Diet gun

The 5:2 diet means eating a normal amount of food (not excessive) 5 days of the week and 2 days of eating a very small amount. The 2 days that we will eat a very small amount of food should NOT be consecutive days.

In the 5:2 diet, the normal amount of food that we will eat for 5 days should be calorically as if we were maintaining our weight, no more and no less. The 2 days that we will eat very little food will be 600 calories per day for men, 500 calories per day for women.

Essentially, it is partly an extremely hypocaloric diet for 2 out of 7 days of the week.

Certainly the 5:2 diet will help you lose weight but at a much slower rate than a hypocaloric diet would.

Imagine a hypocaloric diet of 1200 calories per day will give us a total of 8400 (1200 X 7) calories per week, while the 5:2 diet, assuming that the daily calories to maintain ourselves are 2200, will then give us a total of 11000 (2200 X 5) on the days we eat normally and an additional 1200 calories (let’s say a man 600 X 2) i.e. a total of 12200 calories per week.

That is, we will take in 3800 calories more per week than on the hypocaloric diet.

Also, the caloric difference of even a whole week of weight maintenance with a week on the 5:2 diet is, in our example: ONLY 3200 CALORIES PER WEEK!

(2200 X 7 = 15400 calories per maintenance week VS 2200 X 5 = 11000 calories + 600 X 2 = 1200 calories > total 12200 calories, 15400 – 12200 = 3200)

The studies that say that following a 5:2 diet resulted in improved blood glucose management compared to using diabetes medications are NOT exciting, because it makes sense since our diet is like maintaining for 5 days and like going on an extreme diet for 2 days.

We will definitely have better glucose management because we are eating a balanced diet for 5 days and a strict diet for 2 days and so we do not have much ups and downs in our glucose levels.

All properly balanced diets have better glucose management.

Foods that are included in the 5:2 diet on the days of reduced calories are the following:

Protein

Protein is important because it fills us up. It must be lean because otherwise the amount we will eat because the calories are very few, will be really….negligible.

Vegetables

Vegetables, due to their fiber, give volume to the meal and promote a feeling of satiety.

Fruits

Fruits are rich in simple natural sugars, and will satisfy the desire for sweets without adding many calories to our daily diet.

Example of a 5:2, 600 calorie diet

The 600 DAILY CALORIES are found in:

1 slice of bread (or 1/2 cup of boiled spaghetti or 100 grams of boiled potatoes)

180 grams of roasted chicken

2 fruits

1 cup of vegetables

2 teaspoons of olive oil

yes, for such a small amount of food per day we are referring

Furthermore, because complex carbohydrates are minimal (we consume more protein so as not to starve), we will also have increased fluid loss on the days we do the very strict calorie diet, that is, the 2 days of the week (remember, 1 gram of carbohydrate holds 3-4 grams of fluid in the body), of course we will regain fluids the remaining 5 days because we will eat normally in the calories of our ideal weight!

The 5:2 diet is an alternative to basic calorie restriction, which can help us lose weight but certainly at a much slower rate than hypocaloric weekly diets.

If we have low blood sugar levels, we SHOULD NOT follow this type of diet because dizziness, intense fatigue and even loss of balance may occur, resulting in a possible fall.

Also, pregnant or breastfeeding women SHOULD NOT follow the 5:2 diet because it is not a balanced diet since it contains 2 days a week of extremely low calories.

In general, the 5:2 diet is more of a fad than a long-standing scientifically studied diet for weight loss.