Questions for the experienced 5:2

This topic contains 3 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by justoneL 10 years, 10 months ago.

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justoneL

9:52 pm
16 Jan 14
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Greetings from St Louis. I am a 56 year old female. 2 years ago I lost 35 lbs from stress. Not the recommended way to lose weight but the end result I loved. I lost my mother and sister within 6 months of each other and my daughter had a transplant during that time also. I was so preoccupied with grief/ demands I literally would forget to eat. I recall thinking how good it felt to feel “empty” and to not focus on food. I had abundant energy and felt empowered. As you might guess I have put weight back on, 20 lbs. Fortunately I have always had the exercise component in place . Weather permitting I am an avid cyclist. Since I know my body has gone without food for hours on end and I lived to tell about it I thought I would give this a go. I am encouraged by enhanced health beyond weight loss as well. I have been treated for breast cancer on 2002 and 2006. Many surgeries and a boatload of chemotherapy later I am still standing. My ?’s are these. Do any of you graze vs the 2 meals on your fast days? I think that might serve me better. Do you use a smart phone app for calorie counts and if so which one? I tend to get a headache with this amount of calories, do you suffer through it? Do you take Tylenol for this type of headache and does it help? Do headaches go away the longer you stay with this program? I think that is it for now. Thank you for any advice you can offer. Michele

sylvestra

10:12 pm
16 Jan 14
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@justonel …..Hi Michele

You have been through it haven’t you and it’s certainly not the best way to lose weight. Well done on the cycling though.

In answer to your questions

I wouldn’t advise ‘grazing’ as you are not giving your body a ‘rest’ from food for any length of time… BUT… if you can graze UP TO your 500 calories on a fast day and lose weight then that’s fine. It’s all about what works for you. It’s also about trial and error. I find that if I start eating on a fast day I want to keep eating so I have only water and black coffee from my last dinner on a non fast day until dinner time (around 6pm) on my fast day when I have a 300 cal meal and then a snack around 8pm. Michael Mosley says he has breakfast and then nothing till dinner; others here have 3 small meals and others have lunch and dinner, still others have zero calories from dinner on a non fast day until breakfast on their next non fast day. All of these work for that individual so there is no actual ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way.

Many people use www,myfitnesspal.com or www,loseit.com – both of which have phone apps – to track calories, particularly in the beginning to get a handle on portion sizes and calorie values and so you can keep under your TDEE on these days. The ‘helpful site links’ at the right hand side of this page will explain what this is, why you need to know it and how to calculate.

Headaches can be a side effect in the beginning but it is often caused by dehydration so if you keep up your fluid intake – water, black tea and coffee, herbal and green teas – this shouldn’t be a problem for long.

The ‘faq’ link at the top of the page and of course these forums are a great source of help and info.

the main thing to remember is that you do what works best for you.

Hope this helps

Good luck x

fastfairy

10:28 pm
16 Jan 14
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Michele from St Louis, hello and thank you for your encouraging words just now to me. I found you again here, and was so very sorry to read what you’ve been through, and for your losses.
I get headaches easily though I was okay today (yours and my first days), but I’d agree with you and go for regular Tylenol if we do get a headache, as it’s fine on an empty stomach and why suffer more than we have to?!
I hope your daughter is doing well. I too had breast cancer in 2006 and a challenging year or so of treatment, so I’m happy to have found something I feel I have a hope of sticking to that will mean I’m helping myself towards better health. You have really been through it.
I hope this new way of eating works wonders for you and me x

justoneL

11:12 pm
16 Jan 14
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Thanks “fast friends” for your replies. Sylvestra your response was very helpful. Fastfairy my daughter has been given her life back. She had her pancreas removed and her insulin producing cells were transplanted into her liver. It is called a TPAIT. Just three short months later she was off insulin and those islet cells are thriving in her liver. Our bodies are truly miraculous. I hope my story wasn’t too sobering, life has its ups and downs. I have much to be grateful for. I will raise a glass to each of us tomorrow evening as I am making Paella for 6 friends. Yum !