Anyone try the fasting diet way to lose some weight?

Fasting is dangerous for your health. This is another one of those fad diets that may work in the short term but cannot be sustained in the long term. Eat better, eat less, more more. That's how it's done. None of this fasting nonsense that will just hurt you.

The 5:2 diet is extremely popular in the UK with many people achieving their weight loss goals. Not sure how sustainable it is though. I've flipped through the book, but haven't tried it.

I had good success with the 5:2. I fasted (I.e. 500 calories max) 2 says a week, not consecutively, until I reached my goal then maintained it with 1 fast day per week. I am usually very dismissive of diets but I read enough good reports to convince me to give it a go.

Once you are ready to embrace it, it wasn't that hard and I don't believe it's detrimental to your health at all.

I can't remember why I stopped it now....I probably got complacent but I would be happy to do it again if I needed to.

Fasting is not dangerous for your health. There are actually many known health benefits.

I heard about 5:2 here a few years ago. I tried it then but didn't stick with it. I had joined a Facebook group and never left it. Last fall I was getting notifications with tons of success stories so I decided to give it a try. I lost 14 lbs in about 7/8 weeks, which is the fastest I have ever lost weight. I have just recently started really sticking to it again. I like that it gives me a calorie deficit that is difficult for me to achieve any other way (I am very short and have a sedentary job, so a low TDEE). There are tons of people on the Facebook group that have had long term success.

Another form of IF is cutting down your eating window each day or several days a week. Most people have heard of 16:8. Basically, you eat all of the calories for the day in the 8 he eating window. However, I have recently joined an If Facebook group and think that many people on there are being very unhealthy with it. Cutting the window down to eating once a day, fasting more than 24 hours at a time, etc.

There is a documentary by Michael Moseley that talks another 5:2 and the health benefits.

I also wanted to point out that there are different definitions of fasting in the If world. For 5:2 (or some people do 4:3 but most say they haven't gotten much better results with 4:3 than 5:2 u less they really over ate one day) a "fast day" means up to 500 calories for women. Some people spread the calories out, some people just have liquids until dinner. On the other IF group, people consider fasting to be true fasting--no food during that period of time.

Barring health issues like diabetes, I don't see how fasting for a short amount of time is a detriment to your body.

Thanks for posting! This looks interesting. I may give it a try. It seems like 2 days of careful planning would be easier than 7 days.

And my Mom still sends me extra large clothes when I am a medium to small. It's frustrating. I get that food is love to her, it is to me too. But not in a fat way, If that makes any sense. I don't have to be fat to be healthy, Mommy!

I flipped through the book after my brother recommended this to me. He did the 5:2 diet for a while and lost 12 pounds ( 6 kilos).

This diet is simply calorie intake. When you eat 500 calories or less, 2 days a week, your body will have a calorie decrease over the course of a week. So instead of eating small amounts of calories 7 days a week, you eat REALLY small amounts of calories 2 days a week. But you have to be sensible the other 5 days. You can't eat 500 calories on Monday, and then have six servings of ice cream on Tuesday AND Wednesday, and expect to lose weight.
Fast 2 days a week, eat sensible 5 days a week.

I am up for trying this diet soon. Have a few things to get through over the next couple of weeks, and then I want to try this!

I remember back in the '70's Carol Burnett said that she stayed trim by fasting one day a week. Fasting one day/week is the only way I've ever really been able to lose weight. I think 2 days would be really difficult for me, but maybe I'll give it a try.

Do the 2 days need to be back-to-back to be effective?

On the contrary, research seems to point in the direction that fasting can have great health benefits. If you're healthy, there's nothing dangerous about going without food for a few hours.

Don't you think evolution would have gotten rid of the human race if we got hurt not eating every three hours?

Oh gosh...  I didn't realize that this was a "diet" but... the older I get, this is how I eat very often.  I know---it's NOT good for me, but for *me*, personally, I feel fine eating much less (or basically nothing) for a few days. I do NOT recommend it to anyone though.  You have to know your own health issues.  Are you diabetic?  Do you have any other health issues?  Do you have a busy day--working or keeping busy?  Unless you could be able to basically do nothing if you had to, then don't do this!!!  You might see black spots and feel like passing out.  You might get beyond the hunger stage and feel euphoric, but you could faint easily and be ill, so, be very, very careful!!

Again, while I don't promote this, I know that this is how I live some days of the month, naturally, just to even out my diet.  I think I self-adjust at this stage of my life.  I've been thin until I had babies, and then I got up to a size 20!!  I yo-yo'd, tried every diet and then joined Jenny Craig (for the 3rd time!) and it clicked.  It took 1 year and a lot of one-on-one sessions weekly, to get to my goal (from a size 20 to a 2 again!!!).  I kept it off for a few years, still going back bi-weekly to check in, and then they urged me just to work there, and I did.  Loved it!  I left in 2006 and I've been within my range for the past 10 years (and the 5 years before that!).  But, the older I get, I do naturally regulate what I eat or don't eat.  Just be very careful!