The fabled 5:2 diet involves eating as you normally would for five days a week, then cutting back to something absurd like 500 calories a day on your two chosen fasting days.
this is what the fasting days look like
Everyone knows diets are monotonous self-flagellation, and that’s probably why five-day-no-restrictions philosophy of the 5:2 diet appeals to many. But if you thought it sounded too good to be true – that’s cause it is.
New research presented to the Dieticians Association of Australia suggests that you can lose the same amount of weight as you would on the 5:2 diet on a regular diet with far less calorie restrictions.
wow mind blown……..
The study involved 24 males between the ages of 55-75, with one group on the 5:2 and the other group slicing 600 calories off their normal everyday intake (which was 2,400).
Yes, both of the groups lost weight. The 5:2 folks reduced their percentage of body fat by 1.3% and brought their waistline in by 8cm, while the standard dieters dropped 6.4cm and 2.3%.
“Compliance rates were similar for the two groups, but the 5:2 diet group reported being hungrier, especially early on in the study,” said researcher Margie Conley. And by hungry, we imagine she means diabolically hangry.
She also stressed that weight loss slowed at the three-month mark for both groups, which coincided with the end of their dietitian appointments – suggesting professional support while dieting is mega important to continued success.
Source: The Guardian.
Photo: Mean Girls.
