This topic contains 124 replies, has 106 voices, and was last updated by NorthGeorgia 3 years, 9 months ago.
Hi this is my 5th week of following the diet. After the first week, I’d lost 6lbs which was brilliant and a very welcome surprise but I have not lost anything since. I started running again about 3 weeks ago (couch to 5k) I feel much better so I am definitely going to stick with the diet and running long term. Any advice?
I’m going with the idea that I am building muscle and this is making up for any weight loss. I’d like to lose another 7 or 8 lbs
thank you Karon
@karon67 I’m on my 5th week as well and I have lost 2kg in first week. My weight has been stable since then (possibly die to overeating on non-fast days and alcohol). I have taken up exercise though and weight is still unchanged. I’ve decided to go from 1,800 kcal on non-fast days to 1,700 kcal – I’ll let you know what the result is!
I lost 8lbs in 11 days when I first began 5:2 – I was on a high. As I have lost over 4 stones over 9 months. The weight loss is starting to slow down now. I am using my TDEE cal allowance – underestimating my activity level to a calorie allowance of around 1600kcals – on my non fast days.
I think Michael Mosley wants people to eat a low carb mediterranean diet in general and start to eat better overall. He was tweaked the eat what you like slogan – as to get people’s attention. But in his updated version – fast at 800 cals but eat more healthily is the slogan update.
I have 7lbs to lose – i will cut back on my wine/crisps on non fast days -its a way of life. Being healthy and slim is not easy – hard work and lots of patience is needed on the way.
@KetoRose — the broadcast is called “Eat, Fast, and Live Longer,” and you can find it on YouTube.
For many more great weight-loss success stories, check the reviews of the books on Amazon. You’ll see hundreds of positive weight-loss stories there — I find them very inspirational, and go read those when I need to be reinvigorated.
SUCCESS STORY FROM ME (but needing advice!)
I am just so pleased with Intermittent Fasting!
So glad I read the 5:2 book.
I played around with 6:1 for quite a while (like 2 years!) and it didn’t have any monumental effects on my weight, although it stabilised my blood sugar spikes and certainly prevented any weight gain!
However in February of this year, I found the forum! The forum has been life changing, giving me the support, inspiration and advice to do this properly!
So I’ve been resolute over the last five months and really given my all to IF.
RESULT – I am now down to 8 1/2 stone! I’ve lost 12lbs very steadily over 5 months.
However, I now have to maintain it! Actually, now I’ve ‘arrived at my destination’ I’m actually really worried about how I maintain this.
Somehow the concrete goal of ‘lose X pounds this month’ is so much easier than than the rather wishy-washy “maintain my weight.”
HELP!! Any advice please??
I started the 8/16 in January 2017 at a weight of 15st 8lbs I switched to the 5/2 mid March as it was slow going for me.ive stuck to the two fasting days apart from twice and don’t eat till midday everyday. To date I’ve lost 2st 10lbs and most of it from mid March. I’m now 12st 12lbs. It’s not just a diet it’s a way of life for me. I am under goal and intend to stay that way. I was doing 20 minutes hit training on a rowing machine untill 4 weeks ago 6 nights a week. having to rest my knee for a while. Sunday a 20 mile bike ride.
I’ve found the whole experience very positive. Love the tracker and partisipate on the monthly challenges.
Hope this can inspire anyone into giving it ago. Good luck.
Hi Fosters and welcome:
Here are some tips: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/
Good Luck!
Although I have lost weight, the most important thing is that my cholesterol has gone from 6.8 to 5.3 over the past five months. This has been a combination of fast diet and exercise 3 x pw at the Gym.
I really look forward to my special fast day evening meals which I always plan carefully so that I am eating foods that I really enjoy.
OK ! Starting this today ! Looks like a great site and wonderful set up here. Looking forward to meeting a few folks here as well. I’m a healthy 65 year old, swim a mile a day and do some other stuff as well in exercise and mobility. Eat organic vegie pesc at home 🏡, but also eat out a lot. We play music so there’s regular craft beer as well 🎶😊🎶. Aiming here to drop from 22.3 BMI ( Calc right here today! ) to 20, and 3 months looks just fine for this. I’ve played w 16/8 IF now wNt to add 5/2. Have been looking for community to do this with. Glad I’m here !
Ah-tee from the Columbia Gorge in Oregon, USA
I have just started this diet after belatedly watching the programme on iplayer, and as I have some muslim colleagues who are about to start fasting for ramadan.
I did my first fast day yesterday.
I had a normal breakfast (about 600 calories), then decided on spur of moment to fast and for lunch just had a miso soup (30 calories?) and a satsuma (50 calories?). I then skipped dinner. I felt hungry at times but no emotional impact or difficulty until 9pm when I started to feel very irritable and hangry until I slept at 11pm. I woke early a few times, probably my body pushing me to get breakfast.
I lost 1.5kg in one day!
I am now down to 85kg (male, 178cm). This was measuring first thing in the AM before drinking water, but still maybe 900-1000g actual weight loss. If anything this is too rapid weight loss for me but I will see how it goes and possibly start having another soup+fruit for dinner to slow down the loss and reduce the hangryness.
On the whole fasting was not too bad and I am planning to now do it every mon/thur unless I have a squash match to work around.
My goal is more the health benefit – cancer risk reduction etc – than the weight loss.
Very well done on your progress, it is a great feeling when clothes get looser. I just wanted to let you know when you get to maintenance 2000 calories a day would be too high for you as it’s approximately 300 over your TDEE. I recommend you use the calculator to work yours out. I’m also 5ft 6 and mainly sedentary, so imagine we will have a similar TDEE but calories do go down for every decade we are older. I wish you all the very best.
As someone who dislikes almost every vegetable, loves fruit and has been on 5:2 for 280 weeks (almost 5.5 years) I guess some people may be interested in what I do. Clearly it has worked for me but I’m sure it won’t suit everyone.
My fasting days have always consisted of the following meals:
Breakfast: a small helping of either porridge or granola with natural yoghurt
Lunch: a small helping of fruit – 2 kiwis, or some strawberries most commonly
Dinner: 1 day two poached eggs on unbuttered wholegrain toast; the other day 2 rashers of bacon with a small helping of baked beans on unbuttered wholegrain toast – then an apple on both days
During the fasting days I’ll drink either water or black coffee except at dinner when I’ll have a zero calorie coke because I really need to taste a different flavour.
At my max (19 weeks in) I’d lost 17.6kg from a starting point of 94.3kg. Today I was at 81.1kg, so still 13.2kg lower than when I began and currently in a good phase of regular weight loss. I suspect the salads for dinner at this time of year on the normal 5 days are helping a lot with that (I will eat lettuce, tomato and cucumber). Having said that yesterday evening we were celebrating our 22nd wedding anniversary and the meal in the restaurant certainly wasn’t salad. The gin, Amarone and port to help the food go down don’t usually appear in most diet books either.
I do still go through some periods when I feel hungry on Fast Days, but most of the time I barely notice them now. I really don’t know why some days seem harder than others. The busier I am the less likely it is I’ll notice being hungry, but even that isn’t 100% consistent. Getting a drink usually helps with any hunger pangs.
Good luck to everyone. Remember it’s a marathon not a sprint. You just have to keep doing it consistently in a way that suits you whilst achieving the desired results.
Since April 20th I’m losing weight slowly. I abandoned the regime for 2 weeks when I was away in May, but it didn’t make a lot of difference because I wasn’t drinking much alcohol at that time, and I usually have a few glasses of wine at the weekends. Overall I’m very pleased. I’ve lost 9.5 lbs in about 10 weeks, which is great going, but most of all I’m pleased at how easy it is. I fast on Mondays and Wednesdays, and on those days I have tea and coffee with milk as normal, a bowl of muesli with yogurt and blueberries at lunchtime, and perhaps an apple before bed. Not much variety, but it’s healthy and I don’t have to think about it either. It’s easy to wait till lunchtime, and the muesli fills me up well enough so that I’m not too hungry to sleep, and I just look forward to the food I’ll have next day. I try to drink more plain water on fast days, especially if I feel a bit peckish. I weigh myself first thing on a Thursday morning, when I’m at my lightest! I can definitely do this, and am thinking of revising my goal to lose a few more pounds than I first thought possible.
I gave up drinking alcohol and smoking on 29 Dec last year following a regime that a fellow ex forces buddy of mine does at the beginning of each year for 3 months. After a bad knee injury and a daughters wedding to get ready for next year I needed to lose weight. I have stuck to it since in my own way. No cigs and a drink or 2 when out on family does, probably had 10 pints in that time ( just over 7 months). I bought a rower, and since the beginning of the year binned junk food. I have lost 2 stones in that time but need some sort of regimented routine that I can stick to at work and at home. I saw one of Michael,s programmes and it has stuck in my mind until I read an article in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago that gave me the jolt I needed. I don,t take milk with anything and am not keen on sweet stuff.
I began my 5:2 diet on Monday with 2 fast days.
And now I have started on this journey. Very quickly I have realised that portion size is an area I can make reductions. The 2 days of FD have not troubled me greatly as they are work days, but I may now spread that out to Mon and Wed.
I was just over 15st when I had my accident, am now at 13st 2lb, have lost 2lb since Monday morning and can,t see any reason not to continue. I have read some great posts on here already. On wards and upwards.
Good luck to all.
Had major dental surgery on Monday so good start to FDx3. Not being able to eat anything wasn,t as big a hardship as expected. Weighed in this morning at 12st 12lb. My wife and I had Skinny Madras curry, mushroom rice and chappatis for tea on Saturday night which was excellent, no salt no bloating and very filling. My work colleague started her first FD yesterday so we are egging each other on and comparing recipes. Good luck everyone.
Day 1. 11st 2lbs . I’m reading and researching everything I can to educate myself.
Anyone recommend any apps that take 5:2 into account. I do have MyFitnessPal but I receive alerts if cals are under the recommended amounts so cant enter or complete fast days. Thank you in advance and good luck everyone.
Hi Judy, Yes I have also had the My Fitness Pal App, having also a Polar A360 smart band.
I had started using another App which I can recommend;”FatSecret” Which although doesn’t specifically cater for 5:2 dieting but allows you to put in whatever food and meals that you want! It also has the ability to save specific meals which is very handy for the 5:2 diet regiem. You can check and generate a complete log of all your meals for a week or month.
The data base is also very good giving you the possibility of choosing specific brands of food, or supermarkets and or taking a photo of what you’re eating. You don’t need to buy the ‘professional’ version.
Good luck it works for me and I’ve been on 5:2 now for about 3 years!
Maintenance for 2 years now. Weight stable at ~160 lbs/73 kg. Doing a bit more keto than when losing weight – tastes have changed + avoiding vegetable/nut oils (except olive, coconut, avocado) due research on effects of poly unsaturated fats.
Over past 2 years, cholesterol profile has improved mainly through lowering of LDL #s (LDL dropped from 3.9 to 3.1) HDL steady at ~1.7, triglycerides steady at ~.7
Blood sugar, etc, all good.
I’m continuing to use the tracker. So motivating to see that worm work it’s way down to the goal weight line at the bottom of the screen. I’ve lost over 32 kilograms (72 pounds) in the last 24 weeks. I’ve gone from 131.5 kilograms (290 pounds) to 99 kilograms (218 pounds) Hoping to drop the last 9 kilos to get to my goal of 90 kilos by my birthday in October.
Not aware of Euphoria as a result of dieting. Some things I have felt is – less ‘stuffed’, less ‘unable to move due to being too fat, being able to sit in chair more easily, being able to get in and out of a chair more easily, I walk with a lighter step, with more purpose in my step. I feel less defeated, less depressed and more motivated. I lost 13 kg on 5:2 last time. I plan to do it again!!
I’m on my second week and went down a couple of pounds which is great , but I seemed to go up over the weekend , I’m wondering if I’m not eating enough calories on my non fast days , I’m definitely sticking to 500 calories on my fast days , do you think I should count my calories on my non fast days , just to make sure I’m eating enough My bmr. 1244 and my tdee is 1644?
Wilky, I wouldn’t worry about several things:
1. Calorie counting on NFDs.
2. Gaining weight, especially over the weekend.
Instead, do this:
1. Be strict on your calories on your fast days.
2. Eat up to your TDEE without guilt on NFDs, being sure not to overindulge.
3. Track and graph your weight over months, not just days. Weight changes a lot. This has been my third and worst month for weight loss, I was 255 lbs. today, same as July 2. But now 255 is my high mark in my weekly range whereas on the 2nd, it was a surprisingly low mark in the weekly range. With that in consideration, it looks like for the month, I could end up about 5 lbs. lighter.
My weight always tends to go up a pound or two over the weekends, but over a couple of weeks, I can see it has dropped a bit.
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