''warrior diet'' / 5:2 ?

[SteveHadTheRightIdea]

Yes, it is a slightly cringe name (warrior diet) and no, I am nothing like a warrior, in either temperament or physique 😂.

I haven't read the book, but am planning to.

The basic idea is that you eat very little / nothing all day with a four hour eating window. You also try to avoid processed carby foods in your eating window.

I'm thinking of trying it and wonder if anyone else is doing it currently or has done it previously?

Or should I just do 5:2 and stop complicating things?

Fwiw I have about 3 stone to lose till I'm back at my favourite weight. About a stone and a half to lose to just get to a healthy BMI.

I’ve not heard of the warrior diet but do 5:2 and have found it excellent for weight loss and health. I think with any diet the main thing is whether you can stick to it.

Thanks essential.

My slight hesitance re 5:2 is that I am at home with small children most days and on 500 calories for the while day, I think I'd crack within a week. I'm not out and about enough and am never geographically far from my fridge, so temptation is always there...

I might try 16:8 to begin with, then maybe 18:6 and then 20:4.

I've just looked in more detail at the warrior diet and it's actually a bit more prescriptive than just an eating window, which really won't work for me. The appeal of the whole IF idea for me is not having to stick strictly to certain foods.

16:8 should theoretically be doable. It would just mean eating dinner with dcs instead of waiting for DH to come home and then skipping breakfast the next day.

I’d start with 16:8. It’s usually enough and if you’re home all day it would be easier than 5:2 I think. The thing with 16:8 is also to think about your window. I do 12:30-8:30 because I’m busier in the mornings at work so breakfast is kind of a chore, but it’s hard for me to eat dinner before 7:30.

I find 18:6 works much better. Eat ‘breakfast’ at 1, healthy snack in the afternoon (fruit, couple of oatcakes and hummus type of thing) then a healthy family dinner by 7.
I can’t seem to eat in moderation but this way of eating seems to put me in control. My appetite is less from skipping breakfast, and if I know I can’t eat at certain times then I just don’t eat and embrace the hunger as my body having to use fat for energy.
It’s easier than thinking ‘what can I eat for 250 cals that’s healthy and filling’ and obsessing about food all day.

Thanks all!

I think I'll start with 16:8 and then move on to 18:6 when 16:8 stops working / if it doesn't work.

If I eat with DH we normally don't sit down till about 9 or later. So if I wanted to keep doing that I think I'd end up hungry before my official start time. Maybe on weekends I'll shift it back a few hours so we can have a glass of wine together too.

I'm really hoping this stops me overeating. I've always overeaten unless I'm on a diet and now I haven't been on a diet I've actually stuck to for ages, I'm...well...quite fat. Funny that .

FWIW I've been doing a sort of "warrior diet" for six months now and I've lost around 15 kg and kept it off. Basically I just have cups of tea throughout the day and then eat a proper meal after DCs bedtime eight o'clock ish. Eating is always within 4 hours and I am not that carb strict (although trying to cut them out). Happy with results and it feels sustainable.

With a 4 hour window it would be very like one meal a day. Which is basically calorie restriction. If you read the obesity code there is a theory that calorie restriction doesn't work as your body simply adjusts to the restriction in calories and you stop losing weight. Instead mix it up so you do eating windows of different lengths each day. Try and avoid eating frequently so if doing a four hour window probably eat once. If a 8 hour window eat no more than 3 times so you're not triggering insulin multiple times a day.