Hi Rob

Well done! I’ve met a few people who stop and never start again.

It’s good news that your weight is steady after a break. But a short holiday from the 5:2 shouldn’t cause too much weight gain unless you really go for it on the extra calories!

As for eating chocolate I went through half a bar of Lindt last night with my wife eating most of the other half. I also had 2 pints of beer and some nuts. But I try not to beat myself up too much as I skipped lunch and swam for an hour too. Today is my fast day and I’m emotionally much better than yesterday. Sometimes I need a minor blow out, and to be with friends. Life can’t be about fasting all the time, which is why the 5:2 suits me I think. I now see it as part of my routine and am very strict on FDs, but not so much on the NFDs as I’m increasingly finding I’ve cut down on snacking and eating on those days anyway, and I try to have a mug of tea or coffee first if I feel hungry on NFDs.

Binge watching Netflix is a problem though!

Great work Rob – you will succeed, you have the right attitude. There are always bumps and twists in the road. Just curious re the coffee – why you wish you could give it up? I love my coffee, drink heaps of it and have no intention of giving it up. My husband is very sensitive to the effects of the caffeine so used to limit himself to one cup early in the day. We have found a good quality decaf blend of beans that he loves, so now he has it whenever he pleases. We use one of those little Italian percolators on the stove and the flavour is beautiful. Life has to be enjoyed! I have never been overly keen on alcohol and as I get older, it does not agree with me. I have weaned myself off sugar, so coffee is one of my delights! Cheers!

Yes Rob, you are probably right about the coffee vendors also selling a lot of cake! What a delightful combination that is…. But I am fussy now, the cake has to be as good as home made – not those bought ones that taste just of sugar and bicarb soda! Since I have tamed my sweet tooth, I am much more discerning. This took a year of fasting though!

I am amazed that you find coffee as hard to quit as cigarettes. My son is 37 and very addicted to cigarettes, he has tried every conceivable way to quit, but cant. He has reduced them from 60/day to 20/day, so I still hope!

Its a shame that the coffee irritates your stomach, but I guess you need to listen to your body and try to do without it for a while to see what happens. Maybe think of something else you really like to drink, so you can still have that ‘ritual’. We sometimes have a chai latte, made the proper way on the stovetop, with the tea and spices brewing in milk, very nice, especially on a cold day. Also interesting about the effect of the caffeine on your energy level, maybe sometimes your adrenals need a break! I used to work with very premature babies, sometimes they are given caffeine as a stimulant drug to keep them breathing!

Good luck!

Hi Rob,
We are on the same page re addictive behaviour. My mother came from a large family of ‘Irish Alcoholics’. Fortunately she was able to beat it via AA when I was very young and I don’t remember her drinking. But there is a strong thread running through my family of individuals with various conditions that I believe are genetically linked – lots of manic depression, anxiety etc. My son that struggles with smoking has Tourette Syndrome, a poorly understood condition but usually in families with a history like mine.

I have definitely been addicted to sugar, I now believe it is very addictive. I started 5:2 to get my weight under control as the arthritis in my knees was starting to seriously impact my life. I have tried many weight loss approaches over 40 years and lost b/w 10 and 15kgs approx 4 times. However, the weight always crept back on gradually, with interest. Eventually, in my 50’s I gave up and decided I could never achieve that elusive weight and would have to accept being chunky!

However after being told by a surgeon that I needed knee replacements, I got enough of a shock to realize that I had to do something about my weight. Nurses (and ex nurses) don’t usually rush into such big surgery! 5:2 happened along at just the right time for me and has truly changed my life. I have lost 23kgs and kept it off, painlessly, for 2 years. Taking that pressure off my knees has allowed the inflammation to settle down and I am totally pain free. I swim for exercise because I love the water and hate getting hot and sweaty! I have so much more energy, need far less sleep and take no medications at all (I am 63). Previously I was needing anti-inflammatory drugs just to function, plus drugs to protect my gut against the effects of the pain killers. I have gone down four clothing sizes and feel wonderful.

5:2 worked for me because I believed I could easily fast for just 2 days. Whatever tempted me on a fast day, I told myself I could have it ‘tomorrow’. Of course when tomorrow came, I no longer really wanted it. A lot of it is mind games: wanting what we cant have! I continued to have ‘treats’ on non fast days,(ie sugar based, I was such a sweet tooth), but as the weight came off, I found I could not ‘cheat’ as much and continue to lose. By now (after about 6 months) I was feeling so positive and motivated as the weight peeled off, the desire for ‘treats’ lessened. Looking back, I am certain it was just the desire reduced as I ate less and less sugar. Things I previously loved, really sweet things, just tasted sickly sweet. My tastebuds grew accustomed to less sweetness and preferred it. I still really enjoy a nice piece of cake or similar, but I restrict these things to weekends and recognise them as ‘treats’ and not everyday food. If I have a particularly indulgent weekend, birthdays etc, eating more junk than regularly, I find the sugar beast rears its head again and I really crave carbs/sugar for a few days. A good, strict fast resets this.

So in answer to your question, I did not consciously set out to reduce sugar but found out on my 5:2 weight loss journey that I was finally able to reduce it without suffering the previous ‘deprivation’ misery and resentment. The combination of discovering that fasting was the way I could finally control my weight, plus experiencing much better losses when avoiding sweet things, motivated me to greatly reduce my intake willingly. So the addiction was not being fed! As I did this, my taste for really healthy food increased. Previously I always ate ‘good’ food, just too much of it as well as too many sweet snacks. I no longer crave these snacks and really enjoy eating really good quality, made at home from scratch, healthy meals. I rarely eat breakfast (weekends only) and don’t miss it now, hence the need for coffee first thing! I used to wake hungry every day and could not imagine not eating breakfast. Before fasting, I never would have believed I could happily give it up! But I know to maintain my healthy weight, at my age, three meals a day is just too much food for me. That was the biggest shock maintaining – I really don’t need much food at all! I weigh myself daily to be accountable to myself and note that my weight always increases with carbs – I read somewhere that this is water weight that accumulates with carbs, which must be true as it always drops off just as quickly following a fast. I suspect that the sugar molecule attracts water due to osmosis. Obviously avoiding sugar/carbs also reduces Insulin release, so the whole cycle of blood sugar ups and downs never starts.

I know I will always fast. I enjoy fast days, I finally feel totally confident that I am in control of my weight, I can still enjoy life and splash out on other days, just not every day! Sometimes I ‘fail’ a fast, something unexpected pops up, but I just reschedule it another day – simple! Constant deprivation just does not work, there is only so much willpower one can have!

Keep going with fasting, I am sure you will discover many things about yourself that you never suspected. Sorry for the long post!

Thank you for that post Nama. It was a really inspiring read. I think even the Fast Diet book says it takes up to 6 months for your dietary choices to shift towards healthier foods. I still have the odd binge on chocolate/biscuits on NFDs but have noticed in the 8 weeks on the 5:2 this is gradually getting less.

I think what you’ve captured in your post is the personal psychology that makes the 5:2 successful. I did one of my NFDs yesterday and managed to make a nice Thai Red curry with veg and a small bit of rice fit into 600 kcals. It tasted great, and all the better for knowing that it was part of another successful FD. My wife said how hard it must be to stick to the fasting, and I responded that it was easy due to knowing that I’m very noticeably losing weight, and that I can eat more or less what I like tomorrow without feeling that I’m undoing good work. But today I’m fasting again until I have a nice meal tonight, which will be over 600 kcal, but the intake over 2 days will generate a deficit of around -3500 kcal, and add up to -5500kcal for the week. And I know that it will just nudge a bit more fat off this week. For me it’s a similar feeling to going for a longish run; the thought of it can be dissuasive, but after you’ve completed it you’re so proud of yourself, you just know you can do another and another.

For me It’s utterly brilliant. I thought that I’d spend the remaining years of my life fluctuating between being overweight and OKish fat/fit overweight; gaining when I don’t exercise enough and losing weight when I run a lot. But now I think I see a slim person gradually emerging, I almost feel the fat going, and I now think even a ‘six pack’ possible by next summer, which makes me laugh. I’ve a bad knee at the moment, but hopefully sorted by Feb (operation) so I can get back running and circuit training outside. My aim with 5:2, plus some swimming and rowing machine work, is to run some PBs next year. The 5:2 is just truly transformative for me. I’m sticking to it, it’s easy and rewarding. I’m a big believer in cost/benefit analysis and I think the 5:2 has so many benefits, that they far outweigh the costs of having to fast.

Hi Rob, Helen and Johnny,
I am so pleased my story was helpful and so pleased that you have all found 5:2 and have given it a chance. These threads helped me a lot (still do!) and we ‘maintainers’ are always thrilled when others discover our ‘secret’
Yes Rob, my mum was one of the longest standing members of AA here in Melbourne (Australia) when she died at 68. Her eldest sister, the only one of 6 children who did not drink and considered the ‘wowser’ of the family, often said that alcohol killed her family. (Mum was the only one of the others who managed to stop drinking, maybe having 4 children and a wonderful husband motivated her!).
Helen I hope when you lose your weight that your knees will respond as well as mine did. My husband used to joke (when I lost 20kg) that I was no longer carrying around a bag of cement all the time! He used to say he would put a bag of cement on the kitchen bench to remind me what I had achieved! It makes sense though, all that weight pushing down. The numbers of joint replacement surgery are growing so rapidly as our generation becomes more and more obese. So you have a great reason to stick to 5:2!
Johnny I had some Toblerone last week and (shock,horror) did not even enjoy it! Chocolate no longer calls me as I walk past it in the supermarket, I have no cravings at all any more. Bread is the thing I need to avoid starting on! And cake of course! But I still have it in moderation and really enjoy it.
I wont ramble on as long today! Its early Saturday here and we are off to visit a friend’s strawberry farm with our son and DIL! Strawberries and blueberries with a small serve of natural yogurt are my favourite ‘treat’ these days – it still surprises me what has happened with my tastes! Good luck to you all xx

Hi Rob,

I know I’m a bit late to the party but, I want to touch base with you for a couple different reasons.
In many of your posts, you talk about being perfect….. I think many of us want the illusion of perfection but we don’t realize that we all our perfect, in an odd twisted fashion. We are perfect because perfection has a different meaning and sign for each one of us……
I’m a type A personality with a hyper perfectionism gene, not only did I believe I need to be perfect but I also expected all those to be perfect around me. Then after a horrendous day, I came to the realization, that I was perfect just the way I am but I had a few things I did not necessarily like about my self. In translation, in the strive to be the all encompassing perfect person, I forgot to love myself for who I was and who I am.
Once I found the love for myself things became so much easier. I still have days where I just want to become part of the pavement and my days are rough, then there are days where I feel beautiful, sexy and super model and I still have rough days, but it’s those days in between that I just love being who I am that are the most successful.

The point is as long as you are trying, each day will bring new experiences and the weight will disappear. Just remember to love yourself, enjoy the moment and everything you desire will come to you.

Cheers!

Hi Rob,
Well done on hanging in for another week, 2 good fasts is more than many people can manage and you are obviously concentrating on big picture stuff. Excellent news that you did not feel the desire/need to finish the cake!
Re your blood sugar measurements – I must admit I wondered why you are doing that. The glucometer will just reflect what is happening at the exact time you measure it. Lots of things make our blood sugar fluctuate, its not ever completely stable. Try taking serial measurements after eating. You will see it rise steadily until it peaks when the body starts releasing Insulin in response. You can even see this if you just eat something like lettuce. I realize you are doing it after an overnight ‘fast’, but it will still vary within a small range. When nursing and doing night shifts, we would sometimes measure ours at about 4am. If we had been busy all night and not eaten, sometimes it would be as low as 2 or 3! Our bodies are amazing machines, always monitoring and correcting something in our biochemistry.
Monday night here, so my fast day finished. Almost compensated for the weekend, however all those strawberries we picked on Saturday had to be eaten whilst still so fresh! Fortunately these days I prefer them without cream or added sugar!
Have a great week.

Hi Rob,
Of course you are not deluded! Reading back, I sounded a bit of a smarty pants! It makes perfect sense to measure your blood glucose at the same time, under the same conditions, every week. And if your doc has pointed out your risk of Type 2 Diabetes, of course you are sensible to be concerned.
I must admit that was also something I worried about a bit when I was overweight, but luckily my only complication from my weight was the impact on my knees. I think we will all gain lots of positive health changes from fasting and weight loss, some of them we may not even know about!
Cheers!

Wow Rob, that’s a four lb drop isn’t it? You might find it motivates you to eat really ‘sensibly’ on your non fast days and maintain at least half of that loss for the week. Obviously we weigh a lot less without food ‘in transit’ but I have never managed more than a 2lb drop with a strict fast. What you will find is that as you continue, when you see a new, lower number on the scales once, gradually it becomes the norm and stays!

I had a catch up with an old friend today that had not seen me in person for a long time and was very impressed that I had managed to stay slim for a couple of years. Like many people that you talk to about fasting, her immediate response was “I could never do that, I would feel faint”, etc etc, And when I told her that I could swim forty laps of the pool on a fast day, running on coffee and water only, I could tell she really did not believe me!! I guess it is just like giving your first born a dummy for the first time, you don’t really know the benefits until you try it for yourself….

Hi Rob

That’s a brilliant week. I’ve been on the camomile tea all afternoon. It seems to do the job and the taste is OK.

I’ve just started my 11th week, and this is my 20th fast. I don’t own any scales so I will report progress tomorrow when I nip into the pharmacy to weigh-in. I must’ve lost a bit if I’m down around 40,000 kcal! I hope I’ve made as much progress as you.

Nama – that exactly the reaction I get from people. We’re all programmed that we will feel faint, etc. of we don’t have breakfast, or if we don’t eat a meal every 4 hours. People think I’m crackers for fasting. I just wish I’d know about it years ago, it’s so easy!

Hello let_it_be,
Makes me think of Paul McCartney! Welcome and keep posting, these threads are invaluable. Good luck with your first fast, remember to drink lots of water and have some salt if you get a headache.
Hi Rob I hope the coffee withdrawal is easing a bit! How pure you must be feeling – no chemicals at all!
Just editing my post as ours crossed – incredible when we are on different sides of the world!
I think your weight variation is probably down to the coffee, at least partly. Water weighs a lot and can make a big difference. Try not to focus on the numbers on the scales, many people lose in ‘steps’ and plateau a lot in between

Thank you for the welcomes!

Rob, I am starting today, and so far so good! I am doing 800 cals per fasting day/2 consecutive days a week. Dr. Mosley said this is fine for “constant cravers” (from his documentary on finding the right diet), and I am definitely a constant craver!

Nama, thank you for the tips. Yes, let it be comes from one of my favorite Paul McCartney songs. I love that song.

Here’s to success for all of us, no matter how long it takes! Onward and downward!

Rob,

With regards to sugar just go cold turkey. It will take a month to detox and stop the cravings. The longer you go without it the less you seek it. My wife will make a banana cake every so often with bananas that have gone soft and brown. She puts 1/4 of the sugar into the cake mix compared to what the recipe calls for!! Its still too sickly sweet. Even my wife is getting used to the lesser amount of sugar and she used to be a sugar-holic.

Have to agree with Nama about sugar substitutes. There is evidence to suggest that some people secrete insulin even if its not glucose but just the sensation of sweet entering the body.

Ask yourself this. How often do you see thin people drinking diet coke (or any other branded diet drink)? Answer, very rarely!! There’s a reason for that. Whether you satiate the need for sweetness naturally or artificially, the end result is the same. Grit your teeth, cold turkey time. You can do it.

Way to go Rob.