Hi baasic and welcome! 🙂

You are a rarity – someone who has never dieted before!! I think most of us have a history of dieting, but not long-term successfully, needless to say, and have adopted 5:2 or its variants as a Way of Life (WOL) – ie something that we plan to do forever.

The idea of 5:2 is that it is the fasting aspect that gives many health benefits, and weight loss is just one of them. Once you have reached your goal weight then it is suggested that you move to 6:1- just one fast day a week. This is what Michael Mosley is now on. Another variant that some follow once their goal is achieved or even before, is 16:8 – which is only eating during an 8-hour period (eg noon to 8pm) every day. So there are then daily benefits of fasting.

The general recommendation seems to be to give this WOE (way of eating) at least 6 weeks before deciding that it is not for you – some people do not get immediate weight loss. Make sure you take other measurements (waist in particular), even a photo, now, and track these. Use how clothes fit as an indicator as well.

Have you seen the original documentary MM produced. There is an info for newbies topic that has links to lots of useful things – you can use the search function to find it.

Fasting does get easier, but there can always be days when it is more of a strain :(. Focusing on your goals, any successes so far, lots of black teas, some back coffee, keeping busy, reading about all the experiences of others on this forum, and seeking and giving support via the forum, all help get thru the fast days if you are struggling.

Do make sure you keep hydrated on fast days – I drink an almost continuous supply of black tea, with the occasional coffee, and that helps me a lot.

Certainly, fasting after a day of indulgence can be a lot easier – you can feed the body cleansing away all the sludge!!

Given you don’t have a lot of weight that you want to lose, it may take longer for results to show, and so it may be a bit more challenging for you to stick with this. But do give it a serious try, use the forum for lots of ideas for making fast day more bearable (eg recipes for protein and veggie rich soups and nonfat stir fries and the like) as well as other tips.

Very best of luck, and do keep us posted on how you are going. : D
Sassy

Hey Baasic! If you have questions about the different fasting types, feel free to ask. There is a lot of experience on here. I myself do the 5:2 together with a variety of 16:8 (it usually become more like 22:2) and HIIT training (well, that’s the plan, currently on my third day of HIIT). I’ve been doing daily fasts (16:8) for months before, I started 5:2 like 3 weeks ago. Feels like 3 months…

Oh and by the way I strongly advise against eating plain rise on fast days. Loading your body up with sugar (which all carbs basically are) isn’t the best thing, instead eat a load of veggies (also lower on calories so you can have more) and protein.

Hey Baasic! Yeah the past three weeks I’ve lost about 15-16 pounds. I started October 28th and weighed in this morning. So there’s absolute weight loss going on here! 😉 This is what I did over those weeks:

5:2 / 4:3, with 0-500 cals on low days and around 1300 on normal days. To be honest I can’t really remember whether it was 5:2 or 4:3, may have done ADF (Alternate Day Fasting) as well. Bit of a blur, especially the first 2 weeks.
22:2, so one meal a day
First 1,5 week I cut out all carbs and am now still on low carb, getting most carbs from fruits and some veggies that have them. As a treat I sometimes have a baked good like bread or chocolate pudding, but not regularly.

This week I feel like I’ve started a more… controlled program, so no jumping from fasting method to fasting method – but that’s what I thought last times as well 😉 I’m now on 6 day a week HIIT, which I do fasted when I get home from work around 19:00. Then I have my one meal of the day.
My fast days are Wednesday and Saturday, because the days after that are either a low cardio work-out or my only rest day (Sunday). All other workouts combine cardio and strength (all bodyweight) so need energy for that.

I’ve found working out fasted so far (done it three times) is ok. I notice I have less heart issues (a month ago I started the same workout routine but sometimes got really low blood pressure and everything). I get tired more quickly but that makes sense, and my other results are down a bit too – but I still push myself quite close to the edge so I guess it’s still effective for fat burning! 😉
Hopefully my results will improve and my body will get more used to working out fasted. Maybe it’s just adjusting because he isn’t used to it. We’ll see.

Teehee it’s become quite a post, oh well. And I’m not going to wish you luck, just loads of willpower and the strength to giggle when you clutch your green tea thinking ‘I’m so awesome for resisting temptation.’

Haha! I make 45 hour weeks at the moment as well but have no life besides that, so I work out when I get home from work, then eat, watch a series or movie and go to bed. Rinse and repeat next day.

Thanks for the enthusiasm 🙂 I had already lost a little weight over the weeks before as well. I’ve been in China for 3 months now, starting to fast the 28th of October so Monday that’ll be four weeks ago. Lost a total of 20lb or something, but definitely the most when I started fasting!

I do have a target, but it’s a preliminary one set at 69kg. I’d love to see the 6 on the scales again (but I’ll have a party when I see the 7 as well!). At that point I’ll be lighter than I ever remember being, so I’ll get my fat% taken and see what my fighting weight could be. I’m a martial artists and we fight in weight classes, so my weight goals are influenced by that as well. I think 63kg could be a good weight for me as well, but I’ll focus on getting below 70 first.

Enjoy your brekkie!