Day 0

Welcome to Lori and Mike's 5:2 diet blog! Tomorrow is Day 1, but it's important to know who we are and why we are doing this before we begin the real "work."

WHO WE ARE:
Lori (me) works from home. I'm generally sedentary if not for my dog. Some people take coffee breaks. I take dog walk breaks. Generally, I walk about 2-3 miles per day on those walks. I've been trying to lose a little weight for a while now (sometimes, I'm actually serious about it).I've been dieting, doing the whole 1200 calorie diet for the last month and spending 30 minutes 3 times per week on my cheap-o elliptical trainer ($120 on Amazon!). I'm 5'1 and I'd like to be 115 pounds. Right now my weight is fluctuating between 133 and 127 pounds. I'm considered healthy, but there's borderline healthy/overweight and then there's just plain healthy. That's where I want to be.

Mike is a data scientist. In other words, he sits at a computer all day long. Sometimes, he plays basketball for half an hour at least once per week. Then he comes home at sits on the couch to watch TV or play video games. The weekends aren't much better. He is 6'4 and weighs 240 pounds. Back in the day, his goal weight was 190 pounds.

We are both vegetarians and have been for the past 7 years. You'd think being vegetarians would help regulate our weight, but that hasn't exactly happened. Some days we even eat wholly vegan meals. However, I love dessert. Love it. And cheese. And Mike likes beer. So that contributes to some of our weight gain over the years.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS TO OURSELVES?!
We want to be healthier. We want to get older without worrying about cancer, alzheimers, heart disease, diabetes...things that have plagued our relatives in the past. Genes certainly play a part in our health, but we can still do something to change things for the better. Yadayadayada.

We watched this documentary on PBS (BBC2) about fasting and were really impressed by the results. Watch it and see if you become as inspired as we were!

WHAT QUESTIONS DO WE HOPE TO ANSWER IN 5 WEEKS?
1. Is the 5:2 diet really feasible? Are we going to be starving on our "fasting" days?
2. Will we lose weight on this diet? You always hear that if you eat less than 1200 calories, your body will go into "starvation mode," you won't get the nutrients you really need, and your weight loss will plateau. It's important to note that since Mike and I are doing this together, you'll get an interesting view of a male and female going through this process.
3. Will we feel healthier? We're not going to a doctor to monitor us on this adventure, but will we be able to have a sense that our bodies are at their best?
4. Will the freedom to eat what we please on normal days prompt us to eat unhealthy foods?
5. Will there be any unintended benefits, like less allergies?
6. TBD - I'm sure as we go through the process, more questions will pop up.

I'm ready for Day 1...(It's not a fasting day!)