Thanks Qsue – good info. Did you mean Dr Fung does have a forum? You said he “does not have a 5:2 official forum like this one” but people write freely? I will check out his web site and see if I can find it. With one month under my (smaller) belt I like the flexibility and so far for me almost painless weight loss of 5:2. I’m hoping to combine the wisdom of all the IF and HF/LC experts so I can continue to have lifelong healthy weight management and improve my odds of avoiding the Diabetes Type 2 and stroke that took my father and the hip replacement, immobility and obesity that have had a grip on my mother the last 15 years. I think I may have just barely made it into this “club” in the nick of time and I am so grateful!

UK day 32 morning all , I’m hoping June brings some good weather here, yesterday’s windy rainy and grey was not nice. Going for a b2b (well my version – I admire you water fasters but it’s not for me at the moment ,but who knows for the future ? ) I’m fine having water and the odd coffee through the day but it’s the thought of a nice meal at around 7 that keeps me going

Surrey Day 32. It’s interesting how each morning the day is something to look forward to. When I tried other ‘diets’ waking up to another day of dieting was always a burden. This is not…I am really intrigued by this shift in thinking. I know nothing about Dr Fung and Michael Mosley, I see many references to them. Not sure that I want to go into the scientific side, but very grateful to them for the work they have done
I am with my daughter in St Albans, need to weigh tomorrow and her scale doesn’t work!
So I have to wait till Monday morning when I am back home. It will be interesting…

UK Day 32…having to do maths, now that we’re out of May and add the date to the 31 days we’ve already done! FD today – and really glad to be doing it as the last couple of days I’ve felt bloated and sluggish with starchy carbs.

US SE Day 32 FD. FD today. Going to try a 4:3 this week and next to make up for the holiday weekend and get myself back on track. Still love reading all your posts. So motivating.

Day 32 NFD USA- Illinois
Just checking in. All going well for me – congratulations on all of your successes and remember we can do this with fortitude and lots of everyone’s support!

Australia Day 33 NFD – I am actually posting a couple of hours early but need to be out very early tomorrow and did not want to miss a day. My FD today went by very smoothly. A liquid only day – tea, coffee and miso soup. Sat drinking my cup of sugarless, black tea while my husband tucked into pie, peas, cauliflower and gravy! One great aspect of FDs is that I don’t have to cook dinner or clean up! Yay!

Day 32, Gloucestershire, UK. Making this my 2nd fast-day of the week as I want to fit in one more on Friday. I keep busier, now I’m back at work, which helps pass the time. That’s the plan anyway, leaving the weekend free to eat (healthily).
Meeryme, I feel there is something in what you say about avoiding starchy carbs and (certainly) refined sugar. Fructose is something out bodies aren’t well-adapted to cope with. I’ve read some books on the problems with refined sugar….makes a lot of sense. The trouble is I’m addicted to the stuff. If I could get off it completely, I’m certain my weight would drop. If…if…if..

USA day 32: FD for me today and sticking to in this time! Next one will be on Friday.
Feeling pretty good with tea this morning. Heading out to take the kids to the library and that’ll be a nice distraction. Need to clean my house too. Goals for today. Miso soup and hard boiled egg at around 1pm. Dinner will be a big salad and a tiny bit of pasta.

Day 32, US, sunny breezy NYC…

I too have a delayed response to FD, which was yesterday. Working on my last three pounds. Ribs hurt today. My workout should be fun tonight…not.

Day 32 California USA. Today is a NFD. I am enjoying the cool morning watching my cat do his HIT exercises. We are in the midst of a heat wave in the Central Valley. It is expected to be 100+ degrees for the next five days. I need to get my outdoor chores done early before the heat arrives. I am planning to eat light today and enjoy dinner and a show with my sister. We are going to see the stage production of “Mamma Mia” at our local Arts theater. It should be fun.

The posts have been informative. I am concerned about how I am losing my weight. Am I fasting correctly? I do not want to drop my metabolic rate like the biggest losers. I have done that before when I participated in a weight loss competition at work. I lost a lot of weight. I came in second place. It was hard for this 50+ year old to compete with the 20+ year olds. But I gained all the weight back and more. Thanks to all for sharing your knowledge and experience. I think I will take another look at Dr. Fung, Dr Mosely and other authors that have been referenced in this thread.

Wishing a great day to all!

Thanks to everyone who recommended watching Dr Jason Fung on youtube. It was very interesting. It took an hour, but it explained a lot of the reasons why fasting works etc. My SIL follows a low glycemic diet, the CSIRO diet I think it is, and she lost 20 kilos many years ago, 3 kids later and still has kept it off. Gives me food for thought anyway 🙂

UK day 32 I was planning to keep to 800 calories today but we have family visiting which makes it much tougher. Just eating sensibly instead and looking forward to a FD tomorrow

Day 32 in Los Angeles. NFD. I might’ve gone a bit over my TDEE yesterday (also NFD), but hopefully not by much. I got too close to a bag of chips. Today I’m determined to stay sane. FD tomorrow. Cheers to all!

Hi Coda and everyone – Day 32 Scotland
Sorry, seem to have been awol for some time, in fact just 2 weeks. Started out with good intentions on holiday to stick to my fast days. Well, managed one only, then visitors to us, us to family, everyone visiting, it has been one long food fest (and wine).
I then decided, to hell with it, I am going to eat just what I fancy, and see what the results are after two weeks.
So: Wine, G & T’s, Hot chocolates, Eccles Cakes, Bread, Ice cream, Puddings, Chocolate, crisps, Chips, teacakes, and everything else in between – this is the result!
Feeling bloated all the time, constipated, Tired, Only two good nights sleep in two weeks. Tight clothes, sore back, aching varicose veins. Grey pallor, horrible big spot on my face, headaches, all in all feeling pretty awful. Plus – wait for it – a weight gain of 5 POUNDS!!!!! in just two weeks!. Yuk!
Fast day tomorrow, and can’t wait to get back on track. After eating healthily for so long, I feel as if I’ve battered and bruised from the inside out.
This has taught me a lesson – that no matter where I go, or what I eat, there are healthy choices available if you choose to have them. It is sooooo easy to slip back into the old way of eating, and for me, no way am I going back to that. I value my health too much. If this is the result after just two weeks, I imagine in two months I would be right back to where I started – NO THANKS! I shall be spending the last few days of our challenge unloading all this grotty stuff, and getting back on track. Good thing is, the fridge is bare, so starting from scratch with all the lovely summer fruit and vegetables available. We are having great weather up here in Scotland, and I want to be able to wear my shorts this summer, so once more, here we go.
Great work everyone on sticking with this wonderful way of eating. Just imagine how well you will feel when you have cut out the crap and start eating delicious fresh foods, that are actually giving you good health, and a great way of life.
I have been keeping up with all your posts, but find it difficult to comment when the thread is moving so fast. Our intrepid leader Coda has us all in control, so hang in there – YOU CAN DO THIS. TTL

USA 31 of 42
Still here!

Aussie day 33 NFD today will do third FD tomorrow.

California, day #32.

I’m now on some medication (that has weight gain as side effect) and I find it difficult to fast. I was supposed to fast yesterday and could not do it. I tried today and was hungry so no FD today.

I decided to continue but I’ll eat less calories today and tomorrow, around 1400. I’ll be off medication on Friday so FD = that day.

I hope to recover and continue to fast without difficulties next week.

Australia, day 33, FD

The sun is out again after several days of rain over here on the east coast of Australia, and it looks like a lovely crisp day without the wind. I have some FD soup portioned out in the freezer.

Coda, I feel for you and there are lot’s of us here who understand. I’ve had several of those days where hunger just seems to grab hold and I can eat totally mindlessly, only 3 or 4 in a year and a half, but scary hungry. Now I think of them as teaching days, because they teach me something about myself- I’ve learnt:

1. I think, not sure, but think, that these are days where my body is dragging the most energy from storage. Despite what I’ve eaten sometimes, the weight gain doesn’t seem quite as much as I’d expect. If I ate the same stuff on a day when not super hungry. e.g. when socializing where abundant food is on a table right next to me, the weight gain will be bigger.

2. I’m an emotional eater. I’ll eat because I’m happy (celebrating); bored ( something to do, keep my hands occupied) sad (commiserating/sympathy food), depressed (comfort ), stressed (comfort carbs and chocolate), very stressed (comfort comfort – loads of carbs and chocolate, half a pack of sweet biscuits/cookies in USA)). Then I’ll eat to keep someone company if they’re upset and eating more. Where it came from : I had a yuck childhood almost the only thing giving me emotional support /comfort was food.

3. They are abnormal days , they don’t come frequently, so I need to be kind to myself – it doesn’t mean I’m a failure, bad, or need to stop my healthy food changes I’ve made. It’s just 1 day. Get back on the horse tomorrow.

4. I need to keep as busy as possible. Because of my health/lack of energy situation I can’t always do that, so being away from food sources helps. Do something to keep my hands busy. Keep my mind as busy as possible. Youtube surfing music or watching TV online while doing something else helps distract me..

5. Learning that it’s not just about me. There is a Dr Mosely documentary on sugar and fat quantities in food. The food production industry knows something we don’t. If fat and sugar are in equal quantities in food it makes the food addictive. We can’t stop eating so eat bigger portions, or eat with ourveyes. If we see it we want to eat it for no reason. Glazed donuts, cheesecake, some icecreams are big culprits. This is apart from the addictive quality of sugar. The processed food industry tries to get us to eat more of their product, and laces food with sugar, fat, salt, whatever they can to get us to eat more. They aren’t our health friends,

6. I only have to get through this 1 day, then I’ll go back to normal eating. So- eat quantity of lower cal, lower GI stuff first. Only if it’s totally, ridiculously overwhelming do I buy a packet of biscuits(cookies) eat as much as I want and through the rest away. In a garbage bag, in the outside bin, so I won’t get it back out and eat the rest. What I’m craving those days invariably is starchy carbs, sugars, combined with fats.

7. Forgive myself, get back on the 5:2 horse the next day. Don’t think I’m the weakest person in the world and give up. That’s just way out of proportion to the challenge.

8. Use the word ‘challenge’ not ‘problem’. The word ‘chalkenge’ carries with it the idea of a solution. The word ‘problem’ does not, it carries with it the idea of goving up. Psychologically it’s better to see these bl….y aweful days as a challenge.

Coda – just get through this day however you can. It’s not the end of the world. Tomorrow will ge better, and you’ll get back on the horse. Human beings aren’t perfect. It’s quite OK to have a totally yuck day. Be gentle with yourself.

Sending you goid thoughts,
Merry

Coda – i commiserate with you. I couldn’t even resist a second helping of chicken salad last night on a FD – you wouldn’t think that would be a challenge, much less cakes, cookies or chocolate. For me those lovely cakes would need to leave the house because I know if it’s in reach evolutionary cave women MUST EAT!! Even if I know I don’t want to eat simple carbs/sugar if I even taste a little (like last weekends sample of coffee ice cream) that old Dr Jeckle personality takes over and I end up eating it all (except I did share the whipped cream with my granddaughter).

We all have momentary lapses but losing one small battle just makes you stronger to learn how to win the war against your impulse eating. If you feel the irresistible thing telling you “eat me” could you maybe eat another less high glycemic item, say with protein, maybe celery and peanut or almond butter.

You are our inspiration for all that we are acheiving no matter what! We know you can get past this! 😘

Ditto Merryme who said it all better!

Merryme, I read your post just after publisbing mine. Thank you for your good words. I take them personnaly although the were initialy for Coda.

Please note that you do not need to make your posts shorter. Your message is instructive and a helping one. Please go on for as long as you wish.

xxx

Thanks Quebecoise🙂
xxx

Extra post – sensible last minute decision has paid off! I was up early this morning to go to a breakfast event. I ended up catching such an early bus I had 30 minutes to spare so having had a liquid only FD yesterday I chose to go to a cafe for breakfast instead of waiting to eat at the event. I wanted a frittata but they only had quiches so I ordered a black coffee and a quiche and then ate only the eggy inside, leaving the pastry. I then went to the event which was supposed to lay on breakfast and it was so badly organised I would not have been able to get anything to eat or drink so was so glad I had made the stop. Otherwise there would have been an explosion! 🙂

Hi Bigbooty, thank you very much for your advice. You are so right.

In fact I didn’t take any chance and I put some dishwashing liquid soap in the jar just in case I changed my mind on my way to the garbage 🙂

Would you believe I am a very professional woman managing big projects ? Ouf, sometimes ….. I just can’t understand all this.

Thak you once again.