My partner and I recently started using what we call the “On and Off Method”. Our method is an adaption and extension of the methods outlined in The 5:2 Diet by Dr. Michael Mosley. One of the key steps to Dr. Mosely’s 5:2 diet is breaking a 7-day week into 5 Off days (consume a regular number of calories) and 2 On days (500-800 calories). The reasons for this and the many benefits of his diet are clearly outlined in his book and we highly recommend you check it out if you’re looking to shed some kilograms, or just looking to get your diet in check. 

The most difficult aspects of sticking to a diet are all mental obstacles:

- Staying accountable

- The guilt you experience if you give in to cravings 

- The feeling that you’ve let yourself down 

- Lies we tell ourselves to justify an indulgence 

- Once the snowball of doubt begins you quickly slide back into your old habits because 

  those thought patterns are familiar (despite how destructive they are)

Our "On and Off" Method has allowed us to break through a lot of these mental obstacles. Let's dive right into the method and we'll explain each step as we go:

The On and Off Method - Steps to Start

1. Pick your partner 

Find someone to undertake the journey with. Your partner, a relative, or a close friend is advised but you can choose anyone that you trust. A big aspect of this technique relies on trust between you and your chosen someone, so make sure you’re both willing to change and can be honest and open with each other (hence, someone close to you is often preferred). 

2. Identify your Indulgence

Both pick an indulgence you would like to get ahold of. I didn’t use the word addiction on purpose (if you have a serious addiction, like a dangerous drug abuse problem, for example, see a doctor or psychiatrist). You can both choose the same or different indulgences to focus on, it doesn’t matter. Examples of indulgences might be:

- Eating too much sugar

- Eating too much fast food

- Excessive calorie intake 

- Excessive social media usage

- Lack of exercise

- The odd alcoholic beverage or recreational drug use you could live without 

3. Define your goal

We'll use Alicia (my partner) and me as examples to give you an idea of how the technique works. Alicia’s chosen indulgence is calories and mine is smoking marijuana. Alicia’s goal is to lose a small amount of weight; her goal is a number (kg) she has in her mind. My goal is to gain control over my craving for marijuana and not let the substance control me. I like to smoke weed to relax, reduce stress, and open my mind to new ways of thinking. But an indulgence can quickly turn into a habit, and eventually an addiction if you lose control. I got to a point where I wasn’t smoking to indulge, I was smoking because it was what I usually did around that time of day. We’re aiming to eliminate or reduce our indulgence to give us control again.

4. Outline your parameters

Answer the following questions based on your goal:

1. What does an On day look like?

2. What does an Off day look like?

3. How many Off days do you get?

What does an On day look like?

You choose the boundaries/restrictions that you will stick to. This will vary based on the indulgence itself and whatever other financial, environmental and health situations are personal to you. An On day is about eliminating or reducing your indulgence. For example, Alicia will consume only 800 calories (give or take 100 calories) throughout an On day; this is advised by Dr. Mosley in his book The 5:2 Diet. On days for me are simple, I don’t smoke any weed, zilch. 

What does an Off day look like?

Quite simply, an Off day is a day you can indulge (within reason)! I am allowed to smoke however much weed as I want (within reason), no guilt whatsoever. Alicia has no limit of what or how many calories she consumes (again, within reason); anything and everything is on the table (pardon the pun). 

How many Off days do you get?

Completely up to you. Keep your goal in mind and what seems feasible to achieve it, and you’ll be on the right track. It's important to remain flexible in the early stages, but you have to communicate with your chosen someone about what is working and what needs adjustments. Both Alicia and I have 2 off days a week. The week starts on Monday (if you think weeks start on a Sunday, you’re welcome to have your own opinion, no matter how incorrect it is). The beauty of this system, what 2 days you choose is completely up to you. If on Monday you had planned that your Off days will be Saturday and Sunday, then on Tuesday you give in to your cravings and indulge there is no harm done. Simply swap out a day. Now one of your planned Saturday or Sunday Off days must become an On day. This “Swap out” technique eliminates the guilt if you give in to your cravings on an On day and indulge. It also provides flexibility if something pops up; an unplanned lunch that would throw you over 800 calories for the day or an invite to see friends where you’ll likely drink or smoke. No need to throw your diet or restrictions out the window, just move them to another day. We’re all human and we all make mistakes, the swap out system is like a safety net if you give in or just need to adjust. 

Why do it with a partner?

Whenever I have tried reducing my weed intake, I was always able to lie to myself so that I eventually ended up giving in to my cravings. Our brains are tricky beasts. If you establish a set of parameters to change something in your life, brains have this incredible ability to find the loopholes and ultimately convince themselves to give in. By doing this with a partner, you add another and more difficult roadblock to get through. 

Having someone you trust doing the method with you makes you both accountable. We have found that this is probably the most important factor in this technique. Trust becomes a further safety net if you’ve already expended your Off days for the week. If a craving arises, and you consider giving in, you think about letting the other person down, and it quickly steers you back on track. The image that came to mind when we thought of this was two falling stones leaning on each other for support. If one falls, the other may too. Be the best rock you can be.