hi ya
well i am a born again healthy person all thanks to the fasting lifestyle
I have lost 12 kg (1.75 stone) over the past 8 weeks
it took a few weeks to get used to and now i know the difference between hungry and full again! I taste food and enjoy every wonderful mouthful. i feel alive and fit and have got back to the gym. I wake with a zest every day – basically the fast diet has changed my life!!! thanks thankls and THANKS! i now will see turning 50 as a fit and healthy Gary 🙂

My partner and I have signed on to the FastDiet starting today. I have undertaken the hCG diet several times. This diet includes 500 calories of food per day from a fairly balanced list of fruits, vegetables, meats. I am using this as a template for the two days per week FastDiet. On hCG you can have 2 cups of any one of the list of vegetables and about 4 oz meat or protein item at each of two meals. I ate a lot of cucumbers and cabbage. Two cups of either of those is VERY filling – and that’s the thing I like about applying the hCG diet template to FastDiet. It’s the ‘enough quantity to be filling’ aspect. I wasn’t hungry on 500 calories of hCG and I don’t anticipate I will have much difficulty on the FastDiet.

astarr, excellent response; thank you. Very helpful to me. Yes, just eating 500 cals twice a week is working, no matter what the time frame.

I think I’m just obsessing too much over the time frame between eating. I’m very happy with losing 1.5 lbs my first week, and I’ll take even a lb. a week. I’ve found my new way of eating!

I find that having my breakfast on a fast day early on actually kickstarts my appetite and making me feel hungrier sooner, so I have started having my breakfast (porridge with water) around 1pm. I find this not too difficult to wait for and just drink herbal teas and water until I eat. I then eat again in the evening eating upto the 500 calorie allowance. I am tyring to each breakfast later and later on fast days so eventually I can go all day without food and then just have one meal of 500 calories in the evening. I am on my third week and have lost 4 lbs so very happy with that!!

Hi Jewel17; I’m very new having only done one fast day yesterday, but I did exactly the same; waited until mid-day and had porridge made with water & blueberries – then dinner as late as possible (around 7pm) 🙂

I have just completed my third day of fasting. I did it last Tuesday, Thursday and again yesterday. I had nothing from round 5pm the night before, then an early breakfast and supper around 7pm. I folowed the advice given in the book and the food was delicious. I have weighed this morning and haven’t lost anything and my BMI has stayed the same. Perhaps I ate too much on my 5 days but was under the impression that would be ok, but have spent the last 4 years on a ‘slimming world’ eating plan. Can anyone advise on what I have done wrong.

I am going to go for the 7-7 fast option and use the 2-2 method on days that it works better for my routine.
As I read in the book, it is important to leave as long as possible between the low calorie meals on fast days, which will allow our bodies to go into ‘healing mode’.
My main motivation for trying the ‘Fast Diet’ is to lose the viseral fat that I cannot see. Weight wise I need to lose 1-1 1/2 stone.
Mostly I have eaten healthily since 1978, most organic vegetarian with some fish at least once a week. Tend not to eat processed food, or ready meals, as a general rule.
I’m thinking that it is hard to know if the viseral fat has gone without a scan. I’d like ideally to see what is there now, in 3 months time and in 6 months time. Does anyone know how much this costs and where might offer a reasonable price?

From my perspective, I think that what we put into our bodies is the key factor to health, next exercise, next decent sleep.
Having just started the ‘Fast Diet’ I am excited to see what changes occur. At the moment my pulse is a bit erratic, I have palpitations some times (hereditary). I did have this checked out and was told that there are no underlying problems, just my rhythm. I take no medication and prefer to self manage.

I have settled into a comfortable routine which suits me and doesn’t seem to leave me with any strong hunger pangs, the only adverse effect being bad breath on fast days (keep spray handy). I have stopped eating breakfasts so go from 18.00 to 12.00/13.00 which gives me 18 hour most days. On fast days I split my calories between lunch and tea and don’t find it difficult to go until lunch time the next day. However, I do have an apple or a banana before going to the gym if I am doing a body-pump or cycle session. I don’t really feel I need it but at 64, I suppose I should be a bit careful even though BP and cholesterol are well within healthy.

this was day 1 for me. as a diabetic, i must eat 3 small meals a day. i managed that within my 500 calories with no problem. i think having GOOD food and volume are going to be the key for me. i’m a little hungry right now, but not too bad. i may lose slower, but i have to keep my sugar levels in check. anyone else diabetic and doing this?

Question…. on the fasting days, do I have to eat or can I truly fast and not eat anything and just stay hydrated with water.

I started 5:2 on 3/2/13 mainly for the anti-inflammatory effect and repair mechanisms. I choose to save my calories for the evening meal so I end up with a 24hr fast followed by a 13hr fast, which is different to Varady but is working for me. I also exercise during fast days. I have lost 9 lbs and gone below my original target of 10 stone 4 lbs. I am now aiming for 10 stone exactly, 1 pound to go. I am 5ft 10in, not far off Michael.
Fast-day calories are not counted any more because I have lost my reliance on carbohydrates (and there are only so many calories you can fit into a single meal!). The jury is still out on the repair effects but I have blood test results due next week so we shall see… Wife has done well on 6:1, sharing one fast day with me, and is being more careful to eat sensibly the rest of the time. We are both in our sixties – one disappointing thing is body-fat calculations that take age into account as they would suggest that we are still carrying stacks of excess fat which is patently not the case…

For lyme girl from ny: see my comments above. I am, I suppose, the opposite to your diabetic condition, in that I am Hypoglycaemic. I have started to question whether this is a good thing for me or not. However, I think I saw in the book that diabetics are not really supposed to do the diet? Could be worth re-reading it & checking that one out. I cannot regulate my blood sugar the next day & end up having to take more glucose as a result. Perhaps Dr Mosley could advise us both?

Please, please remember that this is NOT a weight loss programme! The whole point is that your body gets time to repair damaged DNA in cells rather than processing proteins. Weight loss is a side effect. If you want weight loss as well as the repair effect then don’t eat so much on non-fast days. Above all, don’t get obsessive about any of it! Eat the advised amount of calories in any combination of meals on fast days. That’s it. But remember that eating a balance of fat, protein and carbohydrates in meals outside of the fast days is good – as is eating foods that are unprocessed, i.e. fresh fruit and vegetables, fish and meat. I’ve been doing the fast diet since the programme was first shown on the TV and feel completely different – and yes, I have lost weight as well! Enjoy the regime rather than worrying about the issues.

I wouldn’t worry, amandajaynep123, just live on towards your 2nd fast day! Hopefully you will feel more relaxed about the odd 50 cals over, or under, in a few weeks. I am in my 5th week on 5:2, it gets easier and I feel it as ‘normal’ now, including being more laid back about it all (whilst sticking as closely as possible to the 500 cals on fast days). Good luck.

Hi

I have managed to shift about 4 lbs but seem to have stabilised at the moment. I fast on two non-consecutive – Mondays and Thursdays. I do the fasting days as follows: after dinner on Sunday evening to the same time on Monday evening; similarly for the Thursday fast. I eat 0 calories during that period and drink plenty of water and black herbal tea all the day. However I do not seem to be losing weight at the moment. Any ideas? I eat sensibly (I think) on the non-fast days; on those eat breakfast, lunch and dinner with no snacks in between.

I am relatively new to the fasting diet. This is my 3rd week. I did not lose much weight the first week, but did drop 3 pounds last week. On my fasting days, I eat an egg for breakfast, eat a spinach and fruit salad for lunch, eat a clementine for snack and drink a protein shake for dinner. What is the verdict on the protein shake for dinner? I find it keeps me full longer. I hope the next couple of weeks are as productive.

harbourlight, check this out: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Suma-Luxury-Tropical-Muesli-Pack/dp/B005KRO982
If you scroll down you will see nutrition info.

ctterry41 – if a protein shake works for you, particularly in the early weeks, go ahead. The diet needs to work for YOU, and some people find a shake makes all the difference (as long as it’s within your calorie budget).

I have started on this the last couple of weeks, and have a couple of questions. First, is eating fewer calories if you can manage on fast day a good idea? Also, if I understand correctly, the goal is more time between eating, and I am doing a daytime fast rather than 2-2, is delaying the morning meal longer beneficial (more time between previous night’s dinner and breakfast on fast day), or is it preferable to maximize time between meals during the day? Thank you.

Oh, one piece of advice: don’t read recipes on a fast day, not even the ones in Michael & Mimi’s book! The day I did that was the only day I felt the fast was too tricky!

I am very interested in this lifestyle concept – but I want to make sure I am doing it right. What works best for me is to have dinner at 6ish on say Monday – then nothing until dinner again Tuesday at 7. Would this be considered a “fast” and…. is that dinner on Tuesday a normal dinner – or does it have to be the 500 calorie choice? Thanks!

Started this eating plan 4 weeks ago. Have lost 3lbs-a bit disappointing but think there are other factors involved at the moment…( having a 3 week period, probably start of the menopause).
My question is: I have just read that if you fast for 12 hrs or more, your metabolism drops by 40%!!! Please tell me thats not true, mine is seems slow enough at the best of times!!!

I am wondering if you can eat more calories if you exercise on fast days? For example can I can eat 700 calories and go for a 200 calorie run?
It’s okay though, I understand that the fasting is the point not the weight loss, I’m just hungry 🙂

@wiltl: At first I thought your fast day diet was all fruit and veg but then I spotted clams, crab, frogs legs so you have some protein. You could add salmon and tuna to your list for some extra protein. A day eating just fruit and veg would be difficult in my opinion.

For me, I have a white americano when I get into work, then a banana around 11am. Then I buy 2 sushi dishes from Itsu (UK Japanese chain, around 200 calories each) and eat them at 1-2pm and 5:30pm before going home. At home I’ll have a cup of tea. So far so good. 4 weeks in and 7.5lb lost.

I had tried the fast diet earlier in the year but stopped it when I got too absorbed in trying to find meals to cook that would the right amount of calories. I found the more I thought about cooking the more difficult I found the task. Simple solution was to buy pre-prepared food (Japanese sushi in my case) hence removing any cooking quandries.

On non-fast days, I eat normally but there’s a definite awareness to not overcompensate for the fast days. I probably eat between 1800 and 2500 on those days.