Starting December 2015 – who's with me?

This topic contains 53 replies, has 15 voices, and was last updated by Raywitt 7 years, 7 months ago.

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Raywitt

6:21 am
27 Nov 15
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Today is my first ‘trial’ fast day, with the intent that I start 5:2 for real on Monday (near enough to the start of December). I’m 33 years old, female, from Melbourne Australia, and I’ve been overweight pretty much my whole life. I am determined to drop this ridiculous weight and would be delighted if I could get back to 70kgs (even though I would still be considered overweight). I am currently 108.7kgs, so I need to lose 38.7kgs to get to my goal. I’ve read through most of the 5:2 ‘advice’ threads and believe I can do 5:2. I have already lost 2kg in the last month with intermittently recording my daily food into MyFitnessPal with a goal of 1200cal a day (which was their suggested cal for 1kg loss per week) which I didn’t stick to 100% but it made me more conscious of what I was eating. I see 5:2 as perhaps a better method for me where I don’t need continual deprivation to achieve my goal but a similar calorie counting focus. I do know this will be a long road (hoping to be much closer to my goal by the end of next year) but I think once I get in the swing of it, it will become my new “normal”. My husband is in the same boat as me and has agreed to follow the same plan, so as of Monday we will be in this together.
It is now 5pm and I’ve managed today to have 2 cups of black tea with a bit of milk until 12:30pm then a garden salad with a small tin of tuna, and currently (5pm) sipping a herbal tea. Dinner will be an Asian style broth with veggies and a couple of chicken dumplings. I’ve also drunk 1.8L of water so far today and will probably drink another 600ml before bed, in addition to the ~800ml of teas. I estimate my total intake today will be 550 cal – not perfect but practise makes perfect. At least now I know I can totally do a fast day so I am committed to this now.
I’ve decided my fast days will be Monday and Friday as I usually don’t have plans those days but I think it will be a wait and see how those days work for me.
Anyone else starting now?

And… exhale

12:48 pm
27 Nov 15
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Hey Raywitt – sounds like you’re all set for Monday! I’m four months down the path now, and 13kgs off, which has just brought me into ‘overweight’ BMI rather than ‘obese’ (yay!). 13kgs more and I hit ‘healthy’ for the first time in 20 years – my target is also 70kgs, which would be BMI 23 for me. I’m 10 hours behind you though, so not much use as a Fast-Day buddy, as one of us will mostly be asleep when the other is in need of moral support!

There are some fantastic Southern-Hemispherites on the forum though – you should drop in and say hello.

Good luck to you and your husband for next week!

sher doyle

6:39 pm
29 Nov 15
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Hi there Raywitt and Exhale!

I started last week as a bit of a practise week and did okay even though I haven’t really got to grips with exactly what I’m doing and really only guessed my 500 calories on the 2 FDs. My goal weight is also 70kgs (it’s been so long since i”ve been there so it seems like a bit of a unachievable feat at this point! But hopeful?) I am 98.3 kg at the moment.

I live in the Hawkes Bay in NZ. Congratulations on reaching the ‘overweight’ category in BMI! That is a great achievement! I’d be rejoicing too! How have you found your 4 months so far? Has it been easy?

What is the MyFitnessPal? Is it a way of keeping track of calories? I wish I could get my husband to join me too – maybe if I have some success he might be convinced? We’ll see how we go?? By the end of next year would be my goal too. I would LOVE to have a family portrait taken some time next year (when I am more comfortable with how I look)

I would love to be a part of a supportive group – I feel as though this is my best chance of actually losing some weight and not give up after a couple of months. I’ve got a size 18 dress that I want to wear to a wedding next month and it is too tight at the moment – so that is my first mini goal!

Monday and Wednesday are the days I want to do my FDs – so today is one.

Good luck to us all!

simcoeluv

7:01 pm
29 Nov 15
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Hi sher and welcome:

This thread will answer most of your questions about 5:2: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

Kaitinah

8:24 pm
29 Nov 15
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Hi Raywitt..I’m also from Melbourne and today is my first day!!! ?
I’m really hoping this works, as I’m also in need to loose a lot of weight.

Raywitt

9:15 pm
29 Nov 15
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Hi Exhale, Sher, Simcoe and Kaitinah.
It’s nice to know I’m not alone in this journey. I love the quote that says a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – it’s going to be a long road but we have to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
My FitnessPal is an app you can use to track calories and fitness. I think it is one of the best free calorie counter apps around and almost every food you could think of is already entered in as far as nutritional information (it has brands as well as generic). You can also enter in recipes and it will calculate per serve info. I’ve found it handy to preplan daily food calories. Hubby has just downloaded it and found it is able to sync with his Fitbit so it will show how many calories burnt from daily walking. I’ve told him not to add these calories to what he can eat and just stick to the maximum of his TDEE.
Our fast day today is consisting of a ham and egg cup (20g of ham lining a muffin tray with an egg cracked into the middle, baked) at 100cal each so I get 1 and hubby gets 2, 1.5 cups air popped popcorn at 50cal, garden salad with a little bit of feta and dressing at 130cal, and a small baked chicken schnitzel with steamed veggies at 220cal. I will be aiming to drink 2.4L water and a couple of herbal teas throughout the day.
All the best to those fasting today ?

maddystella

10:13 pm
29 Nov 15
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I’m in! I am 23, female, 100kgs, 5’7 and wanting to get down to around 70kg. My ideal number is 65kg but I think 70kg will be quite alright! All in all I want to get from size 16 to a size 10/small 12.

Do any of you have a time frame you want to achieve this by? I am ideally wanting to lose at least 2/3 of this by June 2016 as I am wanting to get a breast lift. So I think the goal is 80kg by May 2016 which is a loss of around 3.3kg a month.

I am moving overseas from NZ to the UK in September 2016 and want plenty of recovery time in-between surgery and then so beginning of June is the latest I want surgery but I also don’t want to have lots of weight to lose after it as might create more sagging etc. Ugh so depressing.

How many calories are you all eating on your non fast days?

M x

Raywitt

10:43 pm
29 Nov 15
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Hi Maddystella. You have some exciting plans for the next year. I’ve always been large chested so I’m hoping once I manage to get down to my goal I don’t have saggy baggies. I would be happy to fit back into a size 14 – to be able to shop at a “normal” clothing shop and not buying plus size. I’m currently in size 18’s (some only just) and a few 20’s and the only reason I want to buy new clothes is because the current ones are too big!
I don’t want to be too hard and fast on when I want to be at a certain weight because I think that can be discouraging if you aren’t there yet, but I certainly understand your eagerness to drop as much before your surgery as possible – I would too! I guess it’s even more motivation to stay focused and on track.
I calculated my TDEE on here to be 2100cal but on the mayoclinic link Simcoeluv had in one of his advice threads it was more like 1850 so I think I will aim for 1800cal non-fast days but stick to 500cal fast days. If I lose half a kilo each week (roughly a pound) I would be delighted but really anything other than putting more weight on is a bonus.

We can and will succeed!

simcoeluv

10:54 pm
29 Nov 15
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Hi maddy and welcome:

The average weight loss on 5:2 is about a pound a week. Initial rates of weight losses may be faster, but they soon slow down and average out to about a pound. So to lose 44 pounds, you should plan on at least 44 weeks. Trying to go faster requires something other than 5:2 and often results in giving up entirely.

Good Luck!

sher doyle

2:42 am
30 Nov 15
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Hi all!

It’s pretty cool that we all seem to have the same 70kg goal! Go us!

I agree with Raywitt – not to put too much pressure on losing weight at set times. I would be more than happy to be able to lose the 1 lb a week average, that would mean about 15 kilos by the middle of next year. Sounds pretty amazing really. I would be happy to be a ‘small’ size 14/’large’ 12.

Just loading the MyFitnessPal as we speak. Will have a good look at it tonight. Raywitt your diet for today sounds great – hope you’re doing well with it? I will get myself better organised with calories etc for Wednesday. All guess work for me today!

Maddystella, are you off to the UK on your OE?? Thats exciting – hopefully we can help you reach your goals. Where in NZ do you live?

I’m off for a walk now – I need to to fight off the hunger pains! Struggling a bit with the fasting today.

maddystella

4:40 am
30 Nov 15
Permalink

Thanks everyone and yeah it is pretty cool we all have the same end goal and are starting from a similar point!

That sounds like a good plan calorie wise Raywitt. I am aiming for around 1500-1600 on non fast days and of course 500 or less on fast days. Less than 500 is always optimistic! I figure if I have 1500 then that brings my weekly net calories down to 1214 per day which means I can lose almost a kg a week. Of course things change and I don’t expect the loss to be consistently great but it’s a start. I love to have a plan haha.

Yeah I’m moving to London with some friends which I’m excited about! I’m from Wellington 🙂 I saw you’re in the Hawkes Bay, lucky you 🙂

I tried using MFP but prefer the loseit app – less complicated.

I’ve had a fast day today, it’s 5:30pm and have so far had a small amount of porridge with 2 strawberries at around 150 calories and a handful of roasted chickpeas at around 200 calories. So I have around 100-150 calories left for dinner and I will just have a vegetable stirfry – broccoli, carrot and maybe green beans whipped up in a homemade sauce of soy, oyster, hoisin, fish sauce, garlic, ginger and some chili flakes. Delicious and you can have a decent portion of it too!

MisterChew

6:24 am
30 Nov 15
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I’m starting on Monday as well coming from a conventional calorie-restricting diet. Hope all goes well. If there isn’t too much hunger pains, I’ll be content with that 🙂

MisterChew

7:54 pm
30 Nov 15
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14 hours in. The hunger pains are real. 🙁

simcoeluv

8:08 pm
30 Nov 15
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Hi Mister:

If you read my ‘Warnings’ post, you know you won’t die!

Raywitt

8:17 pm
30 Nov 15
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Hi MisterChew. Hang in there. Are you eating 600 calories over the day (I’m assuming you are male)? Maybe you need to look at eating foods that will fill you more (I.e 100g chicken is roughly 100cal) and snack on low calorie foods (popcorn, celery, carrot, apple). What are you eating today?
I’ve just woken up and weighed myself – 107.8. I know this will fluctuate and obviously go up a bit after eating today but YAY! 900g lost since Friday morning (2 fast days).
On the down side I have a cracking headache which started around dinner time last night and hasn’t gone. Time for some Panadol.
How is everyone else going?

MisterChew

8:20 pm
30 Nov 15
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@simcoeluv

I know, I am just venting a little haha.

@raywitt

I don’t intend to eat, but if I do, it will be a little chickpeas before I sleep, maybe one to three servings (35 to 100g).

Thanks for the encouragement. I have a slight headache and dizziness at the moment. I know this is normal. Been sipping tea all morning. 🙂

sher doyle

4:52 am
1 Dec 15
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hi all!

Maddystella; your stir fry inspired me to have the same last night with a bit of chicken added. yum! I’m going to have a look at the loseit app too (less complicated sounds good)

Raywitt; congratulations on getting down to 107.8! Keep it up!

Misterchew; welcome to our shared journey – and good luck! Did you have any success with your other diet?

I am finding it easier on my fast days to save all of the calories for the evening meal apart from a piece of fruit at lunch time. The fasting days are getting easier – its true. I have also decided to only weigh myself once a week (Tuesday mornings – after the Monday fast day!) so that little ups and downs from day to day don’t discourage me. Maybe after a week I will see a definite loss??? (hopefully next Tuesday I will be under 98kgs – well thats the plan!)

Happy fasting all!

PurplePoppy

6:16 am
1 Dec 15
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Hello all,

I’ve been on this forum that last couple of days reading and researching. Just reading everyone’s posts has encouraged me to start, so thank you all so much!

Today is my first fasting day, I’m planning to go to 4:3 because I have almost 40kg to lose, but I’ll start with 5:2 and see have that goes first.

I’m a 37 year old female from Sydney, Australia. Currently, I weigh 115kg (the heaviest I’ve ever been, BMI of 38) I’m 170cm tall and I want to get down to 72kg. I’ve been overweight for most of my adult life. I’ve tried almost every eating and exercise plans out there with varying degrees of success.

Recently, my doctor diagnosed me with PCOS, which explains why I’ve had an issue with my weight and I’ve started taking Metformin as well. I really don’t want to be taking medications, especially if I can help my situation with this lifestyle change.

So far today (5pm), I’ve had a herbal tea and a whole lot of water, I’m really looking forward to dinner.

sher doyle

6:27 am
1 Dec 15
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Hi PurplePoppy – welcome and good Luck! Sounds like you’ve had an awesome first fast day – I’m sure you enjoyed your dinner! I love that we’re all beginners here, the support will help us all get to where we want to be I’m sure.

I’m planning on starting with 5:2 and when/if I plateau I’ll go to 4:3 (hopefully not too soon!)

We’ll look forward to hear how you’re getting on.

bennyboy

7:38 am
1 Dec 15
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you can do the 5:2 and not diet the other days but if you have a lot to lose or want to lose a bit quicker- shall we do some simple maths? 1200cals x 7 days = 8400
less 1000 you eat on fast days= 7400.So divide 7400 by 5 gives you 1480 per day on the other five days, now that seems a bit more doable dos’nt it?

Raywitt

10:15 am
1 Dec 15
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Hi PurplePoppy and welcome. Go you, lasting til 5pm! Monday I got the tummy grumbles by 11am and then I started eating my popcorn. Last Friday I made it to 12:30pm before eating anything. I’m just focused on calories through the day (and not starting to eat too early or it might all be gone by lunchtime) but later I might try 16:8 or even just water on fast days but for now I’m happy to just get used to what hunger is supposed to feel like and see how this works for me. I guess that’s it, do what works for you.
My thoughts are that extended periods of low calorie intake can be worse for weight loss (i.e restricted to <1200 cal every day for a person who should be getting 1800 or more), which is why I am keen to try this 5:2 approach. I think extended low calorie intake is not practical in the real world either which is why I’ve failed with that in the past – it feels like a fast day every day. And for me, shakes or supplements are not sustainable (or tasty). In any case I want to make sure what I lose now never comes back!

bennyboy

11:15 am
1 Dec 15
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If a person has a lot of weight to lose- i still have 45lb to go, one has to devise strategies that help.. I would struggle over an extended period, so the point is that 5:2 helps you stick to low calorie because you can “spend” the calories on the non fast days, then once the weight is off more flexibility is granted.
I can tell you that being diagnosed with type 2 makes you focus on weight loss and not all the excuses, they are what made me 5st overweight in the first place.
Many doctors are now using intermittent fasting as a way of treating type 2, its a very exciting and interesting topic, with many health benefits.
I say whatever works for you is the way to go, but if you want to speed up your weight loss, calorie restriction is the answer

funday

12:02 pm
1 Dec 15
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hi

i am new and unsure about this diet. (insert scared smiley – haha)
but i am willing to give it a go!
i just bought the book. i don’t have much to lose but i used to be a dancer and like to be lithe.
so. i could not find how to post (start a thread on this FORUM. maybe someone would be kind enough to help me

anyhow hello to you all and happy advent!

more power to you all 🙂

simcoeluv

4:43 pm
1 Dec 15
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Hi Raywitt:

“My thoughts are that extended periods of low calorie intake can be worse for weight loss”

How do you explain long term water fasters that constantly lose a little less than a pound a day until they start eating again? Do you think weight loss slows down because people are eating too little food? You might check the FAQ at the top of the page and read about ‘starvation mode’. There is no such thing – unless you are starving in the clinical sense!

simcoeluv

4:47 pm
1 Dec 15
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Hi bennyboy:

I assume you have been following the Type 2 thread on this Forum and are familiar with Dr. Fung and Dr. Goldhamer and their strategies for reversing type 2. That information is also in my posts on my thread – https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

bennyboy

7:10 pm
1 Dec 15
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Hi simcoeluv
I’ve read many of your posts and your good advice and measured responses do you great credit. Its my humble opinion that with most obese people the problem is psychological.Its a point well made that the 5:2 was intended for health benefits, but weight loss is where the money is!If you read the original Robert Atkins book, you will find the same thing. He was treating people in the last chance saloon, and he was vilified for the diet at the time, now it turns out he was right, if you have metabolic resistance you must avoid high carbo foods. The 5:2 is perhaps one of the most manageable diets, but a calorie restricting diet it is.So if your happy losing 1-2Lb a week, its great!.But if you want or expect to lose more you must cut the calories on the other days too. Im doing a little experiment before xmas, i’m doing 5:2 and restricting the total weeks calories to 10500 (1500 a day ).If i lose at a steady rate then great, if not i will have to remove the 2460 of beer within that total!.On non fast days im finding 1360 cals of food plenty

Raywitt

8:53 pm
1 Dec 15
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Hi simcoeluv, I have done no reading on water fasting so I can’t comment on that but it doesn’t sound too pleasant. I didn’t say it was impossible to follow VLCD but for your everyday person it is impractical and it ends in giving up. I do also believe your body metabolism slows too which means lethargy. If you consider how/why people are in the predicament of needing to loose 40kgs (like myself) in most cases severe restriction is going to amount to giving up (been there done that). Consider how many Biggest Loser type weight loss success stories keep off what they lost.
I’d heard about BMR before but I’d never heard of TDEE or calculated it before and these 2 numbers are my new magic numbers – on non fast days eat above BMR and below TDEE.
I don’t want to discourage those who decide that they want to try VLCD but from my limited understanding I didn’t think that was what 5:2 was about. The main reason 5:2 appealed to me is because it doesn’t take too many adjustments to my routine, it doesn’t involve investing $ in some program, I’m in control of what I eat, it is real food. I don’t want to make the approach more difficult than it has to be. I’m sure it will evolve in time but it takes a month or more to form a habit and I want to get the basics down first. I’m in this for the long haul – however long that is.
Simcoeluv, you have been around this forum for a long time based on the dates of the posts you have written. Would you mind sharing your personal success – how did you start, what changed over time, are you losing, maintaining or in it for the health benefits?
Hi funday, you should be able to start a new thread by finding the relevant category and just above the heading “TOPIC” there should be a link that says “start a new topic…”.
Hi bennyboy, how long have you been on 5:2? You sound like you have it pretty well sorted. Won’t it be lovely to get to New Year lighter and brighter rather than fatter and flatter.
How is everyone else doing?

simcoeluv

10:26 pm
1 Dec 15
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Hi Raywitt:

You can read about my results and thoughts on 5:2 by reading my posts on this thread: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

PurplePoppy

1:34 am
3 Dec 15
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Hello and thanks for the warm welcome,

After reading your comments, I think I’m going to try eating 1600 on my non-fast days which is 200 calories under my BMR, but I’ll just do 2 fast days a week and see how that goes.

Yesterday was a non-fast day for me and didn’t feel very hungry, I had some fruit and yogurt for breakfast and at lunchtime, I found that even though I was craving junk food the day before, I didn’t feel like eating it. I had a salad with tuna and some nuts instead.

Just a quick update, today I’m on my 2nd day of fasting this week and I’m drinking heaps of water, I’m at 1.2lts so far and it’s just gone on midday here.

I’m also going to weigh myself each day as I feel that is provides me with motivation to stick to this way of eating. When I weighed in this morning it was down quite alot, but I’m only going to count my weight once a week for ‘weight-loss’ progress.

sher doyle

5:53 am
3 Dec 15
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Hi all,

PurplePoppy; great start! congrats! Like you I haven’t felt very hungry today on a non fast day but I still ate more than I should have, eating out for lunch and then meeting a friend for coffee! Still wasn’t as much as I would have have and made better choices than pre Fast Diet days!! So not feeling too guilty.

I found yesterday on my FD that I managed quite easily to not eat (just an apple for lunch) until dinner time (had an omelette and salad) but once I had that, I suddenly felt ravenous!! And really struggled not to keep eating! Wondering if it would be easier to not eat at all on the FD? Might try that next time.

Couldn’t resist getting on the scales this morning; down from beginning weight of 98.3kg to 97kg. Happy with that!

How is everybody else getting on??

Raywitt

8:52 am
3 Dec 15
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Great going PurplePoppy and sher doyle! I’ve been tracking my calories each day and so far so good. My weight is unchanged since Tuesday morning. Tomorrow is a fast day for me and I’ve worked out what my 500 calories will consist of, so I am mentally prepared. Like the previous days I’ll hold off eating anything until I feel truly hungry – hopefully at least til midday. I’ve noticed I can’t finish portions I could a week ago, and I’m listening to my body more when it is saying it is full rather than eating it because it’s on my plate.

funday

11:38 am
3 Dec 15
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i think i did it wrong. i dont think my post is visible. botheration! i will work it out

JenBenBo

2:31 pm
3 Dec 15
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Hi Raywitt, I’ve done a lot of research on watering fasting and it does not in fact slow down your metabolism in the way people assume. If you go on a long term water fast that goes for days, then yes, your metabolism will slowly shut down to rest as you’re not using the system. But if you water fast for a day, your system will burn through your body’s sugars in about 12-16 hours and then switch to autophagy. This is a good thing. When your body stops digesting it switches over and focuses on scrubbing your system of bad cells Thus the belief that this helps reduce cancer risk as the body eats up bad cells. It’s really an amazing process. As with Atkins who realized we didn’t need so many carbs, scientists are now starting to understand that the human body wasn’t built to be constantly digesting food. Other important functions don’t turn on in our system until digestions stops and this could be a major factor in modern disease. I’ve found the information on fasting fascinating.

NajMah

2:53 pm
3 Dec 15
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HI Raywitt, thank u for starting this thread. I am so looking forward to the 5 2 lifestyle. Im here coz i want to loose weight aswell as gaining the health benefits fasting has. My first fast day was yesterday
2/12/2015 and i ate a total of 450 calories, it was tough , the hunger bangs were ther but i just told myself “i will eat tomorrow, just get through today and ill b fine”

i stepped on the scale this morning and weight was 58,6 kg or 129 pounds . Not sure wat the weight was before the fasting day but I will use todays weight as starting weight. my goal weight is 52kg!

im fasting again tomorrow 4/12/2015. but from next week my fasting days will b monday n thursdays. Good luck to u all

funday

3:06 pm
3 Dec 15
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hi everyone

would you be kind enough to tell me where i can start a topic?
i am new. i feel very much on my own here.
i don’t understand this forum yet, but its said to be terribly friendly so i suspect you might not see this haha
anyhow, if you can, please tell me where newbies can start an introductory thread and if you cant, well, i thought as much! if i am interrupting something,posting in the wrong place, please tell me and direct me to where i should be going.

Merry Christmas to you all xx and thnak you for your help

Raywitt

7:38 pm
3 Dec 15
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Hi funday, yes we can see your posts and I did reply to your question above. Maybe if you haven’t already seen this page it may help you figure out what you need to know about starting your own topic http://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-to-use-the-the-fast-diet-forums/
Hi JenBenBo, I will need to do some reading on the topic of water fasting but my comment above was in reply to simcoeluv who said “How do you explain long term water fasters that constantly lose a little less than a pound a day until they start eating again?”, which does not sound to me like just skipping all food for a day. Doing 5:2 with a water fast day is something I will look into in the future though.
Hi NajMah and welcome. Good on you for getting through your first day successfully. I will be interested to hear what changes you see as you adopt this approach. Has anyone had a blood tests recently to be able to compare stats to later on? I rarely visit the doctor but I might just have to schedule a checkup next week and compare to 6 months time. It would be interesting to see what changes. I also need to get a new tape measure because I’d like to record hubby and my body measurements and my sewing tape measure has disappeared.

sher doyle

8:13 pm
3 Dec 15
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Hi all,
Raywitt; I think that is an excellent idea. I will make an appointment with my doctor next week and get my bloods done. I went a couple of years ago and everything was high so to be honest I’ve been avoiding going back! Wanted to change my numbers by changing my diet – I don’t want to be put on medication! But having a starting point would be good.

Funday and Najmah; Welcome and good luck! Reading posts on the forums is incredibly inspiring – seeing other’s ups and downs makes you feel supported as we all share similar experiences.

Have a good day everyone.

NajMah

11:56 am
4 Dec 15
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Thank u RAYWITT and SHER, so today was a fasting day for me. But i kant say its been a good one because all i was think about was food food food, my good to get food out of my mind i decide to dive in my one meal a day at 12 pm . I JUST couldnt wait until 6pm to have my 500 calorie meal so im done for the day now . Lots of water until bed time!

sher doyle

6:55 pm
4 Dec 15
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Najmah: I’ve just about finished my second proper week – and I can’t say I’ve been perfect but I am getting better and I can definitely say it’s getting easier! Especially the fast days. You find that you’re just not as hungry – you just have to try to stay strong when the (food) demons get in your head!!

Raywitt

10:35 pm
6 Dec 15
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Just popping in to see how everyone is doing? I had no change in weight after my last fast day but hoping the scales will budge a little after today. Hubby and I both found that the first fast day was definitely the worst but since then it has been relatively easy. He lost 1kg at the end of his first week, me 900g. I didn’t get a headache after my last fast either so that was a bonus.
Today, Monday, we are fasting again and meals are all planned out – salad with chicken breast for lunch and small chicken breast “steak” and steamed veg for dinner. It is currently 9:30am and not even the slightest sign of hunger yet so I think today will be relatively easy going. Here’s hoping!

sher doyle

6:16 pm
7 Dec 15
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Hi all, A bit discouraged after the Monday fast day that the scales don’t show any more progress and I’m still having days that I’m not really happy with what I’ve eaten – BUT I definitely FEEL better and am definitely eating a lot less than I usually would overall. So I guess the scales will eventually reflect that??! Just need to work on my strategies a bit more!!

Raywitt: I did go to the doctors and get my bloods done last week – I have the follow up appointment on Thursday to get the results. I’m sure that will be motivating! Hope your fast day went well yesterday – certainly sounds like you were well prepared! I just started trying to talk my husband into joining me on the 5:2. He’s ‘thinking about it’. Maybe if I have good results it will be more easily persuaded.

Keep going everyone!

Raywitt

5:39 am
8 Dec 15
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Hi Sher and all the other readers, my fast day went well until 5pm and I got the munchies. I gave in and had 2 ryvita biscuits with a scrape of butter which I thought from memory was only 35 calories plus butter because I had worked out one biscuit as a serve not 2 – oops. I ended up having approx 540 calories in total.
I was hoping for a loss but ended up with a gain (back up to 108kg) but I think that was due to my Sunday – who knew BBQ would have so many calories? I’d skipped breakfast that morning and it was probably a good thing I did because according to my calculations I sunk 800 calories in dinner ozone – between a chicken sausage, a piece of shortcut bacon and a homemade hamburger patty with a small serve of potato salad and some green salad. Of course we had family over and they brought apple cake for dessert so I had a piece of that too and even though it wasn’t wickedly creamy/sweet it was not low cal – but I’m only guessing from similar foods in MFP because without entering every ingredient I can’t know for sure what the content is. Some foods I am finding very surprising with calorie content (either I think the foods are “healthy” but are high, or I think they are “unhealthy” but end up being relatively low). Anyway, I know that the weight loss won’t be straight line so I’m not too put off by it being up slightly.
We are having a fast day tomorrow (Wed) instead of Friday as hubby has his work end of year Friday night so we swapped days. If we find it ok we might swap permanently next year to Monday & Wednesday.
I went to the Drs this afternoon (although it wasn’t my normal Dr) and explained I have just begun Intermittent Fasting so wanted to do a fasting blood test for all the usual stuff, and he didn’t know what IF was, and when I said I am limiting my calories to 500 2 days a week he was like “500, oh no, that is too low” so I explained averaged out each week it is a 2000+ reduction in calories which surely has to be a good thing. I don’t think I convinced him but I said I’d like to retest after a few months and see if anything changes. I’ll go Thursday morning for the fasting blood test, so I’ll wait til next week to get the results. He did take my blood pressure which was 119/94 – a high diastolic (bottom number) reading but he just said that is due to being overweight and isn’t considered dangerous. I will be interested to see if this changes in a few months time. I also bought a new tape measure and recorded all my body measurements.

CruzInToLose

9:21 pm
11 Dec 15
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Hi! I am a 46 year-old female from Florida, USA and I have been lurking on the forums for weeks and just found this group. I started 5:2 in October (actually doing 4:3 on some weeks) and I have lost 15 lbs. I am amazed. I have been doing Weight Watchers for years (started at 234 lbs in October 2008). I was taking meds for high blood pressure and Type II diabetes. It started out well the first year, 50 lbs gone, but slowed down quickly and I could never seem to get to goal (so I could stop paying). I did get off both meds. After many months of being so close to goal, I gave it up as useless and proceeded to gain back 34 lbs. Ugh. So I went back and have been kind of half-*ssing it for the past few years, losing and gaining the same 5 lbs. Then I got a FitBit in February which has been motivating exercise-wise, but still didn’t make me stop stuffing my face. 5:2 has produced results with relatively little effort. I can’t say I enjoy my Fast days, but it has been easier to stay on track by telling myself “I can have it tomorrow.” So, good luck to everyone. I know it works, and I wish you all success!

sher doyle

8:04 pm
12 Dec 15
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CruzingToLose: Hi there! And congratulations on your 15lbs! Go you! Your story is inspiring – thats a lot of effort over a long time. I am trying to keep off meds. I went and got my blood results on Friday and while the news wasn’t great – they could have been worse and they were what I was expecting. My cholesterol is 6.8 total (my LDL went up to 5.2 from 2013 when it was 4.9) and my blood glucose level was ‘high’ pre diabetes. So I’ve got a bit of work to do! I made an agreement with my doctor that I would try to bring my numbers down by lifestyle changes and would go back on my birthday (4 months away) and re test – if my numbers remain the same or worsen I will go onto the meds.

Are you far to go now to reach your goal?

Raywitt: How are you going? Hang in there!

Everybody else??? It’s going to be a long journey with plenty of ups and downs but if we stick to it I’m sure we’ll all have success!!

Raywitt

2:26 am
14 Dec 15
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Hi CruzInToLose – thank you for sharing your story. It is so encouraging to hear success stories.
Hi sher – I am getting my blood test results this afternoon. I’m a little concerned that the surgery rang to book me in a visit at the Drs request. I’m not seeing the Dr who ordered the tests (he’s just not my kind of Dr) so I’ll be interested to hear what this Dr says about my results. I’ve never had high cholesterol or glucose in the past – my last blood test was in May so I hope not much has changed since then. We had a fast day the day before the tests so I wonder if that would make any difference? I wouldn’t think so though. The Dr I’m seeing was the one hubby saw to get his tests and when he told her he was starting 5:2 she said she had heard good things about it, so at least she was a bit more positive than “oh no, 500 calories, that’s too low”.
I managed to get a tummy bug yesterday so only had breakfast, but I’m still having today as a fast day because I like to take it easy when I’ve had a sick tummy anyway.
Current weight this morning – 106.6kg (-2.1kg)

sher doyle

3:53 am
17 Dec 15
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Hey Raywitt: how did you go with your doctors visit? Hope your results were all good. Well done on the 2.1kg loss! As long as the scales are heading in the right direction – hope your tummy is feeling better now?

Anybody else out there having success??

I was down to 94.6kg on scales this morning after my 2nd fast day this week – really happy about that! (start weight 98.6kg nearly 4 weeks ago)

veruprats

11:49 am
17 Dec 15
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After 2 pregnancies and almost 30 pounds overweight…I would love to start 2016 with a positive mind and healthier living. On my last checkup my cholesterol level was a little bit higher. I need to do this…today Its my first day fasting. Wish me good luck and please if you have any tips just let me know…Im sure its all psychological…I hope I have the will power!

LAdypri

2:33 pm
17 Dec 15
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am 31 of age ,my waight is 94,i just started Deromine 30mg yesteday i did not sleep and am feeling bit shekey and still am not feeling Hungry any advise

sher doyle

12:10 am
18 Dec 15
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Welcome veruprats and LAdypri!

Good luck to you both. I think it’s been great starting in December instead of waiting til the new year (with resolutions and such!) We’ve got a jump start on that – its awesome. Also, the beauty of the 5:2 diet is that there will be no guilt with enjoying christmas indulging as we can work around it.

I hope your first fast day went well yesterday. Don’t beat yourself up if it didn’t – its definitely a journey and as long as we reach the destination, a few little detours don’t matter! The fast days do become easier to do.

I find that drinking a lot of water and keeping busy makes it a lot easier. It’s resisting those spontaneous urges to eat something that are key – they pass quickly (if you manage to resist them, otherwise I found that it’s like opening the floodgates! Not pretty!)

I have been going almost 4 weeks and am still refining what I’m doing (have had little hiccups – see above!) but I seem to be slowly losing weight so I’m overjoyed about that and very motivated to keep trying.

I don’t know what Deromine is?? Just make sure that if you are taking medication that you have medical advice with what you are doing – dietary wise.

Raywitt

12:19 am
18 Dec 15
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Hi and welcome to veruprats and LAdypri.
My blood work was pretty much all good. Slightly low calcium level (I need to take a supplement), cholesterol good (but should increase the LDL), glucose fine, iron and Vit D excellent. My blood pressure was also better then the week before – 112/84.

Veruprats – good luck. You may already be finished your fast but I hope you do well – let us know how you go. That first day was definitely my hardest. I’m now finding it easier to not eat first thing in the morning. If I can make it to lunch with just water then the rest of the day feels so much easier. Find foods that will fill you up with relatively few calories. I borrowed a few cookbooks from my local library on the weekend that are low-cal. One is a “complete idiot’s guide” with 200-400 calorie meals so I’m going to photocopy some of the ones that sound nice to have a bit of variety on our fast days. I’m happy to have the same thing each week but hubby pleaded to have something else… BTW I also have 2 children – a 10 and 6 year old. They are eating the same dinners as us on fast days and just having their normal breakfasts and lunches.

LAdypri – I have never used Duramine but it sounds a little worrying. http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/warning-on-dangers-of-duromine-when-misused-as-a-diet-drug/story-fneuzlbd-1226742771703
The side effects and using the drug with a fasting diet are something you would need to talk to your prescribing doctor about.

Another fast day for us today – supposed to be 38*C here today so am planning on taking it easy today and drinking lots of water. I spent 82 of my calories on a small glass of orange juice about an hour ago but nothing more til lunch which I think will be a tuna salad, then chicken stir fry for dinner tonight. “It’s only one day, it’s only one day…”
I hope everyone enjoys their weekend.