Hi Rose and welcome:

This will answer most of your questions: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

If you follow the advice in number one, you will read the FAQ and see that ‘starvation mode’ is a myth – there is no such thing. Other of the threads will show you do not need to exercise to lose weight. Number four will explain why it will be not impossible, but will be very hard, for you to lose 44 pounds in 24 weeks. You might want to readjust your thinking so you don’t quit if you aren’t meeting your goal three or four months in.

Good Luck!

Hi Rose, it took me about 9 or 10 months to loose 2 stone on the 5;2. Sometimes I had to go 4;3 when I hit a plateau, but then I am post menopausal, so you might loose quicker? I did very little exercise in that time, and mostly I did NOT COUNT CALS on non fast days. I did not find it very difficult, compared to other diets. Good luck!!

Hi Rose:

Of course, how long it will take you to lose two stone is up to you! But if you compute your TDEE you can compute a rough estimate for you. For instance, if your TDEE is 2000, and you follow 5:2 and eat 500 calories twice a week and no more than your TDEE on the other five days, you will lose about 3000 calories a week in fat – or about 14 ounces. I think that come out to about 32 weeks to lose 28 pounds. That is a typical amount of weight loss on 5:2 or any other diet. It is sad but true that fast weight loss is very hard. Also, remember it is an estimate – the TDEE calculators only produce estimates, not facts. So your weight loss might be more or less.

Now you might lose more initially. This site is already filling up with first week posters reporting four or more pound losses in one week (or less!). They are not lying, but what will happen in a few weeks is they will ‘stop losing’, perhaps for as long as three or four weeks at a time. Many will get discouraged and quit. But if they keep going, the weight loss will resume and, over time, they will have an average loss of about a pound a week.

To lose faster requires something other than 5:2. I see some people reporting eating a diet of under 1000 calories a day on average while trying to lose two pounds a week, and having a hard time doing it!

Weight loss is as much a mental attitude as it is a diet. One key ingredient to being successful on a diet is to accept the fact it takes a long time to lose a lot of weight. If you don’t accept that fact, you will probably quit trying when you don’t lose ‘fast enough’, and be right back where you started soon thereafter.

Losing 28 pounds in 32 weeks isn’t that bad, is it?

Good Luck!