I fast on a Monday and Wednesday including no alcohol. I usually use a Tuesday and Thursday as 2 non fast days to avoid alcohol in order to become healthier but also to introduce the idea of 5:2 system into other parts of my life. Two extra nights without alcohol.
Last night, Tuesday I really fancied a beer but I found that by focusing on the mental attitude that I use on my fast days I worked through it. So another positive day.
Many years ago some public houses cheated customers who bought shorts such as G&T by dipping the rim of the empty glass in a small plate containing a small amount of gin. The mixer was added resulting in the poor punter tasting the gin on the rim of the glass.
Now that may be taking it a step to far but could it be worth trying to fool yourself over a G&T?.
Good Luck.

Yes, I definitely think that saving alcohol til the weekends would help. You’ll probably be surprised by how little you miss it 🙂

Hi, regarding alcohol concerns. You could also apply a variation of the 5:2 principles to drinking in addition to your two fast days which should also be alcohol free.
Mimi suggested incorporating the 5:2 principles in other aspects of our daily life to see if it has an impact. What about only drinking on two days, say Friday and Saturday?. This ensures a good start to the week but enables your body to recover from the alcohol intake while introducing the 5:2 principles in another positive way into your lifestyle.
Good Luck.

It is just mathematics, alcohol has a lot of empty calories.

For each 1 kg of weight, you need 7000 kcal of energy. And the same other way around, each 7000 kcal extra energy = 1 kg…

If you would drink on every non-fast day (5 times a week):

a pint of beer (5,2-5,5%) approx 240 kcal x 5 days x 52 weeks = 1 200 kcal per week => 62 400 kcal per year

So basically you would lose 80% of the benefits of one weekly fast day. (If the benefit of one fast day is 2000 kcal – 500 kcal => decreased calory intake 1500 kcal.)

… or that would be 8,9 kg of extra weight, which you would have to shed some other way. (And the same thing, if you drink once a week 5 pints of beer.)

I would not recommend using diet coke or light tonic either, because they cause insulin spikes. From my own earlier experience I would say that it is better to keep off from any kind of ‘light’ -product, and eat & drink the real things – in moderation.

I never really drank much anyway, so I’m no use for that side of things but there are a few really good posts above exploring all the ins and outs of alcohol and calories.

In answer to your other questions though. We would need to know how you are fasting to be able to give any constructive ideas why you’re not losing much weight really but some common things are:

You might be losing inches instead? A lot of people don’t lose weight right away but find that their adipose tissue is ‘moving’ around and reconfiguring the shape of their bodies. If you haven’t already done so, maybe check your measurements now and then leave it a few weeks and check again.

Did you start an exercise regime at the same time you started 5:2? Muscle weighs more than fat so you may be adding muscle and losing fat at the same time if you’re doing some kind of exercise that you weren’t used to before.

Have you put your vitals into the TDEE calculator and found your personal recommended calorie intake for fast days AND non fast days? For women (me) the averages are 500 and 2000 respectively but my personal allowance is slightly higher than that. I stick to the recommended amount on fast days but in order to help maintain the regular weight loss I’ve become used to I drop a couple of hundred calories off the allowance on non fast days too. Seems to help.

How are you actually fasting? very small meals 2-3 times a day throughout your fasting day? Or fasting from your last meal on your non-fast day, right through to your evening meal the next (fasting) day and then nothing til breakfast on the following (non-fasting) day? Some people seem to fare best on one version or the other and it can take some experimenting before you find what works for you, so maybe try mixing it up a bit and trying the other way if you’re worried about the actual weight loss side of things.

Good luck – hope you find a rhythm that suits you and manage to still enjoy the occasional tipple.

I’m only into my second week, so early days yet but I’ve been surprised how easily I cut my wine consumption. I’ve had many attempts over the years to cut back but never seem to to stick to the new resolution for more than a day or 2 before the wine sucks me back in. Since 10 days of 5.2 with pure water fasts on the 3 fast days so far I’ve cut wine consumption by more than a half. And I can’t see it being too challenging to go lower. That “more more more” crave just seems to have gone!
I lost 2 kilos in the first week which blew me away. The fast days plus a lot less wine really worked.
I’m not particularly overweight at 188cm and 85 (now 83) kilos but would like to chase away the slow creep up the scales over the last 20 years. I’m quite active kitesurfing when there is wind, and running when not but this is the first time I have been able to effectively cut both wine and weight.

I’m impressed!

You might not feel very well if you did that!!! 🙂 As you say it is up the individual but you will only be consuming empty calories! Why not switch your fast day instead that way you can eat and drink and fast tomorrow instead? 🙂

It would be much wiser to change your fast day.

Consuming 500 cals of alcohol and no food is not only extremely bad for you but also a waste of calories. It’s also likely to make you very drunk!!

The days you fast are not written in stone, they are moveable to fit in with your life.

xx