The apple shouldn’t present a problem. Less than 100 cal. What are you having for breakfast and dinner? That my be a bigger problem.

Swap the porridge for high fat low sugar plain Greek yogurt, handful of almonds and a handful of berries. Is the soup home made or out of a can? Try it for two weeks and see what happens. Do the same thing and you’ll get the same results. Honey = 85% sugar + 15% water.

Hi mike,

If your weight loss is slower than you would like, you are looking in the wrong place for the reason. What and how much do you eat on non fast days?
I’m not asking you to tell me but think about the method you use (or not) to ensure you don’t exceed your TDEE and the food groups you are eating. Processed carbs and sugary foods need to be cut right down or eliminated altogether depending on how keen you are to lose weight and keep it off.
Your diet should be plant based ie plenty of veg and some whole fresh fruit (limit juice and dried fruit), healthy fats including full fat natural yoghurt, nuts, avocados, olive oil, even butter (but watch out for the calories) and some lean protein. Lentils, chick peas and beans are very nutritious too, and very filling.

I’m not saying don’t eat good quality bread, cake, dessert, chocolate etc, on occasion, I know I would be miserable without them or a glass of wine, beer or a G&T, but they need to be removed from the daily diet and reserved as occasional treats.
If that sounds tough I apologise but we’ve all been eating too much non healthy stuff and too little healthy stuff for too long. I know it is hard to accept that some things have to be given up in order to lose weight, keep it off, and stay healthy but every time I eat too much, too often of the above mentioned “treats” I stop losing weight or even worse, re-gain it. I also find that too much of some foods such as bread, and I make my own, makes me feel bloated and lethargic which isn’t the way I want to feel and reminds me that I used to feel that way most of the time!

Hi mike and welcome:

The average weight loss on 5:2 is about a pound a week. It sounds like your main concern is that you want to lose weight faster.

The answer to your problem is easy, but not often accepted.

Eat less. Do it any way you want. Some don’t eat any calories on their diet days. Some cut the calories they eat on their non-diet days. Makes no difference.

The less you eat, the more (and faster) you lose.

Here are some other tips: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

Here’s a breakfast suggestion for you, Mike:
Dutch Breakfast 290 calories 8 g fat 3.8 g fiber 16 g protein 36 g carbs 210 mg Calcium GF – if using GF bread
one 2-oz egg, hard-boiled or coddled HINT: the hardboiled egg can be made days before ½ oz ham, low-fat from the deli ½ of an Arnold Multi-grain Sandwich Thin [50 cal] OR ½ slice 70-cal multi-grain bread [35 cal] OR one “Holland Rusk” [35 cal] 1/4 oz [1/2” cube] Jarlsberg cheese [if you used less bread, you could have more cheese] 2 oz melon or apple or pear OR a mixed fruit cup 4 oz fruit smoothie or green smoothie or unpasturized apple cider blackish coffee or blackish tea or lemon in hot water
Warm the ham in a skillet, toast the bread, brew your beverage, slice the fruit, cube the cheese. Prepare the smoothie. [My smoothies are home-made. If you eliminate the smoothie, you could have another slice of ham and more fruit.]

The whole point is that you create a calorie deficit so your body uses some of your stored fat for fuel. Feeling hungry isn’t a measure of success, and it is quite subjective so don’t worry about it 🙂