Lost 40 pounds over the course of one year. Basically in maintenance mode now. I do an extreme version of 5:2 in that I only have a couple of coffees and water on my 2 consecutive fast days. I find it easier to do that. Plus I think there are benefits other than weight loss to be had by fasting this way. Not recommending anyone else do it like this, but it works for me. I alternate between 5:2 and 6:1 so that Im always about the same weight. One of the other benefits is that I naturally tend to eat healthier without a conscience effort needed. I don’t eat anything this lots of sugar in it which is harder than you think as they put it in everything!! Why do burger buns have to have 20% sugar in them? “Healthy” cereal with up to 35% sugar? Crazy.

Good luck with it, it works if you want it to.

Hello. I’m an American (do we admit that freely anymore given the scary political situation?!) I’m from Los Angeles and currently living in Vancouver, BC so not the NYC time zone exactly.

I was excited to read that you do Fast Dieting the way I do, bigbooty. I do my fasting on the weekend so that I’m free to direct my time to keep myself busy and distracted. Then the days go fast and I’m back to a couple meals a day during the week.

I also found that when I made fasting a regular event and cut out my trigger foods I stopped being bothered by cravings and became happy and satisfied with veggies, salads and simple protein. On the occasions that snacks and desserts are available I really don’t want them and feel more or less negative about them because of the problem they’d present. I NEVER thought I’d feel that way in my LIFE!!!

I’ve been doing intermittent fasting since the week before Christmas. No idea what my starting weight was and I only find out a current weight if I have a doctor’s visit. I monitor how I’m doing by how my clothes fit and I’ve gone from size 20 jeans to size 14. Still got 3 or 4 sizes to go because I’m very short (and ROUND!).

I’m glad you started this topic, NYCFaster, as it seems to be primarily British positing very early in the morning and Aussies posting late at night. Yay for them but nice to cover our time zones too.

I’ve thought it was ironic that so much of the research that intermittent fasting is based on comes out of the US and it remains a big secret. I guess since no one’s making a fortune at it, it doesn’t really “count”.

I’m hoping my husband will join me in 5:2. We’ve discussed it. He’s getting comfortable with the concept. I’m hoping he’ll be ready soon.

Hello from Montana….
I started 3 weeks ago on the Every Other Day Diet (500 calories on fast days and basically whatever you want every other day). I was hoping my stomach would shrink and I would stay under my TDEE on the feast days but I was too out of control and I ended up feeling terrible eating too much of all the wrong foods on feast days though I did drop approx 5 lbs. (I have at least 60lbs to lose so it should be coming off faster than that).

Since finding this forum I have started doing just coffee on my fast day and staying at my TDEE every other day – just started this – I am on my second full fast day though I will also try chicken broth if the fasting days are too much or if I get headaches as I have read that it helps. After just one fast it does seem easier to skip every meal instead of trying two small or one 500 calorie meal which tends to make me hungrier.

Thanks for starting this post – I am not telling family or friends until I see some results so it’s nice to compare notes.
Cheers!

Hi there, I’m not American, but I do live in Southern California, so I qualify for the time zone 🙂 I started this WOE in January and have lost about 10 pounds. I’ve got another 20 or so to go.

I’m so happy to have stumbled upon this new WOE, and I too was so surprised this isn’t be big trend over here yet. I had never heard of it until I in total desperation was searching the web on different ways to lose weight … once again. I have tried many diets over the past 15 years as I have pretty much never been happy with my weight. In my 20’s, I really only struggled with a few vanity pounds and would now give anything to be back to my pre baby weight. After two kids (youngest is now 3), I was never able to bounce back and in fact just keep putting it on.

I feel like this should be called the ‘one day diet’, cause I only feel like I’m restricting myself for one day at a time – and I can totally do that – it’s totally a psychological thing. The next day is the day I get to eat whatever and even though I will stay under my TDEE, the thought that I can eat whatever makes me feel that I’m not being denied or subject to months of restriction – which is totally just too depressing and overwhelming to think about.

Anyway, good luck and I look forward to sharing this journey.

Here is a little tip from me. Avoid any foods that say “low fat”. They will contain a huge amount of sugar, just read the label to confirm its the case. High sugar means high insulin spikes which means your body goes into fat storage mode. Not good!

Fat has been made out to be the bad guy, its not. Of course too much of anything is probably not good for you but if you want a treat or reward I’ll have a bowl of high fat low sugar (very hard to find that combo on the supermarket shelves!!) yogurt with some strawberries or blueberries and some raw almonds. Absolutely yum and low in sugar. Try and stick to any of the berries as your fruit source, they are low in sugar. Avoid any and all fruit juices, its just a huge sugar hit. Eat a piece of real fruit instead.

Jay, yep that starvation mode message is just plain wrong. You wont go into starvation mode by not eating for a few hours!! Maybe after a few weeks, yes weeks, not hours. Im sure that concept was developed by a fast food corporation. Ha ha.

I wonder if the fasting craze of the late 90’s has kept Americans from trying intermittent fasting. I remember Oprah losing a ton of weight on the shake fast and then quickly regaining it all when she started eating again. With IF you are already eating normally so maintaining shouldn’t be a problem if you continue fasting once in awhile.

I am also struck by how much this reminds me of the French WOE – splurge a little and then take it easy the next few meals to compensate. I have always been so envious of people who could do this – except that now it seems to finally be clicking for me. I have even started to look forward to my fasting days like others have reported too! Crazy talk! But it’s true.

NYC Faster – you have comparatively so little to lose….doing the 5-2 sounds just right. I am only doing every other day because I have so much to lose and am so impatient to get some of this bulk off of me. I plan to taper off as soon as I get to a more comfortable weight. Very exciting to see your success – it is so much harder to lose when you are closer to your goal. (Or so I have heard, I have never been close to goal)

LA chubster – you are an inspiration. I have read your posts on other topics and have learned so much. So excited to see results like yours by sticking with this.

Lucy – wow, that is fantastic that you are so far along! I did 4 hour body (eat only proteins, beans and vegetable 6 days with a cheat day on the 7th) from about July to January with a few weeks off before stalling after losing 25 lbs. I am so excited to get the scale moving again with IF!

BBooty – great tips – I agree, sugar and/or fructose can wreak havoc on my day. Whereas protein and fats are much more satisfying. When I do want/need chocolate I have found it’s better to have it later in the day so I don’t feel terrible all day.

JayU – YES! It is just a one day diet. I will be thinking of that on my fast days to get me to tomorrow.

Is anyone else doing HIT – high intensity training? I just discovered it and after one workout I am going to stick with it for awhile. Sounds too easy, but the science behind it seems sound.
Cheers – only 16 more hours til my break*fast 🙂

Hi all, I’m relatively new to this, started right after Christmas and have lost about 13lbs so far. My pants are loose and I don’t even need to unbutton or unzip them to get them on and off. But, I’m not buying anything new yet.

When I started this my daughter had just started whole 30 and convinced me to try it as well. Basically what you do is cut out lots of things for 30 days then re-introduce them one at a time to see how your body reacts to each. It’s hard at first but after a week or so I felt absolutely wonderful. I like the combination of the whole 30 and intermittent fasting. I’ve done the 30 days and have begun reintroducing foods. I know now that breads do not sit well with me. Bread and pasta have been a comfort food for me for most of my life so it was hard at first to realize that they’re not really good for me but now I’m feeling so good that I’m ok with not having them.

I’d been fit and healthy all of my life until my kids were in elementary school. Then I suddenly gained a LOT of weight. When I got married I was 128 but then ballooned up to 234!! Now I’m around 175 and still losing. And am now almost 60 and a grandma. I’m still very active, have done crossfit, 2 mile fun runs, and work out at least 3 times a week with weights. I love to cook and enjoy tweaking recipes to cut out sugars. I retired 5 months ago but started working again last week because I love working.

I fast 2 days a week, nonconsecutive, eating about 500 calories each day. On the non-fast days I eat about 1800 calories, steering clear of processed foods and sugars. I’ve tried not eating at all on fast days but I couldn’t do it.

Glad to see other Americans joining in on this. PP

“BBooty–I really need to get better about trigger foods. I struggle with the idea of limiting myself to certain foods. On the other hand, I know that I’m lucky to be young right now, and all of the fatigue, upset stomach, weight gain, etc., will only get worse if I keep up bad habits.”

Pick your worst trigger food and go cold turkey. Might “hurt” for about a week but then you’ve got rid of one. I used to eat a packet of chocolate covered sultanas in the afternoon at work. Then I started getting headaches and would take Panadol for the headache while still eating the sultanas. Complete sugar overload. Crazy stuff!!

I’m in the Los Angeles area but work East Coast banker’s hours. The only troublesome part of that schedule is going to bed while it’s still light outside during the Summer.

Big Booty, you’re so right about being cautious of food labeled low fat or fat free. I think this caused big problems in the “Diet” world when they were introduced because people thought since the food was low fat they could eat more of it without gaining weight. Of course fat free doesn’t mean calorie free.

NYCFaster, I wish you great success with your fasting.

Bronx

Hi NYC:

I don’t eat anything on my diet days (I fast), and the following days I don’t eat until 11 a.m. or noon. Sometimes my first meal is in the late afternoon or early evening.

What 5:2 teaches is that if you don’t eat, you aren’t hungry. If you do eat (especially any carbs), you get hungry.

People that try to eat the maximum allowable under 5:2 tend to have more problems with it than those that eat less. Once you figure out that it is not unhealthy, much less dangerous, to not eat, your 5:2 life will get much easier!

Good Luck!

Last meal was Sunday night, so have completed 48 hours of fasting on my way to 60-65 by eating around lunchtime tomorrow. I am comfortable with this, but a little intimidated to stretch it any longer, psychologically mostly. I just wanted to share a delicious, decadent, treat that at 50 calories, works for any day, fasting or feeding. Pour a cup (or two) of unsweetened cashew milk over ice, add some maple flavoring (not maple syrup) and a little liquid stevia or sucralose. Soooo good, a little like having a rumchata over ice, and at 25 calories per cup, fits into most any leftover room, calorie-wise. Hope everyone had a good day today!

Lucylaw,

That sounds good. My local Sprouts store sells 0 calorie toppings from Walden Farms that are decent. They have maple, blueberry, caramel and chocolate flavors. The chocolate one is not so good but the others aren’t bad.

I’ve never had cashew milk but will get some and try it. I substitute almond milk for regular milk in baking because it’s only 30 calories per cup and I don’t notice a difference in taste or texture. I just have to remember to vigorously shake the container before pouring because the almond tends to separate when it sits. When I drink it straight it doesn’t taste anything like cow’s milk but for baking it’s great.

Bronx

Hello All!
Just checking in to report that I’m on my third day of full fasting (ADF) and I feel terrific. I am using chicken broth with great success to keep the dizziness and headaches away – it helps with hunger too.

Also,I have had two non fast days and both days it was really comfortable and easy to stay within my TDEE. I am pretty sure it helped that I was mostly Low carb and high fat on those days.

Amazing to discover the difference between true hunger pangs and the much more familiar cravings fueled by carbs. Extremely interesting and encouraging.

Lucy – I saw you mention Dr. Fung on another post and I have started learning about his approach and the benefits of LCHF – makes a lot of sense so far. Do you know if he is opposed to every other day fasting? I know he thinks 5:2 is great but couldn’t find if he thought 4:3 would be too intensive.
Hope you are all having a great week so far.
Cheers!

Wow PP, you did good to keep to 700 calories. I generally do fast on Monday and Wednesday which is days of the week that I know are usually low risk. If something pop’s up I can usually shift it a day. Weekends are definitely my splurge and I allow myself a couple of drinks on Friday and Saturday nights, plus I eat a little less mindlessly.

If you are finding that social stuff is just popping up more frequently, then I would save all my 500 calories for that event, or go real light on your food chooses and monitor your portion control … which you basically did already with your 700 calorie day. The alcohol can be a killer though. Nursing a drink is a real art, but if you can alternate sipping on water you will limit the calories here.

I know it’s probably easier said than done, but a 700 calorie day is way better than a 2K+ day and eating without regard. 🙂

Thanks simcoeluv!
I will definitely be checking those videos out!

Bronx, I have had Walden Farms syrups, I bet they would work. I tend not to use the almond milk and cashew milk (even coconut milk), in most of my recipes because I use a lot of heavy cream to keep fat up. Seems backwards, but the more fat, the longer I can fast. I even keep some coconut butter handy if I need just a little something to take the edge off. That is another little delicious treat. Let me know if you like it, and share some of your treats with me 🙂

Yay for you, Melinda! I felt great after my first 2-day fast too. I think that’s what propelled me onward.

I use chicken broth or tomato juice if I find I just can’t handle a water-only fast. I’ve found that a generous cup of hot chicken broth with a splash of tomato juice and a big sprinkle of celery salt settles my stomach and makes me feel like I’ve really had something, if you know what I mean.

Hi, pour_the_coffee. I’m an Angelina too. West Valley up near the Ventura County line to be more precise. …only I’ve just moved up to Vancouver, BC for a few months.

I’m doing 5:2 on the rebound from losing a serious amount of weight and then regaining it after 2 lovely successful years. I’m hoping and expecting I can just stick with 5:2 in one form or another for the future. I mean I feel so much better. Food just isn’t as good as feeling I can move, etc. And I’m really enjoying my sensible food so much more now.

Yay for you, NYCFaster!!! You did GREAT!

It’s a beautiful day in PA. Sun’s not up yet but it will be soon enough. Had a successful 24 hour fast day and am set for a second one today. I don’t usually do consecutive days but since it’s been a tough week I’m going to give it a try. I like the idea of tomato juice in broth. Sounds like it would be enough to get me through the day. I will eat supper tonight since I take care of 2 of my granddaughters on Thursdays and I’ll eat with them. They’re 6 and 7 years old and at that age little girls need good models for healthy eating. Their other grandma has diabetes and does not have good eating habits. The girls are aware of that and understand that what we eat matters. Ever since starting intermittent fasting (and whole 30) I’ve become a more mindful eater and enjoy cooking nutritious meals. And I definitely enjoy the company of those little girls. 💕

I started watching the Dr. Fung videos, thanks simcoeluv for sharing those.

Have a great day everyone! Patty

Hi all. I’m in Maryland, started 5:2 five weeks ago, and have lost 5 pounds or so, but most of that the first two weeks. I’m feeling a bit frustrated that I’ve stalled for the past few weeks, but hopefully the weight loss will get moving again. I would like to lose at least 10 more pounds, but my goal is also to be healthier in general so I try (and fail) not to get too hung up on weight. My fasts go fine – black coffee all day until dinner, and then I eat something like a chicken breast and steamed veggies for dinner along with my family. I must be eating too much on non-fast days. I love to cook, and so while I don’t eat processed food, I do eat more of the good home cooked stuff than I should.

Glad to have found a bunch of U.S. based folks for support!

@mamabean, you are making sure you are eating less than your TDEE on your feed days. Also check your carb intake. I know the message with 5:2 is that you can eat whatever you want on non-fasting days, but this really doesn’t work for most people. To be successful, you still need to monitor the number of calories you are eating to ensure you are eating less than TDEE.

Hi mama and welcome:

The average weight loss over time for women on 5:2 is a little less than a pound a week. You are down five pounds in five weeks, so you are ‘right on schedule’. There is no need to worry or change what you are doing unless you really want to – just eat 500 cal. or less on your diet days and your TDEE or less on your non diet days. Weight loss is never consistent, it goes in fits and starts. This will illustrate a typical weight loss pattern on 5:2: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/really-no-weight-loss/

Good Luck!

The weekend is upon us and it’s always a big challenge for me … in particular the moderation of my alcohol in take. So, I pledge this weekend I will …

– eat mindfully and limit myself to one soda
– drink only 2 glasses of wine on Friday night and Saturday night
– drink at least 8 glasses of water each day
– do 20K steps

Anyone else want to make a pledge?

I’ll join!
– think about whether I really need another piece of pizza before I eat it.
– go for a run.
– track my calories for the weekend to see how many calories I am eating normally. I haven’t done that yet.