Fast diet: weekly menu and opinions of the 5: 2 diet
The fast diet, or 5: 2 diet, with its practically free weekly menu, immediately met with great success all over the globe. But does this fast diet really work? Considering the opinions of those who tried it and those of the experts, it would seem so.
Invented by Dr. Michael Mosley, the fast diet quickly climbed the world rankings. But what is special about this diet compared to the hundreds invented so far? It all started when, at the beginning of 2012, the editor of the scientific series Horizon he asked Dr. Mosley if he would be interested in offering himself as a guinea pig for studies and research on life extension through calorie restriction and fasting practices. Judging the already existing calorie restriction diets too severe and very difficult to maintain for an extended period of time, Mosley personally created a diet based on intermittent fasting which was later dubbed the "fast diet" (from the English to fast "fast").
How does the fast diet work? The scheme of the 5: 2 diet
Also known as the 5: 2 diet, it provides 5 days a week in which you can eat normally with all foods without exception and two days of calorie restriction.
The two low-calorie days must be characterized by the intake of a quarter of the usual caloric supply or 600 calories (250 for breakfast and 350 for dinner). Everyone is free to choose which days of the week are most convenient to dedicate to fasting but it is important that these are not consecutive.
The basic principle of the fast diet is that man has developed over the millennia in conditions of caloric restriction and not in the abundance to which we are accustomed today and that therefore fasting must be a favorable condition for human development. Furthermore, it has been scientifically proven that fasting increases life expectancy in animals.
Diet 5: 2: that's why it works! Benefits and advantages of the fast diet
Listening to the opinions and testimonies of those who have tried the fast diet, it seems that this diet works, and the reasons are several! Let's try to list a few:
- Not without anything: restaurant dinners, happy hour, social life
- It doesn't make you angry or depressed
- It is perfect for everyone, including vegetarians (for whom the Lemme diet is also recommended)
- Change your appetite and the way you eat for the benefit of fitness and health
- It guarantees a lasting result and does not regain the lost kilos
- You lose weight without losing muscle mass
- It improves health by making it more resistant to diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers
- It gives a feeling of general well-being: you feel more agile and energetic, the eyes and skin become brighter
The weekly menu of the fast diet? What to eat in the 5: 2 diet
Are you going crazy looking for an example of a fast diet weekly menu? Another of the positive aspects of this diet is the great freedom it grants to those who follow it as regards the menu, at least on regular meal days.
As for the 2-day low calorie diet, try browsing Dr. Mosley's book, The fast diet: eat what you want ... almost always!, created with the collaboration of the fashion and kitchen journalist Mimi Spencer. Inside the book you will also find numerous recipes for low-calorie days and many testimonials from those who are following the fast diet and are satisfied with it.
Some of the fast diet menus proposed by the doctor (and personally tested by him) for low-calorie days are: mushroom and spinach omelette accompanied by whole strawberries for breakfast and seared tuna with grilled vegetables for dinner, raspberries and baked salmon with tomatoes, cheese and tomato omelette with two mandarins and a marinated steak with coleslaw, poached eggs with a slice of bread.
To prepare perfect poached eggs, see our video recipe:
Fast diet: expert opinion
What are the doctors' opinions about the fast diet? In Italy, some important exponents of medicine have pronounced themselves in favor, so much so that they have written two books that talk about intermittent fasting: on the one hand, Dr. Fabio Piccinini, with his "oldest diet in the world" and on the other the Dr. Umberto Veronesi, author of "The fasting diet".
In short, there is no denying it: the fast diet works and everyone agrees! If you wish to undertake it, however, consult your doctor before starting.
