B00AFYX78I EBOK (3 page)

The study highlights additional improvements in how the
women’s bodies respond to insulin – which also feels incredibly relevant to me
as I am at very high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, with all the
complications that can involve.

Whatever medical conditions your family is prone to, there’s
an excellent chance that 5:2 eating may be beneficial. This approach hits the
jackpot because of the incredibly powerful effects it has on your body – and
your brain.

The
diet that succeeds where others have failed?

The
diet works brilliantly for all adults, but anecdotally, it seems it’s proving
especially popular among those aged 35+. It is around this age that we often
begin to find it tougher to shift excess weight. We  also become more aware of
our own mortality and of the health issues our parents or other family members
are facing.

Couldn't fit in my clothes,
saw my photos at my brother's 50th (awful), where we're all overweight, worried
about joints etc, scared of being disabled through fatness. Mum is losing her
short term memory and if fasting staves that off, I will give it a whirl. I
need my brain. Feel a bit more hopeful of avoiding some of the health issues
affecting my parents (and my grandparents before they passed away).

Linda, 52

A Facebook group I set up (
facebook.com/groups/the52diet
– do pop in and say
hello there or in our new forum at
the5-2dietbook.com
) is full of motivating
stories from men and women of all ages and occupations - and they’re reporting
the same great results. Not just weight loss, but also a feeling that you’re
doing something positive for your body.

Because the 5:2 diet has a huge advantage over other diets –
it brings about physiological changes that help the body – and even the brain –
heal itself.

Fasting does put stress on our systems but the way we
respond to that stress seems overwhelmingly positive. Research in humans and
animals shows that fasting tends to lower the production of the IGF-1 hormone,
which plays a role in the development of cancer. Intermittent fasting activates
processes that repair the body’s cells and cuts insulin production which in
turn makes us less likely to lay down fat stores.

The effects on the brain are equally exciting. They include
a potential reduction in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of
dementia. On a more immediate basis, many people notice a lift in their mood,
and fasting may even help with depression.

These long-term medical effects are, of course, harder to
measure on an individual basis than weight loss – but increasingly evidence
suggests this way of eating has positive effects that far exceed the benefits
of weight reduction alone.

I’ve gone into the medical research and the science in
Chapters
Three
and
Four
– it makes fascinating
and
motivating reading.

Back
in Control

There’s
another benefit that didn’t feature in the BBC ‘Horizon’ TV programme, but has
transformed the attitudes and lives of many 5:2 dieters.

This year, I’d more or less resigned myself to being fat and
frumpy forever. I felt out of control, and very depressed about my lack of
willpower – yet I couldn’t seem to find a way to overcome that.

To my surprise, my Fast Days have had a profound effect on
the way I think and behave, and not only when I’m consciously restricting
calories. The experience of reconnecting with my appetite, and re-learning how
to deal with occasional hunger pangs, has helped me and many other people get
back in touch with how our bodies work.

I find fasting days very
'cleansing'. It has also made me realise that I can survive on a lot fewer calories
than I thought I could. And periods of excess, e.g. Holidays, Christmas etc.
can be 'put right' relatively effortlessly.

Claire, 43

Working really well for me. I
like the discipline on two days (and the self-awareness of slight hunger
discomfort), combined with complete freedom the rest of the week.

James, 43

I now believe very strongly that all those diets promising
‘you’ll never feel hungry’ have done us a disservice. Knowing the difference
between eating because you need to, and eating because you are
bored/thirsty/fed up is a basic skill, and one that can help you control and
understand your weight issues.

This
way of eating has re-educated me about what my body needs, and when. Eating is
less about habits and more about responding to my appetite: I’m not the only
one to feel this way.

It's bloody easy, and it's
good to feel hungry. From years of dieting lore that advocated eating little
and often, it feels like a relief to be able to skip meals and breakfast
particularly.

Julia, 50

In
Chapter Four
I also delve deeper into the psychology of this lifestyle
change.

The
Simplest Diet

The
simplicity of this diet is what makes it so irresistible to many of us. You
decide how many days a week to monitor calories – and then either do some basic
maths to work out your ‘limit’ or simply opt for a goal based on average energy
needs: 500 for women and 600 for men.

Then
– you start. The foods you need on Fast Days can almost certainly be found in
your cupboard, freezer, or definitely in your local supermarket. There’s
nothing specialised, no meal replacements or exotic supplements to be bought at
huge expense.

I’m lazy when it comes to
cooking so I keep things very simple – beans on toast for lunch and shop-bought
soup for dinner. I won’t be winning ‘Masterchef’ but I don’t care because
keeping it fuss-free is really important in staying on this diet.

Katy, 30

The
only two tools that come in useful are a set of kitchen scales and either a
calorie-counting book or access to the internet or a smartphone so you can use
online tools or apps to calculate your intake. But even those aren’t
compulsory. If you follow the ready-made food suggestions in
Part Three
 of the
book, you’ll be able to do the diet without extra calorie counting.

I tend to stick to Birds Eye
chicken or beef dinners, or variations on that theme. They're all weighed out
and have the calories on the boxes, so it saves weighing things and calculating
calories.

Sally, 49

I
know pre-packed meals aren’t for everyone, but it’s much easier now to find
dishes that are low in preservatives or other additives – and someone else has
done the portion control for you.

The
Oldest Diet

Fasting
is a part of almost all organised religions, suggesting that those faiths have
long had an awareness of the benefits to mind
and
body of taking a break
from eating, or alternatively eating very simply and frugally.

But you don’t have to have any specific religious belief to
follow the 5:2 diet - what you’re doing is taking advantage of ancient wisdom
that is now being validated by cutting edge research.

Not
for everyone?

As
I said in the introduction, there are groups of people who should not make such
major changes in eating patterns including pregnant women or nursing mothers,
children and teenagers, Type 2 diabetics, those with other medical conditions,
and those who are either very lean or have a great deal of weight to lose. I do
know some new mothers and morbidly obese people who are making this diet work,
but it would be a very bad idea to begin without medical supervision.

The same applies to people with a history of eating
disorders or psychological issues around food or appearance. For most of us,
eating less on a couple of days a week is easy to adopt, but like any habit, it
could be taken to extremes which could damage your mental or physical health.
If you have any worries, please,
please
do talk to a specialist before
considering the 5:2 or intermittent fasting approach.

Indeed, it’s a good idea to talk to your GP about this, or
any other dietary change. Sally is doing this already:

I'd suggest involving your
doctor/practice nurse and going to be weighed there regularly too. That way
they can keep an eye on you and a medical record of how the diet is affecting
you. Most surgeries are set up to support weight loss.

Sally, 49

I must admit I haven’t gone down this route myself. I’d
already been advised by my GP to lose weight and knew my basic health
indicators – blood pressure, heart rate, fasting blood sugar – gave no
particular cause for concern. But I did know I could count on their support to
track the weight loss if need be. I’m looking forward to my next check-up so I
can be told officially that I am in better shape! As you’ll see in a moment,
it’s been a long journey…

In
Chapter Two
, I’ll be talking about the maths of weight
loss and how they relate to the 5:2 approach.

But before that, with apologies to Bridget Jones, here’s the
first of my 5:2 Diary entries, starting on the date that changed everything for
me: August 6 2012.

A Couch
Potato Watches TV & Makes a Decision

Weight 161 lbs/73 kg

Mood: guilty, resigned

Today
I am the fattest I’ve ever been.

Even though I’ve started three diets this year alone, I keep
getting bigger. I weigh eleven and a half stone (73 kg) - and am only five foot
four inches tall (when I stand up
very
straight). So that gives me a BMI
of 27.6 - and anything 25 or above is overweight. Eleven stone was bad enough -
I thought that would be my mental limit, the moment where I took action, yet
the weight is still creeping on.

My size 14 jeans (which I always tend to think of as a 16, as
they’re quite generously cut) are slicing into my waist, my bra is too tight
and there are lumps and bumps showing when I wear anything but the baggiest of
tops. Worst of all, my belly is wobbly - I’ve always been curvy, with big hips
and boobs, but my tummy is now catching up.

Has
anyone seen my willpower?

This
is the slippery slope. I feel out of control, frumpy, middle-aged and very,
very cross with myself. I don’t want to be gaining half a stone a year, wearing
a size 18 or more before I’m fifty, feeling ashamed to go on the beach because
I look like the fat lady on a seaside postcard.

Yet my willpower is diminishing with age, too. A few years ago,
I managed to get to my lowest adult weight - a sylph-like eight and a half
stone - thanks to low-carbing the vegetarian way. I felt good on it, wore
skinny jeans for the first time, and really enjoyed eating lots of lovely
cheese, Greek yogurt, nuts, berries and so on. And yet…

And yet even as people congratulated me on my success, a tiny
part of me knew it couldn’t last. I love bread, cakes and desserts. I have a
huge recipe book collection and adore farmers’ markets and nice restaurants,
especially Indian or Italian places. Could I really turn my back on pasta,
pilau rice and baked goodies for the rest of my life?

Plus, something didn’t feel quite right about eating such a
restricted diet: cutting out one food group seemed wrong.

Sure enough, the weight crept back on. I tried low-carbing again
this last month, but I couldn’t convince myself it was something that would
last. Because, frankly, it won’t.

Fat
and fearful…

This
is not simply about vanity anymore. Both my parents have Type 2 Diabetes - the
kind that is most often diagnosed in later life - and I’ve seen the
complications it causes, especially to vision, joints and the circulation.
Their diagnoses also mean my chances of getting it are very high.

Plus, there’s the strong family history of breast cancer on
Mum’s side - and a friend who has recovered from breast cancer raised doubts
about how reliant I was on dairy products on the low-carb veggie diet. Dairy is
something she’s minimised since she went into remission because she’s concerned
that too much of it might increase her cancer risk.

Though being overweight increases the risk of cancer, too. It’s
hard to know what to do for the best.

How
much more desperate do I need to become?

I’ve
joined a gym *again* and am trying to go, but, realistically, three
cross-trainer sessions a week are going to burn 1,200 cals maximum. Apparently
to lose a pound of fat, you have to cut 3,500 calories from your diet, or do
3,500-calories-worth of activity without eating any extra food. Gym-going alone
is not going to be enough. I’ve joined a website, MyFitnessPal.com, to monitor
what I’m eating, but it’s labour intensive and it doesn’t include listings for
the days I eat out, because it’s impossible to know the calorie count of
restaurant food.