Why the 5/2 diet (weekends off) is a terrible idea

“If we nail our diet 80% of the time we are golden.”

Yeah, that’s probably true. If you nail that 80% 100% of the time. But what does that 80% really look like? Maybe an extra dessert that week or some lax measurements on cooking oils? Maybe you tasted a few times too many while making dinner? Finished the kid’s plates while cleaning up?

In reality you hit 80% of your 80%. That average starts to drop real quick.

“But I work hard all week, I deserve to unwind on weekends.”

Your job pays you for a week Monday through Friday. Your body doesn’t. So while you may “feel” like you deserve a break, your body doesn’t believe in labor laws. If you’re trying to enact change you’re going to have to work weekends.

There are plenty of people out there living in a constant state of early stage fat loss or gain, never cycling out of the same few pounds of water. And getting more and more frustrated each week that they “just can’t lose weight”. Yet they lose weight every week. Only to throw it away because the weekend calls.

Look, everyone wants to sell you an easy way. You can easily find someone who will tell you you don’t need to work hard, that you can take weekends off, that you can eat whatever you want. They have slick websites and Facebook ads and promises galore. But the truth is it’s going to require work. 7 days per week. 24 hours per day. It doesn’t have to be miserable but you will have to do things differently.

Stop trying to find a way around what you know to be true. You will have to change to see change. You will have to step up and put in work. And that means weekends too.