Happy Christmas big (soon to be small)marie! Enjoy your holidays. I’m going to fast tomorrow and maybe another day next week. We shall see, not going to be too hard on myself for this one week.
And happy Christmas to all the fasters!
This topic contains 152 replies, has 33 voices, and was last updated by tigerluly88 8 years, 9 months ago.
Thanks Nice Pear for those nice words of encouragement before the Christmas; I meant to reply but just ran out of time. Back on the fast again today; would normally do Wednesday, but it being NEW Year’s Eve, will let it slide to Thursday. Find the Mon/Weds suits me better psychologically. I only ever weigh myself once a week; gave last week a miss; use my belt to judge my waist plus putting socks on. I like to keep it simple. Happy and fruitful New Year.
Hello bigmarie, hope you had a good Christmas. I’m back at the 2 days now and feeling well too. I notice that I am less tired generally. Hope everyone is doing well. I saw on another 5 2 page that someone recommended Twinings Cranberry and Blood Orange herbal tea, allow me to recommend it too! I have it on my fast days and its a real treat – few or no calories.
Hi all,
I’m in awe of those who have returned to fasting so promptly after the season. I’m afraid that I have managed to track only this week. I am calling it my preparatory week in advance of recommencing my fasting cycle on Monday next. I do feel much more relaxed about my weight this New Year though. The success I had before Christmas has convinced me that this is the way to go and I have avoided scouring the multitude of “new year, new you” articles/books/DVDs etc that we are bombarded with in January. It has saved me a lot of wasted time at any rate. Good luck to all!
Hi misty May, yes I started on 5 th Jan…but had been on fast diet since 3rd nov 14, Nearly through my fast day. I had a long day not home til 8pm. So. Much easier as it makes the evening shorter. Going on the forum really helps I find .. Also I don’t own a weighing scales..so I’m not obsessing about weight. njoy the book:-)
Hi to all fellow Irish fast dieters! Great to hear all your tips, success stories and struggles, which give me the encouragement to keep going. I lost about a stone over the last year doing the 5:2, but then relaxed to 6:1 and eventually took my eye off the ball, especially over the Christmas and New Year. Now I’m finding it hard to get back track, not so much on fast days but can’t stop grazing on non-fast days. Any tips?
Hi Fittot, yes I can relate to that. I ate far too much at Xmas and put on a few lbs.
My problem is snacking after dinner on non fast days, so I have put a limit on it time wise. I allow normal eating from 11 30 am to 6 30 pm and thats all. I do eat some sweet stuff after dinner at 6pm but then I stop at 6 30pm . Thats easy to follow. 7 hours is doable, but some people do 6 hours or 8 hours. What ever works for your schedule I guess. What do you think?
It sounds like you have a very healthy attitude to this way of eating, bigmarie. I’m keeping my second day flexible as I thought I would fast Mon and Wed or Thurs but I think now it will have to be Thursdays because wed creeps up very fast after Monday and I’m not quite ready for a second fast day that soon. I hope you had a good day yesterday. Fittoretire give yourself a bit of time to get into this way of eating and read all you can about it, I’m only on my third week and still getting the hang of it. Good luck.
Hi all. I am semifasting, I’m afraid. Managing about 700 on the fast days and 2,000 on the other days. Finding it hard to get back into it. I think that I will take Kindle’s advice as I am also an evening snacker. Still I am keeping in touch with the programme and posting here stops me from going completely AWOL – as well as the feeling that missing that extra stone (lost since I started 5:2 and still not found) brings!!
Good morning all and Happy New Year. I can feel all the pain of the January posters so far and the difficulties of getting back into the 5:2. My days are Monday and Wednesday, both very busy days. Did my weigh in this morning and am back to my weight of 18/12. So, happy with that. Seem to be averaging just over a pound a week; don’t know if this is good, bad or average? Don’t know if it helps, but I leave my breakfast to as late as possible on the fast days and have also “discovered” the M&S Chicken Noodle soup which is very low in calories and very comforting on these cold nights. Don’t know if this helps any of you but I am also trying to get some exercise in; won’t go for the HIIT initially but found the 7 minute workout as an app. Excellent. BTW find the 600 cals nearly impossible, averaging 630.
I’m hungry…7.45 fast day!
So far had bowl of homemade veg soup
1 mug of bovril using a tsp bovril
Fresh cod steamed
Raw kale,broccoli, chopped
1 tablespoons dressing
15 butter beans
Lots of black tea and I can’t work out how many calories I’ve used but I think I’m ok. Any advice on calorie counting would be appreciated.
I’ll keep drinking the black tea….
Hi Folks, I just started this week having seen the “RightDiet” BBC programme. I went back and watched “Eat. Fast. Live longer” on the web. I’ve always liked Michael Mosley’s programmes; I think he has the right mix of science and real world applicability. Anyway, I’m starving right now (I’m doing Mondays/Thursdays) but tracking calories has been easy enough as I used to use the MyFitnessPal app faithfully for 2 years. I have great hopes for this 5:2 diet as I was carefully tracking calories and exercising (hard) 6 or 7 times a week up to about a year ago. I got down from 250 lbs but plateau’d at about 205 lbs/39 inch waist despite being 5’10” (Male). A very reasonable range for me at that time would have been 175/180 lbs and less than 37 in waist. A dodgy back put paid to most of the exercise (Running, TRX, Weights, I was even just about to sign up for my first triathlon). I can still swim and bike a little but I really have to rely on diet to keep the weight under control. I’m starting at 222 lbs (15st 10lbs) so we’ll see how it goes. One nice side-benefit is – as described in the programme – that I didn’t feel at all like pigging out on Tue/Wed. Aside: Anyone following Operation Transformation?
hi try this link easy to use and loads of calorie things http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/weight-loss-guide/Pages/calorie-counting.aspx
Thank you Jimbod888 that’s a great calculator. I’m working that out at around 380 so the best fast day so far and I just have to brush the teeth and hop into bed. Tomorrow is weigh in day so we’ll see. Best of luck. If this works I’ll be letting everyone know about it. I just can’t seem to lose 10 pounds that I’ve been hanging on to for years. The fasting is not something I look forward to bug it is doable fir two days a week which has quite surprised me.
Well I’m fasting today and something has triggered in my brain on Mondays and Thursdays now and I just accept that these days are fast days. I can’t do strict, Nice Pear, on the non fast days which is probably why I lose and then gain a few pounds but overall I’ve lost a few pounds since Christmas. I’m also weaning myself off the scales as that’s a bit stressful. You feel a bit disheartened when the numbers go up so Friday is weigh in day. If I count calories on non fast days I’d feel I am on a diet and I will be doomed. There are great tips in this forum and it certainly keeps me motivated so thank you all for that. The best of luck this week and as mentioned somewhere I do wish there was a “like” button available.
Hello Misty May, hope you are enjoying a nice breakfast after your Monday fast. I do Mondays and Thursdays too. I am also very relaxed on the non fast days – its the only way to go for me, if I was counting on those days I would throw in the towel altogether. Weight loss is slow but I can definitely feel that my clothes are looser and I feel better overall – less of the niggling feeling that weight is creeping up every year, I will take slow and steady loss over that for sure. Good luck to you too and keep warm! Very frosty out there this morning
Hello everyone, It is very encouraging to read all of your posts. I am based in Co. Westmeath and after a very over-indulgent Christmas, I was determined to make a New Year’s Resolution that I would keep – losing the lbs. So, I joined Slimming World and lost 3lbs in 2 weeks but I found it really wasn’t for me. I just didn’t like the mentality. So, inspired by the success of three of my friends in Belfast, I downloaded My Fitness Pal and I am finishing week two of the 5:2. I am really delighted with how it has gone so far. I was nervous starting it as I thought I would feel weak or lacking in energy because of a lack of food. Not the case, thankfully. I actually did 4:3 in the first week to try to ‘kick start’ my weight loss and I have lost 5 lbs:) I enjoy feeling that I am not on a permanent diet! Any tips or help from you would be greatly appreciated!
Welcome Irish eyes and hello to all my countryfolk. I have been out of the country on work business for the last couple of weeks so I’m afraid that 5:2 went out of the window. Still I am back on terra firma now and fasted Tuesdau and am fasting today (Thursday).
Well done Irish eyes on your weight loss – be prepared for plateaus (and in my case, due to not fasting), regains. The best advice I can give is to stick with this – I think it is the most sustainable programme that is out there – and believe me I have tried a lot of them. Best of luck to all fasters today!
Thanks, Nice Pear, and everyone for all the wonderful tips. Today was tough but I’ve managed. I had quorn chicken fillet for dinner and they are only 43 cals per fillet. They are a bit bland but do the trick and certainly worth a try. I somehow find Thursdays more difficult. Weigh in day tomorrow! Yes I think a steady pace is the way to do this. When you know fasting is only for one day it really does make it doable.
Thanks Irishtrier for those words of encouragement and caution. I hit the plateau as well and found it very de-motivating; my solution is to come on here and read the posts and that encourages me to continue. Thanks Misty May for the heads up on the quorn fillets; must try them out and see if I can find a way to spice them up. I’ll report back if I have any success.
Hey Skinnyjeans, hope you got some motivational replies to you post. I’m also in Cork and hope that you are sticking with it. It’s the best diet and discipline plan I have ever come across. I use a Wii as my weighing scales and so have my weight record going back 5 years and this morning I recorded my lowest weight in over 2 years and broke the mental barrier of 100 Kilos; and only started on the fast diet in early December. So it does work. One tip that works for me is that I delay breakfast on my fast days; Mon and Weds; to as late as possible; even lunch time. Start the day with an apple and lots of strong tea. Let me know how you are getting on.
Hiya Missdetermined; hope you time on the 5/2 has been a success so far. Thought you might like to read something that recently appeared in The Telegraph: Is fasting the key to weight loss, good health, youthful vitality and longevity? | via @Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/wellbeing/11527318/Is-fasting-the-key-to-weight-loss-good-health-youthful-vitality-and-longevity.html.
Found everything in it very encouraging.
Good Luck.
Hi Everyone! Just stumbled across this forum now and found it so motivating! I just moved over to Canada on Jan 1st and because of the food being so processed and fatty etc I have slowly gained the lbs over the past few months. I had some success a couple of years ago on Weight Watchers and did manage to keep the weight off but since moving over here my weight has been on the gradual up and I’m just not happy in myself. I downloaded the Audiobook and have been listening to that and have been researching this plan as much as possible and to me it sounds great.
I plan to start the 5:2 on June 17th – we have some friends coming over to visit from Ireland so I am going to delay starting this program until their visit is over since the time will most likely be filled with eating out and plenty of booze. For now I am planning and researching and I’m actually really excited to start!
I go home for Christmas so my aim is to be nice and slim getting off the plane in Dublin in December! That gives me time to lose the lbs slow and steady. Aiming to lose about a stone to stone and half!
Hope all of you are still getting on well with your loses – your stories are so inspiring! Lovely to find a community of fellow Irish to compare notes with.
Best of Luck!
Hiya Galway Girl; this 5/2 diet is really the only way to go; been up and down, in and out of so many plans over the years and just finished rebounding all the time; the difference here is that this is a way of life with a lot more benefits than just simple weight loss. It will have it’s “oh no” moments, but mostly “wow” moments. For me the secret was has been not to gorge on the 5 days; just eat normally. Good luck with everything and do keep us apprised of your journey. Stephen
Thanks Dislanger!
I’m feeling very motivated to get started since anyone I speak to who has tried it has really taken it on board as a lifestyle change and not a fad diet. I usually do pretty well on diet plans when I first start but as I keep going and having to restrict myself all the time and miss out on events etc because of it I lose the will and fall off the wagon. Its more about getting healthy for me as well as losing the extra pounds since moving to Canada. I will be sure to keep you up to date!
Hope things are going well for you all!
Hello again Galway Girl, glad you have the motivation to succeed. For me, one of the beauties of the plan, and it is something you raise in your post, is the flexibility. If there is an event which coincides with your fast day, you just change the fast day. I do Monday and Wednesday as it suits my lifestyle; most I have come across do Monday and Thursday, but have done two on the trot, because it suited me; and that’s the trick, you make the diet suit you and your plans not the other way round. Enough pontificating, good luck with it and please do keep us advised of your progress.
Hi Guys, Just started this diet 3 weeks ago and have lost 10LB 🙂 ( I have 70 to loose)
and really getting on great. Im still a little confused with the amount of calories i should have on my non fast days…. should it be the TTDE amount or the MBR amount…Im based in Donegal and its great to have found this thread…. Thanks in advance.
Hi Foodlover!
Wow that’s amazing weight loss in 3 weeks! Congrats on your success! I go by my TDEE amount but I’m not certain that’s correct. Maybe some of the others on here can shed some light on this?
I’m on week 2 and just did my first fast day (third overall) yesterday. I was fine but a lot of temptations around in the line of Cakes and donuts etc so it was hard. It’s Canada Day here tomorrow so everyone is kind of in Holiday Mode hence the treats in the office etc. But once I got over the fact I just couldn’t have any the feeling soon passed.
Hope everyone is still doing well with their journeys. I haven’t weighed myself properly since I started so can’t update you on that yet but I definitely feel better in myself so happy days!!
Hi Foodlover:
The basic rule is to eat to your TDEE or less on non diet days. Because TDEE calculators only give estimates of what your TDEE really is, the number is sometimes higher that the actual TDEE. So some people compute the TDEE for their goal weight and use that number. This insures you will be eating few enough calories and also prepares you for what your maintenance calorie level will be when you get there.
Here are some tips that might help going forward: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/
Good Luck!
Hi Big Marie and welcome back into the fold. Galway_Girl: The 5:2 for me is its simplicity, I fast for 2 days and I don’t really think about food at all on the other 5, I eat as normal. What will happen you eventually is that you will automatically begin to eat better/more intelligently on the off days and so achieve your goals without obsessing on food, calories, TDEE’s, BMI’s or any of the other crap that is associated with your standard diet. Relax and enjoy losing weight and feeling healthier and better about yourself.
Hi everyone. I’m on my second fast day – did my first on Monday. I’m starving and is only 10.45am. Hmmmmm…… I am sure I’ll be grand as we Irish love to say! I’m 43, 5’8″, 150lbs. Not looking to be super skinny just to lose the dreaded belly. Don’t know how long I’m willing to keep this up! It was started on a whim really. I am using my fitness pal to track calories and it seems that if I want to lose I need to eat less than 1200. Thats doable if I’m not doing anything else but if you put a night out or a lunch out into the equation it gets difficult. I exercise a lot and haven’t found that helpful in terms of weight loss – makes you feel great and probably helps with weight maintenance so if you are thin it’ll help you stay thin. I think for weight loss it’s 70% eating and 30% exercise. Anyway I will try this for a few weeks and see what happens……. Will be looking for motivation so if anyone wants to help me……
Hi all,
We have been quiet over the summer – enjoying our lovely rain and cold here I bet! Well yesterday I weighed my self and happened to have a record of my weight on the same date last year. Guess what – I am 2 lbs lighter!! WOOHOO…. It is only going to take 19 more years to get to my ideal weight..I know that we say the weight loss in this WOE is slow but this is ridiculous!!! No – really this is the result of being on 5:2 for 14 weeks out of the 52 and being on my own plan – munch, mucn ,munch – the other 38 weeks. This weighing has finally awoken me out of my slumber – isn’t the mind amazing? Though I know that 5:2 is the best WOE for me, that prehistoric limbic system keeps saying to me, no not today, someday. Well I read somewhere that “there are seven days in the week and someday isn’t one of them”. So fasted on Monday and am fasting today…as our countryman Samuel Beckett would say “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better” From the irishfailbetterer
Reporting on my first week back – down 3lbs! Fasted on Thursday – probably went slightly over the 500 cals. Ate a lot at the weekend and then as I was out of town on Tuesday anayway, decided to try a back to back Monday and Tuesday. Well it worked fine until I was cooking dinner on Monday – a vegetarian hotpot that took over an hour to cook. The smells were too much and I munched into a couple of snacks in advance of dinner so Monday turned out to be a low cal day rather than a fast day. Tuesday went fine – came in at under 450 as I was out of town all day and home after 9pm. SO lesson learned – again – have my fast day dinners prepared in advance!
Good luck to all
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