past meal
I have been going through a progression of eating styles for the last 4-5 years. I was on the Wheat Belly diet, then I was on keto, and then my thyroid broke out, which I attribute to now being on keto (low carb), and since then I’ve heard of a lot of people who have The same happened with low carbs.
I then ate everything and anything during my recovery from hyperthyroidism, I had a time when I allowed myself to eat what I wanted, and there was a lot of healing of body shame and shame around food. I felt like it’s a pendulum swing to such a restrictive way of eating.
Then I found the medical medium and my health started improving a lot. During that time I stopped eating meat and chicken and went 90% vegetarian, with eggs and fish being the only two foods I didn’t want to give up.
5:2 Intermittent Fasting
I am following 5:2 diet since last one month. I don’t really like to call it a diet because it’s really a lifestyle. It was first popularized by British journalist Michael Mosley. I saw his documentary and I was shocked.
It all centered around intermittent fasting. There are a few types of intermittent fasting, but the 5:2 diet involves eating normally 5 days a week and 500 calories for women, and 600 calories for men, 2 days a week (based on 1/4 of your Fasting is included. daily calorie allowance). Many people find this way of eating easier than a typical restrictive calorie diet.
health benefits and weight loss
I’ve long focused my attention on losing weight, so be it if it happens, but the health benefits of eating this way are well documented. Specifically I want to see how it affects my high blood pressure.
Eating this way has helped many people lose weight, and it is known to improve metabolic health. When your body isn’t digesting all the time, it can get to repairing and regenerating.
One thing I like about this way of eating is that it doesn’t let your body feel restricted and then go into starvation mode and store fat. I would never lose weight because of this on other diets.
low carb but not keto
I have now figured out what my body feels most comfortable eating during these 2 days, and it has made the process easier. I have found foods that make me full but are still low in calories. And I’m not even eating keto, but my goal is to be whole food plant based. It was tough in the beginning, but it got easier with the change in my diet.
what day to fast
I was fasting Tuesday and Saturday but found I needed to change this as I have a PT session on Friday and I needed more food on Saturday to recover. So I’ve shifted to Monday and Thursday.
non fast days
I haven’t really found that I eat much on NFD (non fast days) and one thing I have noticed is how much more I love and enjoy food on NFD. And not in an obsessive way, but more appreciation and enjoyment.
It’s not meant to be a free for all on NFD, you don’t need to count calories but do have to be mindful of what you’re eating.
Help
I belong to a Facebook group for this diet and a lot of people say they can go without eating all day and eat all their calories at dinner, but I can’t. I feel very hungry. lol i have to have 3 meals so i worked out how to do that. The groups are great support and pick up ideas for what you can eat. I also bought 3 books about this way of eating and 2 of them are for vegetarians.
I use the myfitnesspal app to count calories. When I’m at the supermarket I use the bar code scanner to find out how many calories are in foods. I had never counted calories before.
It’s early days for me so I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
(Please consult your doctor if you are considering this way of eating, and it is not recommended for pregnant or lactating women, people with blood sugar issues, people with eating disorders)
Let me know if you are interested in eating like this or you already are.
Source by Kate Strong
