Day 3 of 19: Non-Fast Day UK: Hello all you still here. I got a soaking at work today, but now the weather looks a bit brighter, I’m just off out for my evening “route-march”.

Just checking in to see how people are doing and it seems I have inadvertently stirred up a hornets nest.
Many thanks Merryme for your post, couldn’t have said it better myself (and I didn’t even have to type a word!) Thanks also to DebbieQ, Bigbooty,EJG for your back up.
I can only add that I chose to eliminate carbs from my diet as I had been diagnosed with Leaky Gut Syndrome a year ago, after many months of just not being well and not knowing the problem. I was advised to eliminate all wheat from my diet, but after reading a book a book called ‘Eat Dirt’ by Dr Josh Axe, dedicated to Leaky Gut Syndrome, I realised that pretty much all simple carbs were affecting me negatively. Since eliminating them from my diet I have slowly but consistently lost weight, and felt much better. It is scary to read about the actual production of our food in the world today, and what is done to the processing of it before it reaches the supermarket shelves. I don’t want any part of it. There are lots of alternatives, and I have never felt deprived since changing the way I eat.
This is my choice.
Another thing I must point out is the amount of food people put on a plate, that they consider ‘normal’. When Dr M suggest that for 5 days a week you eat ‘normally’ – you really should check the amount of calories you are eating. It is so easy, even with what it considered healthy food, just how the calories mount up. My OH eats porridge with banana and yogurt every morning. When we started out we discovered he was eating almost his whole daily allowance at one breakfast. He had been eating this amount for years and this was a ‘normal’ serving for him. He now eats 30grms porridge etc, and this is now his ‘normal’. About 1/4 of what he had been eating!
We were out for lunch one day at a newly opened chain restaurant. I decided to have the roast chicken dinner. (I asked for a small portion) this is what I got –
1/2 chicken
8 roast potatoes
Big dollop of mashed potatoes
6 boiled potatoes,
spoon carrots,
two pieces of broccoli
big portion of cauliflower cheese.

This was considered a SMALL portion in this restaurant.
There was enough to feed a family of four!
What chance have we got when this sort of thing is happening all over the world.

You really have to make an effort to cut out and cut down on various foods. All you need to do is log on to MyFitnessPal app. This will tell you the basics of the calories in the foods we eat. If you are trying to keep within your TDEE, then start to eliminate the high calorie foods (CARBS) and fill up on the healthy low calorie foods. (VEGETABLES, SALADS etc) You will get all the carbs you need from fresh fruit and vegetables, along with loads of vitamins, minerals and fibre too. Your body will thank you for it.

The only other thing I will add AuroraMagic is to try and put your scepticism to one side and just do the regime as Dr M suggests you do it. Keep it simple. When it starts working for you, then you can play around with it, and shape it to suit your needs and lifestyle. But if you do nothing else for yourself, at least give this WOL a try. Your body will thank you for it! TTL

Day 3 of Hiatus, Minnesota

Great posts by TTL, Bigbooty, Coda, ETJ, and an absolutely extraordinary explanation of this WOL, and the purpose of our challenge, by Merryme. Thanks to all of you for sharing your knowledge so patiently with people who are just starting this journey. I think you probably make the difference between success and failure for many who begin the 5:2 diet.

Hiatus day 3. Cornwall UK.

Thankyou Merryme very well explained and backup from ttl, Bigbooty and ETJ thanks!

I like fd and nfd but am happy to go with what the majority decides!

I am fortunate to be able to grow a lot of vegetables so can eat very fresh, organic produce; I have made the decision cut right back on carbs and as far as possible only eat low GI, which I’m still learning! Highly processed foods are no longer on my menu. I have taken time to read lots of books and online research about fasting and nutrition; this really helps when explaining to friends/family about the 5.2 and the health benefits ! This WOL has also helped
my arthritis, I feel so well. Time will tell if there has been amy affect on my cholestrol, I’m going to give it another 2 months before I go for another test to give this wol a chance to have a real effect on my system.

During this challenge it has been evident that many have long standing issues with food to overcome, whether through health, emotional or other cause. The support and care that has been shown to each other has been wondeful. A few words of care and encouragement really gives a lift and I feel blessed to be part of this.

NFD for me today,

Big hugs all!! Onwards and downwards.

I just feel sad without my 5:2 pals! 🙂 During the challenge, I told all of you that fasting was very painful for me, and I became discouraged when I read others were having an easy time of it (sorry I am so selfish). I am totally shocked to realize that I am over the hump. I feel hunger when I fast now, but it is very manageable, and occupies much less brain space. What an interesting phenomenon. Another lesson in Perseverance.

I’ll be stopping back to read new posts, and to check in now and then. Enjoy your hiatus.

Hi DebbieQ Thanks for the information that is helpful. I have started (Monday) and just seeking as much info as I can to try and be as successful as possible! 🙂
I like science and hence why so attracted to DrMM’s programs. Yes I’ve got the book and am slowly reading it inbetween everything else!

Hi bigbooty, yeah I watched the video where Jason spoke of the food triangle was made for commercial profit! 🙂
I’m a terrible emotional eater (love sweet things), as said previously so this in itself is going to be a challenge. Most of my foodstuffs have been sensible… but not enough and the comfort eating has been bad after many years of bereavements and difficulties. So I have total empathy with others and their own specific situations.
My query was if it’s on a 5:2 forum was the challenge a 5:2 success … and then ought it be called a 5:2 success if some had done other ‘plans’ but then I can see it’s nothing ‘official’ as such… so that and all the further info is very helpful. 🙂

back2thefuture Thank you for the most kind compliment. I must say I hovered over the submit button for a while.
I love knowing more but I can be a bit blunt and direct. I never mean to offend, but as I hoped people came forward and helped me appreciate all aspects of this last challenge. 🙂 For that I’m most grateful.
I really want to get down to 8.5 stone, from 11. For many many years I’ve felt this is a slipping dream, so I substitute up to 9 stone, but even then it’s seemed impossible, until my fella died. Then I barely ate for two months and reduced down to 9stone.
But for a sensible eating plan I can’t starve for 2 months every now and again! But there was something in it.
So when I heard of the 5:2 it started to sound sensible. That was many weeks ago but I wasn’t ready to start.

However looking at the maths, take a year 365 days, and then 2days of every week = 104 days or 14.85 weeks…
so if I can loose nearly 2 stone (28lbs) on my un=intentional neigh starving 2 months, then if over 14wks I have LowCal / FD days then it ought to show a loss of more than 2 stone over a year!
Since the data shows IIRC it’s about 1lb (0.45kg) loss a month, that would total 3.71stone/51.94lb /23.56kg a year.
But most crucially it seems like it ought to be sustainable (I hope, as I can’t speak from experience yet!) as many of you hear are saying and have already experienced. 😀

Auroramagic – you’re fine, you just come at learning about things from a slightly different direction, and trying to get get your head around the science of too many things at the one time. Understanding the science of intermittant fasting in general and Dr Moseley’s 5:2 version of it is enough, without trying to understand the way people operate on the forum as well, as that lies in the realm of the social sciences which is very different to the physical sciences. I suspect that if you try to understand the science of everything all at once it will just stop you from getting started. We all know the internet is just about infinite, and the science contained on it is varously excellent, very good, good, not so good, not good, downright dreadful and,yes, totally fake at times. You can get lost in all of that and never get started; or you can just take a couple of pieces of information and get started.

Yes, I can see you like to understand all the science first, and have it all planned out, but realistically, this probably won’t happen that way. Our bodies, with their ruling brains, are the most complex machine on the planet and no-one knows exactly how it all works. So to try to understand it all will stop you from getting started. You don’t need to work out if 5:2 works. There is absolutely no doubt. It works. It’s worked and has, and is, working many many thousands of times for several years. There is no doubt, now , that people lose weight, maintain their weight, and get healthier on 5:2. They lose, on average, 1/2 to 1 lb per week. They also seem to do it easier than any other way of losing weight.

Trying to understand so many people’s different personal approaches to 5:2 may just be confusing the whole thing for you. They are trying to work out how 5:2 works in their lives and with their health in their bodies with their state of mind, and as bigbooty says, with their own psychological and emotional baggage in tow. Just give that a miss by seeing them as doing their thing, and you doing your thing.

So… May I suggest

1. that you start by only going through the science of 5:2. Understand that 1st. Finish reading the book. Read it a 2nd time if you want.

2. There will be a new challenge on here starting from 1st July for 28 days.

3. Decide if you want to start 5:2 on 1st July and do the time challenge of 28 days. Or, you may decide to start 5:2 before then. Don’t think of anything else while you make that decision. This is the emotional and psychological bit, not the science bit.

4. Decide what 2 non consecutive days of the week will work best for you as your fast days(FDs). Again, no science involved. Just look at your life, what you do, and which days you think suit you more.

5. Next, look at the food in your cupboard and fridge already. What do you not want there when you start. If you know certain things will put weight on you then you have 3 choices

* eat them, especially if you can’t afford to throw food out
* give them away
* throw them out

6. Get ready to start your own experiment , and the subject of the experiment is you.
If you don’t have them, buy a kitchen scale to weigh your food. Put in your kitchen with an exercise book and pen, and a calculator. Or you could plan to use myfitnesspal, or another app to enter your food into to calculate your calories. There are many ways to find out the calories of food – books, websites. Find one you like that you think you can use easily.

7. You say you are an emotional eater. That means that occasionally or very occasionally you will eat or drink something from stress. That’s OK. That is normal. You don’t have to solve any or all of your emotional problems before starting 5:2. You also don’t have to be perfect or do 5:2 perfectly. 5:2 is very forgiving.

Here is something very important to remember in whatever way works for you:

“If you fall off the horse(5:2) just get back on the horse(5:2) the next day. ”

8. You are in control of your 5:2 experiment. Keep the record keeping up each day for the 28 days of the next challenge. If you want to add emotional and psychological observations in there, add them on the day thay happened.

9. Decide if you are going to weigh yourself daily, weekly or at the beginning and end of the challenge.
Record the weight and you maybchoose to set up a graph.

10. Goals. Choose a final goal weight e.g. You have mentioned 9 stone. Is that your final goal?
Next choose mini-goals along the way. Eg your 1st mini-goal might be to lose 7lbs. Choose a non- food reward for your next mini-goal.

11. Decide if you want to start your own thread on the forum which can be your personal blog of your journey, if you wish. If being on threads with lots of people doing lots of different things is too diverting, then This might be useful in the 1st month or 2, while you’re finding out how you adapt to 5:2.

You can do this Auroramagic, and you will get back to your healthy weight, except this time you’ll do it a healthy way. Also know that everyone, absolutely everyone, goes through terrible things in life at different times. You’ve been through some of yours and 5:2 is something you can do to be in control of your health.

Good luck,
Merry

Hi Merryme – thanks. I have already started and the former 10 days ate the most naughty tempting food. I still have rice pudding in the cupboard for emergencies though! 🙂
I like facts for sure and I will read the FD ‘book’ on my phone… scanned it so far.
I like your contribution of mini goals… I know weighing daily is demoralising … so think it’d be fortnightly or weekly.
I’d only just reached 11 stone (later in the day) and a quick check on the scales showed 10.12 but it’s a guide. I have usually always weighed after initial bathroom use and before dressing so it’s ‘consistent’… so I’ll take the 10.12 as a start figure although 11 is in the Tracker now.
Today is my LowCalDay although I wonder if looking at food as HIT training might not be a good idea…. so GE ‘General Exercise’ for 5 days and 2 days of IR ‘Intensive stomach Relaxing’ with little to do? 😀
or Body Relaxing days? Since not wise to be active on these days?
Or Body Break Days ?
I do like to look positively on things. 🙂

I’ve been thinking about getting an App for calories just to double check what I’m eating… is within tolerances.

And I know I’ll need support so will happily do the challenge from 1st July.
I’ve a wedding to go to (Brother) on 30th July so I really hope to be as slim as I can be for then.:)

Sadly as I’ve got older I need less food. If I can convert my baking to savoury then maybe that’s a really good way forward.
But cooking for 1 isn’t fun, and neigh seems like a total waste of time, so meat or fish in the little Halogen oven and veg into microwave (mwav) and sometime later it’s all done. 🙂
Found recently that I can put in a potato so that means I can now cook a third of a tattie (potato)if I ‘need’ it in with the vegs (usu frozen as easiest). 🙂

Broke my 41-hour fast with fresh Vientamese rolls (rice sheet wrap, smoked salmon, avocado, lettuce and a little vermicelli) with some spicy soy sauce. I thought that was all fresh and unalderated apart from the really few carbs in the roll wrap and vermicelli but I got such a horrible sugar rush after eating it I wonder if there was even sugar in the soy sauce. I won’t do that again.

Hannah, the sauce with these rolls is usually hoisin sauce, which is yummy, but has quite a bit of sugar in it. The rice sheet and rice vermicelli are just as likely to gve you a spike.

AM – good on you for getting going!

You’ve sorted out how you’ll weigh in a process that works for you. FYI- most people weigh 1st thing in morning after going to the loo, and naked, and , as you say, keeps it consistent. (It also gives rise to the saying “doing the naked happy dance” when someone sees a new lower number on the scales.)

You can call you Fast Days (FDs) and nonFastDays ( non FDs) whatever you want, and whatever works well for you.. You could also call your FDs Cell Repair days.

Re food. Perhaps you could make up something for your FDs, divide it into portions and freeze them. FD soup of some sort is a popular choice of frozen FD meal..

Sounds like you’re going well,
Onwards and Downwards,
Merry

Wow, Merryme, DebbieQ, bigbooty, EJT and TTL & many others…

This is why I love this challenge group. The time you all take to give thoughtful, supportive & honest answers is amazing.

When my resolve waivers, I can return to this thread to read or re-read the helpful input. And then I feel buoyed up & convinced that “I can do this! As a way of living/ eating, this plan is flexible & successful.”

Many thanks!!!

Day 4 of 19: Fast day, Gloucestershire, UK: Hello everyone. Good to see lots of you still chatting away on this thread.
Me? Just had a long, hard day delivering the mail. Wednesdays are always a challenge. I am coming up to the end of my 24 hour water-only fast day. Sometime in the next hour or so I will have my small fast-day meal of 2 boiled eggs and two slices of toast, and maybe also a piece of cheese, if still hungry. I am so predictable….sticking to the same old routine, which seems to work for me, eh? Tomorrow is a normal eating day and also my day off work. Hooray!!

Ciren2- well done and if it works: stick to it!! Enjoy your day off tomorrow!

hello,
I am back on the track, sorry for being absent yesterday because I was little bit ill as I got depressed because I am not losing any weight,I should start again and try to find out what is making me not losing the weight at all
have a great day all

Wow just sat and read the posts i missed over the last couple of days how informative.I was starting to lag a bit and getting a bit confused myself. I will just stick to 5.2 as written in the book that’s what works for me. Thanks for info.

Dutch– Love the spice test tube idea. Looks so organized & clever!

Were you able to follow Marie Kondo’s Method? It sounds so effective & exhilarating if you can stick to it. Left only with items that “spark joy!”

I’m afraid I need to approach cleaning out my home (with my eye on a more minimalist goal) with baby steps. I’ve made errors in the past where I’ve chucked out too much, too fast & regretted it. Still absolutely love her book & KonMari Method, but I’m going at my own pace this time!

Can’t wait to reach my weight loss goal & go all KonMari on my wardrobe!!! Just like K-Lo did with her too large clothes. That will be a fun reward!

Crush- good for you to not give up! You’re bound to find out what’s going on and start losing weight soon.
TTL- I totally agree with you on Mimi’s book. There’s some fab recipes I have made and some I still need to make.
HappyMargo- yes, the method is working for me but like you, one step at a time. I started with folding my clothes like she does and getting rid of the ones that no longer are needed or wanted. The drawers are always tidy and that ‘sparks joy’. That keeps me going – all at my own pace and definitely not every day because psychologically and emotionally there’s a lot going on.
It also makes cleaning so much easier.
Today is a FD. Hoping tomorrow I’ll get under 70kgs.
Have a great day everybody

Dutch – Good luck tomorrow. It is always so exciting to get under one of those round figure numbers! I hope you hit it tomorrow. I can’t wait to see 60 something on the scale!

Happy Margo – I did our play room yesterday. All the toys got thrown out of their tubs/toy boxes into the middle of the floor. The boys and I went around the house and found any toys or anything that wasn’t where it should be and toys were all heaped in the pile and anything else was put into washing baskets. I started at about 9am yesterday and finished last night at about 7pm! Non stop! We have a 40 square home, so it did take awhile. I filled about 6 garbage bags of toys/broken toys. Another 2 of shoes that don’t fit anyone. I also did the boys closets. Then I tackled the toy pile. The boys are lego addicts so that had one basket which was filled and then thrown in their lego cupboard and actual toys kept I put in a basket and when that filled up I put them in their smaller baskets, over and over, lol. It was a massive day, but it is nice to know that for a short period of time, things are where they should be, lol! 🙂

Crush – :hugs: My Mum has been on a 5:2 plateau for about 2 years! She lost the first 16kg in about 6 months and hasn’t budged since.

It is an eating day today 🙂 We went and watched the Warcraft movie this morning and then I was busy pulling down a fence this afternoon.

Take care everyone,

Day 5 of 19: UK Cotswolds; non-fast day. It IS day 5, right? The 42 day challenge finished Saturday 11th, so now it’s Thursday 16th?
It will be straightforward once we start the new challenge on the 1st.
I am so happy to report going down under the next stone, YIPPEE! My goal is getting in sight now….

Finishing up my 2nd FD for the week. Have only had black tea and coffee today. I really should drink more fresh water also. I am so jealous of you who can throw away your larger-sized clothes already. Well done!

Good morning from overcast NYC. I am continuing to collect stuff for our block tag sale this Saturday. Books, DVDs, large clothes in good shape. It’s so easy finding clothes in my closet again! I still have some pottery in my basement to look through tonight. Collecting single bills and quarters. Pulling out my folding table and getting a clothes rack tomorrow. FOr next challenge, we might also report on a daily item purge!

Fasting today, and am VERY HUNGRY. THis too shall pass. Unfortunately, I also have a headache (from my hinky neck, not my fast), so we’ll see if I last. Maybe I’ll get some tea.

New Challenge? Good! I’m excited for it.