Dave,
Great to see new people start the healthy journey. You will find a lot of support and information here, in those forums.
Here are your bullet points:
* calculate your TDEE (and recalculated it every 6 months)
* chose two days for your fasting days (below 600 cal)
* during non-fasting days consume less than your TDEE.
* STICK to the plan for life!
* Keep reading the forum to find out about different variations of the diet and great tips from other fasters
* Stay positive, and see your clothes get loose. 🙂
* As Cinque said – : be in it for the long haul.
We know that you can do it!!

Dave,

this is my first post. I have been doing 5:2 for around 5 months, so I can’t share your journey. However, my situation was very similar and this is why I am replying to you. I have quite a few thoughts which may be useful to you (and others). Please bear with me. I came across a thread for men somewhere which might be worthwhile resurrecting. I am not a sweet person, I like savoury/umani/tart/pastry. Cornish pasty, scotch egg, etc – YUM!

I am male, aged 60, living in the UK. Like you I was 15st,4lb / 214lb / 97kg and wanted to get to around 14st / 196lb / 89kg. I am now at 13st,8lb / 190lb / 86kg and am starting maintenance. So I have lost 24lb / 11kg in 21 weeks since the beginning of December.

My wife has tried different diets over the years and came across the book. I knew I needed to lose some weight, so read the book twice. The science and medicine made sense, rather than being a fad, and I started as well. It helps if you can have support at home or at work if others are doing it as well.

This way of life started for people to have a healthy old age, weight loss was a side benefit. Heart disease isn’t prevalent in our family, but dementia is.

What you need to work out is what is the best method for you. I have a very light lunch and more in the evening. My wife is the opposite. Others have 3 light meals a day, some one in the evening. Others have nothing at all on a fast day because any food is too tempting. There is no right or wrong. The only right is what works for you. We are all individuals with our own, physiological, psychological and emotional needs.

I only found this site several months after starting and knew nothing about TDEE. I worked to the 2,400/600 calories, though I would have been mostly under. Over the 5 months there have been birthdays, weekends away, meals with friends, Christmas and various other indulgences. I enjoyed the freedom of not worrying too much about non-fast days, BUT I did not binge or overeat constantly. I could not cope with having to be strict every day. Some days I would have been over my TDEE and on other days under. This “relaxed” attitude works for me, it may not for you. Only you know how you work. Is strict better or a style that is not too cramped? You will naturally end up eating less and being satisfied on fewer calories as time goes on. I allow myself my “danger” foods sometimes, but can now have some and say to myself “that was lovely and I’ve had enough”. Your relationship with food will change for the better.

Finally, I went into maintenance once the measurement around my belly-button was half my height (maintenance is the next challenge). This is most important of all as this is where the dangerous internal/visceral fat is. I am 6’1″ / 186cm and my belly was 41″ / 104cm. I lost inches/cm everywhere else first and have finally got to 36.5″ / 93cm. I will carry on not eating until 1 pm on 2 days a week because of the benefits. This suits me (even as someone who loves breakfast) and is helping me maintain.

Read the newbies threads (especially the trousers falling down!!).
Stay with it and persevere, it works.
Be strict and honest with yourself.
Drink lots of water.
Be prepared to feel cold on fast days (I don’t normally feel the cold at all).
Fluctuations will occur, as a man I can vary as much as 3.5lb / 1.5kg A DAY. I weigh daily and average over a week. Some people weigh weekly or monthly or not at all, but go by clothes size. What suits your personality?
Remember, the scales are not the only indicators of the benefits that your body and mind are gaining.
Listen to your body and mind carefully, they will let you know if what you are doing is correct.
Once you reach your weight, you now have a mechanism to ensure you stay there. It is adjustable as required to lose and then maintain by using this tool your way.
6 months down the line you will be so pleased that you stuck with it, believe me.

Read, talk to others on the forum, do it your way. Just do it.

Sorry about the ramble, hope it was of some use.

FastBenefit

Dave, I would also encourage you to give low carb, at least on fast days,a thought (or a try).Try for a fortnight, maybe it will be beneficial.
Good luck!

Hi Dave,

Do you have trigger foods? Try and avoid them on fast days. Avoid sugar at all costs and simple carbs like pasta, bread, rice potatoes dried fruits on your fast days. If you must have fruit make sure its not dried fruit!! Its just the same as eating sugar. Go for your berry type fruits like blueberry, strawberry etc as they contain less sugar. On your fast days have bulky foods like a salad with some protein. Try a big bowl of raw chopped up green veggies like broccoli, cucumber, zucchini, eggplant, lettuce, mushrooms with 100g of tuna or chicken. Add a couple of cubes of your favourite cheese and some tofu. A few splashes of apple cider vinegar and a chili if you like a little spice. It really is quite nice and very filling.

Go to the cupboard and get rid of the biscuits, chocolate, lollies, ice cream, crisps etc. Do it. After about a week even my 3 kids stopped complaining and now they don’t miss that junk food at all.

You will find that the longer you do 5:2 the healthier you will find yourself eating on your non fast days. You wont even have to try, it will just happen naturally. Try a water fast on your fast days. I actually found it easier that eating 600 cal, but everyone is different.

Good luck, it works if you give it a genuine try.

Hi

No reason why you can’t have porage or muesli on a fast day but keep dinner low carb. A small portion of meat or fish and some veg or salad is the best option as protein fills you up. A boiled or poached egg would be a good alternative for breakfast.
I would also add that there is no such thing as low calorie bread. Gram for gram they are all about the same calorie wise so if you are going to eat bread have a slice of good quality tasty stuff.

Fastbenefit and coldpizza have both given cracking advice.

Good luck.

I haven’t tried porrige, but what works for me is:
– no breakfast
– big bowl of vegetables and small portion of protein for lunch
– big bowl of vegetable soup, no fat added for dinner

Just try a couple of options, you’ll find something that works best for you.

Hi Dreamweaverguns

38m Ireland here. 14stone 3lbs as of the weekend. Married with 3 kids. I did a version of this diet 2 years ago but it was 6:1 rather than 5:2. Did it for about 2 months and lost half a stone. On the fast days I fasted for 24 hours and only drank water. In the 2 years since, I’ve crept up in weight so starting afresh today. Dinner at 5.30 and tomorrow my fasting day. The aim is to go 5:2 this time around and last the 36 hours rather than 24. I don’t think I can manage 36 on only water so will probably have small meal at tea time tmrw. Best of luck from fellow Irish!