Fitness Friday: 5:2 Diet
So it’s time for Fitness Friday! You can check out all of my previous Fitness Friday posts here but today I’m talking diets.
My Fitness Friday posts will include workout tips, favourite exercises and wishlists. I must make it clear that I am not a fitness professional, nor do I have any qualifications. These are simply what works for me and what I do myself in the gym. However, I do work in a leisure centre, so I am friends with many gym instructors, personal trainers and my brother studies Sports Science at university – and most of these tips are from them! I hope you enjoy joining my fitness journey and sharing your own tips too.
In this post, I wanted to talk about that diet that everyone is talking about, yes it’s the 5:2, or ‘Fast Diet.’ If you aren’t sure what it is, in simple terms you eat normally for five days a week but two times a week you limit your calorie intake to just 500 calories. I personally tried this for a couple of months two years ago, but it fell by the wayside as my university exams became the priority – studying on 500 calories a day is impossible! However after moving home, where the fridge is always full, I’ve needed to reevaluate my diet and give the 5:2 another go.
To help me along, I’ve been using My Fitness Pal to track my calories, which is a handy free app to log all of your meals. However, my main problem with it is that I don’t weigh my food so I’m sure that I’m actually eating more than I log. This is where Exante Diet* comes in handy. They provide prepared foods with all the calories and vitamins calculated for you and they have started to angle their products towards 5:2 dieters. Each packet I was sent included a 200 calorie meal, perfect for those fast days. You simply add either hot or cold water to the powder, depending on whether you want soups or shakes, and blend. I found that using a blender created a better result than a whisk and it was exciting to smell the powders come to life and turn into recognisable food!
If I can cook, I will, so I personally wouldn’t use these for all of my fast days. However, they are perfect for a quick fix, when you want food in seconds to beat those cravings. I was also pleasantly surprised by the price – I always associate these companies with expensive prices, capitalising on laziness, but they have some great voucher codes and offers. I think the key to success with the 5:2 diet is getting into the routine; I’m still finding it hard to fast on days when I am particularly busy and stressed, and I also miss the gym as working out on 500 calories just doesn’t work!
Have you tried Exante Diet? Do you do the 5:2 diet?
