Want to lose weight fast? Try the 5:2 intermittent Fasting Diet

If you want to lose weight, you need a plan that is sustainable yet effective. One such diet is the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet. Read on to know all about it

Losing weight is never easy. The entire process gets even more complicated thanks to all the fad diets in the market. All these diets promise quick weight loss. Moreover, you also receive unsolicited advice on weight loss that hardly helps you. So what do you do? You need to go through all the diets and choose one that looks the most sensible to you. The problem with most fad diets is the fact that they leave you with a sense of deprivation. As a result, you tend to overeat the minute you stop and this proves to be counterproductive. So you need a diet that is sustainable yet effective. One such diet is the 5:2 intermittent fasting diet. This is a great diet to lose belly fat.

There are many variations of intermittent fasting and all of them promise quick weight loss. But this particular one is quite effective and you can follow it without getting depressed about food deprivation.

What Exactly Is Intermittent Fasting?

In this diet, as the name suggests, you eat for a set period of time and fast for the other hours of the day or week. This is one of the most popular weight loss diet at present because the results are quick. 

The 5:2 Intermittent Diet

Here you eat about 25 per cent of your recommended calorie needs on two scheduled fasting days each week. For the rest of the five days, you eat a normal diet.  Most people on this diet often try to space out the fasting days so that it is not one after the other. You can, say, fast on a Tuesday and then again on Thursday or Friday. The rest of the days you can sit down to a normal meal. There is no rigid rule that the fasting days have to be consecutive. The only rule is that you have to restrict your calories on two days of a week. It offers more flexibility than most other diets and, hence, is easier to follow.

How Much Calories Do You Consume On Fasting Days?

You can restrict yourself to 500 or 600 calories. But the right way to go about this would be to consult a nutritionist or dietician. They can give you a better idea of your daily calorie requirement and you can restrict yourself accordingly.

Foods Allowed On Fasting Days

On the day of fast, drink a lot of water and herbal teas. It will help control your hunger pangs. Calorie-free beverages like black or green tea and black coffee without sugar are good options. Try to include protein in your fasting diet and have fresh fruits and vegetables. These are fibre-rich and will increase satiety and keep you full for longer. But count your calories. Avoid refined foods like pasta and junk foods are a big ‘no’.

Foods That You Can Have On Non-Fasting Days

This diet does not restrict your food intake on non-fasting days. You can have anything you want including desserts. But be sensible in your approach and avoid fried and fatty foods. You may also want to keep away from processed and refined foods too. The diet does not specify this. But you will lose weight faster this way.

Source: https://www.thehealthsite.com