Starting the 5:2 diet

Most people that have had weight problems for a long time usually say things like "I've tried everything over the years, including Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach..."

I can't say that.  I've tried a few things, sure.  I've tried intuitive eating and the no S diet, for example.  But anytime I reviewed the mainstream diets out there and saw restrictive food lists (Atkins, Medifast) or the need to count calories or points or carbs on a daily basis, I knew that I'd never ever stick to it.  Ever.

I was never willing to crash diet for special events, either, which meant I was a fat bridesmaid at my brother's wedding and a fat matron of honor at my sister's wedding.  I don't like looking at photos from those events, but I believe I'd be even fatter than I am today had I rushed to lose weight in an unsustainable manner for the weddings.

All this is to say I'm not a big "diet" person.  I met the diagnostic criteria for binge eating disorder for many years, and I still have problems with bouts of emotional, compulsive eating, so for a long time now my focus has been on dealing with that.

The binge eating problem has gotten much better over the past year or so, but my weight remains stuck.  I've been bouncing around the 250s for quite some time now, and for the last month, I've been right around 262.  I'm not okay with that.  I could easily go from 262 to 272, and then....will I go higher than my all-time high of 275?

So I'm actually going to try a diet!  The 5:2 diet, in which you limit yourself to 500 calories two days a week and eat as you normally do on the other days of the week, appeals to me for a few reasons:

1.  I'm a total Anglophile.  (Kidding, kidding.  I AM an Anglophile but that's not why I'm doing this.)

2. I'm not willing to count calories every day.  5:2 requires me to count calories two days a week and I think I can do that if I keep it simple, using the same on-plan meal for my fasting days for a few weeks and then moving on to a new one, repeating that one for awhile, and so on.

3.  My attempts to give up particular foods, mostly desserts, has always led to disastrous backlash in the past.  It's a psychological issue, and it's not going away.  Better if I simply work with how I'm wired.  I do not have to give up dessert on this plan.

4.  I like how I feel when I give my body a break from food for a reasonable period of time, and regularly go 12-14 hours without food already (that includes sleeping time, though).

5.  In general, I'd rather suffer a bit two days a week than suffer every single day on a very restrictive or burdensome plan.

I just finished my first fast and it went well!  More to come...