Intermittent Fasting. The 5:2 Diet.
I’m currently on my second 84 hour work week which would suck if TV didn’t pay by the hour. When I’m not working in the glittering world of watching telly professionally, I work as a journalist. In my spare time I write fiction, play computer games and go to the pub/ out for dinner. To summarize then: I need to lose a stone in weight.
So for the first time in my life, I am on a diet. I’ve actually tried a few exciting dietary fads over the years, vain bastard that I am, but they rarely last to the second meal so they might not count. But then I heard about the intermittent fasting diet and have decided to leap on the bandwagon. (Or at least slide my beer gut over the edge of the wagon and collapse gracelessly to its floor.)
The theory is that for two non-consecutive days a week I eat less than 600 calories. (It’s 500 for women.) The rest of the week you can eat what you want – even Scottish food served in American-sized portions (although the cholesterol will get you). Apparently this is to do with something scientific and is therefore brilliant.
I had originally heard of this diet in a science magazine but it was to do with the possibility that it may make you live a lot longer. While the longevity effect seems to work on mice and other critters, it sadly doesn’t for us primates. However this calorie restriction massively reduces the risks of disease and makes you much, much healthier. So you are considerably more likely to make it well into old age and look pretty sexy while doing so.
Some have found it hard to get used to the ‘fast’ days when you start out but to be fair to the diet – some people are greedy and weak and have the will power of a five year old child surrounded by sweets. It could be that due to my chaotic work schedule and weird hours I’m just used to having days where I barely eat and subsist on coffee, but I found the ‘fast’ bits really easy. It’s only one day where you can’t eat much, then you can enjoy a few days of pies and beer until the next one.
At some point in the future I will probably update how it is all going but I don’t want a ‘Bridget Jones’ style commentary going on. Of course if it works, I probably won’t shut up about it. Anyway, time for pie.
If you are portly and want more info:
