Hi littlejen, I think that for optimum health results extending the ‘fast’ period is good – as if you’ve read the science part of the book, your body isn’t troubled by regularly having to digest food.

But the weight loss should not be affected by your eating pattern, as that is a straight calculation of total calories in vs out and restricting on 2 days a week should result in a calorie deficit (as long as you don’t exceed the TDEE on other days)which means you burn fat reserves and lose weight.

The good thing about this diet is that it is flexible – you have to do what works for you and if you need to spread your calorie intake across the day then you can do that.

I did start doing that, but soon moved to a routine of eating nothing all day (just drinking water & fruit teas) and then having a 500 calorie meal at night. The way I see it, that is a 24 hour fast (dinner one night to dinner the next) but in real terms I only have to struggle with not eating for 10-12 hours – from getting up to eating my evening meal – and only on 2 days a week.

Other benefits are that I just don’t think about food at all on fast days other than what I will eat in the evening – so the ‘diet’ is extremely easy. And to be honest I have more or less the same evening meal on every fast day – beans on toast or egg on toast sometimes followed by a sugar free jelly or a yoghurt. I am so hungry by then that this is quick & easy and fills me up!

But as I say, you must do what you can deal with – you could always experiment leaving larger gaps to extend your fast period so you can realise all the benefits.

Good luck and let us know how you get on 🙂

Hi Littlejen !
I’m like you, can’t go without having something to eat for long times.
I have been doing 5:2 for 7 weeks and have lost 15 1/2 lbs !. I do have three meals a day, but do not go over my 600 cals per day. So my longest ‘window’ without anything to eat is between tea time (round about 4:30 PM) and breakfast (round about 6:00 am). I have fruity teas in between meals (if you are in the UK, Aldi have these at 0 cals per tea bag !).
As the book says, we all have different bodies and different needs and there are no ‘commandments’. The key to long lasting success is what suits you !.. Hope this helped ! 🙂

Hey Jen (and Goldie), I think it’s just important to listen to your body. I think a lot of people have a wrong notion of what it feels like to be hungry though, which causes them to eat too much too often. I remember doing my first 16 hour fast (from dinner the day before) and I felt like I would die, my stomach was growling and I was lightheaded and everything… and then when I ate I got severe stomach pains. So my body was clearly not used to it.

That was probably two years ago, and I’ve fasted sometimes in between but am not dedicated to it again for 1,5 weeks after not fasting for months. And the funny thing is, I just dove straight into daily 24 hour fasts (only eating dinner every single day, alternating calorie amount) and my body was fine. The first day I had stomach growls, but now I don’t even have that. So your body does get used to it. Keep that in mind 😉
Basically your body has enough energy stored for months (even if you are rather lean).

Anyway, hope this helps, just thought I’d add my experiences 🙂