Believe it or not, fasting isn’t just for religious occasions and spiritual cleansings. It’s also a lifestyle and diet trend with benefits beyond purely weight loss.

The 5:2 Fast Diet is the most famous intermittent fasting diet. Dieters eat normally for five days and then eat less than 500 calories per day for two days. This causes weight loss without having to focus on daily calorie consumption.

On fasting days, dieters can eat anything they want, as long as their total calories for the day are below 500. However, it’s suggested that dieters eat foods that will sustain them throughout the day, such as vegetables and lean meats.

Although it might seem crazy to voluntarily fast twice a week, the 5:2 Fast Diet often reaps benefits for its followers. Long-term effects on health could include lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Intermittent fasting can also lower hunger on non-fasting days, causing dieters to not overeat.

When I discovered intermittent fasting was a trend, I wanted to try it out for myself. I had to see if fasting could actually be beneficial, and I planned to follow the diet for three or four weeks.

I followed the diet for the greater part of two weeks. I ate as I regularly do on Sundays through Thursdays, and I fasted on Fridays and Saturdays.

Of course, the first five days of the diet weren’t bad: I got to eat as I normally do! However, the next two days were rough.

On fasting days, I drank a few cups of black coffee in the morning. Then, I ate a small portion of carrots and grilled chicken for lunch. For dinner, I ate a 180 calorie Nature Valley bar.
Fasting for two days proved to be a challenge. I had headaches from not eating, and I was constantly hungry. However, after fasting, I lost four pounds, and when I went back to eating
regularly, I didn’t feel the need to eat as much throughout the day.

I continued the diet through Friday of the second week. However, I decided to stop following the diet because fasting gave me bad headaches. Despite this, I’d be open to trying the 5:2 Fast Diet again for a longer period of time to see more of the long term health effects.

If you want to change your eating habits to a more regulated daily diet, the 5:2 Fast Diet may be for you. With this being said, practically starving yourself two days a week isn’t for the faint of heart. Trying this trend should be treated with caution.

Christina Giovanazi is a Community Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.