Hi NikkiMc, Good luck on your 5:2 journey. Under FAQ at the top of the page it says Who is advised not to do IF?

People who are underweight
Children
Type 1 diabetics and diabetics on insulin
pregnant or breast feeding mothers,
if you have an eating disorder,
If you are recovering from surgery,
If you are taking prescribed medications we would advise you to see your doctor first, as you would before embarking on any weight-loss regime.
If you are feeling unwell or have a fever
If you are taking Warfarin consult your doctor first as it may increase your INR
Type 1 diabetics and diabetics on insulin
pregnant or breast feeding mothers,
if you have an eating disorder,
If you are recovering from surgery,
If you are taking prescribed medications we would advise you to see your doctor first, as you would before embarking on any weight-loss regime.
If you are feeling unwell or have a fever
If you are taking Warfarin consult your doctor first as it may increase your INR

Probably at your daughters age she would still classify as a child? I am not sure though, no expert. I think its something to do with putting your body into repair mode instead of growth mode? So could have an affect on her.

Will watch for other opinions on this thread though, as i said i could be wrong.

Thanks
A

No problem. I know it must be hard. I was once that 14 year old! Maybe just her age? Worst case if it is really bothering her and bringing her down try her doctor? Take their advice on it and see what they say about 5:2 or if there is any help they can suggest?

Your daughter would benefit from tracking the food she is eating to get a sanity check on the number of calories consumed each day.

If she is trying to eat healthy, she still could be having too many calories.

She wouldn’t have to do this all the time, but getting a baseline would be good.

Hi all, I think I’d class a ‘child’ as someone who was still growing (vertically). However, I think girls stop growing a lot earlier than boys and I myself had reached my full and final height by the age of 15. I wish to God I had known about 5:2 when I was a teenager – no doctor on earth would have been able to stop me doing it but instead I had “make sure you eat your breakfast before school” and “eat all your dinner – think of the starving children in Africa” etc. Even as I was watching my mum try every fad diet on the planet, healthy and unhealthy, to lose weight – and she was SMALLER THAN I WAS!!! That all lead to what I now recognise as in-built portion control problems and crippling self consciousness, as it’s hard to feel good about your body when you’re mum is smaller than you are and insists on calling herself ‘fat’ and ‘disgusting’. I’ve never had a ‘bad’ diet and I’ve always been pretty ‘fit’ but I’ve been overweight (by rather a lot) since puberty.

I get what everyone is saying and I don’t think you should let your daughter do 5:2 if she IS still growing and if she’s not already the kind of person who can easily manage for hours and hours without regular snacks. However, if she isn’t still growing and IS a few & far between eater then maybe you could try 6:1 for her and see how it goes?

Also, either way, there’s no reason why you can’t work out her TDEE & BMR using this site and help her keep track of her calories by feeding her her correct amount at home (this would be good for you too on your non-fastdays and will help you stick to your 500 on fastdays if you’re both eating the same meal) and helping her make good choices when she’s out of the house too. I think with kids, a lot of the trouble is not just what they eat but what they drink. Any carbonated drink (even the ones with ‘no cal’ sweeteners rather than sugar) is going to trip insulin levels and cause havoc and juice drinks are just as bad, as they are also often highly calorific too. Basically anything you drink that your dentist would tut at you about is a bad idea for weight loss too. Get her hooked on water and you’ll be half way there I think.