If you only look at exercise as a weight loss tool, you are missing out....
Posted on May 30 by Heather Duquette-Wolf
The 5:2 diet gets its name because it involves eating regularly for 5 days of the week while drastically limiting caloric intake on the other 2 two days.
Unlike a true fast, which involves eating nothing for a set amount of time, the goal of the 5:2 diet is to cut caloric intake on fasting days to 25 percent or just one-quarter of a person's regular intake on the remaining days.
Importantly, fasting days are not consecutive because it is vital to give the body the calories and nutrients it needs to thrive.
People typically space their fasting days out, for example, by taking their reduced-calorie days on Monday and Thursday or Wednesday and Saturday.
Part of the diet's appeal is this flexibility. Instead of severely restricting the foods a person can eat, the 5:2 diet focuses on strict caloric restriction on only 2 days of the week. This may help some people feel more satisfied with their diet, as they will not feel that they are missing out all the time.
Everyone's meal plan may look slightly different. Some fast day meal schedules include:
1. Eating three small meals such as an early breakfast, afternoon lunch and late dinner
2. Eating an early lunch and dinner
3. Eating a small breakfast and late lunch and skipping dinner
4. Eating a single meal at dinner or breakfast
Spring has sprung — along with strawberries, blackberries, beets, broccoli and sweet corn. These, and many more fruits and vegetables, are now in season. Why is this important? There are many reasons to eat the fruits and vegetables that are in season. First and foremost, your health.
Fruits and vegetables contain tons of vitamins and minerals, but they also contain phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are nonnutritive compounds that are biologically active in the body. They can be categorized into many, more specific groups, but for our purposes, we will make it easy. We will divide them by color.
Below you can find a list of fruits and vegetables in season, but let’s start with the red, blue and purple ones. These include strawberries, blueberries, beets and cabbage, which appear red, blue and purple because they contain large amounts of flavonoids and anthocyanins. These are believed to exhibit strong antioxidant functions within the body, potentially decreasing your risk for high cholesterol or even cancer. This group is also typically high in vitamin C, a vitamin that is involved in creating new collagen and is essential for wound healing. Perfect for getting your skin ready for the summer.
Spring Fruits and Vegetables
Strawberries, Blackberries, Beets,Turnips, Avocados, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Carrots, Baby Arugula, Greens, Lettuces, Sweet Corn, Green Beans, Specialty Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Radishes, Leeks, Fennel, Cilantro, Parsley. Culinary Herbs, Tomatoes, Peaches, Blueberries, Plums, Squash, Cucumbers
Now let’s switch over to the oranges and yellows, which include carrots, sweet corn, sweet potato and tomatoes. Carotenoids and lycopene are the phytochemicals that contribute to their orange, yellow and even red colors. This group is typically high in vitamin A, which is involved in cell growth, bone development and immune function — all very important functions if you ask me.
Lastly, we turn to the green leafy vegetables: arugula, greens, lettuce, broccoli, cilantro and parsley. These contain a multitude of phytochemicals, including chlorophyll, with strong antioxidant power, and are typically high in vitamin K, a very important vitamin that activates blood clotting.
Why the urgency to eat these particular fruits and vegetables now? Well, they are in season. This means they are typically grown close by, they are fresh and have not traveled from far away. For many vegetables, top quality is obtained at harvest; the quality deteriorates afterward at a rate determined by external factors.
Typically, when fruits or vegetables are traveling far distances to get to your grocery store, they are treated with post-harvest technologies that will prolong their shelf life and appearance, which for the most part comes at the expense of nutritional quality. When you eat in season, you are likely eating local and more fresh fruits and vegetables. Meaning, they have been able to ripen on the vine and have not been treated for the long-distance ride to the grocery store.
Another perk: It’s usually cheaper! These fruits and vegetables are typically bountiful during their season, which means more product at a cheaper price.
