It may be new to the people in the US, but in UK, 5:2 has gone viral. It is known variously as Fast Diet, Intermittent Diet, and Moseley Diet, and it can easily be dubbed as the diet of the year for all those who are health conscious and looking for new ways to lose weight fast. In fact, it all goes to the credit of Dr. Mosley (UK’s Dr. Oz) to make intermittent dieting so very popular across the country.
Advertisement
Dr. Mosley is behind the popularity of 5:2
Dr. Mosley studied various methods of dieting and applied some of them on him. He started with complete fasting and
then reached partial fasting that eventually led him to an all new system of dieting for weight loss, the revolutionary new 5:2 system. This dieting regime requires dieting partially for 2 consecutive days that is followed by 5 full days of usual eating. While Dr Moseley was looking for just weight loss (he did lose 20 pounds in a mere 9 weeks), he achieved additional benefits of drop in blood sugar and also cholesterol levels.
Dr. Moseley published his trials and tribulations in a book titled The FastDiet in January in UK. The diet became a fad in the country with people talking about the pros and cons of the system and millions incorporating the system in their eating regime in search of that elusive weight loss. The book got published in US only in April, but it has been an instant hit and is currently in the top 10 list of books sold on Amazon.
What is the basic principle behind 5:2?
Dr. Mosley says that the logic behind 5:2 lies in the evolution of human beings where they had to survive without food for days at stretch while they also got to feast on the game they hunted for several days continuously. Folks feasted when there was a big catch but went hungry for days when the group was unsuccessful in its attempts. Thus humans got used to this cycle of famine and feast and their bodies are adapted to such a schedule.
Studies show it is efficacious
Though there have been no clinical trials of this schedule of fasting and feasting, there have been a few studies on this subject that have been summarized in NHS review. According to this review, there seems to be some truth in the claim made by the proponents of 5:2. The most encouraging of the studies analyzed in this review is the one conducted in 2012 where 30 fat ladies achieved weight loss using this trick, dropping more than 8 pounds in a period of 8 weeks.
Advertisement
Despite lack of scientific evidence, there are millions of people around the globe who swear by the efficacy of 5:2. This includes dozens of celebrities like JLO, Beyonce, and Ben Affleck etc. In fact, it is the endorsement by these celebrities that seems to have had a wonder effect on the popularity of this weight loss system called 5:2.
