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Which should be exactly what intermittent fasting does – if
we choose to go without food, our body will turn instead to getting its energy
from stored sources.

So what does the research say? Animal studies (particularly
on rats) certainly suggest that fasting may have a positive effect on how they
process glucose – though not all human trials show the same results. However,
the Genesis cancer study outlined above found that women who followed an
intermittent calorie restriction regime showed bigger improvements in their
insulin sensitivity than those who followed a traditional diet.

Another study showed that fasting, without reducing the
total number of calories consumed, made the body more responsive to insulin.

There is still more work to be done, but of course, simply
losing body fat also reduces the risk of Type 2 Diabetes. So if fasting helps
you do that, it will also cut your risk, or help you control diabetes if you
already have a diagnosis.

Asthma,
auto-immune disorders and other chronic conditions

Numerous
other studies are underway to measure the effect of intermittent fasting on
conditions which affect our quality of life.

Dr James Johnson, whose book The Alternate Day Diet offers a
version of intermittent fasting, has carried out research on people with asthma
undertaking his diet, and found that 19 out of 20 people who followed it saw
improvements in their symptoms.  

He also studied over 500 people who’ve followed his
Alternate Day regime – the subjects reported a range of improvements to
conditions including ‘insulin resistance, asthma, seasonal allergies,
infectious diseases of viral, bacterial and fungal origin, autoimmune disorder
(rheumatoid arthritis), osteoarthritis, symptoms due to CNS inflammatory
lesions (Tourette's, Meniere's) cardiac arrhythmias (PVCs, atrial fibrillation),
menopause-related hot flashes.’

That’ll be hot flushes, to us in the UK. Certainly, members
of our 5:2 group have seen improvements in a number of long-standing health
concerns, ranging from hormonal problems like Pre-Menstrual Syndrome and Perimenopausal
symptoms, through to joint inflammation and restless leg syndrome.

Weight is coming off, I look
better in clothes and the rheumatoid arthritis in my hands doesn’t hurt so
much, and I have more movement in my fingers without them cracking. Will be
interested to see how the blood pressure is when I see the doctor next.

Anita, 51

I had some quite severe
menopausal problems and whilst I did not particularly expect the diet to make
any difference, it was a nice surprise to find that it does. My night sweats
have stopped and whilst I get the occasional hot flush, they're not nearly as
bad as they were.

Sally, 49

Anecdotal
evidence, of course, but I am sure there will be more to come as 5:2 and
intermittent fasting grows in popularity.

A
word on gender differences

For
many years, medical researchers tended to assume that female bodies worked the
same as male ones – so they focused their studies on male subjects and then applied
the findings to both genders.

There’s more recognition now that this can lead to false
conclusions, and there are specific concerns around whether women – especially
during their fertile years – may not respond in the same positive ways to ADF
or intermittent calorie restriction. Sleep disturbance and a reduction in fertility
have been noted in both sexes but especially in females. It’s not surprising –
fasting is stressful to the body (though it’s ‘good’ stress when it’s
controlled) so sleep may be harder and reproduction is not top priority if your
body is primed to focus on survival.

It does mean that 5:2 may not be advisable if you’re trying
to conceive, though of course, losing weight before trying can increase your
chances of a healthy pregnancy if you are overweight.

The more aware we are of the possible pros as well as cons
of this diet, the better. Of course, it has to be a personal decision but there
are relevant links in the resources section.

What
about Starvation Mode?

Over
the years, the idea of Starvation Mode has been a scary prospect for all
dieters: as I said in my diary entry, friends mentioned it to me when I began
this diet.

 The concern is that if the body is deprived of food for a
lengthy period, it will take emergency action, effectively ‘rationing’ the
number of calories it uses and becoming so efficient in using them that if you
then go back to eating normally, you will put more weight on, because your body
is being over efficient.

In other words, starvation mode might have protected Stone
Age Man (and woman!) from premature death – but it might also stop 21
^st
-century
man and woman ever fitting into those skinny jeans…

It is hard to work out what’s fact and what’s fiction when
it comes to this ‘mode’ – some diet gurus refer to it as a myth, others hold it
up as the bogeyman of dieters. A human body deprived of food for a long time –
72 hours or more, though opinions vary – will begin to break down cells to
produce what it needs and that’s likely to mean muscle mass will decrease, the
longer the starvation lasts. That’s
not
a good thing.

The key words here appear to be
lengthy period -
which
is the beauty of the 5:2 approach. Not only does intermittent calorie
restriction help with willpower - you only have to resist temptation till
you’re back OFF the diet tomorrow - it also prevents any real risk of counter-productive
changes to your metabolism because you’re not restricting calories for long
enough to (non-medical term here) freak your body out.

Which has to be good news for your hard-working cells – and
your health overall.

Body
– and mind

The
research is impressive and exciting. But is that going to be enough to boost
your willpower when you’re craving chocolate at 4pm?

Possibly.
But luckily, fasting also has powerful effects on your brain, your mood and
your attitude to food. In
Chapter Four
, I’ll explore these in much more detail.

But first, the next instalment of my diet diary. I’ve got
one fast under my belt – now what about the rest of my life?

MyFitnessPal keeps shouting at me

Mood: excited, curious, lucky

So.
One fast down, the rest of my life to go…

The day after my first Fast Day feels amazing - and I must admit
I go a bit OTT with the feasting. The TV show says you can eat pretty much what
you want on your non-diet days so… well, I behaved myself till tea-time - even
cutting the portion size of my yogurt breakfast - but then it all went a bit
Thank God It’s Friday Night Now Let’s Eat Everything in the Fridge…

I started well, with a blueberry and yogurt breakfast at just
104 cals, then had a Panini at lunchtime. But at dinner…

Italian
Rose Wine, 500 ml: 300 cals

Millionaire's
Shortbread Dessert: 440 cals

Tortilla
Chips, 25 g: 119 cals

Edamame,
Pea and Wasabi Dip, 125 g: 208 cals

Wholemeal
Roll: 155 cals

Garlic
Mushrooms 100 g: 135 cals

Cherry
Tomatoes, 5 tomatoes 60g 12 cals

Country
Life Butter 10 g 69 cals

Graze
Box - Toffee Apple  68 cals

Total 1,910 cals

I’m a bit ashamed to post it all. There’s a dessert here that
almost totalled my entire calorie consumption yesterday plus nearly two-thirds
of a bottle of wine (I am celebrating
not
being on a Fast Day?).

And yet… I need to be honest with myself: we all have our bad
days and it still came to only a little bit more than the 1876 I’d worked out
is what I could eat without gaining any more weight.

I’m definitely not going to monitor all of my feast days, but
it’s almost reassuring to know that on this diet I can eat all of those rather
yummy things - now and then - and still potentially lose weight if I am careful
on the Fast Days. Speaking of which…

Fast Day 2 is a Saturday
and I eat exactly the same as I ate on the first Fast Day. Which I thought
would be boring but is actually pretty liberating. What’s wrong with sticking
to a breakfast option that is tasty and you know will stop you feeling
ravenous?

The Schoolmarm in my computer

MyFitnessPal
is quite cross with me, though. On a Fast Day, I notice that it tells me off
for eating too little - saying I might go into starvation mode… luckily, all
I’ve read about the science says that one day’s fasting at a time won’t affect
my metabolism.

The strangest thing is that I’ve begun to
like
my Fast
Days… even look forward to them. I feel it’s a day off from thinking about
food, and also a bit of a ‘rest’ for my body, which seems to fit in with what
the programme said - that your body repairs itself while it’s not running fast
on protein.

I’ve been experimenting with eating at different times. With so
much diabetes in my family, I’m interested in the effects of insulin and it
strikes me that part of the benefit of fasting might be that your body isn’t
having to produce insulin all the time. So maybe trying to eat fewer meals a
day is a good idea?

Hunger? Bring it on!

Just as strange is how hunger feels. I’d forgotten. Often what
I’d mistaken for hunger is actually thirst or even boredom.

But now that I let myself get hungry on my Fast Days, it’s not
nearly as scary or overwhelming an experience as I feared. I’m aware that I am
so lucky that I can avoid food for one or two days a week without worrying
whether the food will be there when I want it to be. Eating less feels like a
check-in - a reminder of what the right amount is to eat, and how fortunate we
are that there will be food when we’re ready.

August is party month!

I
knew when I decided to embark on the diet that August wasn’t going to be easy -
I had lots of parties and events to go to, and so reasoned that my diet was a)
going to be hard to follow and b) probably more about stopping the rot than
helping me lose any weight. In total, I fast on seven days this month – and my
expectations are realistic.

Hooray!
That’s a bigger loss than I was expecting. My clothes are looser, my confidence
that I can lose weight this way is increasing… Could this be what I’ve been
looking for at last?

Souped-up September

Party
month over, now it’s back to reality. I like autumn and I like the chance to
give the diet a proper go now. The five pounds (2.3kg) I lost last month is a
great start and it also feels sustainable.

I’m now settling into a routine: Fast Days are Mondays and
Wednesdays, so my weekends are free for eating out and enjoying myself without
calorie counting.

I’m also skipping breakfast on my Fast Days, except for black
coffee. And although I am a keen cook, on Fast Days I rely on very simple
foods: salads, ready-made soups, perhaps some berries or yogurt. But it also
means I can plan to enjoy doing some baking at the weekends, something that was
completely out of bounds when I low-carbed or calorie-counted the whole time.

But on 5:2, I’m hardly doing any calorie counting now, even on
my Fast Days. I’m using MyFitnessPal sometimes, but I’m getting to know by
instinct what the right level of food is.

Beetroot Power

The
weather changes mid-month, and I worry about switching from salads, to relying
on soup. So I experiment with the chunkier ones you buy in pots in the
supermarket. Even the ones with cheese or cream rarely contain more than 150
cals a portion, so they’ll usually form the basis of my food for the day. I
rather like that most of my food is contained in one pot: a Fast looks less
daunting then somehow.

One of my choices is beetroot soup - I am surprised I haven’t
turned beetroot pink as my Fast Days often include some of the red peril -
especially the ‘sweet fire’ spicy beetroot I can eat by the bucket load. Still,
whatever works for me, eh?

On top of my daily soup ration, there’s then room for a couple
of 100 calorie snacks or treats: beetroot (!), some frozen berries with yogurt
and a tiny amount of muesli for texture, a couple of apples, a banana, the
world’s smallest portion of tortilla chips. One evening I am meeting friends
and don’t want to cancel so I even allow myself a 100 calorie glass of wine. It
does seem a bit decadent to be ‘using’ a fifth of my calories on alcohol but at
least I’m a cheap date.