APPENDIX A

Dining Out

The 5:2 Diet is very flexible. You can schedule your fast days around any time you need to dine out. But sometimes plans change, and you may find yourself eating at a restaurant on a fast day. So it’s good to have a few strategies for selecting menu items. Consider choosing:

• Simple salads with the dressing on the side and without croutons, cheese, or avocado
• Steamed, poached, baked, or grilled dishes—avoid menu selections described as pan-fried, battered, breaded, au gratin, deep fried, creamy, or crispy
• Menu items without sauces, toppings, or marinades
• Chicken breast (skinless), pork tenderloin, or fish
• Egg-white dishes
• Wraps with lean meats and vegetables
• Meals off the kids menu
• Meals seasoned with salsa, mustard, or flavored vinegars
• Side dishes, or ask for half of your meal to be wrapped up before it is served
• Foods prepared with olive oil instead of butter or shortening

No matter what meal you are eating in a restaurant you can substitute lower-calorie choices for some of your favorite dishes. Most restaurants are quite aware of dietary limitations, so make sure you tell your server that you need low-calorie and low-fat recommendations. Most restaurants are willing to accommodate your requests. Keep in mind that individual restaurants use different recipes for the items on their menu, so the following substitution chart is useful as a guide. A good tip: Try and order first so that your choices aren’t affected by what everyone else orders. Studies have shown that people often duplicate orders in restaurant situations because of a desire to conform socially. Some good alternatives for higher-calorie restaurant fare include:

APPENDIX B

Low-Calorie Substitutes

APPENDIX C

Calories of Popular Foods

Food	Portion	Calories
Alfalfa sprouts	1 cup	10
Almonds, whole	1 ounce	165
Applesauce, unsweetened	1 cup	105
Apples, unpeeled, 2 per pound	1	125
Apples, unpeeled, 3 per pound	1	80
Apricots, dried, unsweetened, cooked	1 cup	210
Apricots, dried, uncooked	1 cup	310
Apricots, raw	3	50
Asparagus, cooked from raw	1 cup	45
Asparagus, cooked from raw	4 spears	15
Avocados, Florida	1	340
Bagel, plain	1	200
Bananas	1	105
Barley, pearled, light and uncooked	1 cup	700
Bean sprouts	1 cup	25
Beef, ground 95% lean	3 ounces	115
Beef roast, lean	2.6 ounces	135
Beets	1 cup	59
Beet greens, cooked	1 cup	40
Blackberries, raw	1 cup	75
Blueberries, raw	1 cup	80
Broccoli, raw	1 head	40
Brussels sprouts, raw	1 cup	60
Buttermilk	1 cup	100
Butter, salted	1 tablespoon	100
Cabbage, green, raw	1 cup	15
Cabbage, red, raw	1 cup	20
Cabbage, Savoy, raw	1 cup	20
Cantaloupe, raw	½ melon	95
Carrots, raw, baby	10 medium	30
Carrots, raw	1 whole	30
Cauliflower, raw	1 cup	25
Celery, raw	1 stalk	5
Cheddar cheese	1 ounce	115
Cherries, sweet, raw	10	50
Chicken breast, roasted	3 ounces	140
Chickpeas, cooked	1 cup	270
Coffee, brewed	6 fluid ounces	0
Coffee, instant	6 fluid ounces	0
Collards, raw	1 cup	25
Corn, cooked from frozen	1 cup	135
Corn, cooked from raw	1 ear	85
Cottage cheese, 2%	1 cup	205
Cracked-wheat bread	1 slice	65
Cranberries, dried	1 tablespoon	26
Cream cheese	1 ounce	100
Cream cheese, fat-free	1 ounce	28
Cream of wheat, cooked	1 package	100
Cucumber with peel	6 slices	5
Dates	10	230
Eggplant, cooked	1 cup	25
Eggs, whites, raw	1	15
Eggs, whole, raw	1	75
Eggs, yolk, raw	1	60
Endive, curly, raw	1 cup	10
English muffin, plain	1	140
Evaporated milk, canned	1 cup	200
Feta cheese, low calorie	¼ cup	60
Figs	1 medium	37
Filberts, chopped	1 ounce	180
Grapefruit, pink, raw	½ fruit	40
Grapefruit, white, raw	½ fruit	40
Grapes, red, raw	10	35
Grapes, green, raw	10	40
Half-and-half cream	1 tablespoon	20
Honey	1 tablespoon	65
Honeydew melon, raw	1/10 melon	45
Jam	1 tablespoon	55
Kale, cooked from raw	1 cup	40
Kiwi	1	45
Lamb rib, roasted, lean	2 ounces	130
Lamb chops, roasted, lean	1.7 ounces	135
Lemons	1	15
Lemon juice	1 fruit's yield	20
Lentils, dried, cooked	1 cup	215
Lettuce, Boston, raw	1 head	20
Lettuce, looseleaf, raw	1 cup	10
Light table or coffee cream	1 tablespoon	30
Lima beans, dried, cooked	1 cup	260
Lime	1	20
Lime juice	1 cup	65
Mayonnaise, fat-free	1 tablespoon	40
Milk, low fat, 1%	1 cup	105
Milk, skim	1 cup	90
Mixed-grain bread	1 slice	65
Mozzarella cheese, full milk	1 ounce	80
Mushrooms, raw	1 cup	20
Mustard greens, cooked from raw	1 cup	20
Mustard, yellow	1 tablespoon	5
Nectarines	1	65
Oatmeal, rolled, dry	⅓ cup	105
Oatmeal bread	1 slice	65
Olive oil	1 tablespoon	125
Onions, raw, chopped	1 cup	55
Oranges	1	60
Papaya, raw	1 cup	65
Parmesan cheese, grated	1 ounce	130
Parsnips, diced, raw	1 cup	125
Peaches	1	35
Peanut butter	1 tablespoon	95
Pears, Anjou, raw	1	120
Pears, Bosc, raw	1	85
Peas, edible pods	1 cup	65
Peppers, hot chili, raw	1	20
Peppers, green bell, raw	1	20
Peppers, red bell, raw	1	20
Pineapple, diced, raw	1 cup	75
Pistachios	1 ounce	165
Plums, 2 inch	1	15
Plums, 3 inch	1	35
Pork chop, lean	2.5 ounces	165
Pork, back bacon	2 slices	85
Pork, cured ham	3 ounces	140
Pork tenderloin, lean	3 ounces	159
Potatoes, peeled	1	120
Pumpernickel bread	1 slice	80
Radishes, raw	4 radishes	5
Raisins, dried	.5 ounce	42
Raspberries, raw	1 cup	60
Red kidney beans, canned	1 cup	230
Rice, brown, cooked	1 cup	230
Rye bread, light	1 slice	65
Salmon, baked	3 ounces	140
Sesame seeds	1 tablespoon	45
Snap beans, green, raw	1 cup	45
Snap beans, yellow, raw	1 cup	45
Sour cream	1 tablespoon	25
Spaghetti, cooked	1 cup	190
Spinach, raw	1 cup	10
Squash, summer, raw	1 cup	35
Squash, winter, baked	1 cup	80
Strawberries, raw	1 cup	45
Sunflower seeds	1 ounce	160
Sweet chocolate, 70% dark	1 ounce	150
Sweet potatoes, peeled, baked	1	115
Sweet potatoes, peeled, boiled	1	160
Tangerines	1	35
Tea, brewed	8 fluid ounces	0
Tofu	1 piece	85
Tomatoes, canned	1 cup	50
Tomatoes, raw	1	25
Tomatoes, raw, cherry	5	20
Tortillas, corn	1	65
Tuna, water packed	3 ounces	135
Turkey ham, lean	2 slices	75
Turkey, breast meat, roasted	2 pieces	135
Turnips, diced, cooked	1 cup	30
Vinegar, cider	1 tablespoon	0
Watermelon, 1 piece, raw	1 piece	155
Watermelon, diced, raw	1 cup	50
Wheat bread	1 slice	65
Whole-wheat bread	1 slice	70
Yogurt with low-fat milk, plain	8 ounces	145
Yogurt with nonfat milk, plain	8 ounces	125

CHAPTER ONE

Basics of the 5:2 Diet

There seems to be a new fad diet every week that touts the benefits of some obscure herb found in far-flung jungles or promises weight loss if you give up every food group but one for the rest of your life. Since obesity and chronic diseases are so prevalent, any solution that strikes a chord or offers hope seems worth trying. Yet these fads often fail because they have no foundation based on fact.

The principles behind the 5:2 Diet are set solidly on data drawn from centuries of fasting by almost every civilization in the world and irrefutable scientific research. The 5:2 Diet is the last diet you’ll ever have to try in the quest for better health because it’s a realistic lifestyle choice that is sustainable and produces results. It will simply become part of your everyday life.

WHAT IS THE 5:2 DIET?

The 5:2 Diet, also known as the Fast Diet and intermittent fasting, is an extremely popular eating plan that combines two calorie-restricted days (fasts) with five regular eating days in a week. The fasting days do not involve complete food deprivation, but rather eating about a quarter of what is considered to be normal calorie consumption in a day. This eating plan is supposed to help followers lose weight and experience many of the health benefits linked to fasting.

So how did fasting become a mainstream diet plan? In 2012, a medical journalist in the United Kingdom named Michael Mosley lost twenty pounds after trying the 5:2 combination of intermittent fasting. His success and the resulting media storm inspired TV shows and books, which in turn motivated many people to try this lifestyle change. The positive buzz on the 5:2 Diet continued to grow as people lost weight, felt better, and found the diet easier to commit to than standard weeklong calorie-restriction diets. The 5:2 Diet is flexible enough to make it practical, does not require radical food or cooking changes, and it works.

The basic guidelines of the 5:2 Diet are very straightforward:

• Combine five regular eating days and two days of fasting each week.
• Fasting days should not be consecutive.
• On fasting days, consume a maximum of five hundred calories if you are a woman and six hundred calories if you are a man.
• There are no food restrictions or schedules on fasting days except the calorie allotment. You can eat six small meals, three moderate meals, or one large meal, depending on your preference.
• On non-fasting days, eat anything you want, but try to keep your calories to 2,000 per day (women) or 2,600 per day (men), and stick to whole foods like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains whenever feasible.
• Make sure you drink at least eight glasses of water per day.

THE HISTORY BEHIND THE 5:2 DIET

Fasting is certainly not a new concept, and it wouldn’t be far-fetched to assume early mankind fasted out of necessity due to a scarcity of food. Fasting on purpose has been practiced for centuries by many cultures for religious and healing purposes. Great thinkers such as Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Plato recommended fasting for mental clarity and to promote revitalization of the body. Hippocrates, considered to be the father of modern medicine, is thought to have advocated short fasts for patients with arthritis, digestive complaints, and colds. Fasting is meant to let the body rest and detoxify without having to expend the energy that is required to digest and process food.

Most current religions in the world have used fasting for sacrifice, spiritual clarity, purification, and penance for sins or failings. Fasting is meant to show a commitment to the spiritual while ignoring the physical needs of the body. Religions that use fasting in some form are:

• Buddhism
• Christianity (including Catholicism and Lutheranism)
• Hinduism
• Islam
• Judaism
• North American Indian

Fasting has also been used as a political statement by people like Mahatma Gandhi, who fasted to promote passive resistance and encourage peace among peoples. Other groups since Gandhi have embraced this method for their own causes with mixed results.

Healers, mystics, and religions still recommend fasting for health purposes, but traditional (Western) medicine has taken a little time to catch up and embrace the practice. Sometimes religion and science cooperate to produce studies like one documenting improved blood pressure and cholesterol levels with fasting during Ramadan (Nematy 2012). Research has been done on the effects of fasting with respect to weight loss, heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases with interesting results (Brown 2013). It is this kind of research that spurred British medical journalist Michael Mosley to experiment with fasting in order to lose some weight and improve his cholesterol, blood sugar, and blood pressure levels.

Mosley tried several different variations of fasting, including a complete fast, before settling on a two-day fast combined with five days of normal eating. This combination eventually produced a twenty-pound weight loss and improved numbers on all of his medical tests. Thus, the 5:2 Diet was born! It took a British television show called Eat, Fast, and Live Longer, which aired in 2012, to really bring this diet plan to the mainstream. Fasting is now an accepted diet in the United Kingdom and is starting to become popular throughout many countries.

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE 5:2 DIET

Fasting and its effects on the body have been the focus of many studies and much research, mostly on animals, and the results seem to link fasting to numerous health benefits. This is the reason why Mosley created the 5:2 Diet and why people all over the world have embraced it. Weight loss, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and a reduced risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease are just some of the reasons you might want to try the 5:2 Diet. The science supporting the practice of fasting is quite compelling, and the accumulation of facts is very convincing.

People haven’t always had such an abundance of food available twenty-four hours a day like they do now. Studies that look at genes and processes in the body show that the human body has adapted to deal with situations of food scarcity, and this adaptation can be used to promote weight loss and health improvements through fasting. Here are some of the changes that occur in the body when you fast:

• When you intermittently fast, a gene known as “the skinny gene” or SIRT1 is triggered in the body. This gene inhibits fat storage and encourages cell repair and maintenance (Allard 2009).
• Fasting lowers the production of a protein called insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which is linked to the development of chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease, as well as aging in higher levels (Fontana 2008).
• Studies have shown that fasting lowers cholesterol levels and blood pressure (Nematy 2012).
• Other studies have documented improved blood sugar levels, increased longevity, and a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and neurological diseases (Brown 2013).
• When the body does not have to process food constantly, the pancreas can rest, which leads to increased insulin sensitivity and a reduced risk of obesity and diabetes (Hughes 1984).

HEALTH BENEFITS OF THE 5:2 DIET

Most of the people trying the 5:2 Diet aren’t usually looking for mental clarity or spiritual awareness, because those goals involve a different type of fasting technique. The main reason people embark on the 5:2 Diet is to lose weight or to get healthier. There are many health improvements associated with intermittent fasting that you can experience after following the diet for a few weeks. Once the body begins to react positively to a fasting schedule, the 5:2 Diet will benefit you in the following ways:

• Promotes weight loss
• Detoxifies the body
• Improves inflammatory conditions
• Reduces the risk of some cancers
• Helps prevent cardiovascular disease
• Reduces cholesterol levels
• Improves response to chemotherapy
• Enhances cognitive function
• Reduces blood sugar
• Decreases blood pressure
• Eliminates food cravings
• Reduces the risk of—and in some cases reverses—type 2 diabetes
• Improves immunity
• Helps with addictions
• Lowers systemwide inflammation
• Improves insulin resistance
• Boosts metabolism
• Slows the aging process and reduces the risk of age-related diseases such as dementia
• Increases life span
• Slows the progress of Huntington’s disease
• Improves pancreatic function

Now that you’ve learned the background and some basics of the 5:2 Diet, read on for answers to common questions, lists of foods to enjoy and to avoid, and other essential information to guide you toward your diet goals.