Hi, Di and welcome to the Fasting Lifestyle. You have prepared yourself unusually well! Good luck. I’m sure you will succeed. I look forward to your progress posts.

Hi Di 🙂

I managed to lose over a stone in just over a month on this diet last year. Unfortunately, I then went on an all inclusive holiday and it went downhill from there. I will also be starting again on Monday and I am determined to keep it up this time!

I’m 27 years old and I am a size 20, I would ideally like to get down to a size 14.

I found that on the fasting days for the first couple of weeks, I ended up getting headaches and was having to go to bed early because I was so tired. But I pushed through and your body slowly gets use to it all.

Hopefully we can get each others spirits up!

Welcome to the 5:2 fasting forum, Di. FD’s aren’t as difficult as I thought they might be, because they’re actually very low calorie days, 500 calories is just enough to keep it interesting for me. I have a few things that are FD staples, like 160 calorie cans of salmon and a light canned soup that I like that’s 180 calories for the whole can. Probably not as healthy as a home made soup, but I like it and it’s something that I can keep in the pantry that’s always ready to go. Old fashioned Oatmeal is another staple for 150 calories. Apples that are around 100 calories, give or take depending on the size are another. Another is frozen bags of broccoli or cauliflower, the whole 100 or 150 calorie bag. Very filling and I love both. Iseason them with lemon juice, salt & pepper. Different combos of these things are often what I eat on most FDs. I prepare another meal for OFM (other family members) or often I’ll go out and pick up Subway sandwiches for them on one of the days.

The key for me is keeping it simple and always having fallback foods that I like on hand so I don’t have to do a lot of thinking about it. After the first few weeks my weight loss averaged a pound or less per week, but for me, this way of eating is easy. It doesn’t feel like a diet. (I’ve been doing it for maintenance for 3+ months, just eating a little more on NFDs.) Good luck to you on your weight loss journey! You’ve got this!

I agree with CalifDreamer – I’ve seen plenty of others say it – an apple or a boiled egg (eat them slowly) are good things to eat because they are effective at taking away your hunger for quite a while. I might have one or both of these on a 5:2 fasting day – usually I just eat nothing and have a meal in the evening (250g of oven baked fish and mixed veg – onion, red pepper, few small toms and olives, or home made red lentil and tomato soup – really quick and easy to make in bulk – I can post a recipe if anyone wants it). I believe I am often under my 600 cal limit but really I don’t care if I’m slightly over. Sometimes you have a few really great fasting days and loose no weight then suddenly you see a little drop and it turns out to be sustainable one, not a blip.

Lemon, yes, please post your red lentil and tomato soup recipe! That sounds really good. I never thought of that combination before, but they would go well together.

Di, good luck on your first FD tomorrow.

I do Sunday and Thursday although I did think about Monday. My wife doesn’t work on a Monday and she doesn’t like to drink any alcohol the night before a work day so Sunday if the night for a glass of wine for her. Although Sunday is more awkward than weekdays – because to sometimes clashes with family or social things – I think Sunday is probably a day when my normal calorie intake would be higher than most days (because of family and social things – eating out or together or with friends) so I figured Sunday was likely to be a bigger “hit” on my weekly intake. My wife doesn’t really like me doing 5:2. One of my daughters had (there is never 100% recovery imho) anorexia – a very complex mental illness when you see it close up and upsetting for people supporting and around the person with the illness. I haven’t mentioned, and won’t mention, that I am doing 5:2 to my daughter.

Fast Day here, too. Eggs baked with Boursin cheese + salmon for breakfast. Shrimp/asparagus/citrus salad for dinner. I’ve got to hold the line on wanting to snack tonight – sometimes the snack foods call to me.

Want recipes, Di? This one is a favorite:
Fish Roasted with Vegetables: 234 calories 5.2 g fat 4.8 g fiber 29 g protein 16 g carbs 180.3 mg Calcium PB GF Delicious one-pan meal. AND it is low in calories and fat.
4 0z pollock or other white fish ½ slice bacon 2 oz carrots in 1/2” chunks 2 oz Brussel sprouts cut in half 2 oz cauliflower florets, cut in half or quarters 3 oz cherry tomatoes, cut in half 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
Set the oven at 450 degrees F. Cook the bacon in an 8” oven-proof pan, such as cast iron. Remove the bacon, chop it and set aside. Put the prepared vegetables in the pan and toss to coat with the bacon fat. Salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 10 minutes. Remove the vegetables in their pan from the oven. If you think they will need more than 10 minutes more of cooking, put them back in for 2-3 minutes. They will not be cooked through at this point. Turn oven down to 400 degrees F. Make room in the pan for the fish so that it is sitting on the hot pan. Salt and pepper the fish. Return the pan to the oven and bake 5-10 minutes more, depending on the thickness of the fish. Sprinkle the entire contents of the pan with Parmesan cheese and bacon.

Greek Chicken Salad: 295 cal 12.8 g. fat 4.8 g fiber 23.7 g protein 26.5 g carb 240.3 mg Calcium PB GF This recipe was long ago clipped from a magazine and stored in the recipe file. When I saw it, I recognized that if most of the olive oil were removed, it would make a smashing Fast meal. We like this one a lot.
1 and 1/2 oz chicken, roasted and shredded 1 and 1/2 c. shredded romaine or 3 oz salad greens 1/4 c garbanzo or small white beans 2 and 1/2 oz tomato chunks or 1 c cucumbers, cubed 3 black olives, pitted & sliced 1 oz feta cheese, crumbled 1 and 1/2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp olive oil 1/2 tsp each of mint, oregano, parsley
Prep the meat, greens, tomatoes, and olives as described. Measure the lemon juice, olive oil, and herbs into a salad bowl. Whisk together. Add the greens and toss to combine. Add the chicken, beans, tomato/cukes and toss gently. Top with the olives and feta.

Chicken/Turkey Dinner: 284 calories 4.5 g fat 9.3 g fiber 31.6 g protein 34.2 g carbs 58.2 mg Calcium PB Perfect use for left-over roasted or lemon-marinated grilled chicken breast. Instead of potatoes, enjoy the crunch of high-fiber crackers. So low in calories that you may even have some lovely fruit for dessert!
4 ounces roasted breast meat, without skin 1/2 [3 0z] cup green beans 2 oz carrots, sliced as coins 2 pieces Finn Crisp crackers 1/2 cup sliced strawberries.

Good luck to Di and Lemon. keep us posted.

Tnx for the soup recipe, lemon star. Looks yummy. And thanks for the calculations, too.

Lost 1# due to yesterday’s Fast. Now back down below Target. Whew.