Hi Littlepicker.

First thing to say is ‘don’t give up’, you say you have been doing 5:2 for two weeks and in week one pounds fell off and week two, despite extra exercise etc, the scales didn’t move and you want to throw in the towel. I felt exactly like this when I started. You are very early in the programme and perhaps, based on the first week’s result, expecting too much of yourself. Give it time.The FAq on this site is very helpful and posts by simcoeluv are excellent for new starters to keep going.

My advice would be, set a target date to stick with this 5:2 until a week before that special day in July.Weights go up and down and sometimes it is not easily explained either way. Weigh once weekly at the same time weekly and watch the trend over a month.
Keep the increased exercise you started.Don’t get hung up on calorie counting as that can be counter productive in the motivation department(as I personally found). However,I do say keep any eye on the calories stated on packages..some are alarming and see if you could substitute something for that item.

I have been on this programme since end of January and today reached the first target I set back then.I was a real skeptic at the start and plateaued a few times when the scales seemed to freeze, having done everything right between the weigh-in dates.

Getting into a weekly routine is also so important and two weeks in I think you need more time to get that routine established.
I am not sure it is wise to go 4:3 so early on as it can be a bit of stretch and could demotivate.I would be inclined to get settled on 5:2 and then at end of June experiment with 4;3 if you are not seeing the results you want by then.

Many people who comment on this Fast Diet programme say it is a gradual weight loss trend for many people,in other words not to expect too much too soon. If you continue to do all you have been doing since you started then the reduction will come.As a Forum on this site states “Keep on Keeping on”.. I did and it worked for me.

Good luck.
J Cato

Hi, I’ve been doing the 5:2 plan now for about 2 months on and off. I keeping falling off the wagon because although the scales show great losses on the day after my fast, the day after my fest days all the weight is back on!!! I’m so frustrated by it all. I’m really over weight at nearly 21 stones and I’m so worried about my health. I thought this was the perfect solution as I don’t find the fasting days difficult at all! I always eat a lunch and dinner on fast days and eat foods that are calorie counted so that I don’t go over the 500 limit. Overall I’ve only managed to lose 3 pounds in all that time. What am I doing wrong? Please help.

Hi Zett1712.

I don’t think I am in any way qualified to give the right advice especially as you state you are worried about your health.I can only speak from my personal experience and there are several posters on The Fast Diet Forums who have expert knowledge on weight loss issues and challenges.

Just a few observations:
1. You say you are doing 5:2 on and off for 2 mths.
To get results in the direction you want it needs to be continuous, every week for several months at least.
2. You weigh after a Fast Day and then a after a Non Fast Day, personally, I would not do this, as the weights I know I will see are not going to impress. I did it once during the programme I have been on and said ‘never again’.Same day & same time weighing weekly have worked for me.

3.As you say you don’t feel Fast Days are difficult, so you are already on a good approach to how this programme works. Some people give up on this 5:2 because they find the Fast Days the ultimate struggle.

4.If your Fast Days are pushing off the pounds for you then the principles of this programme are doing what it says on the tin, the answers lie elsewhere, namely in what happens on Non Fast Days and the movement/exercise you are able to undertake.

5. You say that Fast Days are calorie counted and you stick to 500, so you are in a very good position to carry this calorie ‘raised awareness’ into your Non Fast Days and have bells ringing when you stray into the danger zone for a normal eating day.

In summary, I would say week by week continuity is key if you want this programme to work. Despite the gloomy view you have at progress on 5:2 there are many key positives in your post and these are areas that could be worked on.
From the health perspective, it can only improve with weight reduction and personally I would utilise any health and well-being (weight reduction)resources on offer from whatever health service exists in whatever part of the world you reside in.

Good luck
J Cato

Hi J and Z. Thanks so much for your reply and advise. I’ve been doing a lot of reading today and feel better about getting back to the programme. I think I’ll take measurements though and stay away from the scales for 4 weeks as this seems to be my weakness. I’ll keep you posted!

To PeanutsFan.

Stick with it.The results will come.I was a total skeptic at the start, having tried and failed on a few other weight reduction programmes.

All FD forum contributors (or most on this site) have a wish to reduce their weight and know in their hearts that something has to change. We commence something like the 5:2 and expect that, now that we are making sacrifices, we should see the results on the scales soon after. We should not be disheartened so easily.
The extra weight we have acquired (all by ourselves) did not build up over night, some of us have been ‘working’ on it for a long time. So I feel we should manage our expectations and view the weight reduction as a gradual process..the way it went on in the first place.

Writing from a personal viewpoint I am very pleased with the results of the 5:2 and whilst the 8 kgs I have lost is the type of measurement result the weight loss community home in on, it is the complimentary health and well being benefits I have experienced that really make this worth sticking with.

The popular cartoon image ‘Never Give Up’ where the heron tries to swallow the frog works on many levels…
http://www.cafepress.co.uk/+frog-and-heron