I know you are trying to get this thread back on topic but I would like to stick with the thread drift...

Both Mrs I_A and I are 5:2 converts and would recommend it to anyone looking to both loose weight and, more importantly, keep it off. We both weren't massively overweight, but both could do to loose a bit and Mrs I_A, like lots of woman, had yo-yo dieted for years.

I started back in October last year and have lost 3 Stone (more than I set out to loose to be honest, but my BMI & body fat are now at the lower end of the recommended zone, which is great!) and my weight is now constant and more importantly I am not putting any back on. I am still doing 2 days fasting at the moment as Mrs I_A started after me and she is still loosing weight (although as I experienced, it does slow down and eventually level out) as we find it easier to fast on the same days. We think we will switch to 6:1 at some point in the next couple of months but we are both finding it easy to do two days, now we have made it a habit. We both feel that we can live with doing one day a week indefinitely and if we stop fasting during holidays and Christmas etc, do two days for short bursts as required to maintain a constant weight.

The best thing is that for the other 5 days we just don't worry about anything. Now, that said, neither of us were big drinkers or take-away addicts, in fact I can't remember the last time we had a take-away, so we didn't have a bad diet by any means... but it is the whole system of not having to worry when you don't go out for a few beers and end up in the curry house when you have had a meal before you went out, or having a desert when previously you wouldn't etc.

My blood pressure & cholesterol, which again were not high, but towards the top end of the 'safe' zone, are now both right at the low end.

It is a great lifestyle choice, because I would say that is what it is really, it might start out as a diet and you loose weight but if you treat it as a long-term choice then the weight will stay off.

I'm just an athletic young lad that likes a pint sure it might catch up with me if my fitness activities drop, but I shall poo-poo it until that point!

Good to hear it's working for you. I can't knock it if you're getting the results you want.

The other thing to consider is that, the amount of money it costs to buy Herbalife, you're saving on other food stuffs. So i reality it's probably pretty cheap.

I do however maintain that there are other products out there, and other ways of losing weight or keeping in good condition which are far cheaper.

A lot is to be said for my fitness regime of "eat less crap and excercise more"

In my opinion its the mental strength that enables people to eat healthy and not eat crap, anyway since when was this a Herbalife thread

Its not, sin bin would be a better place for it.