5:2 Good or Bad?

I have been doing the 5:2 since the new year, I have lost a pound a week, which I am more than happy with, I don't feel hungry on my fast days, not sure if it because I am psyched up for it? on my non fasting days, I just eat a normal healthy (low carb) diet, with the odd treat (glass or 2 of wine or snacks) but only at the weekend. I feel in control, and so while the weight is coming off I look forward to my Hb test in a couple of months to see if there is a difference there too.

I guess what ever diet you research you will find people who are for and against it. At the end of the day I think it is best to find one that fits what you want to achieve, weighing up your interpretations of the research you do. I have just started the BSD800 which Dr Mosley writes about. I need to reduce my HbA1C and BG levels and felt this was the best way. Plus I have a friend who has followed this for quite a while now and thinks it makes sense. My idea is to follow the lifestyle change for up to 8 weeks as per the book and then go to meditteranean low carb following that to maintain.
As for who is right - ask 10 people and they will all probably say something different, for/against/neutral. It really is up to you what plan you follow.
I do think people will react differently to any one plan. Our genetic make up is individual, our metabolism, health etc is all unique to us. No two people with diabetes (or any other health problem) will be exactly the same. Our likes/dislikes/allergies are all different too which will impact on what aspects of a diet we follow and what we don't.
Just my opinion mind

I find that very interesting.

And I agree with @Sam5350 that different people will have different responses to all the different diets out there.

Lol very true.

Let us know how you get on

I have been doing the intermittent fasting at the weekends for a while with LCHF during the week. I think the fasting does help you loose weight. Right now I am loosing about 0.5 Kg a week and have another 8 Kg to go to get to a BMI of 25.

I tried the 800 BSD last year with varying results. While my big went down slightly, I didn't lose much weight. After 3 weeks on it I found I was getting constantly hungry and craved carbs. I am now doing a mixture of the low carb diet and the 5.2. I like the 5.2 because I don't find I get hungry, as long as I drink plenty of water. The days I am not fasting I limit my carbs. This is trial and error. I was aiming for under 100g carbs a day but have found this is still too much carbs. I am now reducing the carbs to under 50g and see how that goes. I am disabled so I struggle with exercise, this doesn't help much with either but I do do as much as I can during the day.

As others have said, it is very much down to what suits the individual. I am certain that for me these will help me reduce both my BMW and BG, but it is not going to happen over night, so patience is key!

Remember not all carbs are the same, for example 10g of carbs from green veg have less effect on BG then 10g of carbs from wheat. (Out bodies can't absorb all the carbs from high fiber food, but there is not a good way to measure the "usable carbs")

Also if you struggle with exercise see if you can get a "exercise prescription" from your GP, swimming is also good if you can do it.

ringi said:

Remember not all carbs are the same, for example 10g of carbs from green veg have less effect on BG then 10g of carbs from wheat. (Out bodies can't absorb all the carbs from high fiber food, but there is not a good way to measure the "usable carbs")

Also if you struggle with exercise see if you can get a "exercise prescription" from your GP, swimming is also good if you can do it.

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do you have a link to more information on not all carbs being the same please? I find that green veg affects me just the same as wholemeal bread, so there be something else I am not checking.

I agree. 1 carb r

serenity648 said:

do you have a link to more information on not all carbs being the same please? I find that green veg affects me just the same as wholemeal bread, so there be something else I am not checking.

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i agree ( though I don't eat grains starch or sugar). One carb raises me about 7 points ( us) It doesnt mattetnif its a brussel sprouts, radish or chocolate. The thing that DOES matter is making sure I have enough fat and fiber to slow it but it doesn't stop it. Salad greens raise me stupid. Far more than they should.

The lower the carbs for ME the better for both. BS and weight. Then fat becomes insignificant provided I moderate protein as well but we are all different

serenity648 said:

do you have a link to more information on not all carbs being the same please? I find that green veg affects me just the same as wholemeal bread, so there be something else I am not checking.

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What are you putting on your wholemeal bread? (If fat it will reduce the effect of the carbs, or more likely spread out the peak.)

Remember not everyone is the same, also the peak will come at a different time after the meal depending on the mix of food you have. Unless you are testing every 10 minutes so you know you have got the peak it is hard to compare different sorts of carbs.

We should also be looking at the area under the BG curve, not the peak height it gets to, so if a meal results in peak BG being a little lower, but above normal BG lasts for longer, the meal may not have been better. (But costly to do this testing, so few people do.)

For most of us,

• avoid all added sugar
• avoid all fruit juices (most of the ‘good’ bits of fruit are moved, just leaving the sugar)
• avoid nearly all wheat and products containing wheat
• little or no rice
• little or no potatos, and they must look like potato, so no mush or chips etc
• test and see what else you need to do

So start with avoiding all high GI foods, and improve with using testing as a tool