Hi Meggray,

I can only give you my personal experience of now doing 5:2 for 320 weeks, just over 6 years, and re-assure you that it does work and it hasn’t given me any bloating issues. I started at 94.3kg/207.9lbs and today I’m 79.8kg/175.9lbs. I lost the bulk of the weight in the first 7 months and it’s gone up and down ever since from an absolute low of 75.5kg/166.4lbs up to a recent worse of 84.2kg/185.6lbs. I weigh myself every day and it can vary considerably from one day to another – it can even go up following a fast day, but as long as I stick to the basic rules my weight stays about where I want it. Personally I haven’t suffered from any bloating due to 5:2 alone – there have certainly been times I’ve felt a bit bloated for a few days at a time over the last 6 years, as there were before I started it, but I don’t think it was anything to do with the fasting itself. I don’t know if there are particular foods or food combinations that are known to make some people feel bloated. Sometimes I think if I’ve eaten and drunk a bit too quickly it can happen – like I’ve trapped air in the process, but that could be nonsense.

When I’ve gained most weight it’s nearly always been due to holidays (when I don’t fast at all) and times when I’ve consistently eaten a bit too much on the non-fast days over a longish period – Christmas, Easter and my wife’s birthday can all be bad for my willpower. Salads in the summer help avoid this problem more. A few operations causing a lack of mobility at times haven’t helped either (e.g. the most recent high was 2 days after back surgery).

I’d say the same as I say to everyone starting out – it will work, it’s a marathon and not a sprint, and you just have to stick with it whatever way you find that works for you. Some people have one meal, I have 3 small ones. Some people need a lot of variety in their fast menus, I don’t. I’ve never been any sort of foody at all and I’ve basically stuck to almost the same regime for 6 years with just 2 different fast breakfasts (porridge and blueberries when it’s cold, granola and yoghurt when its warmer, 2 different fast evening meals (2 poached eggs on dry toast or two rashers of bacon and beans on dry toast) with a variety of fruit for lunch (usually 2 kiwis, sometimes strawberries or something else like an apple if I don’t have kiwis or strawberries available). During the day fizzy water and black decaf coffee work better for me than flat water, and a zero coke in the evening just for some extra flavour have helped. For the last couple of years I’ve also been drinking kefir and very recently mint tea, which much to my surprise I’ve found I really like but only tried because research indicated it could help with good health – and I need all the help I can get there.

Good luck to you and I hope the bloating has passed.