Hi:

Exercise will often lead to weight gain: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/exercise-is-dangerous-for-your-diet/

That does not mean you should not exercise, just that it will take longer to lose weight.

Here are some other tips: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/warnings-to-newbies/

Good Luck!

I am also a large build- thats the only way i ever xplain very slow weightloss-i was told at weightwatchers it was about increasing metabolic rate(called TDEE here) and reducing bad foods-with low gi and just consuming good foods high gi- next week I will find out….

dianabee:

“Hello, I understand how you feel. I have not lost any weight for 4 weeks now and today I have put on 1 lb, (yesterday was a fast day). I came on here to seek advice and came across your thread. I started on Jan 6th also and have lost 8 lbs in total. . .”

The average weight loss on 5:2 is about a pound a week, and women tend to lose weight a little more slowly. You appear to be right on track. This may help: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/on-plateaus/

Good Luck!

Hi, I’m a female 34 with 2 children. I eat fairly healthy and love exercise.

However, I am starting to think I am the only exception to the 5:2 rule.
I have been going for 2 months now and have lost NOTHING.. Not on the scales, not in centimeters (yes I have taken measurements at the start, and again this morning)… Just a big fat nothing 🙁 I am getting quite disheartened about the lack of response my body shows. I can’t see why. Nothing changes no matter what I do – watching what I eat on normal days, NOT watching what I eat on normal days, cutting out carbs for dinner, eating carbs at dinner, exercise, no exercise. TEsting these as the weeks tick by, always hoping the scales will show some results next week. (Oh yeah, forget to mention the 2 weeks of NOT weighing myself and monitoring ‘progress’ and gaining a kilo. yikes.)

It annoys me when people say but you don’t need to lose anything. Yes I do. This is not me. My weight crept up 4-5kg in a year from 59 to 63kg. That is a whole clothes size difference for someone like me who is only 5’4 – I refuse to buy new clothes.

I am wondering whether I should just ditch 5:2 for now. It is great for keeping my weight steady…. but I may have to make a massive effort on the exercise front with some serious dieting to go with it to get to my normal (goal) weight of 59kg and then use 5:2 for the health and weight management purposes.

I’m fasting today. I used to ‘enjoy’ fast days knowing they get me closer and closer to my goal. But do they? All that tummy rumbling and self control… what for?

I don’t know what to do 🙁
I’m off to Europe/home/holidays in 10 weeks’ time and the thought of gaining another 2kg (no) thanks to my nan’s delicious cooking is really worrying me. I need to get at least 2kgs off before then.

Sorry about the negative rant I’m just losing motivation.

Thanks for reading. Hope you’re all having a much better day than me!!!
xxx

Hi, agree with the above. I tried for 4 weeks and lost nothing. I then checked my calorie intake on My Fitness Pal and discovered that I ate Well over the 1700 cal recommended on feast days.
I also am 5’4 and totally support you in wanting to shift those irritating few kilos. At your age I weighed about the same and just wore baggy T shirts to hide my tummy. Now at 47, I had my third child at 40, I now have crept up to 75 kilos. I am losing about a kilo a week at the moment after checking my intake on both feast and fast days.
If, after checking your intake, you don’t lose weight, it might be worth being checked by your GP to ensure there isn’t a metabolism problem.
Good luck and let us know how you get on. You’re a hero for persevering:)

hello @missmotivated!

I can only sympathize with you, it sucks being small ( in height i mean) I’m 5’2 myself and paying big prize for it! because we are tiny, we do need less calories then average, and cutting them down to 500kcal in a fast day is not doing much, not quickly anyway. see my rant http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/permanent-diet/

you say:
for me it’s more to do with how my clothes fit rather than actual weight as I’ve always been heavy. Even as a size 8\10 I was 10 stone and am now 12 stone 3 and a size 14,

well i understand what you are saying… my sister is same height then me and was always weighing less then me- but even when i was size 6, i was wearing DD bra, when she has no breast at all 🙂 I also understand that breast is mainly a fat tissue, so i was heavier for reason 🙂 all of us are build different but there is not such of thing as ‘heavy boned’.

‘Even as a size 8\10 I was 10 stone and am now 12 stone 3 and a size 14, as someone who is only 5ft 2 my BMI is horrendous but clothes wise i’m average but want to get to my comfortable size 10. I wonder whether anyone else has this problem?!’

Yes I do! As we are only 5’2 your BMI will be horrendous, becouse you are not average woman. size 14 at our height would compare with size 18 for average woman if you compere fat % I’m wearing size 8 now and there is still LOTS of fat! I’m not saying you need to slim down to size 4 or 6, stay where you are comfortable but don’t be surprises about numbers. UK size are LARGE and growing (i work for large uk clothes brand, and believe me they are doing it so people feel better they fit smaller sizes!) I find even if I’m size 6 in UK, trying to shop elsewhere in EU I’m shocked to see myself not fitting size 38/40 (10-12)

I’m not trying to be harsh i promise! I know how it feels… I’m fasting every other day and my scales showing same number for last 2-3 weeks. I know @simcoeluv you will say i’m some nature freak 😀 i can see difference in my body so i’m shifting some fat, but not as fast as it was in the beginning. I’m also fully aware that I should only eat 350 kcal on my fast days (not 500-600 kcal like i do) and really look at my kcal intake during non fasting days. I’m working on it, step by step and ladies if you want loose weight please look http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/small-steps-are-best/
it may help you.

I really recommend to look at BMR and TDEE again, and try to work out what small steps you can take each day. Glass of wine less? or coffee with no sugar? try some clothes too, you may be just like me, not loosing kg but shrinking anyway? Pick one pair of trousers+top which are tight right now and try them on every mon maybe?

if that doesn’t help, maybe there is something your GP can help you with?

i wish you best of luck! xxx

Ok I just checked the figures and I’m allowed 1560 …… Not sure what I did wrong but I guess it’s an improvement. Still not sure though. Is that all I can eat on a normal day then?

Thanks simcoeluv. How many calories should I eat to lose about 2lb a week?

Oh ok. Thanks for that info. I’ll just keep on trying for a few more weeks at my new TDEE on feed days and see how I do. Thanks again

So this means then, that on a fast day I must severely restrict my calories, and on a ‘feed’ day I must restrict them less severely, but at no point do I get to eat “what I like, when I like”. It’s starting to sound like a calorie counting, weigh everything, deny yourself lots, D I E T! I thought the whole idea was to fast 2 days a week and then, within reason, eat what you like on feed days. I’m thinking if the idea was to count calories every day then Dr MM would have created an app by now. I don’t understand how this has become a calorie counting diet. I’m back to weighing all my foods, even on a food days when I’m not fasting. How has this happened?

Hi all,
Can I just say that ‘no weight loss’ weeks are often down to ‘what’ you eat ‘ not how much. Do yourselves a favour and record meticulously(everything that passes your lips) everything you eat and how much exercise, what type ‘for one month’. Weigh yourselves every night and every morning. It sounds like a lot of work but trust me you will never need to do it again or calorie count. Look at what works and doesn’t.
I became my own weight loss scientist this way.
Firstly I discovered that I cannot eat more than 1200 cals any day, don’t know the cause but it’s a fact, that is my maintenance level.
Secondly, I have food intolerances to salmon, tomatoes and bread, if I eat these foods even in the correct portions ?I do not lose weight. I swapped these for white fish, carrots and potatoes, no problem.
Thirdly, exercise at the gym has absolutely no effect on weight loss ( 500 cal burn 5 times per week)but daily walking for one hour works even at a moderate pace. Dogs now a very healthy weight too. The gym is now for toning only. Who know why? Not me?
Fourthly, if I don’t drink 8 glasses of water or tea I hold weight, frequent trips to the loo keep you active and flush the system out, good for your kidneys, not necessarily your sleep though unless you can squeeze it in all before 7 pm, I can’t.
Lastly none of this works unless you can be honest.with your record keeping, plan at breakfast and amend record before bedtime daily !
These things I do to lose one pound per week, yes it is worth it to keep motivated.
P.s. I gave up sweets, chocolate and alcohol for one year, it’s not rocket science, these things are a waste of calories, sorry but it’s the truth whether you like it or not. Good Luck all xx Dr Jojo

Now that I’ve got my head around the idea that I can’t eat what I like on a feed day I’m adjusting to the idea. However in order to lose weight (say 1lb per week) I need to fast twice a week at 1/4 my TDEE. So that’s 390 calories on a fast day and then I need to reduce my feed day calories slightly too, let’s say to 1400. I’ve set MFP at 1400 then and I’ll see how I get on. Depressingly low numbers….. I may have to resort to exercise LOL

Cyprus lady, a word of encouragement here: I started 5:2 mainly for health reasons, less to loose weight.
On fast days I aim for 500 kcal but usually end up at 550-600 kcal. On feed days I eat what I want. I recorded every morsel for the first few weeks and once I found that my usual diet is round about 2000 kcal I stopped. My feed days are anything between 1500 and 2500 kcal. Meanwhile I avoid going on MyFitnessPal because of people’s obsession with counting calories and the constant advice to eat less than your maintenance even on feed days.

5:2 does not mean that I can shove 10000 kcal of burger, fries and ice cream in my face on feed days, but I don’t have to say Goodbye to the bit of chocolate or a cookie either.

Despite this relaxed attitude I loose weight steadily. I am morbidly obese and this means great potential for weight loss with even small changes.

Now for the big BUT: your TDEE suggests that you are close to a normal weight if not at a weight that was considered healthy until an insurance company “redefined” healthy BMI a few years ago.
Any weight loss through any diet will be at snail’s pace for you because you do not have much to loose. Relax, enjoy the potential health benefits of 5:2 and forget about your weight.

5:2 Intermittent Fasting Health and Fitness

“After a couple of weeks and quite a few pounds down I noticed I didn’t eat the same size portions as I used to.”

Same here. It just happened. Portions I would have looked at in despair a few months ago now seem just fine.
I also noticed that high carb/high sugar foods trigger me into eating a lot. I had some cheerios the other day and could have continued eating. This does not happen after a nice protein heavy meal; even old fashioned porridge (not the instant stuff!) is better than those sugary things.

Cyprus lady

There are a few of us fasters who have been around for a while and we do not count calories and we have lost weight. I suppose these days we are heretics but when we joined we followed the book and just ate normally on non-fast days. There has recently been much more emphasis on TDEE from the very start. I would say, try 5:2 without calorie counting for a month or so and if you are not happy with your progress consider it one of your options – others are 4:3, low carb, using an eating window on your non-fast days.

Thanks Barbarita – I think I’m going to join the heretics and give myself a couple of rules instead of calorie counting.
1. When hungry – drink some water and wait 15 minutes
2. When I eat make healthy choices and serve half the normal portion and then decide at the end if I really need any more or if I’m ok.
3. If I’m not hungry, don’t eat!
Not rocket science really but coupled with my new power walking dog route I think it’ll help.

Mybb thanks for your help too. I love the way you assume I go to a gym LOL. Yes I’ve changed my dog walk to a different route which now involves a lot of hills and I try to power walk up them. My dog is a little baffled but it’s good for her too.

Hi all. I don’t think those who don’t calorie count on non-fastdays are really heretics 😉 it’s just that there are a lot of ‘new starters’ and people coming from unhealthy eating backgrounds for whom it is easier to get across the concept (and make sure they’re on the right track) by explaining the basic ‘calorie reduction’ principals behind the weight loss aspect of the diet.

Some people seem to have no problems with figuring out how to eat healthily on non-fastdays without the need to calorie count but some really do need to pay a bit of attention, otherwise they don’t lose weight and then think they’re ‘failing’.

I’m kind of half & half myself. I pay attention to calories of my ingredients as I shop, so I always have a good general idea of what rough number I am taking in in a given meal and I try to ensure I’m roughly a bit under my TDEE on most (if not all) non-fastdays. Works OK for me and should mean that it’s slow & steady weight loss and then an easy transition to maintenance when the time eventually comes. That’s the plan anyway 😉

Hi TracyJ

I see where you are coming from. I was,replying to someone who sounded really cheesed off because they thought by learning about 5:2 they had found a WOE where they could escape from all that. Some people will be really put off if told they must calorie count from the get go. Some people are cool with it. If I come across someone who isn’t I like to reassure than that, for them, it may not be necessary. It’s hard to tell when people introduce themselves whether they have been misled into thinking the can stuff their faces 5 days a week!

Also, I think we experienced fasters tend to forget what a big deal getting through a fast was at the beginning.

Hi thanks everyone for your input! This is such a supportive forum! Barbarita is right – I was cheesed off because when you watch the horizon documentary and read the book (admittedly rather a skim) I was under the impression that as long as I fast 2 days a week then I could eat normally for 5 days…. Which I did and then didn’t lose any weight.

My ‘normal’ is as Redzgal points out, involving more calories in than burned. I know the equation is very simple but I’m such a lazy bugger and I don’t do enough exercise, so I was somehow hoping I’d found a way to have 2 days of hardship in return for eating about 2000 calories on the other 5 days (and still not exercising!) like Redzgal I do like my food…. My portions are always slightly too big and I do like a cake / biscuit / chocolate or 2.

Sylvestra – I think that’s a good idea about eating from a smaller plate. I’m going to start trying that. Tonight I had a mushroom burger (normally I would have 2) with some cauli and cabbage, and some orzo in passata. Orzo in passata slips down very easily so it’s easy to over eat so I served 1 reasonable scoop and have not needed seconds! Probably all that wouldn’t have fitted on a smaller plate and I might not have even had the orzo!

Thanks everyone for all your support! Today consisted of breakfast, lunch and dinner without ANY snacks in between, which i realise is quite rare!

Well done MissM – its a great feeling isn’t it?
I’m sorry if it seems we high jacked your thread, but sometimes one reply sets another person off on a similar tangent and someone else jumps in……etc. Usually its all good advise stimulated by the original post and happens frequently.

Now THAT was a random hijacking of a thread. Where do all these pill pushers come from? No you don’t ‘NEED’ supplements and losing weight quickly is so NOT the point of 5:2, it’s actually kind of the opposite of the point really.

Well done on your progress missmotivated – it sounds like you’ve got it down. Really pleased for you 😀