How The 5:2 Diet Works So Well For Me.

I must start by saying that I don't like the word 'diet' as most people associate it with a period of time when they starve themselves of food and eat stuff they don't like so they can lose weight. You keep this up for a short period of time and then return to eating the way you were before and put all the weight back on and more!

I changed my approach to food and now view it as a lifestyle change. I found this really hard for the first few years but after time, eating healthily everyday and having a stable relationship with food become my norm. It is a huge relief to me to not feel dominated by desiring food and to comfortably chose to eat when and what I want to eat.

I personally found elements of the 5:2 food approach helpful and I recommend it when working with particular clients that is suits. It's really important to only use this style of eating if you feel attracted to it. I have learnt that goals will only work if your heart is in it. So, if the idea of having your normal calorie intake on five days and then seriously cutting back for two sounds like a good plan, this could work for you!

After being a food addict, I don't agree with 'eating whatever you want' for five days of the week, which is what the diet suggests in many references.  In my experience this just reinforces the concept that it's OK to overeat. Instead, I find it works really well to have two cheat days out of the five. On my cheat days I enjoy a main course that is more indulgent than usual and may have some alcohol and some snacks that I wouldn't otherwise do. Friday and Saturday nights can be good times to choose. For the other three days of the five, I stick to around my 1500 daily calorie intake. If you can not roughly calculate the amount of calories on your plate when you eat then I would recommend using The Fitness Pal app. It's easy to use and will teach you so much about your food intake.

On my two low food intake days, I aim for around 500-700 calories a day. I like to plan these days before and after my cheat days so I get focused again and back on track. I have found this approach to be successful and with many clients too as it keeps our self control monitored.

As you can hear, I am a fan of this 5:2 day approach to food and I think it encourages a healthy balance and self control towards eating habits.The key is to find the food approach that suits you and next time I will write about the results I see when clients use a weight loss club approach to getting slimmer and healthier.

It's About Changing Your Relationship With Food.

Have you been stuck in a pattern of yo-yo dieting? Do you find yourself motivated for a number of weeks or months, as you follow a new diet, to then only find yourself losing motivation and going back to your old eating habits and putting even more weight on?

Do you eat food when you are not hungry and wish you didn't do it but cant stop yourself? Do you get annoyed and wonder why on earth you eat food when you don’t really want to? In fact, many people raid the fridge or food cupboards and eat the food so quickly that they only realise afterwards that they have just had a mad food consumption moment!

Do you wake up every day and find food is on your mind from the moment the day starts? Does it consume your thoughts and overwhelm you? Do you find yourself fixated on the next meal time or the food that is lying around?Do you wish you could just eat food when you were hungry and stop overeating for good? Would you like to lose weight, not put it back on again and be rid of your frustrating relationship with food?

Diets will not bring about permanent weight loss if you struggle with the sorts of suggestions I have written about above. For you, the answer is to address your relationship with food and learn how to change it for the good! If you could lose weight by dieting you would have been successful by now. After all there are endless diets to choose from but none of them will cut it if your relationship with food is similar to an addiction or one of comfort and habit. By addressing these mindset and behaviour issues you can make changes that will last for a lifetime.

If you apply behaviour change alongside healthy eating then you will lose weight for good!

Change your behaviour, thoughts and feelings! If you would like to know more about my Mind n Body Programme for weight loss, drop me a line and we can arrange for a phone chat and discuss in more detail.

Kathy Bell.