Month: January 2015

Healthy in numbers: Why getting your partner on board the fast train is a great long-term plan

~ eaton24 ~ Leave a comment

I’m slowly working towards a fasting empire. At the beginning of January I got my boyfriend on board with the 5:2 diet. Having chewed his ear off and sung its praises for the past 6 months it was no surprise really that he would be tempted to have a go (even if only for a quiet life). I think being naturally interested in health and nutrition is often a precursor to the first 5:2 attempt and having watched me shed the pounds over the latter half of 2014 he was intrigued to see if it would have the same effect for him. In the last couple of weeks his mum has also started on the 5:2 and is also doing brilliantly- having lost 5ilbs in just one week.

According to a recent study, conducted by scientist at UCL which I read about on the BBC, when one half of a couple adopts a healthier change in lifestyle, the other is likely to also adopt these habits. Admittedly the study was conducted on those over the age of 50 but I still believe this would have a strong effect on most couples who live together.  I think in my case this is because we both have a healthy competitive spirit which spurs us on along with the desire to be healthy in general for the long term.

I’m not going to lie, his 10lb weight loss (in just 3 weeks) makes me jealous. I am now losing weight much more slowly than when I initially started on the 5:2, but this makes me even more determined to get closer to my target weight before he does, sneaking in high intensity gym sessions or a long power-walk while he is out and consciously making healthier choices when we eat out on non-fasting days.

Being in it together also means less temptation on a fasting day, there’s nothing worse than being on a fast while everyone around you has ordered pizza. But now there is no need for solitary confinement, we just have to tell ourselves that salmon salad is equally yummy and that we can have a treat night on Wednesday. Fasting on the same days of the week also makes food shopping a lot easier and means we can keep the fridge bare and temptation free when it needs to be.

Moral support is also key, be it in the form of him prizing the chocolate muffin from my hands at 10pm or me telling him to play football or (the virtual equivalent) FIFA to distract himself from the hunger gremlins (this is my opportunity to have a long, relaxing bath and read a trashy magazine). We’ve also found that our attitude towards food changes after fasting, making us much more conscious of what we eat (and drink..) and making it all the more enjoyable when we do indulge in the odd treat night.

I also don’t think it needs to be a loved one. I believe having a fasting buddy can help motivate us and adopt healthier lifestyle choices. I have a friend who has taken up the 5:2 and she is a great source of new recipe ideas, tips and general moral support and motivation. Lets be honest. The 5:2 is clearly pretty contagious, so there’s a lot to be said for being healthy in numbers.

The dreaded weight-loss plateau and learning what muscles look like

~ eaton24 ~ Leave a comment

I’ve reached the weight-loss plateau. For about the last 6 weeks I have maintained exactly the same weight. Feeling like I have followed the 5:2 regime pretty diligently, I should be just a couple of fasting weeks away from 2 stone total weight loss. Needless to say, the little self-destructive voices in my head are getting rampant.

Here’s my tripartite plateau breaking plan (try saying that one quickly…)

Focus on exercise

A study conducted by University of Cambridge researchers has suggested that inactivity is actually more fatal that obesity. I found this piece on BBC Breakfast yesterday morning pretty enlightening. We all tend to fixate on the aesthetics, of being ‘fat’ as the indicator of bad health when we should perhaps be equally worried about our sedentary lifestyles. I sit at a desk for at least 8 hours five days a week as I’m sure is very common. While the 5:2 aims to combat bad diet habits and the diet related issues we develop in later life, it is really up to the individual how much they choose to support the diet with exercise. I’d like to retract my advice in an earlier blog that one shouldn’t go to the gym on a fasting day. At first I did find this tough, but having practiced during the Christmas break I actually found it’s a great way to distract you from hunger. Exercising in a fasted state also seems to achieve the greatest results in terms of weight loss.

Focus on the positive achievements

Although my weight loss has slowed down considerably since first starting the 5:2, I have noticed some favourable changes other than what the scales say. I think I may be developing what people refer to as ‘muscles’? Or at least, these have only now become visible. It’s quite a novelty. My stomach, while still carrying the joyful extra tyre and the remains of quite sizeable ‘love handles’,  is also beginning to display the slightest hint of what people call ‘abs’. Considering I avoid the weights section of my gym, as this is the grunting, 90% steroid- people’s territory, I’m not sure where these so called ‘muscles’ have come from. But I’m pleased that they have finally made an appearance.

Focus on the end goal

I’d like to look like Beyoncé. Yea. Okay so that isn’t going to happen. But I do know what my ideal weight is. Once I reach that goal I can change my fasts to the 6:1 maintaining method, giving me a bit more freedom to choose what I eat and when. According to Weight Loss Plateau: Tips on How to Break It, the weight loss plateau is a very common occurrence on the journey to reaching the ideal weight and weight loss becomes harder, the leaner we become. So persistence is crucial. Mentally visualising ourselves having achieved the weight loss goal is the key and I find that looking at old photos of myself at my ideal weight, helps me gain great motivation. Keeping hold of those size 10 skinny jeans and trying them out every now and again as a mental reminder of the end goal is also a good way to implement a bit of ‘tough love’ motivation. The most important thing is not to loose faith.

Why 2015 is the year of the steadfast faster

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It’s the start of a new year. It’s a time for reflection and the setting of the annual New Year’s Resolution. I’ve asked many of my friends what their 2014 new year’s resolution was. I don’t think any of them were able to remember. I think this speaks volumes. Mostly we’re guilty of setting ourselves vague and unobtainable weight loss goals, making our resolutions intangible and thus forgettable.

Having seen the original Horizon TV programme on the subject of fasting a while ago, I have only just read the 5:2 book, which outlines information on the research and medical benefits of fasting in greater detail. I bought the book really to revise the health benefits and re-affirm why I am doing this not as a ‘diet’ (I have qualms with this word), but as a sustainable lifestyle choice.

It’s the prime time of year for the marketing and media frenzy around new fad diets, weight loss pills and gym memberships, with advertisers tapping into the standard January ‘health drive’ messaging. My issues around the word ‘diet’ lie with its connotations. A ‘diet’ has become something temporary. I will always avoid using this word when referring to the 5:2 because I believe that unlike fad diet plans and slimming programmes, the 5:2 has staying power.

No shallow promises- results are down to you

Part of the problem is that people want there to be a magic ‘make me skinny’ solution to dieting. There isn’t. You have to want it, you have to work at it and stay focused. The 5:2 doesn’t make unnecessary claims that it will make you look like Cheryl Cole or Taylor Swift. The USP is that it makes biological sense, so we trust that it works if we stick to the rules.

It’s a part-time diet with long term results

We 5:2ers only have to worry about calories for 2 days out of our seven day week. Needless to say we have to be sensible during the other 5 but it doesn’t give us the permanent 24/7 low blood sugar headache that most diet programmes do.

It’s viable

The 5:2 teaches us that hunger is not excruciating and shouldn’t be feared. It therefore helps people to overcome the mind over matter challenge which is a constant battle if we felt we were depriving ourselves and incessantly counting calories all the time. We can enjoy the food we want tomorrow. In fact, more than 2/3rds of our week is spent enjoying food, this makes it unbelievably tolerable, a very viable alternative to any other diet.

It’s proven

I’ve lost 2 stone in 6 months. Many others have achieved even greater success. The weight loss is a given. Although the medical research is still in the early stages, there is no denying that there are major health benefits aside from weight loss. Prevention of type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s and other age related diseases such as cancer have all been cited in relation to fasting. I have heard stories of GP’s recommending the 5:2 to their patients for reasons outlined above. Hopefully we will see more of this in the coming months.

Contrary to popular belief, I don’t own shares in the 5:2, in fact I haven’t had to fork out any money at all apart from a small and worthwhile investment in the book. I am simply an ambassador, a 5:2 evangelist. I like the science, I like the sense and I like the simplicity. While many of the diets and weight loss solutions and programmes we see at this time of year are fleeting, the 5:2 has staying power. It is the tortoise of the dieting world. I predict that 2015 will be the year of the steadfast faster.