Another day, another diet.

Although apparently you shouldn't call then diets because as soon as you call them diets, you can't stop thinking about it. Like if I told you that you couldn't eat KFC (when did it stop being Kentucky Fried Chicken?) all you can think about is how much you want KFC. Even though of course we all know that KFC is a once a year food, you eat it and then you remember why you only eat it once a year. Although one friends thinks that she is allergic to the secret herb or spice, because it always gives her nightmares.

So it my blog the other day I mentioned that my husband and I were doing the 5:2 diet and a few people asked me what it was. I have also said before that I was doing Weight Watchers and some one also asked why I stopped doing it. So let me start with Weight Watchers.

I am a firm believer in Weight Watchers. I think nothing works better than public humiliation, so knowing that once a week you have to weigh yourself in front  of a group of strangers is the best motivation known to man. 

I have done WW on and off for years, and tend to always do it for a few weeks every now and then. This time though it didn't work so well. I don't think it was WW fault, although it is the first time I have used the ProPoints system. I did drop 5 kgs pretty quick, but I then hit a complete and utter standstill. Like nothing. Zip. Zero. I got so frustrated, because I was hungry all the freakin time and all I could think about was food. It also felt like I was just thinking about what to cook for lunch, dinner and breakfast. I also became obsessed with stepping on the bloody scales every morning. That little number that flashed on the screen had the ability to ruin my whole day.

Can we go back to these times please?

When holidays came around I thought "stuff it." I went back to normal eating (and drinking) and exercising. My weight didn't move either way because I stopped weighing myself. (YAY). My husband Justin decided he wanted to lose some weight (it may have had something to do with me giving him bruises from kicking him during the night from his snoring.) We have done the 5:2 diet before, because the Doctor actually recommended it.

The theory behind it is that you have 2 non consecutive fasting days a week. On these days you eat 500 calories if you are a girl and 600 calories if you are a boy.  For the rest of the week you eat normally. I am not going to lie the first time around I actually put on weight because I think I over did it on the non fasting days. I got really excited that I could eat, but people have great success with it, so we are trying again.

Pros-
- You only have to deprive yourself two days a week.
- The rest of the week you can live your life normally, you don't have to arrange your life around your  diet.
- You can change you fasting day to suit what you have planned for the week.
- You get to go to bed early because you want to escape your hunger
- You don't think about food all the time. (Well except for on fasting days)

Cons-
- On the fasting days you get bloody hungry. Like really, really, really hungry. I have found the key is to put off eating for as long as you can.  It is sort of like when you have been drinking on a big night out. You go to the toilet once and it's all over.
- It can be really hard to not overeat on the 5 days. I'm not going to lie, this is the part I am still coming to grips with. It is like those 5 days are a party. Yummy fun party food. Except it is not. EAT NORMALLY. (that's for my benefit- I'm shouting at myself).
- You can structure your exercise around your fasting days, so you have the energy to do your exercise. For example my running days are Mondays, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. My fasting days are Monday and Wednesdays, (except for this week, I changed fasting day until tomorrow because it was morning tea day at school- you can never say no to sausage rolls and cupcakes).

No one should have to say no to a cupcake

 This means that I am a bit energy deprived on Tuesday and Thursday's when it is a walking day, so thats ok.

So my fasting days look a little like this-

Berocca on the way to work
Ginger tea at work
Optifast Bar at recess ( I am using Optifast bars because I just find it easy to have calories worked out and it is full of protein and stuff- you can eat normal food.)
Lunch is a Miso soup
After lunch another ginger tea, or peppermint tea if I am feeling crazy
Dinner is stir fry veggies with an egg.
Either a Optifast Bar, Pudding or shake for an after dinner snack.

You can have as many calorie free drinks as you want. I also do tend to have a sugar free red bull, but only because I do a 9km run in the morning and I get tired. That what I tell myself anyway- I know they are bad for me, because the students tell me. As they are downing 500ml of the stuff themselves. AND theirs has sugar.

Yes I know they are bad, but have you ever tried to control thirty 13 years olds when you are hungry and tired?

I have been trying not to weigh myself, but I thought that for this blog I would, and bloody hell I have not lost a bloody kilo. But at least I haven't put anything on. I have also upped my exercise this week which could account for the lack of weight loss but my jeans are feeling a little bit looser.

 I think Justy has lost 3 kg in a month (of course he bloody has, why do men always lose weight so much faster?). As the weeks go on the fasting days are getting easier, and I can't believe I am saying this, but I actually feel really good on the fasting days. I read that the Doctor who invented the diet said that the fasting days act as "healing" days. I think thats a nice way to think of it.

Here is a link to the 5:2 website if you want to read more