Getting back on the wagon

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dave99

8:06 am
8 Jul 14
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I started the 5:2 after Christmas and was very successful – weighing about 92kg at the start I was losing about 1kg per week for a couple of months but then it stopped. I stopped being strict with myself, would start a fast day but then give up half way through – not going mad and still having less than my 2500cals so not much happened, the weight just stayed static. I got into a “oh I can just fast tomorrow” mindset and then not do it 🙁

Over the last couple of months I have slipped back into my old ways, eating loads of crisps (the big “sharing” bags!) and chocolate in the car while driving is my worst sin which I am stopping today (hopefully). I am back up to 88kg and want to be under 80 so hopefully I can be good again!

Planning to fast on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Last time I basically skipped breakfast and lunch (saving some money as well), which I didn’t find too hard, then looked forward to a nice 500-600cal evening meal.

Anyway, enough of the confessions – looking forward to 86kg…

JulieK1967

6:34 pm
8 Jul 14
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Hi Dave99

It’s never too late to try again 🙂 I started 5:2 last November & lost about 6 pounds initially quite easily then it was Christmas & my birthday is in January so I gave up & put the 6 pounds straight back on! I started seriously again in March & have been losing about 1 pound each week. Sometimes I too “give up” on a fasting day half way through if I’m particularly stressed but I don’t see it as failing. Having read the book I know not to beat myself up about it.

With regards the crisps & chocolates in the car, just don’t buy them. You have to stop the habit of eating them even on non-fast days I would say. I know you can eat “normally” on non-fast days but those food stuffs have no nutritional value & are laden with calories so you might be going over your TDEE without realising it?

I try to just eat one 450 calorie meal at about 6pm on my fast days (with 50 cals deducted for milk in 3-4 cups of tea/coffee throughout the day) so I fast 24 hours from 6pm the day before & then another 14-15 hours until breakfast the following day. Like you say you look forward to your evening meal so much, I usually have a grilled chicken breast & a huge salad with low calorie coleslaw.

You need to be a bit stricter with yourself I think for the plan to work, it’s easy to make excuses & say “oh well I’ll do it tomorrow”. You have to really want to do it properly & do your best to stick to it as nobody else will do it for you. Good luck!

monkeyslim

12:11 pm
22 Sep 14
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Hello,

I too have fallen off the wagon and have being trying again and again to get back on it, it seems so much more of a struggle this time.

Heres to a new start though Dave99 have you managed to get back on that wagon?!

Would love to hear about any stories from anyone managing to overcome some time off and weight gain and get back on track and still losing!

JulieK1967

7:34 pm
22 Sep 14
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Hi Monkeyslim, why is it so hard this time do you think? Are you lacking motivation perhaps? Do you start the day well but give in half way through or are you just not bothering at all? Maybe set small goals ie losing 3lb in the next 3 weeks?

Truthfully I’ve probably only done 6 “proper” 5:2 weeks (ie fasting 2 days) since my last post on this thread on 8th July but despite lapsing the most I gained was 2 or 3lb. These days I’m hovering between 134-136lb so well down on my 146lb start weight in March. My goal now is to be 130lb. I’ve done a proper fast day today & hopefully the scales will be down 1-2lb in the morning (they usually are the day after I fast even though some is fluid I’m sure). This motivates me & gives me the impetus to do it again on Thursday.

It’s not hard doing 5:2 really but boredom often makes me give up for the day or if I have a stressful day. About midday I’m gazing in the fridge (I work from home) & pick at something small & healthy (like a handful of sweetcorn from a tin) but that sets me off nibbling & my willpower goes out the window.

For this to work I have to eat nothing at all on my fast days until my 450 cal evening meal. It’s gone well today, my last food was Sunday dinner as normal last night at 6pm. I’ve had nothing to eat all day today until 5pm when I had 2 grilled mackerel fillets & a large salad. Next food will be breakfast at about 9am tomorrow. I fitted in a walk with the dogs at lunchtime & felt quite invigorated.

Good luck & try to get back on track if you can but don’t beat yourself up about it, try to think positive thoughts as negativity can make you less likely to succeed.

monkeyslim

8:11 am
23 Sep 14
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Hi JulieK1967!

Thanks for that I have woken up this morning and lost 2lbs from fasting yesterday, as you say it may just be water but it certainly does give you a good boost. Feeling super motivated now!

Christmas is only 13 weeks away so have set myself a goal of 1 stone by then.

Yes I agree I the boredom that has been getting me, and the summer has been a bit of a 5:2 killer with all the social stuff, BBQ’s, boozy festivals and so on. There are no excuses now.

I may give a 24hr no food fast a try I manage to get to 3pm usually but then feel like I might keel over

PollyIreland

8:34 am
23 Sep 14
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I stuck to the 5:2 diet religiously for more than 40 weeks and got within six pounds of my goal weight for the first time in ten years. However, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t get any further and gave up in June of this year. Went back to my old eating/not exercising habits and put on 11 pounds in 3 months. I’m back on 5:2 this week as I know it works but will need to do something different when I hit the plateau again. By the way, my goal is not unrealistic – I aim to reach a weight of 9 stone and I am 5ft 3″ female aged 49. Any advice or thoughts appreciated.

monkeyslim

9:17 am
23 Sep 14
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Hi PollyIreland,

Your story is very similar to mine. I started 5:2 October last year and had a very successful run losing 30lbs until June this year and then it all went down hill. Its been hard to find the motivation to get started again, but actually all it took was to get back on here chatting to people and reminding myself why I started in the first place. How far I have come still regardless of the 7lb gain.

Its really important not to beat yourself up and try to be positive. From experience I think emotional eating isnt something that ever goes away completely, for me there will always be times when it sneaks back. But what is important is the way you deal with it afterwards. Just accept it and move on, tommrow is always a new day 🙂

PollyIreland

9:41 am
23 Sep 14
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Thanks for the very helpful response. I only found this forum today and it’s been worth it already! When I was doing the Fast Diet properly I reached my first plateau around 6 months so got started on running using the Couch 2 5K plan and within 9 weeks was running for 30 minutes three times a week. However, my body got used to this combination and even though I felt great as a result, the scales just wouldn’t budge for nearly 2 months. With hindsight, I should have moved up to 4:3 and/or increased the exercise but instead just gave up. Not a conscious decision of course, but that was what happened eventually. I’m now going to use the 4:3 method to get back on track quickly and will keep in touch with this forum to help with the motivation side of things.

Amazon

10:03 am
23 Sep 14
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I followed 5:2 for 6 months last year and lost 3 stones, then went to Australia for a 2 month holiday and when I came back was ill, and for various reasons I didn’t get going again. By the end of July I had gained just over a stone.
I started again on 11th August and have lost 11lbs in 6 six weeks and it is going well. In fact it is much easier than last time as I’m not making the mistakes I made before in that I’m making better choices about what I eat every day, am ensuring that I stay within my TDEE on non fast days except for a couple of days when social events have meant overindulging slightly but you’ve got to have fun or what is the point. I didn’t panic when the scales didn’t move for two weeks, and I am exercising at least 6 days a week. I also know that this way of eating works so am relaxed about it and adapting it to fit in with my life whereas last year I tended to arrange things around my fast days. I have increased the number of fast days in order to keep the weight moving as I would ideally like to lose 2lb per week. I feel fitter and healthier than I have for the last 20 odd years, and I want it to continue.