What Type of 5:2 Dieter Are You?

It has been almost 2 months now that I've been doing the 5:2 Diet. While Jo has finished her stint on the 8 Hour Diet and isn't interested in following the book any further (though she is keeping some of the lessons she's learned), I'm continuing on with the 5:2 Diet just to see how it works out over a longer period (and because I like not feeling guilty the rest of the time). 

Quick recap: 5:2 diet - you can eat anything you want 5 days a week, and only 1/4 of your calorie requirements for 2 non-consecutive days a week. 

My enthusiasm about the diet has meant that most of my family has also been trying it out (I'll give you some of their results in another post).  In talking with them, I've noticed that we have completely different fasting styles.

My aim when I fast is to get as much possible quantity of food for my 500 calories. I make huge stir fries, and have been known to eat a whole cauliflower mashed with spices (not highly recommended, better to have a bit more variety than that). It truly amazes me how many veggies you can actually eat for 500 calories.

My mother, on the other hand, is determined to eat as normally as possible while shaving away as many calories from sauces, oil, portion sizes etc.

On a regular fast day for me I'll skip breakfast, possibly have a cup of tea with no-fat milk for morning tea, a large bowl of porridge (sometimes 2/3 of a cup, more than I would normally) made with just water, cinnamon and if I need it a dash of brown sugar. For dinner I will then make up probably about half a kilo to a kilo of veggies sauteed in stock or cooked with a bit of soy sauce. (Did you know you can get 400gram bags of stir fry veggies from the supermarket which comes to a total of 120 calories?) I usually add some extra eggplant and maybe a bit of shredded chicken to give it more substance.

My mother on the other hand always has breakfast, which might be a small cooked potato or roast tomato with cooked mushrooms and spinach. For lunch she will have something like soup or salad, and then for dinner will try to get her meat and three veg including some carbs. For example dinner might be a small fillet of chicken cooked with lemon, a small potato, and then some cooked zucchini and mushrooms.

Now I'm trying to decide which is actually the better method. My way means you get to eat huge meals, and you also increase the actual fasting time as you start eating much later. However, my mother's way teaches you a better lesson about portion size and how you can actually be very happy on less food.

Which do you think would be better? If you have tried the 5:2 Diet, which type of dieter are you?