Yesterday I was at a cookery book launch (more about that in another post) with a small group of blogger friends. Obviously since it was a cookery book the food at the event was plentiful and delicious. There were at least five different cakes, and a similar number of savoury offerings. There was plenty and we all ate until we were stuffed.

Somewhere midway through the cake gobbling somebody said “If I had a wish I would consider wishing to be able to eat as much as I wanted and for it to have absolutely no consequence on my body”.  I agreed that I would rather like that wish as well.

In fact I’m currently doing the 5-2 fasting diet that Michael Mosley tried for Horizon. The program was investigating the link between fasting, the growth hormone IGF-1 and long term health. If you want more details look here but the potted explanation is this. Fast regularly, reduce the hormone, get less health problems, live longer.

This all seems like a good plan, so I’m giving it a go. However before I sound too sensible and practical I have to let you in on something. The reality is that my motivation for sticking with 5-2 is weight loss and vanity and I’m not in love with that head state. Like many people I have had a difficult relationship with food and my body for a long time. From dieting in my teens to exercising compulsively I have been through many stages in my relationship with food and my body.

So recently I have been eating too much, worrying about eating too much, then eating more. A pattern I’m sure many of you can identify with. Finally I’d had enough so I decided to take action and try 5-2 so that hopefully I can enjoy my food guilt free five days a week. Add in the health benefits and it sounds like a winner.

I have been doing this for a little over a week now and the results are interesting. Weight loss wise I think it’s too early to make a judgement call, but I think Ive neither gained nor lost. The interesting part is my attitude to food. Fast days are a little tough, I can’t deny but they are do-able. Feast days are the ones which are teaching me. I am overeating on feast days at the moment, in a I can so I should kind of way. I am eating everything I fancy and lots of it.

This wouldn’t probably pan out well long term but what’s interesting is I’m seeing my attitude to food changing, how unhealthy it is and how when I can eat whatever I fancy perhaps I don’t have to. I can see that in time I will probably level out, eat normally and mostly healthily and rather brilliantly it will be my choice rather than some self imposed miserable diet. This is good, if this works out this would be life changing. If I can fast two days a week and then basically have food become normalised and enjoyable the other five that would be fab. If this also comes with better health, a longer life and a reasonably shaped body then that will be all the better. I will keep you posted.

Food is part of most of our celebrations so I want to celebrate it not fear it.