Fat man going on an adventure…

This topic contains 208 replies, has 29 voices, and was last updated by Rob in Recovery 7 years, 2 months ago.

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Rob in Recovery

9:19 am
13 Sep 16
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I’m a 49 year old man and I think it’s fair to say I’ve been deluding myself about the state of my health. I rarely weigh myself but recently did and discovered that at 6ft tall I was 17st 4.5lbs (242.5lbs/110.2kg). That equates to a BMI of (precisely) 32.91, firmly in the obese category. I have a “solid” physique and like to think I carry it well, but that’s ridiculous.

I live alone (divorced) and tend to eat fairly sensibly during the day (cereal for breakfast, sandwiches, crisps and fruit for lunch), but then I tend to go for it in the evenings. I’ll often stop on the way home and get a ready meal or take-away, followed by sweets and chocolate. I have a really sweet tooth. I know this isn’t great, so on a nearly daily basis I resolve to be “perfect” from tomorrow (no snacks, no sugar etc.). Given I’m going to be perfect from tomorrow, this is used to justify one last “farewell” blow-out today. Then tomorrow comes, I’ll find an excuse to say “what the hell” and give up. Once more I resolve to be perfect from tomorrow and let today descend into another “farewell” blow out. This has become a destructive cycle, repeated over many years !

Anyway, I watched the Panorama programme on iPlayer, read the book and I’m intrigued. Part of me thinks it can’t be this easy, but another part is optimistic. Last week I fasted on Thursday only and compared to this time last week :

Weight = 237.75, a loss of 4.75lbs
Blood sugar = 5.5 (previously 5.7)
Waist measurement = 108 (previously 117)

I’m not sure what happened, and you can’t draw conclusions from a single week, but that’s a bit weird. So I’ve decided I’m going to commit to this lifestyle for “a while” and see what happens.

I’m going to try and keep things simple. Monday and Thursday will be fast days and I’m going to actually fast –no food, only water. I don’t want to worry about what to eat and to have to count calories, it just seems simpler not to eat. The main reason however is that this is a fasting diet – from what I’ve read the weight and health benefits come from not eating and your body responding. Surely if I’m eating (even smaller meals) the process must be compromised ? Anyway, I have plenty of reserves, I don’t think I’ll starve if I don’t eat for a day once in a while….

In terms of exercise I have a Fitbit so will aim for 10,000 steps a day. I also used to run a bit so will try and get back into that, aiming to run 4 times a week, but I’m not going to make that a “rule”.

And that’s pretty much it. I’m going to post weekly to try and keep myself honest and hopefully record a positive story. If it helps someone else that would be great too.

Here goes….

bigbooty

10:00 am
13 Sep 16
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Hi Rob,

If we were eating sensibly we wouldn’t be on this forum. I’ll come in with both barrels blazing. Sugar and simple grain based carbs are far from healthy. Do a google search on Dr Kellogg and cereal. A very disturbed individual that started the “health cereal” concept. Breakfast cereals, might as well be having a bowl of sugar, same difference. Get carbs from veggies and some fruit. Grain based carbs are not good, so limit bread, cereals, pasta, pizza to an absolute minimum. Limits potatoes. Fruits, try and go for your berry type fruits.

Water fasting, if you can do it, go for it. I cant be bothered with counting calories so have done water fasts from the get go. It will take you about a month before it becomes easy. There is nothing I cant do from a physical aspect when Im fasting but it took me about 6 months before it became real easy to do. Walks, riding a bike etc. Just don’t expect to do it overnight. It will take your liver some time before it operating properly.

Merryme

11:33 am
13 Sep 16
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Hi Rob,

Congratulations! Congratulations for making the decision to do this, and for having done your 1st week. Yes it is that easy! The big first loss is not unusual especially for larger males, and it’s the usual “water loss when beginning to lose weight as well as some fat. The initial large loss happens to most people. Your weight loss will settle down to roughly a consistentent amount per week, and you may get an occasional plateau. Just keep doing it Fast Day(FD) by FD, and you will get to a normal weight.

As bigbooty says, we’re all here on this forum and on 5:2 for the same reason. We all needed to sort out our weight, eating style, what we eat and how we eat it. What you eat or drink on a FD is totally up to you, and yes, it still works if you stick to under 600cals per FD. You’ve decided to not count calories on FDs and do a total fast and that’s fine. You’ll lose a bit faster. Don’t forget there may be cals in what fluids you drink. Keep well hydrated. We normally get some of our fluid out of the water content of all foods so you’ll need to drink more than you normally would. On nonFDs (non fast days) you need to stay under your TDEE. You work that out by going to the Fast Diet Tracker in the top right hand corner and filling in the figures. TDEE is your Total Daily Energy Expenditure that you need for your height weight and activity level. I’d suggest you gird your loins, take the plunge, and calorie count for a week to find out what cals are in what foods and start to learn the right portion size for you. Yes it’s tedious, and nobody likes doing it, but it’s worth it for a short while. It will fast track you into working out what works for you. Go with foods you’re familiar with and like.

I’ll look forward to congratulating you again as you normalise your weight🙂 Enjoy the journey!

Onwards and Downwards,
Merry
19kgs down and 2.5kgs to go
(42lbs down and 6lbs to go )

bigbooty

1:22 pm
13 Sep 16
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Nice loss there Merry!! Almost the same as me (21 kg loss and now in maintenance).

Merryme

1:39 pm
13 Sep 16
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Thanks bigbooty! Feels great doesn’t it!🙂🙂

A little note about berry fruits – not much available in some countries e.g. Here in Australia strawberries are a staple for me (forced to be sedentary so no exercise possible ), blueberries are a little pricier, love them but twice the cals of strawberries and not in my calorie range. Raspberries are the only other berry year round (except at Christmas when we get some blackberries). Raspberries are very pricey and again twice the cals of strawberries. Mulberries grow in backyards sometimes, but very seasonal. My go to fruits are strawberries and rockmelon – also known as cantaloupe (spelling ?). Tasmania gets more berries than mainland Australia though because it’s our coldest state. When overseas I always head to the supermarkets or fruit and vegies markets to get berries. Love them.

Cheers,
See you around the forum🙂
Merry

Amazon

2:29 pm
13 Sep 16
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Hi Rob,

Well done for getting onto the 5:2 wagon. If you stick with it I can assure you it’ll turn out to be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made.

I agree with what MM and BB have said but I’ll chuck my opinion in too. We get a massive 80% of the fluid we need from our food so drinking lots of water on FDs cannot be over emphasised.
I would also say get rid of the cereal and have something else for breakfast, fresh fruit and natural yoghurt or an egg based meal are much better for you. I know cereal is quick but it is nowhere near as healthy as we’ve been led to believe. Also try cutting out the crisps at lunchtime, you don’t need them. Maybe have a packet once a week as a treat.

Given you are now going to be perfect, it is time to embrace some home cooking. It needn’t be time consuming or complicated as there are many things that can be on the table in 20 minutes or less.
I live alone and always make an effort to cook for myself and I no longer sit on the sofa with a tray on my lap but sit at the table and concentrate on enjoying every mouthful rather than mindlessly shovelling it down while watching TV.

I’ve lost nearly 5 stones but have been struggling recently for reasons I won’t go into but I’m determined to lose another stone and see 5:2 as a way of life.

I am a real foodie, love a good dinner and all I’ve done is change the ratio of ingredients slightly.
I still enjoy alcohol, cake, chocolate, desserts and bread but all of them are now the best quality and/or homemade and treats rather than daily fare and all the more enjoyable because I don’t have them every day.

Good luck 🙂

Nama

3:08 pm
13 Sep 16
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Hi Rob and welcome. I can’t add much apart from encouragement. I have lost 23kgs and now embrace regular fasting as maintenance. (Been maintaining a year) Previously a yoyo dieter for 45 years, often frustrated, regularly gave up. As BB says, fasting gets easier and easier. Actually many of us find FDs easier than eating days as there is no food to worry about! (I also find it easier to mostly do just water/coffee fast days). It is a fabulous tool to control your weight, whilst still enjoying food and life.

Re the sweet tooth: Trust me, this will improve. Sugar is addictive, the more you have the more you want. It took me 12 months of 5:2 to realise this, but it has been my biggest breakthru as I love sweet things. Initially, I took one fast day at a time and convinced myself I could do it as I could have that ‘treat’ tomorrow. Slowly, I started not even wanting the treats. Why undo a whole days good work? Then, as the sugar cravings lessened, my tastebuds redefined themselves and previously loved treats became sickly sweet. I love coffee and cake, but now it has to be good quality and home made. I still enjoy such foods, but instead of them being a daily ‘reward’ I limit them to once or twice a week. And I enjoy them much more than I did previously, no guilt attached and knowing if my weight does creep up a kilo it will come off easily with fasting.

Exercise is great for the feel-good factor, but wont make a big difference to your losses. Be careful with your knees and hips if you start running at your present weight. Take it gently. And finally, hang around here. You will learn a lot from the many experienced fasters and get a lot of inspiration. Good luck!

Rob in Recovery

11:39 am
19 Sep 16
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Thanks for your replies, I appreciate them. It’s great to have your support and to learn from your experience.

I’ve had a good first week in that I successfully fasted (water only) on Monday and Thursday. The fasts themselves were fine, I didn’t really feel hungry, apart from a few flashes at lunchtime and dinner. I’m not sure if it was true hunger though, more a habitual response and once the mealtime had gone, so had the hunger. I drank lots of water and a couple of coffees, and generally felt pretty good. I slept well on the nights of both fasts and wasn’t particularly hungry the morning after. On the post-fast day I ate pretty much what I would have done normally.

However, I weighed and measured myself this morning and the results were a bit disappointing. After losses the week before, I seem to have put weight back on !

Weight = 239, this week +1.25lbs, total change to date -3.5lbs
Blood sugar = 5.7, this week +0.2, total change to date 0
Waist measurement = 108, starting measurement 108, total change to date 0

It’s the first “proper” week so maybe my body is settling into this new way of operating ? My natural tendency is to react – either give up altogether or do something radical like fast 5 days, eat normally on 2 ! Instead I’m going to plan to stick with my approach for a few weeks and see what happens, just be patient, keep the faith and plod along !

We’ll see what happens this week…

Nama

11:48 am
19 Sep 16
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Definitely ‘keep the faith and plod along’ Rob. Your huge loss the first week would have been mostly water, so everything is settling now. A 250ml glass of water weighs 250g, so the number we see on the scales is a guide only. Lots of factors affect the number we see on a particular day, things such as time of day, recent food, recent trips to the loo. If you think about it, even something such as ‘food in transit’ makes a difference, so we are lightest in the morning, after the loo, the day after a fast day when we did not eat. To be the most accurate, weigh yourself at the same time of day, on the same day (relative to fasting) each time. And if we didn’t mention it, take some measurements, esp your waist. Often losses wont show on scales, but clothes are looser. Hang in there its early days, trust us…….!!

Rob in Recovery

10:53 am
26 Sep 16
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The end of week 2 and things seem to be going well. I water fasted twice, although I did have a misfire on Monday ! It was meant to be a fast day and was going well until the evening when I noticed I had a curry in the fridge that would soon be out of date. So I thought I’d better eat it and there started a minor binge….

I then fasted on Tuesday and Thursday successfully and this morning my measurements seem to be going in the right direction :

Weight = 236, this week -3lbs, total change to date -6.5lbs
Blood sugar = 5.6, this week -0.1, total change to date -0.1
Waist measurement = 106cm, starting measurement 108cm, total change to date -2cm

Although this looks good, I feel a little disappointed. I weighed myself mid-week (can’t remember when, but it would have been around the fast days) and I was 3lbs lighter than I was this morning. I think I need to be satisfied with a good loss this week and learn a little patience. This week I’ll have to squeeze fast days around my brother visiting from the states, but hopefully should be OK.

The other thing I’m noticing is the amount of junk I’m eating on non-fast days. It’s “normal” eating in the sense that it’s what I was eating before I started the fast diet, but I’m beginning to realise how poor my diet was. Lots of sugar, lots of snacking, particularly in the evening. I don’t want to start imposing rules and making the diet restrictive on non-fast days, but I wonder if one of the effects of the diet may be “automatically” cleaning up my diet. As I’m eating the junk it is starting to appeal less.

JackyM

11:55 am
26 Sep 16
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Hi Rob – congrats on the difference so far and well done for keeping going, it does work and understand completely where you’re coming from re the junk food – it does appeal less after a while. I’ve just started again, tried it beginning of last year for about 4 months and lost 2.5 st, enjoyed all the comments about how well I looked, how much better I must feel etc and made the classic mistake of thinking great, I’ve done enough now and stopped. Prat! 🙂 .. So here I am again, have put just over one of the stones back on and now have 5 to lose but am feeling positive this time and committed to doing this until I get to a healthy weight, not just a couple of sizes down! Good luck, use the forums, keep going and we’ll get there!

Rob in Recovery

12:11 pm
26 Sep 16
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Thanks Jacky.

That’s an impressive weight loss in not a very long period of time, I’m sure once you get back into it you’ll get similar results again.

It seems a bit daunting how much weight we have to lose and I want instant results, hence my disappointment. From reading the forums I think the secret is to make this approach to eating a way of life and having faith that nature will take care of the rest.

Rob in Recovery

11:36 am
3 Oct 16
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The end of week 3 and I’m a little disappointed. My measurements don’t seem to have moved or they’ve gone in the wrong direction !

Weight = 236, this week -0lbs, total change to date -6.5lbs
Blood sugar = 6.2, this week +0.5, total change to date +0.5
Waist measurement = 106cm, starting measurement 108cm, total change to date -2cm

I fasted twice (water fast) and both days went very well. I weighed myself a couple of times during the week and seemed to be on course for a couple of pound loss, but then got on the scales this morning and no change !

I’d like to say I don’t know why it’s happened, but sadly I have a pretty good idea. I don’t seem to be eating huge quantities on my NFDs, but I think the type of food I’m eating isn’t helping. I have a very sweet tooth and am seeing the NFDs as a free license to eat what I want. Not good. I think this week, in addition to fasting, I’m going to have to pay attention to what I’m eating on NFDs and try and limit the sugar. I don’t want to get neurotic and restrictive, but I think a little restraint and balance may be useful.

At least I didn’t put any weight on, even if the blood sugar rise is worrying. Although, that said, I was eating chocolate at 10:30pm, so maybe that explains it…..

Amazon

12:40 pm
3 Oct 16
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Rob, I’m sure your suspicions are correct and you need to start making some healthier choices. You are also corrrect that 5:2 is a WOL not a diet.
Eating normally does not mean eating the way you did before, it means eating within your TDEE which is the maximum number of calories your body requires in a day. If you’ve not calculated that click on the how it works link at the top of the page and don’t fall into the trap of over-estimating the amount of exercise you do.
I suspect if you have not changed your eating habits on non fast days you are exceeding TDEE every day. You’ll need to take stock and maybe spend a week counting calories. It’ll open your eyes to how much you are consuming and give you an idea of how much you should be eating.
You don’t have to give up your favourite things but they should be occasional treats rather than daily fare if you really want to be slim and healthy.
You can do it.

Justbobhrh

4:27 pm
8 Oct 16
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Hello all including Rob. When I read rob’s starting post it was like reading my own starting post. Going to give 5:2 a go starting Monday. I like the idea of just not eating on the fast days. I’m 47 this month and 32 kgs over weight. It is going to be bloody hard but I’ll give it a go. Rob : I really appreciated your realistic posts. Motivated me to start and give it a go. Cheers

Nama

12:11 am
9 Oct 16
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Give it a go Justbob, you might just surprise yourself! The key is patience – that weight did not go on overnight! Really, the benefits will far outweigh the suffering. I promise that if you stick with it long enough, there will be minimal suffering too, you will get used to fasting and your tastes will change. Good luck!

Justbobhrh

12:40 am
9 Oct 16
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Thanks Nama. Appreciate your support. Your spot on. 6 years to get to this point; i cant expect it all to melt away in weeks. Appreciate the encouragement. Here i go……

simcoeluv

1:11 am
9 Oct 16
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Hi Just and welcome:

Here is some info that will help you get the most out of 5:2: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

Rob in Recovery

9:35 am
10 Oct 16
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The end of week 4 and I have mixed emotions. Last week was an education and I think I’ve learned some valuable lessons.

Weight = 236, this week -0lbs, total change to date -6.5lbs
Blood sugar = 5.8, this week -0.4, total change to date +0.1
Waist measurement = 105cm, starting measurement 108cm, total change to date -3cm

Last Monday I took my measurements and (as detailed in my last post) hadn’t lost anything. I think I know the reasons why, but sadly didn’t react too well. If anything it was a little childish – the rattle and the pram became separated for a couple of days !

I thought “screw it”, this doesn’t work and reverted to my old behaviour. I’ll ditch this daft diet, plan to follow a strict and restrictive diet and be perfect from “tomorrow”. As I’m going to be perfect from tomorrow, I may as well binge on junk, not fast and certainly do no exercise….. The usual self-destructive, self- deceiving pattern of thought.

Thankfully later in the week I’d calmed down and a bit of sanity had returned. I fasted properly on Thursday, resisting the urge to embark on a 3-day water only fast to atone for earlier sins and arrived at the scales this morning to find the net effect of last week was neutral. The good end of the week seems to have cancelled out the bad start.

Things I’m taking away from this experience are :

– It’s a way of life, not a quick fix and I need to be patient
– I’m doing fasting days well, but I need to exercise caution on NFDs. I don’t want to become neurotic, but I can’t go mad either
– I eat WAY too much sugar. It needs to be the primary area of focus on NFDs

Overall I feel positive. I’m beginning to really enjoy the routine of fast days and at least I haven’t gained any weight. Clothes feel a little looser and I’m optimistic about the future. I need to get a good, solid week in with 2 proper fasts and reasonable NFDs and see what happens.

Nama

10:30 am
10 Oct 16
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Hi Rob,

It sounds to me like you are learning some valuable lessons. And if you have only done 5 or so fasts, its great that you are settling into them so well. Many of us struggle with the NFDs and look forward to a fast to ‘reset’.

You are right, it IS a way of life. It took me a long time to accept this, but after 2 years (about 1 year maintaining) I am so glad that I found this way of life. I am 63 and have never been able to feel in control of my weight until now. I was never seriously, seriously obese, but due to bad habits, could easily pile on 20kg in 6 months. Only when I discovered fasting did I realized it was possible to still enjoy food whilst balancing it out with some restraint. Some suggest its still yo yo dieting, just that the hills/bumps are a lot smaller!

Non fast days are a struggle as we have so many bad habits to undo. Food is such a big part of our lives, we have to eat to survive of course, but many of us enjoy food too much for our own good!
Sugar is the real bad guy. Once you lessen your intake consistently, your tastes will change. I am not saying you wont always love sweet things, just that you will need a lot less to satisfy you. Breast milk is very sweet, we were obviously programmed as humans to seek sweetness for our survival, but big business has exploited that and we become ‘hooked’ so easily!

Try to eat as much home prepared food as possible, to avoid the sugar in processed food. I promise your tastes will change. I used to crave something sweet, now I am more likely to enjoy some nuts. If I have too many sweet or carb based things on the weekend, I crave them on a Monday. So I have slowly learned its just easier to minimise them in the first place!

But be patient, it takes a while for all this to become 2nd nature. I never, ever would have believed how my tastes would change. I initially just got thru a fast day by promising myself a ‘treat’ the next day. Gradually, the cravings just diminished. Hang in there, you will be so pleased as the losses mount!

Rob in Recovery

2:18 pm
10 Oct 16
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Thanks Nama. I know what you mean about re-setting on fast days, they’re like little pit-stops from battling with food and my old habits (I only drink water/coffee during them). It’s encouraging to hear you talk about this becoming natural and a way of life. That’s my hope too and so far things are looking encouraging, notwithstanding the odd road bump.

I know what you mean about sugar too. It’s a significant issue for me – I’ve yet to binge on a bag of carrots !!

JohnnyR

9:29 pm
10 Oct 16
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Aye up Rob. I’m just starting week 4 and was also a bit disappointed by progress when I weighed myself at the end of week 2 when nothing had shifted. But I feel better and my belly has definitely gone down a fair bit, which is more encouraging than any weight loss. My wife said she expects me to last about a month, so my first aim is to prove that wrong!

Also, being slightly nerdy I’ve invented a little spreadsheet to capture all the progress, but also with a couple of targets. The first being my high ‘healthy’ BMI weight and a more challenging second one (at the mid point of my healthy BMI range). It just gives me a long term (-1kg per week) target to aim for over about 7 months, rather than just expecting instant results.

My hope/inspiration comes from my brother in law who gave me the 5:2 book after he’d used it. He’s as skinny as a snake now, but still does the 5:2 when he wants and 6:1 at a minimum every week to reap the health benefits of the fasting bit (which are easy to miss when you’re focus is just losing weight I think).

Rob in Recovery

12:19 pm
11 Oct 16
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Thanks Johnny. Yes, sticking with it will be the challenge – I had a bit of a wobble last week, but today is a fast day and I’m confident I’m getting in the groove now.

I must be a nerd too as I have a spreadsheet too, complete with little graphs to track my (hopefully) downward trajectory for a range of measures !

I think it makes a big difference to know others who have done this successfully – it shows it works. I suppose that’s why the forums are great too – people who have walked the walk sharing their experience.

sparky501

1:22 pm
11 Oct 16
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Hi Rob! You are doing so well! I too started around the same time as you and am on week 3 with 3lbs lost so happy with that. If you have a smart phone I totally recommend using an App like ‘Lose it’ or My Fitness Pal. That way you can stay on track even on NFDs and you also get a graph showing your progress and projected timeline of when you will reach your goal.

Rob in Recovery

5:07 pm
11 Oct 16
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Thanks Sparky. I’m trying to avoid doing any counting on NFDs – the thought of tracking/counting anything to do with food profoundly depresses me !

My plan is to fast twice a day (no food, proper fasting) and then try and “be good” on NFDs, i.e. just be sensible and honest with myself.

I’ll see how it goes. Fast day today and so far OK.

diverdog

7:03 pm
11 Oct 16
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Rob, for me eating sugar or wheat is a binge trigger. It was tough to minimize these things but when I did the cravings went away and the fat started to drop off much faster.

Perfection is impossible to achieve. Great job hanging in there!

Rob in Recovery

10:02 am
12 Oct 16
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Thanks Diverdog. I’ve heard people talking about wheat being a trigger food, but I don’t think it affects me that way. Sugar is more of a problem, but I don’t think I binge on it.

I don’t drink alcohol but lots of people I work with will go home at the end of the day and relax with a glass or two of wine, with some appearing to have an issue with it – they drink a fairly large amount on a regular basis. It’s not my position to label them anything, but to me it looks like that level of consumption over an extended period will damage their health.

My use of sugar is similar to their use of alcohol. I don’t eat sweet things during the day, but when I get home, particularly if I have a quiet evening in, I’ll relax with sugar in the same way. I don’t “binge” in that I don’t get in a frenzy and eat everything containing sugar in the house, but I do eat a good, solid amount of it – the sugar equivalent of those glasses of wine.

In the same way as the wine is likely injurious to them, I think the amount of sugar I eat is too high and too regular and over time will harm me. I have a “sugar habit” but I’m not sure I’m a “sugar-holic” ! Or maybe I’m in denial……..

I also know what you mean about perfection. My tendency is to set perfect goals – “I will never eat anything over 5% sugar” etc. but that kind of thing is very difficult (impossible) to stick with. I’m trying moderation, but it may take a little while to learn that….

Adaline

10:19 am
12 Oct 16
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Hi Rob.

Quote: “I don’t eat sweet things during the day, but when I get home, particularly if I have a quiet evening in, I’ll relax with sugar in the same way. I don’t “binge” in that I don’t get in a frenzy and eat everything containing sugar in the house, but I do eat a good, solid amount of it – the sugar equivalent of those glasses of wine.”

Sounds familiar to me. Can you estimate your non-junk carbs intake for breakfast+lunch? For me (at 71 kg), if I eat around 150 (sometimes 200) grams of unprocessed carbs (including fruits, rice, potatoes) until 2 pm, usually I have less problems with sugar cravings in the evening.

Rob in Recovery

11:16 am
12 Oct 16
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Hi Adaline. I’m not sure on quantities – to be honest I’ve never counted calories or grams of anything. The thought of doing it makes me profoundly depressed, I’m not sure why. I can’t imagine I’ll ever do it and if I’m honest, it’s one of the attractions of the fast diet. I like the simplicity and relative freedom of NFDs.

I don’t worry about my TDEE (or whatever it’s called), I’m just trying to eat sensibly on NFDs – 3 good meals with minimal snacks and cutting down on the sugar. The area I know I really need to focus on is snacking/sugar in the evening.

A normal day for me will be porridge made with milk for breakfast, sandwich/crisps/fruit for lunch and then a bigger evening meal and the risk of sugar/junk to follow ! Just writing that I think I should look at the balance of food during the day more – try and eat more early in the day, reduce it in evening. It looks a bit “top heavy” to me !

Anyway, had a good fast day yesterday, feeling good and still haven’t eaten today yet. I’ll aim to eat well today, then fast again tomorrow as I have my kids on Friday and the weekend.

Nama

11:21 am
12 Oct 16
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Hi Rob,
From hanging around these forums for a few years, I have noticed that many of us seem to be ‘all or nothing’ people! Be patient with yourself, get the fasting sorted and gradually tackle the sugar. Obviously it is poisonous stuff and the less we eat the better. But don’t set yourself up to fail. The sweetest thing I crave now is a nice fresh orange, I have one most evenings as the navels are delicious here at present. I never, ever would have believed this a few years ago – I craved sugars and carbs such as bread & cakes every evening and often thru the day. Over my first year on 5:2 I gradually just lost these cravings and really believe that the more you have (sugar), the more you want. So cut it down gradually.

Adaline

11:21 am
12 Oct 16
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Quote: “Just writing that I think I should look at the balance of food during the day more – try and eat more early in the day, reduce it in evening.” 🙂 Exactly. Good luck!

Rob in Recovery

11:23 am
12 Oct 16
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Thanks Nama. I very much hope my experience mirrors yours !

Nama

11:24 am
12 Oct 16
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Rob, our posts crossed! Well done on nailing another fast day. If it makes you feel better, I refuse to count calories either! Managed to get my 23kgs off just being ‘careful’ on non fast days. I would also find it depressing, that is the attraction of fasting, you fit it around your own choices!

Adaline

11:40 am
12 Oct 16
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It’s not about counting or not-counting. It’s about not-restricting carbs at breakfast and lunch. It’s about eating how much unprocessed carbs you want / your body needs, and for me that usually falls around 150-200 grams of carbs / day.

I also fast daily for 20-23 hours, having only 1-2 meals / day, to avoid counting calories most days.

K- Lo

1:58 pm
12 Oct 16
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Rob in Recovery…why not start with one small change this week. Instead of porridge or anything grain based for breakfast, how about eggs? Sliced turkey and ham rollups? Try a more protein/fat based breakfast for one week and see if you feel any different (less hungry?) during the day.

Rob in Recovery

2:11 pm
12 Oct 16
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Thanks K-Lo. I’m not sure if I’ve given the wrong idea but it’s not a hunger issue.

I don’t feel hungry during the day – I feel fine. I don’t feel the need to snack and don’t feel hungry during the day. It’s just that my thoughts turn to sweet things in the evening, not because I feel hungry, I think it’s more habit and reward/treat type thinking.

If I’m honest I also don’t really want to go down the “low carb/low grain” route. I’m not trying to start a debate as I know lots of people are into it, but it’s not for me. I like carbs and grains and plan to keep them in my diet. I figure bread is the staff of life and we’ve been eating it as a staple since biblical times so it can’t be that bad !

K- Lo

2:31 pm
12 Oct 16
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Hunger was only one difference you might notice. You may notice many others by making one change to one meal.

Good luck figuring out what works for you.

Rob in Recovery

3:25 pm
12 Oct 16
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Thanks K-Lo. As I’m pretty new to the whole fasting thing I’m going with vanilla 5:2 for now, but I think it would be fun to experiment with other approaches in due course. I did a water fast yesterday and didn’t eat anything until 1pm today – for no other reason than I didn’t feel particularly hungry.

I think you’re right, there are a whole load of interesting changes and lessons to be learned from adopting fasting as part of your life.

bigbooty

9:39 pm
12 Oct 16
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Hi Rob,

You say youre doing vanilla 5:2 but you did a water fast yesterday and then didn’t eat until 1pm. That’s not vanilla!! Way to go. Got a news flash for you, a water fast is the ultimate low carb route.

The bread eaten in biblical times bares zero resemblance to what we call bread now!!! Bread as its made now turns into maltose (two glucose molecules joined together) in our mouth before we have even swallowed it. Why do you think bread tastes so sweet!! It is then tuned into glucose just after leaving the stomach. It never gets to our lower intestines where the vast majority of our gut bacteria lives. This results in out gut bacteria starving to death. NOT GOOD. This limits the uptake of trace minerals and vitamins which makes us feel sick.

As people point out, the beauty of 5:2 is that it can be done however you want, its just that some choices will lead to a far greater chance of success.

Keep going!!

Nama

11:06 pm
12 Oct 16
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Hi Rob and Booty,
If anyone had suggested to me at the outset of 5:2 that I should choose to go lightly on carbs, I would have thrown in the towel there and then! If they had told me that I would eventually choose to do this happily, I simply would not have believed them. A lot of eating issues are simply mind games. The only thing that initially helped me to stick to 5:2 (super vanilla), was telling myself I could have that ‘treat’ tomorrow. Usually when tomorrow came I did not want it, but the thought had gotten me successfully thru a fast. I am certain its got a lot to do with wanting what we cant have, and if we believe we can have it, ‘it’ loses its hold on us and the desire melts away. My husband is an engineer, and his logical brain thinks this is rubbish, but it works for me!! Eventually my tastes changed, but it took a while and the initial weight loss was enough incentive.

Rob many fasters comment at the fact of not being hungry the day after a fast, despite expecting to be ravenous. You will find the lack of sugars and hence lack of insulin floating around our bloodstream leads to this lovely outcome, Keep following the forums, there is lots of healthy disagreement due to personal differences, but also lots of common threads that shine through.

bigbooty

12:32 am
13 Oct 16
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Spot on Nama. When I first started water fasting I would think about food and tell myself that I was going to murder that slab of carbs or piece of meat etc. Id wake up the next day and rather than feeling super hungry Id find that in fact I really wasn’t that hungry. It took a couple of months but I eventually stopped dreaming about food during my fasts. I now find it easy but its taken me the best part of a year to “get here”. I for the most part work in an office. The tea room is just a few metres away from me and there are always cream biscuits in there. They hold no interest any more. I make my coffee, look at them as they slowly disappear during the day and really don’t care.

Rob in Recovery

10:06 am
17 Oct 16
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Week 5 and it’s been a good week :

Weight = 232.75, this week -3.25lbs, total change to date -9.75lbs
Blood sugar = 5.9, this week +0.1, total change to date +0.2
Waist measurement = 105cm, starting measurement 108cm, total change to date -3cm

I needed to make progress and am delighted to see things moving in the right direction. My emotions have been a bit wacky recently and I’ve been learning about myself as I’ve been settling into this way of life – how I can be very all or nothing, have a tendency to sabotage my efforts, say “screw it” and throw the towel in when there’s a set-back etc.

Last week was a proper, solid one. I went out on Monday so couldn’t fast, but knew this was happening so planned (and did) fast on Tuesday and Thursday – as usual, liquids only. I’m continuing to enjoy my fast days. I like the simplicity of them – I just don’t eat. As someone who lives alone and isn’t a natural cook this is quite liberating and means I avoid the usual debates about what and what not I should have ! I also feel physically better when I do them, like I’m giving my body a break.

My NFDs have been better too. They haven’t been perfect (far from it….) but I’m thinking more about what I’m eating and I did better avoiding sugar and snacking, particularly in the evenings. I could still do better, but it’s progress if not perfection !

The coming couple of weeks will be a challenge : I’m off on Thursday for a week’s all-inclusive holiday. I’m hoping it’ll be OK though – I’m going to fast today and Wednesday, so that takes care of this week. I’ll try and eat sensibly (!) when I’m there – it’s hot where I’m going, which I find suppresses my appetite, so hopefully I won’t stuff myself and will focus on salad and fruit. I’ll probably try and fast on Monday next week, then again on the Friday I’m back home.

I will post again in 2 weeks. I’m not sure if logging my progress is of any interest or use to anyone else, but I’m finding it helps me. It keeps me honest and I don’t want to have to report I’ve messed up, so it’s helping me stay focussed and on-track.

fastdieter2

10:36 am
17 Oct 16
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Well done Rob, you have done so well. I like reading about your progress

Merryme

11:35 am
17 Oct 16
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Congratulations Rob, you’re going well. It’s amazing what we learn about ourselves doing 5:2! Keep posting. I really enjoy your posts-great to see other people’s commitment to taking their lives back under their own control. 2yrs in and almost at maintenace, I can say this is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, for plenty of other reasons as well as being physically a normal size.

On holiday the choices will be yours. Just because it’s all inclusive doesn’t mean you have to ‘get your money’s worth’ so to speak. It is your holiday, and how you eat/drink while on it is up to you too. It’s liberating, even on holidays, to know that you can mentally choose at each step what to have. You don’t have to have it if you don’t want to. See it as a bit of a learning curve. How do I want to do this? Do I want to just eat as much as I want! Or do I want to eat every thing but smaller portions, or skip a meal, skip morning and afternoon teas etc etc. Do I want to do 5:2 while away, or do I want to do 1 FD is the middle to reset my body, or…..or…..or….. Whatever you do, have a great holiday,

Cheers,
Merry

Rob in Recovery

2:58 pm
17 Oct 16
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Thanks fastdiet2 & Merry.

It certainly is a bit of an education and I’ve no doubt I’ll learn more on holiday. I’m not really a “get your money’s worth” kind of a guy, so I doubt I’ll be stuffing myself for the sake of it. I think the challenge areas for me are most likely to be avoiding stealth-calories (lots of fruit juices, snacks etc.) and not wanting to stand out or attract attention for being different by not eating.

I’m going with family and can imagine them asking why I’m not eating and them taking the mickey if I say it’s because I’m on the 5:2 diet – “not working is it, haha”, “about bloody time, haha” and all that stuff. I’m quite private and they’re not a bad lot, but even if it’s good humoured I still don’t want to be the centre of attention and certainly not for my weight.

I guess the only way to learn and figure out how to cope with it is to do it. I’ll go, make plans and do my best to stick to them. If I screw up, I screw up, worst case is it’s only a week. And I can always tell my family to piss off.

Nama

10:27 pm
17 Oct 16
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Hi Rob,
Well done on a successful week! It DOES work doesn’t it?!
Re your family on your holiday, I find it best just to keep quiet and go about your business without telling ppl. Once your weight loss shows dramatically they will question you, but by then you will have proof that fasting works. Lots of people will disagree if you mention it now. Plus if they have weight issues themselves, they can be quite hostile.

Breakfast is the easiest meal to miss when away from home I find. Say you are tired and feel like a sleep in. My last proper holiday was an eating fest in Hanoi, but due to the extra walking we did, plus not having snacks at hand in my own kitchen, I actually came home the same weight. But just enjoy your holiday, as you say, its only a week. If you just manage to avoid sugary things or rubbish snack food, you might just surprise yourself. This WOL has to fit in with ‘life’ after all! Have fun.

Nama

10:48 pm
17 Oct 16
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Spam reported….

JohnnyR

11:13 pm
17 Oct 16
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So if your diet to lose 10kg in a week isn’t Spamming, just tell us the bullet point version now!
The only realistic way to lose 10kg in a week is via limb amputation or organ removal, neither of which are recommended 😄

Rob in Recovery

1:54 pm
18 Oct 16
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Thanks for the tips Nama. It certainly does work – fasted yesterday and I was 4lbs lighter this morning – although sadly alot of that is from being “empty” and mostly comes back when I eat again. Encouraging though.

Fasting tomorrow again, then off on holiday. A day at a time, should be fine.

K- Lo

2:15 pm
18 Oct 16
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Rob, depending on where this warm holiday is, you might find yourself surrounded by a LOT of fresh vegetables and fresh fish. Hubby and I went to Mexico last April, and I found I actually lost weight sticking to all the great seafood and fabulous fresh veggies and fruit.