Your health

Foodies on the 5:2A diet that’s got the foodies’ vote? We want to know more… Katrina Rendall asks four people who cook and eat for a living how they’ve made the 5:2 diet work for them PORTRAITS Rama Knight

We’ve long been bombarded by a plethora of too-good-to-be-true sounding fad diets – from Atkins to Dukan and Raw Food to Cabbage Soup – each claiming to be the most effective, quickest or easiest way to lose weight. However, two-fifths of dieters quit within the first week, and just one-fifth manage a month on their new diet*. So what is it about the 5:2 (or fast) diet that’s made even the sceptics sit up and listen, and serial dieters actually last the distance?

WHERE IT ALL BEGANSince medical journalist Dr Michael Mosley highlighted the health benefits of intermittent fasting in a BBC documentary in August 2012, the 5:2 (as it’s become known) has been gaining lots of followers. His subsequent book, The Fast Diet (Short Books, £7.99), co-written with journalist Mimi Spencer, has now sold over 340,000 copies. Fans of the diet are said to include Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Beyoncé.

HOW DOES IT WORK?If you’re not familiar with it, the premise of the 5:2 diet is simple: limit your daily intake to 500 calories (for women, 600 for men) for just two non-consecutive days a

week, then – and here, perhaps, is the key – eat and drink as normal for the other five days. So you don’t have to sacrifice eating out, having another glass of wine, or reaching for the biscuit tin if that’s what you would normally do, as long as you stick to a strict calorie allowance two days a

week – experts say that you’ll lose around 1lb per week.

THE SCIENCE BITAccording to Dr Michael Mosley, ‘The initial response of your body to a reduction in calories is to increase your metabolic rate. This is because in our hunter-gatherer past, survival depended on becoming more active – hunting and looking for food.’ He adds that this change will not be dramatic enough to put the body into starvation mode: ‘[This happens] under extreme calorie deprivation, when we have been for weeks without enough food and our body fat has fallen dramatically.’

Studies have been carried out into the wider health benefits of intermittent fasting – some suggest it can reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as improving insulin sensitivity, others say it may reduce the risk of cancer and dementia, although none have been extensive enough to be conclusive.

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‘IT’S THE BEST DIET’Karen Burns-Booth is a food writer and blogger at lavenderandlovage.com (where she also shares her 5:2 recipes) and lives between north Yorkshire and south-west France with her husband. She’s been on the 5:2 diet since August 2012.

Karen’s 5:2 statsAge: 55 Height: 5ft 5in Start weight: 13st 12lb Current weight: 11st 10lb Weight loss: 2st 2lb Start

dress size: 18 Current dress size: 14 Goal weight: 11st (size 12)

‘I liked the idea of how easy it seemed to fit the 5:2 diet into my busy life. I was also interested in the health benefits as I was suffering from insomnia and joint pain.

‘I have tried diets like Weight Watchers in the past and did lose some weight, but I find this much easier

to fit into my lifestyle, which involves cooking, recipe developing and a lot of eating out at events and restaurants.

‘For the first few weeks on the 5:2 diet I felt constantly hungry. But now I actually look forward to my fast days and always feel more invigorated the day after.

‘I try to eat three meals a day and make something to take to work for lunch. Most pre-prepared foods will be too high in calories. Try to always have your main meal in the evening, as it will prevent hunger pangs.

‘I cook all of my meals from scratch, which takes me about two hours on my fast days. I avoid ready meals as I like to know what I’m eating is additive-free.

‘I find hot food makes me feel fuller when the weather’s cold. I also pad out meals with low-calorie vegetables.

‘I’ve lost over 2st and am still losing 1-1!lb every week. My husband has been doing the diet with me and he lost 2!st in five months. You have to take each day as it comes. I don’t weigh myself more than once a week.

‘Doing the diet has made me feel so much better and I have more energy. I also sleep better and don’t suffer from aching joints any more. I’ve even had to buy new clothes as my old ones are too loose.

‘When I reach my goal of 11st, I’ll go on to maintenance mode [6:1 – fasting for just one day per week] and stay on that for as long as I can. I’d do the 5:2 again in a heartbeat. It’s by far the best diet I’ve ever tried.’

Karen’s!fast!day!food! ("##!calories)!

Breakfast (around 50 calories)I always eat breakfast, usually

a small boiled egg or a 125g pot (or portion of) 0% fat natural yogurt (around 45-50 calories)

Lunch (around 100 calories) I’ll have soup. Usually something very spicy or full of flavour, such as a curried carrot soup (85 calories) or roast tomato and garlic soup (70 calories).

Dinner (around 300 calories) Options include: tiger prawn curry, made with 125g prawns per person, tinned tomatoes and low-fat yogurt, served with 60g steamed rice (250 calories); chicken and bean casserole, using 100g chicken breast per person, tinned cannellini beans and low-fat yogurt (275 calories); or a cheese omelette made with two small eggs and a tablespoon of Parmesan (170 calories) served with plenty of vegetables.

Snacks (around 50 calories) I’ll have a low-calorie jelly (7 calories) and keep back a few calories for a milky coffee as a hunger suppressant.

Mimi Spencer and Dr Michael

Fast fan: food blogger Karen at her

Mosley co-wrote The Fast Diet

house in France – she’s lost over 2st

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‘IT’S A CHALLENGE’Elly Curshen is the owner of the Pear Cafe (thepearcafe.com) in Bristol. She has been on the 5:2 diet since April 2013.

Elly’s 5:2 statsAge: 33 Height: 5ft 5in Start weight: 10st 10lb Current

weight: 9st 5lb Weight loss: 1st 5lb Start dress size: 14

Current dress size: 10 Goal weight: 8st 12lb

‘None of my clothes fitted me – I’d put on a few pounds and inches, so wanted to lose them. I’d never dieted before, but seeing how successful the 5:2 had been for friends who also work with food I was tempted to try it myself.

‘I am flat-out when I get to the cafe in the morning, so I rarely eat breakfast. I have a late lunch at around 2.30pm. This means I’m left with 400 calories to play with in the evening on my fast days.

‘Sometimes I eat as soon as I get in at 5pm, and again at 7.30pm. Other days I’ll have one meal and save calories for snacks later in the evening.

‘Getting through a hangover without being able to eat what I want is difficult, although I always feel so much better after a fast day.

‘I always stay well away from instant foods and ready meals. I firmly believe you’re more likely to stick to this diet (and enjoy it more) if you cook properly, so I make every meal from scratch.

‘If you don’t weigh and measure everything properly you might as well not bother. I put my plate on digital scales or use accurate measuring spoons, then use myfitnesspal.com to calculate calorie counts. It is a little time consuming but you only have to do it twice a week.

‘Social media is a great source of inspiration for fast days. I post my 5:2 dishes on instagram.com/ellypear and tag them #fastdayideas, so they’re easy to find.

‘Embrace the challenge and educate yourself about the calories in individual foods. This will give you a better understanding of what you’re putting in your mouth, even when you’re not fasting. When I hit my goal weight I plan to move on to the 6:1.’

Elly’s!fast!day!food! ("##!calories)!

Breakfast (around 20 to 50 calories) Water and a mug of tea with carefully measured milk (20 calories), then something zero-calorie like Earl Grey or lemon verbena tea in the morning. Sometimes I have a small Americano with semi-skimmed milk (26 calories) before lunch.

Lunch (around 80 calories) I make a salad for lunch with loads of ingredients in small amounts – lettuce, cucumber, carrot, red onion, pickled beetroot, alfalfa sprouts and a small pinch of my homemade coleslaw (made with yogurt). I add a tablespoon of houmous instead of dressing and season with Maldon sea salt, black pepper and lemon juice.

Dinner (around 300-400 calories in two small meals, or one meal plus snacks) Prawn and aubergine curry with cauliflower rice (194 calories); chargrilled veg with Puy lentils, capers, poached eggs and courgette ‘spaghetti’ (297 calories); or baked cod with butter beans, red pepper and tomato with sautéed cabbage (287 calories).

Snacks (around 100 calories) I make crudités, or kale or courgette crisps while dinner is cooking. If I have enough calories left, I’ll have a bit of dark chocolate or a low-calorie hot chocolate with some rum in it.

‘IT WORKS FOR ME’Fiona Maclean is a food and travel writer, and reviews restaurants for her blog London Unattached (london-unattached.com). She lives in London and has been on the 5:2 since October 2012.

Fiona’s 5:2 statsAge: 53 Height: 5ft 2in Start weight: 11st 3lb Current weight: 9st 7lb Weight loss: 1st 10lb Start

dress size: 12 Current dress size: 8-10 Goal weight: 9st 2lb (‘I’m planning a fitness boot camp to help make that happen.’) ‘I tried the 5:2 diet mainly because I have quite high cholesterol readings; I had been told to lose weight. I’ve done a few diets in the short term, but have never found one that fits with my lifestyle.

‘I have kidded myself that I’ve done the Mediterranean diet. It involves eating mainly fish and vegetables with a little meat and olive oil instead of butter, but I eat far too much meat. Also, when I’m doing restaurant reviews I don’t always have much choice in the type of foods I eat. I travel a lot so it can be difficult to keep up the diet when I’m away. In general, 5:2 works for me though because I can build it into my life – without becoming a hermit.

‘I’m a member of a few 5:2 Facebook groups. I find them really useful and interesting. There are all sorts of different variations of the diet that people follow, like the 18:6 (fast for 18 hours and feast for 6 hours) and the 4:3, which involves calculating your calories on your non-fasting days, too.

‘I believe that if you limit your calories on one or two days a week it helps you to regulate your eating. You

!‘I!CAN!DO!THE! !"$%!DIET!without!

!BECOMING!A!hermit’!

simply don’t want to eat as much during the rest of the week when you’re not fasting.

‘If I can, I skip breakfast. I also avoid carb-heavy foods such as rice, pasta and potatoes as I’ll end up feeling hungry again very quickly.

‘Finding something you can turn to when you feel hungry really helps. I like a cup of hot miso soup, but some people like Bovril, and others go for a Diet Coke.

‘I see myself following 5:2 on an ongoing basis – if I actually get to my ideal weight, I’ll probably cut back to 6:1 as some of my friends have already done.

I suspect anything else would result in a slippery slope to weight gain.’ Fiona’s!fast!day!food! ("##!calories)

Breakfast (around 100 calories) No breakfast or occasionally a tablespoon of 0% fat Greek yogurt with half a teaspoon of honey, or four to five raspberries and a cup of matcha tea.

Lunch (around 200 calories) I make soups where the thickener (such as potato) is reduced right down or replaced with a low- calorie substitute (I’ve used cauliflower and celeriac). Or I have two large Peter’s Yard crispbreads (petersyard.com),

which are 35 calories each, with two teaspoons of very low fat cream cheese, one tomato and a few basil leaves. It’s really yummy and actually quite filling although it doesn’t sound it!

Dinner (around 200 calories) I have about 140g of white fish, (such as cod or hake), or 100g chicken (breast only), or a tiny portion of lean red meat (a venison burger is only about 160 calories), and weigh them all uncooked. I’ll serve that with steamed vegetables or cauliflower ‘rice’ (see page 40) or Zero Noodles (zeronoodles.com), which are only 10 calories per portion, but I reduce the amount of meat or fish if I’m having those.

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‘A QUICK FIX’Phil Mundy is a food and drink writer, food stylist and nutritionist and has launched a new lifestyle website for men, eatcleandrinkdirty.com. Phil lives in south London. He tried the 5:2 diet for five weeks from April 2013.

Phil’s 5:2 statsAge: 32 Height: 5’10” Start weight: 12st 2lb Current

weight: 11st 7lb Weight loss: 9lb (and 2in from waist) Start waist measurement: 33in Current waist measurement: 31in

Goal weight: To drop a few post-holiday pounds before the summer.

‘I’d heard all the hype about the 5:2 and I knew a lot of people who were doing it. As a complete sceptic when it comes to quick-fix diets I thought I should give it a try and see for myself.

‘After a couple of holidays of eating very well, I wanted

to lose a few excess pounds – especially as T-shirt weather was creeping up.

‘I tried the diet for about five weeks – although for a couple of weeks I probably only did one strict 600- calorie day, eating slightly fewer calories for the other days. I’ve always been a healthy eating advocate, but never deny myself anything – I just make sure I always correct the balance if I have a Haribo blowout, for example.

‘When I was fasting it was hard to find foods with enough bulk to give me that full feeling. I imagine having 600 calories instead of 500 calories made it easier, but I tried to stick to 500 calories for meals and saved 100 calories for a snack. I didn’t spend much time cooking on fast days as the enjoyment factor wasn’t very high, so it didn’t seem worth it.

‘Doing the diet when I was working away from home

!‘THE!science!BEHIND!FASTING!! !DOES!make sense&!I!WOULD! !CONSIDER!doing it again’!

wasn’t easy. I’d make my lunch for my fast day the night before on a full stomach – it seemed less of a chore than doing it on the day, when I would already be hungry.

‘The major downside for me was the lack of energy I experienced. When I tried to exercise on my non-fasting five days I didn’t feel that I had the same fuel reserves as I normally would. I definitely felt more capable of doing exercise after I stopped doing the diet.

‘The science behind fasting does makes sense. I would consider doing it again if I wanted a quick fix or had bigger weight-loss goals.’

Phil’s!fast!day!food! ('##!calories)

Breakfast (around 100 calories) Either a black coffee and

lots of water or, at the weekend, a one egg and one egg white omelette with a handful of cherry tomatoes.

Lunch (around 150 calories) Crab or tuna salad, with shredded celery, courgettes and a little oil, harissa paste and lemon juice.

Dinner (around 250 calories) Something simple but bulky like a miso soup sachet (around 18 calories) with lots of vegetables added and perhaps a handful of Quorn pieces to make it into a large broth.

Snacks (around 100 calories) Cherry tomatoes were my snacking hero, and I’d eat a whole 300g punnet per day (around 75 calories). Half a frozen ripe banana is a good low-calorie treat (around 45 calories) because it gives you energy and takes a while to eat (halve, peel and weigh, then calculate the calories, wrap in clingfilm, label and freeze).

GET MORE FROM 5:2... Make… Cauliflower rice.

It’s a low-carb substitute for traditional rice and one cup contains about only 30 calories. To make your own, simply grate or process (in a mixer) a head of cauliflower, until it is the size of grains of rice. Add a teaspoon of water (to moisten without making it mushy), and steam or microwave in a covered bowl for two minutes, or until just tender.

Read… The Ultimate 5:2 Recipe Book by Kate Harrison (Orion, £7.99). It contains 85 fast day recipes – perfect for

when you get into a 5:2 rut and need some new ideas and inspiration.

Join… A forum or online group for support, ideas and advice from fellow fasters. Fiona Maclean recommends a Facebook group called the 5:2 Intermittent Fasting Diet group, which currently has over 11,000 members.

Download… 5:2 Diet TrackMyFast – this handy smartphone app will help you log your 5:2 days, calories and overall progress (trackmyfast.com; £1.99 on iPhone or Android).

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