5:2 noob

This topic contains 8 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by Skillz 10 years, 10 months ago.

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Skillz

6:55 pm
11 Jan 14
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Just completed my first wee of 5:2, weighed myself today and was disappointed to discover I have gained a pound.

Is there a calorie limit on the non-fast days?

I’m also a regular gym user. I go 3-4 days a week (decided to do this on non-fast days). I take creatine monohydrate and whey protein isolate supplements. So I’m wondering whether this along with muscle growth might weight me down a bit as creatine does make you retain water.

Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

double happy

7:47 pm
11 Jan 14
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Welcome to This way of eating (WOE) Skillz–my best advice is for you to spend the time reading the hundreds of posts on this forum–and if you havent read the book to certainly do that.
When I started 5:2 I did my homework on this site–and found my questions pre-answered and lots of helpful hints for the way forward. So spending time on this site sure pays off. Since November I have lost 5 very stubborn kgs–looking back on the past and all the money I have spent on diets each kg would be worth golden $500.
You can work out your daily calorie allowance on this site also.
all the best and from the hundreds of responses on this site the fast diet in its many forms DOES work.

joyce1953

7:52 pm
12 Jan 14
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Also, the scale can be tricky. It helps to weigh in on the day following a fast day, not a feast day, or you’ll surely see a gain from sodium, water retention,
etc.

Skillz

5:08 pm
13 Jan 14
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I weighed myself today and I was a pound lighter, meaning I was the weight I started with. After this week I’m going to weigh myself again and hopefully I will have made some progress. I would be happy with a pound lol.

Stu N

6:04 pm
13 Jan 14
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Like you I’m a regular gym user. While I want to lose weight, in fact I’d be happy with just losing fat! I don’t think I lift hard enough to replace it all with muscle unfortunately. I do take creatine too but have been off it since Christmas since I didn’t think I’d get to the gym enough to make it worthwhile… hence I’m mentally pre-prepared for the scales to go back up when I restart as I WILL retain water (and fart more! :-D)

There doesn’t have to be a limit on non-fast days (so it doesn’t feel like a diet you can’t keep up forever), but it helps to stick to your total daily energy expenditure – there’s a calculator you can find from the home page. Another thing that I haven’t been good at is starting the fast after dinner. You’ll lose more fat if the day before your fast day, you eat dinner quite early, and don’t eat anything after dinner, so your fast starts at 19:30. In effect you’d then actually fast 36*2 = 72 hours out of a 168 hour week, or 3/7 of the time. This more disciplined approach will help you lose weight, if you’re not already doing it.

JeffUK

8:48 pm
13 Jan 14
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Bear in mind that 1 pound is equivalent to less than 1 pint of water.. so your weight will obviously vary by at least that much within a day.

As Stu says, be careful not to over-eat on normal days, if you eat 2500 calories less than you used to on a fast days but eat 1000 calories extra the rest of the time next, you won’t lose weight!

Having said that, after a week, you’re only a few days since your second (ever) fast day, so it’s not surprising you’re not seeing definite results yet. Give a few weeks to kick in before you make any big decisions!

Skillz

12:04 pm
14 Jan 14
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Well, weighed myself the morning after fasting like the poster above suggested and I’m 4lbs lighter!

I know it will mostly be loss of body water etc, but it’s nice to see me this light on the scales.

dethrock

9:51 am
16 Jan 14
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You can’t really judge the diet from the first week of results, my doctor once told once you go onto a new diet plan you should wait about three weeks and then judge the true results as by then your body has adjusted properly.

Skillz

3:01 pm
23 Jan 14
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On my 3rd week now. I weighed myself this morning and I’m 14.5. A pound less than last week and 7 pounds lighter than my starting weight.

Took a before pic before I started fasting. Going to take a progress pic next week. I’m hoping to see some difference.