs everytime i pass one? yep! love it! :p
So i guess the question is, to those who have researched this whole thing somewhat more than myself, weight loss benefits aside, how confident would you be that there really are ANY significant benefits of the sort i hope for? i know i am asking for you to assign some kind of value to that which is impossible to value, or nail jelly to a wall if you will, but i am asking it all the same!
Along with that tricky to answer question, one or two more....... I have found 5:2 fasting (600 cals) to be very manageable - dare i say it; easy, but i am not sure if this has been down to a partial cheat. We all know water is very good for you, and largely, the more the better - i have always consumed a lot of water, and i find that on my fasting days, drinking water can make things easier. Drinking quite a bit regularly through the day keeps hunger at bay, though of course it necessitates frequent trips to the loo (all exercise i guess!), but the way that water really helps is the one big meal (i am not a 3 meal sort on fasting days, though im sure this would work equally well in that instance).... but yeah, just pre meal, i drink a good litre of water, and then another litre during the meal. Doing this i can be quite full on 2-300 cals after zero calories for 24+ hours. I often find i cant even finish my beans on toast (a fave for fast days) due to feeling too full. So, the question is, does avoiding the hunger by drinking water throughout the day negate the mental benefits? On Horizon, a lot was made of the link between the noggin and the belly - you feel hungry, your brain tries to think hard to get food, thus your brain is exercised and thus you can still do crosswords when you are 150. Without the hunger, am i going to be putting down my pen by the time i hit 70? haha.
Anyway, dont want to drag out my hello post any longer. Thoughts and comments on the questions will all be happily received, even if you arent too confident of the answers you provide.
Brief bit of info incase relevant to the above, i am 28, male, about 6 foot and about 11 stone.
Cheers - Dazz
