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Dieting & exercise

Dieting

(28 Posts)
pattie Tue 09-Feb-16 09:46:37

Has anyone ever tried the military diet? I have started on it today as I really want to lose some weight quickly before my holiday starts next week.
I would appreciate hearing about others who have tried this and if it really does what it claims to do.

jinglbellsfrocks Tue 09-Feb-16 09:52:36

At first it sounded very scary. But when I looked at actual diet here it's not a lot different from what I eat anyway! I don't think I would lose that much weight on it.

It is obviously American. So I suppose for them, the quantities of food would be quite small.

jinglbellsfrocks Tue 09-Feb-16 09:53:36

You would only lose water on a three day diet plan.

M0nica Tue 09-Feb-16 10:25:12

Having had a look at the diet, I would think the chances of anyone only a few stones overweight losing 10lbs in 3 days is nil. You might lose 2 or 3lbs but as jbf says, that would only be water and would all go back on the first day of your holiday.

If you were an American man mountain. say 30 stone plus, it might be possible to lose 10lbs in 3 days, but I assume you are not. But again it would all be water and would go back on quicker than it came off.

Nelliemoser Tue 09-Feb-16 10:29:57

It sounds boring . I find the 5:2 diet good, just 500 calories two days a week and eat sensible portions the rest of the rest of the time.

You do need to make sure your calorie allowance gives you a properly balanced diet.

www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/Healthyeating.aspx

It appears the 2 lower calorie days gives the metabolism a boost.
I found that the big advantage of this diet is that you can still enjoy the foods you enjoy on the non fast days so it is easier to stick to.

The daily recommended amount of calories is 2000.

MrsJamJam Tue 09-Feb-16 10:44:19

I have been doing 5/2 for a few months now and find it fits my love of good food really well! The weight is coming off but very slowly, however I feel fitter and trimmer and can keep this going indefinitely. The particular upside for me is that without a word from me OH has chosen to show solidarity by going alcohol free on those two days. I'm sure this is good for him.

I was surprised that I have never felt that I want to eat extra on the non-fast days and I really like the lack of that guilty food obsession that I always had on any other diet which required me to give up something. I have finally (I hope) given up hoping for some miracle overnight cure even though shedding 10lb in a week would be transformative but know that its impossible.

Daddima Tue 09-Feb-16 10:49:54

My son lost 5 stones using this;

www.myfitnesspal.com

I imagine it could be used well with the 5-2 diet also.

M0nica Tue 09-Feb-16 15:35:01

I am another 5:2 supporter. I put on 2 stone after the menopause despite everything I did at the time to stop it. I was even reduced to trying a few fad diets without success. After 15 years the 5:2 diet came along and I lost every pound I had gained, and a few more, in just 4 months and I have kept it off for two years.

Very short crash diets do not work, short crash diets do not work, crash diets do not work. Successful weight loss works only if you take your time and understand how the weight was gained and adjust your normal eating patterns so that lost weight is not regained.

Badenkate Tue 09-Feb-16 16:59:19

I have tried the 5:2 diet a couple of times, but each time I 've felt quite ill at the end of the low calorie day. I'd like to do it, so has anyone got any suggestions why this should happen and what I can do about it. I'm not diabetic or border diabetic, so I don't think it's anything to do with blood sugar, but I feel sick and (even more) not entirely with it.

J52 Tue 09-Feb-16 17:17:25

I have done the 5:2 over the past 3yrs 6 months. I reached my goal weight after 18 months and have kept the weight off with maintenance.

I agree that light headed ness can be a problem, but I took that to be detoxing.

I found it easier to do the alternate day version. It meant that if a meal out etc. occurred, I didn't feel guilty skipping a day. Also, I think my body responded better to alternate days.

x

M0nica Tue 09-Feb-16 17:50:44

You could adjust the times you eat and the calorie value of each meal. I skip breakfast and then have a 250 calorie meal at lunch time and at supper time, any time from 6.00pm onwards.

However, different diet plans suit different people and it may simply that the 5:2 is wrong for your metabolism. DH really loses weight on low carb diets. Low carb diets make me ill. I have tried them several times and have had to give up after about 4 days because I feel so dreadful.

mcem Tue 09-Feb-16 17:59:27

According to Trust me I'm a Doctor - tv programme I've found very interesting- we should always eat breakfast, leaving it as late as possible (8-9am) and eat dinner as early as possible (5-6pm).
Increasing the length of time the body is fasting encourages weight loss. No snacking in the evening!

M0nica Tue 09-Feb-16 18:08:51

I have always eaten breakfast around 8.00am and my evening meal between 6.00pm and 7.00pm and it has never occurred to me to snack in the evening, no excessive virtue on my part, it was just the pattern I was brought up to and I have never felt a need to change it.

Purpledaffodil Tue 09-Feb-16 18:33:58

The new Rosemary Conley 3-2-1 Diet as plugged recently on GN, looks interesting. I tried the 5:2 and did well on it a couple of years ago, but I found the long stretch between breakfast and dinner on fast days made me feel ill. Have bought the book ( Isn't that always the easiest part? grin ) it does copy that BBC programme in terms of what sort of eater you are, but some of the recipes look interesting.

M0nica Tue 09-Feb-16 19:45:47

I thought with the 5:2 on the fast days you chose your own pattern of eating, one meal or two, breakfast and supper or lunch and supper or what ever pattern of eating you wanted. The only thing discouraged was having your 500 calories as a series of snacks. That is what the book I have says.

Purpledaffodil Thu 11-Feb-16 18:10:46

If I remember rightly, the original Michael Mosely book said that MOnica. The theory was that the longer the fasting period the better so you could in effect skip breakfast. Tried it all ways and eventually got discouraged. It was very effective though and I have friends who have been doing it for a couple of years. I must be too greedy cupcake

Jalima Thu 11-Feb-16 18:26:32

I read somewhere that if you eat breakfast late and dinner early it helps keep your weight down.
We've not tried it yet.

mahabub00 Thu 21-Apr-16 20:39:09

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12lampton34 Tue 03-May-16 15:53:21

I put on a stone and lost it on slimfast found this diet suited me I now weight every week and if I put on a little back to slimfast

surela Mon 23-May-16 11:40:53

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Elegran Mon 23-May-16 11:53:54

15 pounds in 3 days sounds dangerous, if it is indeed possible - I don't think that even people who eat absolutely nothing for three days lose weight that fast. The body just doesn't use up 15 pounds of fat in three days

Is there something else as well as the diet? A massive exercise regime? Chemical assistance?

Could you be pulling our legs?

granjura Mon 23-May-16 14:59:48

Indeed- dangerous, and impossible anyhow! I've reported the post as it sounds like backdoor advertising, dangerous at that, with links to diet products!

Linsco56 Mon 23-May-16 18:31:37

I remember this military diet from years ago only it was just called the 3 day diet and was purportedly issued by The British Heart Foundation. Claimed most people would lose 10 pounds in 3 days. Several of the ladies I worked with tried it with varying success. Some only lost 2 pounds, others lost up to 5 pounds but absolutely no one lost 10 pounds.

As others have said, most weight loss will be water weight in the first few days.

jinglbellsfrocks Mon 23-May-16 18:45:00

You might lose ten pounds in three days if you have become severely constipated by trying other faddy diets. shock

Linsco56 Mon 23-May-16 19:55:17

jinglebell What an image that conjurs up...10 pounds of waste. I think that would require a stick of dynamite! blush