THE 5:2/FASTING DIET: Fictional fad or factual feeding?

What is it?

• 2 days of calorie restriction and 5 days of regular eating
• calorie restriction - 600kcal (men) and 500kcal (women) on non-consecutive days

Initial thoughts...

The authors identify the regularity of dieting in society today and acknowledge its effectiveness for some individuals, but not all.

The word diet has a negative stigma. In many people's head it alludes to low calorie meals, no fat, minimal carbs and the tasteless torture of the vegetable aisle. However, consider the meaning of a healthy, balanced diet. Essentially it refers to giving the body enough of what it needs - everything!! The body needs saturated fats and carbs and all sorts to hum healthily. Too much of many things and the body has excess to deal with, becomes bogged down and needs a good service.




Anyway, back on track.

Initially, a couple of alarm bells began ringing in my head.

• when the calorie intake drops lower and lower, in this case well below a normal resting metabolic rate (the number of calories your body burns simply by being awake and still), it encourages the internal systems in a person to go into a 'survival mode'. The metabolic rate drops, the body preserves energy by slowing down, otherwise the vital organs will deplete the energy stores and the body is in severe risk of stopping.
• this follows on to the idea of yoyo dieting. The body will survive however it needs to and when a regular diet is consumed it will store more food and replace what has been lost - the weight goes back on
• finally, when carbs run out, the body breaks down fat but also protein. This protein as taken from the stores in the muscles. While this would most likely reduce weight, it will slow the resting metabolic rate and weaken the muscles, thus impairing the functional ability of an individual. Furthermore, it may lead to alterations in immunity.

"The evidence is limited"

Solutions?

Well, the authors seem to suggest that you make sure that the calorie restriction day contains plenty of protein. Easy! But is it that simple?

The others aren't any easy to find a solution. Not only that, but the NHS among others have reported a variety of anecdotal side-effects such as sleeping difficulties, irritability, anxiety and daytime sleepiness. Quite simply, with it being a new approach to dieting, the evidence is limited.

Summary (in my eyes!)

Pro's -

• Allows you to eat a healthy, non-restricted diet for the 5 days
• In total, it reduces the recommended intake for an individual by 3000-4000kcal per week which equates to around 0.5kg of energy per week
• some evidence suggests that not only is weight loss a benefit, but it also helps to reduce the onset of chronic diseases

Con's -

• the evidence is limited - a lot of references are to research on mice
• it will not necessarily be suitable for everyone - see a GP first

Personal suggestion from a personal trainer...

I wouldn't recommend this diet to a client over traditional methods of healthy eating. I wouldn't dismiss it and call it a pack of lies since it may work for some people. Often a diet is used for a short/medium term goal such as a holiday/dress size as opposed to long term adherence and for this it may prove useful. However, I aim to get my clients to understand and get into a routine of healthy eating (quality and portion size) and regular physical activity so that the term 'diet' hopefully becomes obsolete. It is simply a healthy lifestyle

INSANITY: week 2 review

Well, what more can I add from week 1. Pain, sweat, aching, more sweat and a desperate search for motivation. You quickly begin remembering the workouts you favour, while attempting to forget the ones you don't. Nevertheless, if my fit test results from the beginning of week 3 are anything to go by, something is certainly working. Improvements across the board. Admittedly this could be affected by a multitude of factors. Time of day, rest, energy, motivation.

"It doesn't get easier, but it shouldn't!"

I think the wrong attitude to take is to assume that each routine should become easier. Technically you will improve and, as the results of the fit test have shown, you will build up a greater endurance to complete more reps of each exercise. However, if you can do more, then do more!

To apply this simplistically, if during week one you manage 10 jump squats in 1 minute and you can manage no more, then you have pushed yourself to failure. If by week 4 you manage 10 jump squats in 1 minute yet you don't feel exhausted, you could have done more and performed them slowly then you are not pushing yourself as hard. The more work you do, the more calories you burn, the more improvements you gain. To improve fully you should push yourself (safely) as hard as possible. This is hard, but don't lose faith. It doesn't get easier, but it shouldn't. Just do more!

Things I've found after 2 weeks....

1 - not all exercises are suitable for everyone. Not everyone can do press ups or jump squats or hold their body in certain positions. This shouldn't exclude people from the workouts, perhaps find suitable alternatives to accommodate you. If you find that you need to change many of the exercises, then perhaps look for lower intensity alternatives.

2 - find motivation that works for you

3 - fit parts of your day around it rather than fit it in your day. It will be easy to ignore it otherwise

4 - WHY ARE YOU DOING IT??? Think about the relevance of the INSANITY workout. I am vain. I like weights. Insanity won't build you into a muscle-bound monster. Insanity will burn calories and develop strength in various areas of the body!

I hope this helps some of you. Happy exercising...

How bad do you want it?

For me, no words are needed. This video gets me where I need to be if I'm not feeling it. Enjoy!

How bad do you want it? - *LINK FOR THE VIDEO*

MOTIVATE ME

Perhaps I'll workout later instead...

That programme I want to watch is on shortly, there's not enough time...

I can't be bothered!!

All too common, all little demons on your shoulder whispering less taxing alternatives to distract from your goals. Then guilt. Disappointment.

Sometimes it takes a little push - physically and mentally. Get in the right frame of mind and then, to quote  Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, "Whatever you do, do it good!!"

These might help...

INSANITY: "You don't always get what you wish for, you get what you work for!"

The proof is in the pudding. Although sweat doesn't directly reflect the intensity someone works, I know my body and this is hard work for me.

The summary of week one highlighted the idea of...

'what you put in, you get out'

You can do the exercise and rest more, perform half reps, but how will you improve if you don't do more than what your body is used to. Day 8 ticked

It's a pump thing

You can't help but picture some regular gym-goers when watching this

It's a pump thing - *HERE'S THE LINK IF YOU CAN'T SEE IT ON THE BLOG*

JARGON BUSTING: does it matter how much I weigh?

Whilst peering through gaps between your fingers, screaming and a fear of needles has echoes of a hospital horror, the same situation occurs in the bathroom as many tentatively tip-toe onto weighing scales. But, does it actually matter how much you weigh?

Simple answer? - kind of, but not really...

There is no definitive yes or no, however times have moved on and there are more useful measures of a persons physical condition. Weight is a crude measure of someone's physical condition. Consider this:

If you could have your ideal body shape, tone and figure, but weighed 15 stone, would you?

Frequently men and women say they want to lose weight, however, their real desire is that they improve their body composition - reduction in body fat, improvements in lean muscle. A frequent mistake for many individuals is to rely on their weight changing as a reflection of reaching their desired goal of improved body composition.

As you begin to exercise consistently, your body will store more carbs, water and there may be slight increases in muscle - all of these will add weight! Your body will also draw upon your energy stores of carbs and fat and burn these, which will reduce weight. Try not to be too disconcerted when the scales don't say what you want them to.

BMI - any good?

The Body Mass Index is used as a way of understanding how much weight a person has per metre squared of their body. It puts it into a way that means it is comparable to everyone else and it is then divided into sections ranging from underweight to obese. However, the major floor of this technique is it does not consider the levels of lean tissue (muscle) on a person's body. Two people could be the same height, same weight, but one has high levels of muscle and the other have high levels of fat. Their BMI would be exactly the same and could be classed as obese, but clearly one of them is not. BMI is mainly useful on the average population that are not full of muscle.


Finally, people are made differently. Its unrealistic to expect people of 5ft and 6ft to look the same and weigh the same. Just be healthy, look how you want to and use a tape measure instead.