New to the 5:2 diet

This topic contains 8 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by Kiwimum 10 years, 7 months ago.

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RedXan

9:36 pm
11 Apr 14
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Hi everyone!

I heard about the 5:2 diet from a colleague at work that follows the plan. It seems to have worked (and continues to work) amazingly well for her.

I’m a 24 year old woman weighing 11st 12oz at a height of 5’3 – This is the biggest I have ever been and it really eats away at my confidence. It all spiraled from a break up and becoming less active in general.

My goal is to lose 2st to get to 9st 12oz and see how I feel then.

I did my first fast day yesterday on the spur of the moment after reading about 5:2 on the Wednesday. At such short notice and little planning I relied on the local shop to get me through the day. I had a ‘cup a pasta’ (181 cals on the pot) a weight watchers juice drink (10 cals) and pineapple slices in a packet (44 cals) then just to be safe bought the pasta and pineapple again for teatime. Ended up eating only half the pasta but all the pineapple so total should equal less than 470 for the day. I never eat breakfast so that wasn’t a difficult meal to skip – but I was surprised how full I felt! I’m thinking perhaps pineapple helped that in some way and considering using it again.

Any tips for day 2 (Monday) meals would be great! Thanks x

LittleDragon

10:11 pm
11 Apr 14
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Hi RedXan, and welcome to the forum.

I started on the 5:2 back in Jan, and I have lost a stone since then (it feels great to say that). It has worked really well for me and I am sure, as you have similar statistics to me when I started, it will do so for you as well.

Well done on your first fast, I found the first day really tough, but you got through it!

Here are my general food ideas for fast days.

I normally skip breakfast as I find that if I eat in the morning, it kick starts my appetite and I want to keep eating. I used to have a grilled low fat Sainsbury’s sausage for breakfast which was 90 calories, but I don’t anymore.

Lunch: here are some ideas –

“Innocent” Japanese ramen noodle miso broth lunch (197 calories)

Warburtons thin (2 pieces is 100 calories), pulled apart so it’s like two pieces of toast, with 2 slices of ham (14 calories each) and one triangle of light Laughing Cow cheese (25 calories).

Waitrose also do a prawn noodle salad which is 187 calories. Marks and Spencer also do a picnic pack of veggies and pork wrapped in a no-carb wrap – a bit like a Vietnamese wrap, which is very filling and 150 calories.

Marks and spencer country vegetable soup (150 calories)

Dinner:

Waitrose Spinach and ricotta canneloni ready meal (279 calories) or shepherd’s pie (297 calories) or fish pie (300 cal) or veggie lasagne (300)

As you can see I tend to rely heavily on low calorie ready meals for dinner as I know exactly how many calories I am having.

Good luck!

char6

11:15 pm
11 Apr 14
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Hi, Red! Carbohydrates make me hungrier, so I avoid them completely on fasting days and rely on non-starchy vegetables and protein. I don’t have time to cook and don’t care about variety on fasting days, so my usual day is 2 scrambled eggs and a stalk of celery at breakfast (I cannot LIVE without breakfast), 2 cups of homemade chicken vegetable soup for lunch (my husband makes it in advance and freezes it for me), a large tossed salad topped with a couple of ounces of skinless chicken white meat and a small amount of dressing for supper, and all the tea, celery, Bell peppers, and raw carrots I need to keep me sane between meals. I know this is not the standard advice here, but I have not weighed my food and I suspect I may be closer to 600 kcal than 500, but it’s working for me. I am a sedentary, 58 y.o. woman and have lost 16 lbs in 4 months, doing 5:2 for the first 2 months, then 4:3 for the past 2 months because my weight loss slowed down more than I liked. I still have about 30 lbs to go and am in it for the long haul! Good luck to you and ALL of us wonderful folks!

bayleafoz

11:50 pm
11 Apr 14
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I agree with char6. I do not weigh food, and have almost identical breakfast and dinner to char6 on my fast days. I lost 7 kg (15 lb) in 8 weeks, then plateaued for 3 weeks. Felt my body was coming to terms with weight loss as shape rearranged. Kick started weight loss again, with no sugar or sweet food at any time during week. Love fast days as food tastes so good afterwards. Keep exercising each day and drink lots of water. Very satisfying seeing the 5 inches go off my waist in 10 weeks. I swear by Michael’s book, as it gave me the medical science behind the diet. Also benefited from David Gillespie’s book on Sugar.

simcoeluv

12:34 am
12 Apr 14
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Hi and welcome:

My tip for day two is to just do it right – eat less than 500 cal. – and then do each subsequent diet day right for two months. After two months of doing your diet days right, you can reevaluate and decide if you need to do anything different.

Here are some tips for you as someone just starting 5:2: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/warnings-to-newbies/

Good Luck!

char6

7:33 pm
13 Apr 14
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Regarding “just doing it right,” I agree to a point, but I think some beginners may also be looking for the experiences of others regarding how they might adapt the plan to their own needs and still be successful. If I had believed that it was essential to get a scale and weigh my food before I started the plan, I probably never would have gotten started. Likewise for calculating my BMR and TDEE and counting calories on non-fasting days. But here I am, flying by the seat of my pants and down another pound last week for a total of 17! Yay for ALL OF US who are putting forth such an amazing effort to get healthier and happier!

simcoeluv

8:06 pm
13 Apr 14
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char6:

Down 17 – sounds like you are ‘doing it right’!

Nothing I said about scales or weighing food or planning – I’ve done none of those and am down twice as much as you.

But I am ‘doing it right’ too.

Congratulations. To both of us.

char6

9:06 pm
13 Apr 14
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Sorry, simcoeluv. I misinterpreted what you meant by “doing it right.” There are so many different ideas here about what that entails. But the flexibility of this WOE is one of the things many of us love about it, and why we love helping others come on board. Congratulations to you, too!

Kiwimum

10:06 pm
13 Apr 14
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Hi there. This is my first day on the 5:2 programme and I wanted to introduce myself. I am a 47 year-old mother of three daughters and on a countdown to a trip to the UK, France and Italy for my husband’s 50th – just over 9 weeks until we leave. I currently weigh just over 15 stone which horrifies me and I am determined to once and for all get my life together and sort out my eating issues. I live in Auckland, NZ and would love to hear from others just starting out on their journey like me. Thanks.