to think this 'diet' is an eating disorder

[BlackMaryJanes]

I'm dieting the old fashioned way - exercise and reducing calories to about 1800.

My friend recently told me about a diet she's thinking about doing called "The Alternative Day Diet". In this diet, you eat 400 cals one day, then you're allowed to eat whatever you like the next day, then back to 400 cals the next day, then eat whatever you like for a day, etc.

I've done some research on this seemingly popular diet. Apparently it switches on a 'skinny gene' which keeps your metabolism in top condition, burning calories. It also has other claimed health benefits such as - making you live longer (there was a Horizon documentary on the BBC backing this up). The internet is full of gleeming reviews.

But surely this pattern of eating is unsustainable and encourages disordered thinking? I feel a bit concerned for my friend. When she latches onto an idea she tends to go hardcore.

All an act, Mintyy ...

It isn't really a crash diet. I haven't ever done a crash diet but my mum has done all of them. They typically involve 2 weeks of eating nothing but cabbage o you lose a stone within the first week and think you're doing really well (then realise it was mostly water and give up).
5:2 involves a weightloss of 1-2 lbs a week so not quite in the same league.

BMJ - have PMd you.

PS, IMO 'wouldn't recommend for breastfeeding women' means nothing more than 'I haven't got a clue either way'.

Good luck BMJ. Being hungry all the time is devastating, especially with small children. I hope you can work something out that makes you feel better.

Ooh look at the smileys!

TepidCoffee [bgrin] I suspect so too. He did say it was a "conservative" recommendation.

It is slightly misleading to say "this is how our ancestors ate" because the truth is that this is the natural diet of many communities around the world TODAY.

In India (where my family originates from), people regularly fast for two days a week. It is connected to religion, and the entire community fasts on the same two days, and even join together to support each other through the day. I call it a "fast", but they eat fruits, nuts and raw vegetables throughout the day, and I suspect the calorie intake is round about 500cal. The other five days, they eat modestly, but without any restrictions.

So yes they could eat a pizza whenever they desired. Contrast that to saying "pizzas and cakes are BAD, so you must NEVER EVER eat the nasty things"...don't you then immediately crave it?

The 5:2 diet is about more than losing weight. It is about living a holistic lifestyle and not branding any food as good or bad. It is about self-control, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle in a natural manner. It is known to have an effect on longevity.

Nanny IIRC it was from those practices in India that the idea for this originated.

I believe there was an elderly man featured on the documentary who was around 100 and still physically fit and active (he was shown running).

I'm a bit sketchy on the details clearly

It certainly makes a lot of sense.

Yes, the Sikh guy! He was awesome. He was doing the London marathon. As part of a running group called "Sikhs in the City", bahaha.

BMJ if your dh cooks, could you get him to cook big pots of tasty food and freeze portions of it? Then you just have to steam a bit of veg to go with it? It'll be cheaper than ready meals, too.

That was a delicious chicken hotpot ready meal (I even licked out the tray!) I feel quite satisfied...for now.

Now for a can of diet pepsi to bloat my tummy even more.

God I'm bad.

Sorry to jump in at the end.

This is the first I've heard of the 5:2 diet. I am trying to loose weight on a normal 1000- 1200 cal diet, it's hard to stick to. I've only been on it a week and I have stuck to it, but the 5:2 sounds much easier. Do you loose weight on it or is it just for health/maintenance? If so, would I loose as much as on a 'normal' diet?

I know this wasn't your intention OP but this diet sounds much easier/more appealing than the one I'm on.

Water! No Pepsi!

FolkGirl yes he was awesome wasn't he?

But people don't seem to remember that bit. All I hear is "our ancestors ate like this". No! Modern people in modern cities living a modern lifestyle eat like this, and have a much healthier life for it. There is precedent for this diet, it isn't new or faddy

Ahhh, no wonder you're hungry! Diet colas etc are low cal, but they're still filled with sugary rubbish to substitute for the other sugary rubbish they took out so they could call it "low cal". That'll be why you're crashing by the time you go to bed. That stuff is addictive.

If you substitute tea or water for the fizzies that might cure the hunger problem on its own.

And it's not about you being "bad" by the way. There really aren't any "bad" foods if you eat them in moderation - which does not mean every day, or even every week. I pig out on chocolate from time to time but by god I pay for it in terms of the glucose hangover afterwards. I couldn't go through life feeling like that all the time - no wonder you're miserable.

I find 5:2 pretty flexible too.

DP and I didn't do it gut 2 weeks over Xmas and then went back to it after. I just finished x3 nightshifts so only managed 1 day of fasting this week which is fine as my weight is maintained. Will do 5:2 when feeling less tired next week.

It has been tested on women. There was a long running study on its effectiveness in women who carry the breast cancer gene, the theory being that they might hold it at bay somewhat. Very positive results. And there are others.

Any advice depends on whether you feel hungry because of your poor diet or whether it's emotional. If it's the latter, a healthy diet won't fix it. You just need to think through what is driving your over-eating as if it is disordered this diet won't be the fix it is for others. Not saying either way, just think BIWI was right to raise it as something to consider.

Definitely ditch the diet drinks. It tastes sweet, your body expects a sugar rush and gets.. Nothing. So you get stomach growling away

How about low carbing/Paleo?

Today I've had
Breakfast - omelette with tomatoes, bacon, onion
Lunch - shredded mustard ham hock, loads of veg
Tea - (will be) roast chicken with piles of veg
I've snacked on a small handful of nuts and full fat Greek yoghurt
Not so much cooking as assembling I do, using steamed veg, and chickens off ready cooked counter

How I wish I could eat 1,800 cals a day and maintain. I have to eat 1,300 to maintain, that is the problem the slimmer you get the less you need to eat, and for a foodie like me it's tough! It was much easier to lose weight when I was 5 stone heavier.

My mum has been doing the 5:2 diet and she really enjoys it and certainly doesn't binge on her non fasting days, in fact, she has got to the stage where eating too much just makes her feel ill so she is eating less on her non fasting days as a result.

Fasting is nothing new OP, there is so much research on the subject and it is worth it for the health benefits alone. Calorie cycling (which this a form of) is excellent for weight loss, nothing like keeping the body guessing!

I admit that I probably have a bit of "disordered thinking" over my weight and diet. I am very obsessive and a slave to the scales, but that can happen with any way of eating. This diet is no more likely to cause disordered thinking than any other.

Water! No Pepsi!

But I'm proper addicted to diet pepsi oh...someone has mentioned the addiction issue. I like how it bloats my stomach and gives me a caffinne buzz. I also like the fizzy, syrupy sensation as it trickles down my throat. Ahhhhh

Samu2 wow! What is your height?

nothing like keeping the body guessing!

Can you elaborate? Is starvation mode (triggered by long periods of dieting) a fact or a myth?

Well, un-addict yourself

Sugary drinks and their diet versions are increasingly being seen as major culprits in the rise in obesity. You can cut down more easily than you think. Drink tea and coffee - seriously, if you have a drink to hand so you can sip every few minutes, you don't crave sugary drinks so much. It really works.

I think SpicyPear is right, maybe before you start any particular plan you need to read a few things about over-eating, and your relationship with food generally, esp as regards what "full and satisfied" feels like. I don't think most people like having a bloated stomach, for instance. I don't think that's how I would define being full and satisfied.