I agree that eating just once in the evening works out best as I can have what feels like a proper meal (no carbs though) with the family.

Just finished my first week. I have been splitting my calories into three meals but find I’m really hungry by bedtime and sleep pretty badly as a result. Any suggestions?

This is my second week and I have lost 5lb so pleased with that but couple of pound goes on again by next fast day 🙁 Can anyone tell me if steroids and blood pressure meds slow down weight loss please? Had a bad year with Lupus and steroids up and down and have gained two stone in 12 months but hoping to lose that now. Thank you.

Like Maria, I watched the Horizon programme, enjoyed it and took inspiration from it.

I’ve had a problem with my weight since joining the Royal Navy in 1965. Suddenly being confronted with more food than I’d ever had, I began eating more than I needed and the weight gain in three months was ridiculous! I decided very early on to do my best to be in control of what I eat and managed quite quickly to get the weight off again.

But over the years I’ve put on weight, lost it, put it back on, lost it… a vicious circle of my own making.

It’s a vicious circle that isn’t helped by the abundance of food we have in the western world, and the temptations that are there everywhere we look. The ‘diet’ industry is only interested in making profits from ‘dieters’ and whilst they say they want to help people lose weight, they have a vested interest in seeing people put the pounds back on again so they ‘trap’ people into helping them make more profits. It may sound cynical, but most of you reading this would probably agree?

Then, back in Oct. 2011 I was at my heaviest, 15st 7lb, and I did decide to use a commercial programme called Lighter Life. I lost 40lb in ten weeks. The Lighter Life regime requires you to restrict calories to around 600 per day, and I did this for all of those ten weeks. After the first few days I no longer felt hungry, and the weight did, literally, drop off me. I felt slimmer, looked slimmer, had to buy new clothes, and was smug and very pleased with my efforts.

Then, over the Christmas period I put on 10lb (and I was horrified!) but I quickly lost it again in the early part of Jan. 2012 by going back down to 600 calories each day. I then managed to get down to 11st 10lb by the end of April. Alas, over the summer months I slowly went back up to 12st 10lb, and now as I write this, I’m up to 13st 4lb again. I’m still more than two stone lighter than I was in Oct. 2011, so in that sense I’m happy. But I know that the slippery slope is there and I’ve decided that it’s time once again to get back in control.

So, having watched Dr. Michael’s Horizon programme on 5:2 I’ve bought the book, and intend to give it a go for the next six months. With me losing weight is more vanity than worry about health issues, because I do eat healthy food most of the time. I’m a vegetarian most of the time; never eat any meat, but do occasionally have fish.

I’m a believer in the concept of WANT power, which is more powerful than just willpower. I do believe you have to want something more than the alternative. A friend of mine once said: “You have to want to lose the weight more than you want the apple pie” (for apple pie substitute any food that you adore and shouldn’t eat too much of!) and I do WANT to lose the weight more than eating the cheese/apple pie/cake/biscuits.

So, this is another journey into getting to where I want to be, namely, 11st 7lb by the end of 2013. I’m going to see how I get on with 5:2 and take my inspiration from the folks here who are following this way of eating with me here.

I will visit this site regularly and take inspiration from those who are on the journey with me. Wish me luck!

I lost just 1lb during my first week and I’m trying hard to look on the bright side. The positive thing is that I did not find the Fast Days difficult and I actually feel more comfortable and have not had ‘hunger pangs’ all week.

I’m so inspired by the stories here, especially Tony’s. I’ve been doing it for 5 weeks, have lost 5lbs and this week decided to try 4:3 just to see – it’s my birthday over the weekend and I’ll be having cake and champagne but don’t want to halt my progress. I find it second nature now, I feel great (so clear-minded compared to before). I feel this could even be quite liberating/ revolutionary – in the West we are surrounded by easy-to-get, cheap food and many of us do sedentary jobs and just eat to relieve boredom (well speaking personally!) – what might we do with our lives if we’re free from all that!

I have been doing intermittent fasting for more than a month now. Despite it being difficult at first, it has become much easier to do – and has brought a wonderful sense of well being – I’ve definitely noticed a positive improvement in my mood, reduced anxiety/stress levels and increased energy levels. While there was no medical need to lose weight I could afford to, the half stone I’ve lost has certainly been welcome. Not wanting to lose too much more weight, i’ve now cut down to doing one day a week to maintain the health benefits. The only perplexing thing is that I haven’t had a period since starting IF. Has anyone else had experience of it messing with their menstrual cycle? If so, how long did this last? I’m not sure if this is something to be concerned about or whether my body is just going through a period of adjustment whilst it gets used to the new regime. I read on another site that intermittent fasting is more suited to men than women and that it could be detrimental to a woman’s metabolism/physiology, but didn’t know whether there was any truth in this or whether it was just scare mongering. Can anyone shed light on this and put my mind at rest?

Terrific program, both on TV and in real life! Nice book — very readable and informative.

I’d like to share a weighing method I have never seen anywhere that preserves motivation for me. (By the way, since I started this program 30 days ago, 20 pounds are gone.)

My method is this: Every morning I get on my balance beam scale with the indicator where it was the day before. If my weight is lower, then I move the indicator lower, do my happy dance, graph my weight on a scale, and also put numbers on my watch (and so today I have “D-30” over “L-20”, indicating that on Day 30, 20 pounds are gone — I know this can’t keep up).

If the indicator wants to go higher, I don’t move it. I know that if I have low enough calories in then the weight will have to go down “unless the laws of physics are suspended in my world,” and they aren’t. Right now I am having 4 days of fasting a week, sticking only to coffee and water the last several “double down days” and it’s working well for me.

But about the scale method — there is always the chance that it might go lower and I get to the scale with pleasant anticipation. And if it wants to go higher, then that’s due to water retention, roughage, etc. Moving the indicator higher is demotivating for me.

I’ve never seen anyone else use this method of weighing but for me it works very well.

I am almost down to my target weight (thrilled) and am only losing a little a week now as calories in/out are balancing out (and I’m probably being a little less stringent on at least one fast day a week).
My main goals were the health benefits and to get my fat %age down. Alas, as we have been told, fat measurement is approximate in the extreme, eg:
1 My scales, set at age 60, 4 years ago and which would give a higher percent if I reset them, show a reasonable 28.8%
2 http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html is a website using a calculation the US Navy uses and gives me 25.2%
3 The caliper test at the gym gives me a depressing 37.7%
So I am anything between super-fit and obese!!!!!
The answer, of course, is something in between the two with, I am sure, the emphasis towards the fit end of the scale. Way of Life.