Hi Niyika and Ann247,
I’d like to join you both and share our experiences with 5:2. I’m sure it will help keep us motivated if we share our stories. I’ve been a yo yo dieter for what seems like forever and I’m still overweight! After seeing Dr. Michael Moseley’s program and doing some research online, I’ve come to the conclusion that this way of eating makes a lot of sense. I started on Monday at 97kg (I’m in Australia hence the metric) have had two fast days On Tuesday and Thursday. Today was weigh-in and I’m down to 93.9kg. Whilst I realise that most of that loss will be excess fluid I’ll take it anyway! I think we need to congratulate ourselves for taking this first step to a healthier life.

Hi all, just checking in. Hope everyone is doing well. I just wanted to write a few of my thoughts down, so far.
This way of life is definitely making me more mindful of what I eat. The fast days are easy because we know how much we are permitted to consume but it’s not a case of ‘anything goes’ on non fast days. I read posts where people give up because 5:2 isn’t working for them but when you see what is consumed on non fast days it’s not really surprising. To my way of thinking we should be eating a balanced diet with plenty of veggies and protein 5 days a week with an ‘occasional’ treat thrown in. Eating anything you want for 5 days might include a roast dinner with potatoes and gravy not empty calories such as an excess of cakes and desserts.
As an example yesterday I had two pieces of lean short cut bacon, one egg and a piece of toast for breakfast. A flat bread wrap with ham and salad for lunch. A pear as a mid afternoon snack and chicken and salad for dinner with about 6 fries. My treats were two gingernut biscuits and a mince pie! Certainly not excessive in my mind. On previous diets I would have had weetbix and skim milk for breakfast (not as satiating as bacon and eggs) a lunch of low fat yoghurt and fruit (avoiding carbs in the form of bread) and maybe a piece of grilled chicken and steamed veggies for dinner and absolutely no treats. No wonder I was doomed for failure. I felt very deprived, consequently it never lasted more than a few weeks and food was on my mind constantly.
Just knowing I can have anything to eat now means I’m not demonising certain types of food. If I have the six fries with dinner, so what. I don’t feel restricted and yet I’m mindful of what I eat. Therefore I think this is a sustainable way of life rather than a ‘diet’. I have choice. Xx

Wishing you all the best of luck.

its been my experience as yoyo dieter most of my life tht this diet has worked for me over the long term. For me it meant try not to overly concerned about the scale. Just as long as I stuck to 600 cal fast days 2-3 times a week I could see the scale move over a months time. Thats been 20 months ago since I started .I had to find other ways to get enthused, because the scale didnt always show fat loss. Like my clothes were becoming loser or I had gained muscle or water weight. What I saying is please dont let the scale keep you discouraged. If you find the semi fast days that are tolerable and keep on keepin on. You will lose weight over time.
best wishes

Nyika, I find your comment on being tired very interesting. For me it appears to be the opposite. I usually have a fuzzy afternoon slump but today I didn’t. I wonder if this is because of blood glucose levels? I’m becoming more and more interested in the physiology behind our fasting!

Hi all,
First ‘normal’ day of the week following yesterday’s fast and feeling good.

Today’s breakfast was a small bowl of porridge made with water and a morning coffee with 125 ml skim milk (357cal). Lunch was protein rich with a large egg, 100g lean short cut bacon, one piece of toast and 130g baked beans (459cal) which was incredibly filling.I had a kiwi fruit as a snack and my treat for the day has been a chocolate teddy bear biscuit (126cal for both). That leaves 658cal of my 1600 cal allowance left to last for the rest of the day, which will be plenty.

I have recorded my activity level as sedentary for the moment as I’ve been carrying a couple of injuries this year which are slowing me down. I’m hoping to increase activity levels gradually, but one step at a time.

I’m hoping everyone else is keeping motivated and I’m looking forward to us supporting each other along the way.

Hello all,
Nyika and Ann247, don’t beat yourselves up over yesterday as today is a new day. I have also had many ‘off’ days over the years during my many attempts at weight loss. We are only human and sometimes life just gets in the way. As long as we recognise this we don’t need to punish ourselves with negative thoughts of guilt and failure. Sometimes the thought of many months ‘dieting’ can be overwhelming. Previously I would be motivated for a couple of weeks and then I’d have a bad day and have some ‘forbidden’ morsel whereby I would throw my hands in the air and give up. All is not lost with 5:2. If you’re not happy with a particular day, start fresh on the next day. One bad day doesn’t negate all the good days that have gone before. Simple!
I had a good fast day yesterday and I am managing the calorie restriction quite well. Drank lots of water and black tea. Weigh in this morning was 93.4kg down from 97kg at the start (Dec 4). Had bowl of porridge for breakfast. A multigrain ham roll, apple and mince pie for lunch. Dinner tonight is trout, salad and small baked potato.
I think this way of eating should be sustainable. No food is forbidden on non-fast days; we are in control. As a consequence we make the right choices most of the time.
Hope the Christmas shopping is going well 🙂

Hi Liz and welcome.
Like most things in life, 5:2 isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ approach to fasting. It appears that most people tweak it a little to suit their own particular needs before settling on a regimen that suits them. Some lose quickly, some slowly. It doesn’t really matter how we do it as long as we are committed long term. This is a new way of life for me too. I was going to start on Jan 1, but made a conscientious decision to start on Dec 1., this way I will be more mindful of the Christmas calories. I will eat to enjoy on my non fast days but without going crazy (I hope 🙂

Hi fellow 5:2ers,
I look forward to my Monday and Thursday fasts as it makes me feel as though I am actively contributing rather than benignly following a ‘diet’. For me, the mind games, self sabotage and feelings of deprivation are my undoing. It’s Monday, it’s fast day – and I am in control.

Did my first fast day yesterday and it went great! When I tried it a couple months ago I felt awful, but yesterday was fine even though I was quite focused on food. On today’s non-fast day, however, I wanted to eat pretty much everything in sight just because I knew I don’t get to eat tomorrow. I devoured a whole package of cookies, used as much dressing on my salad as I possibly could and ate lots of cheese…

Maybe the overeating will even itself out over time as I won’t want to undo the hard work of the fast days. I hope I’ll be able to make that psychological switch, at least.