Wrexham NFD.
Can you add me in please? I had great success on the diet a couple of years ago but then I got ill because my thyroid failed and put the weight back on. I’m back to reasonable health and ready to get rid of the weight.
This topic contains 1,590 replies, has 123 voices, and was last updated by ccco 6 years, 8 months ago.
I look fwd to it as well. I added my name, but I’m concerned/frustrated because I’m starting week 2 of 5:2 (on FD today) and I gained 1 lb. after week one. I work out 6x a week doing strength/HIIT and piloxing + Kung Fu 30 mins a week (which I don’t really consider a work-out), am burning about 400 calories a workout plus I track my food on MyFitnessPal and am eating about 1100-1200 calories daily (30%carb-30%fat-40%protein) and 500-600 on FD.
I’m 43 y.o. small—5’0 tall and weigh 122 lbs…my ideal/‘fit well in my clothes’ weight is 110.
I feel fit (cariovascularly & strong), but I feel like I have a layer of fat over my muscle that not only hides my muscle, but makes me feel thick and makes my clothes feel tight and uncomfortable.
Will this work?!? Week 1 has already not been successful. :(.
Good morning, everyone! (It’s morning here! LOL) I am in my third week but only have lost 3 lbs. My main problem occurs on eating days. I know I am eating too much on those days and am having trouble controlling that. I hope I will manage that by February 1, so I will have some good things to report! Have a great day!
Hi there all, I am brand brand new to the way of eating and to the forums. Today is my 1st day of both. @daffodil2010, I would like to join the challenge please. My 2nd fast day is actually the 1st day of FEB so it kind of falls just right.
Hi, Visdaintin! I had the same problem and I exercise, too! I do yoga two days a week and personal training. I do know that when I exercise, I seem to retain water. It could be that, if you are exercising before you weigh yourself, you are retaining water, too. I weigh myself in the morning now as soon as I get up. I also do not do it every day because there are so many fluctuations that I know I am not getting a good accounting. This has worked for so many people on this site that I think if we are patient, we will have success, too. Good luck!
Hi @daffodil2010, I’m new, started 5:2 one week ago, and would love to join the Feb challenge. I’m in Auckland New Zealand. Cheers!
@daffodil2010 thank you for hosting. I will be joining for my second month of maintenance.
Stevensville MD USA DAY 29 FD making homemade bone broth in the crock pot for 24 hours now, can’t wait to get home and have a big cup. It really helps me on my fast days. When I empty the crock pot tonight I plan on starting another patch. It has become my new friend. Three weeks in and down 10lbs and feeling fab. This forum has really been a wonderful support, since everyone thinks I a crazy for doing this WOL
Hi Diana and welcome:
The broth sure does taste good when you are hungry!
Congratulations on your 10 pound loss in three weeks. You can expect your rate of loss to slow down any time now, but you shouldn’t worry if it does. This will explain how much weight you can expect to lose over time with 5:2: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/tdee-for-the-curious-or-why-dont-i-lose-weight-faster/
Good Luck!
Day 29 FD Hi simcoeluv and thanks for the congrats it really feels good I only have 5 more pounds to lose and then my BMI will be back in normal range, and Yes the broth was yummy for the tummy along with 3 cups of fresh greens at 40 calories. My non fast day starts tomorrow at 12:00pm. I am doing 16.8 on my non fast days.
Wow busy already!
Thanks @daffodil2010 for adding me to the sheet already.
Looking forward to my fourth month in February on this WOL and hopefully a little more diligence than January. 😳
I know many of the long-timers also do other things like 16:8 or OMAD etc and I’m thinking that I’m ready to try to incorporate something beyond my two FD’s. (And the exercise that didn’t happen in January). Not sure yet exactly what my plan will be, but want to improve my choices overall and continue with my FD’s for sure.
Welcome newbies–you’ll love it here!! ❤️️
I am a newbie and I wanted to share something that has helped me, and maybe it will help other newbies as well 🙂 This is for fasting days and dealing with them- I think calling them “days I don’t eat as much” is easier to manage. The word “fasting” is almost synonymous with “deprived” for so many of us, which can have a strange and negative effect on the psyche (especially if we try to make up for it on non-fasting days- which is obviously not what we’re trying to achieve)
So I figured: surely during the week I can have 2 days when I don’t eat as much! In fact, they are nice- they give my body a chance to rest! I think this can also help when dealing with questions from family and friends- “Oh, today is just my day when I don’t eat that much. Helps me feel better. Don’t worry, we’ll have dinner together tomorrow” … etc.
Anyway, I was sharing this because it might help someone else too! Words and language can have a huge effect on how we behave.
Thank you for hosting @daffodil2010 I *think* I have added myself to the sheet, but if not could you please? Have been doing 5:2 on and off now for about a year, but never really committed to one of these and looking forward to the challenge 🙂
Thanks for hosting February Challenge @daffodil2010. I need to join this challenge month after month 🙂 Need to get inspired and sometimes a peptalk.
I’ve updated my line on the spreadsheet, starting February with an FD tomorrow. Today is the last day of my 6th month doing 5-2.
Day 0, Cornwall UK, NFD
I’m in for February @daffodil2010. Thanks for hosting. Glad to hear you are planning another holiday as reading about your last one was good fun!
This is a BIG target month for me. I’m only aiming to lose 2kg, down to 85kg but I’ll shake off the ‘Obese’ label if I do it and reach the half way point on my marathon 5:2 weight-loss journey. I need you lot out there to get me there! 💪💪💪
Day 0, Finland, NFD
Thanks @daffodil2010 for adding me already to the spreadsheet, and for hosting this month. Look forward to your next holiday adventure 🙂
This will be my first full month, having completed 3 weeks of January. In January I just wanted a loss of weight no matter how small, and didn’t incorporate exercise at all. This month I am setting concrete goals: 50,000 steps/week, this gives me some leeway for those days I work 14hours, i just can’t do anything else on those days; drink 1,5L water/day, I am a very poor water drinker, especially at home; and lastly lose 2kg.
So best of lunck everybody! 😉
Every day is a new possibility, grab hold of it!
@daffodil2010 thanks for hosting the challenge! If you could add me to the spreadsheet that would be great.
I stopped posting mid-January during our trip to Costa Rica. I kept fasting/eating well during the month though, and am happy to report that despite the excellent eating opportunities in Costa Rica, I lost 4 pounds in January. It was easy to eat beautiful vegetables and fruit while we were there.
My goal for this month is to lose a pound a week, part of my overall goal of losing ten pounds that stay off of my body for good and for ever.
Good luck to everyone, and thanks again @daffodil2010.
Take care, Markie
@daffodil2010 thank you for hosting February and thank you for adding me to the sheet.
We’ve got this!
@daffodil2010
I am a former Dukan dieter too. I did like the way you could have milk and yoghurt. But couldn’t stand restrictions such as no fresh apricots and nectarines in summer. And maintenance always seemed so far away. At least with 5:2 you can always have what you are craving tomorrow. And then when tomorrow comes you often find you dont want it anymore.
@daffodil2010 wow, nice to meet you! You have a wonderful story, very inspiring! I am so happy to see this community forming on this forum!
I am 5’8”, 31 years old, and currently 149 lbs. Currently living in Budapest, Hungary. I’m originally from Romania but moved to California when I was 15. I lived there for about 15 years (spent one of those years doing my MA here in Budapest), and then decided to move back to Europe in the summer of 2016.
Today is Day 0 for me (if that makes sense, I mean that today was a fasting day). I’ve also fasted on Sunday. Sunday was great, but Monday was really tough. I felt dizzy and shaky. Maybe I will ease up on the coffee tomorrow.
I’m not even sure how I came across this forum. This past summer I was told about IF by a friend who has been doing for a bit, although she is doing the 16:8 method. At the time, I had gained weight (about 10-15 lbs I think) due to hormonal issues after getting off birth control. After I did a bit of research on IF, I decided to give it a try and it was amazing! I lost about 12 lbs in 1.5 months!!! (I mean, I was trying to- because I had 3 weddings to go later in the summer) I was super impressed. But then, as I explained in a previous post, with all that traveling and eating, and food vacation in October (I really indulged because it was an all-inclusive cruise) and the holidays… well, I’m back where I started, at about 149 lbs. Boo.
Truthfully, I’ve always had weight issues. I was a chubby kid, then lost a lot of weight in high school, and kept it off more or less in university. But it would always fluctuate, and I’d always try diet after diet to try to get my weight under control. I’ve tried so many diets in my life… sigh. They’d work, and then I’d go off track, and then gain weight again. I’ve always been able to lose weight, but have ALWAYS has an issue keeping the weight off- until fall of 2015. I’ve had success with calorie tracking in MyFitnessPal and stayed at a consistent weight of about 132-135 lbs for about 7 or 8 months, but then I started traveling with my boyfriend (now husband).
That’s when logging food really becomes a pain in the butt, especially if you travel for 3 weeks at a time, like we did. And then we moved to Europe, and we had to switch countries every few months (he had visa issues), and everything was super chaotic. Of course, if I had been diligent, I could have tried to monitor food better in MyFitnessPal, but… I am human lol. And I feel like calorie tracking can get pretty tedious at times.
Right now, I am still doing 16:8, and adding the 5:2. I am trying to get away from having to use MyFitnessPal every day, so I’m hoping that 5:2 will become easy over time and sustainable. I honestly really like 16:8- I used to eat all day, and now I just really worry about 2 meals. I’m trying to find a rhythm that works for me. Here’s hoping this does it!
Hi Daffoldil, thanks for hosting. I have been part of the forum and these challenges from mid-June until August and managed to loose 5 kilos. I then moved back to Florence while I was on maternity leave and my husband got a sort of sabbatical leave. I didn’t stick to the plan, I ate like a pig and I put more than 6 kilos in less than 5 months. Now I’m back to my “normal life” in Scotland, back to work and to a sort of routine. My initial weight is 63, I hope to get to 60 by the end of this challenge. Btw, it’s also very nice to see so many familiar names! I
Day 1/NFD/Melbourne Australia
Looking forward to sharing a positive and healthy month.
A little about me. I’m a 65 year old grandmother who started this journey in September 2014 with the aim of improving my health. I’d given up trying to lose weight. Years of constant dieting resulted in a greater girth, not less. Dieting simply did not work. I could lose weight but not keep it off. I was delighted to find fasting not only improved my health but helped me lose all my excess weight. I reached my goal of a BMI of 22.5 in April 2015. In the years since I have never exceeded. At my lowest I lost 43lbs!
I followed Dr Mosley’s original 5:2 (500 calories twice a week) and his later advice to switch to a Mediterranean style diet and reduce refined carbs. Calorie counting sucks so I focus on portion control, eating lots of colourful vegetables, healthy fats and a small serving of protein daily. Healthy habits have stuck and I love discovering and eating new and delicious foods. My new favourite is Yotam Ottolenghi’s cauliflower cake. Yum. I try to fast weekly and follow a 16:8 eating pattern, but not always successfully. My 🐉 🐉 s are wine and cheese. I love good sourdough bread, dairy and complex carbs. Luckily I can enjoy them and not gain. I’ve never been a fan of cakes, biscuits and ice cream.
Enough about me but I hope my journey demonstrates that this can be a sustainable and enjoyable way forward. I love that I never feel deprived.
Hi, onahealthyigh! I am 67 years old and have only been on this diet for 3 weeks. I am excited about this diet because I can see it as a way of life plan that could help me maintain after I lose the weight. I also just started the Mediterranean diet and it’s been wonderful. For some reason, I feel so much better eating that way and it is such a healthy diet. I am in the U.S. and this diet is not well known here. I found it by accident while surfing the internet, which is also how I found this site. I am glad I did. This is my first challenge and it is amazing how popular it is. It is also fun that people are from all over the world. It’s very cold here right now and when I hear people say how hot it is where they are, I wish I was there! Anyway, good luck with this month’s challenge. Since it is still January here, I will begin my challenge posts tomorrow! 🙂
Visdainton! I understand how you feel! I work out six days a week with a personal trainer and do yoga twice a week. In my first and second weeks, I lost two pounds. Then I gained it back. I was very disappointed but I think I was getting too hungry and eating more than I realized. I track and measure my food, so now I am being more careful. I am new to this program, too, but I’ve read so many of these posts and so many people have lost quite a lot of weight. I think it does work. We just need to be patient. Why don’t you join the February challenge. Many people from around the world are there and they are very helpful! Good luck 🙂
Day 1 – normally UK but still in Australia enjoying the sun and heat for a few more days!!!! NFD
@daffodil2010 – Thank you for stepping up as host for this February Challenge – I look forward to getting to know all the newbies joining us this month and continuing with the great cyber friendship with so many from all over the globe from past challenges – TOGETHER WE ARE STRONGER
I ended up the January challenge with a FD and weight this morning was 52.6kg/115.9lbs – well under my target weight of 55kg!
I’D LIKE TO SHARE MY STORY TO ENCOURAGE ANYONE NEW TO THIS WOL AND TO LET YOU KNOW THAT THIS WOL WORKS! “If I quit now, I will soon be back to where I started. And when I started, I was desperately wishing to be where I am now”
I am a 59 y.o. Female – married with a grown up daughter
*Height = 164cm/5ft 4.5in (That 1/2″ is so important 😉)
*January 4 2014 = BMI: 28.2 Wt: 75kg/165.3lbs – retired and moved to Cumbria so started fell walking and being more mindful about what I ate. Lost my darling mum in the September so flew back to Australia a couple of times spending several weeks there over 2 visits that year
*January 3 2016 = BMI: 25.9 Wt: 68.8kg/151.7lbs – for health reasons started 5:2 WOL on my own
*October 30 2016 = BMI: 22.4 Wt: 59.5kg/131.2lbs – had plateaued for last 3 months so decided to join the Nov Challenge = best decision I ever made!
*December 1 2016 = BMI: 20.8 Wt: 55.3k/121.9lbs – so near to that target of 55kg!!! I achieved it a week later on 7/12/16 and have maintained below that since!!!
*February 1 2018 = BMI: 19.9 Wt: 52.6kg/115.9lbs
Health improvement markers:-
1. Total weight loss = 22kg/3st 7lbs and full of energy
2. Mental health changes = sleeping well, waking up feeling good in myself and happy with my life☺️
3. My Asthma is so much better controlled – I have actually stopped all my inhalers for the past 6 months now, although I always carry them with me……
4. My blood cholesterol has improved over the past 2 years as follows:
– Serum cholesterol down by 1.54 mmol/L
– LDL cholesterol down by 1.81 mmol/L
– Non HDL cholesterol level down by 1.41 mmol\L
I still do 2 x FDs each week for the long term health benefits (except on holidays when I only do 1 x FD). I follow mainly a Mediterranean style diet with a 16:8 eating pattern daily – no breakfast ever as I never feel hungry on waking; I like to save my calories for when I actually feel hungry so usually break my fast late morning or early afternoon depending on social circumstance or when I feel hungry! This allows me to indulge a bit on my NFD and enjoy some🍷🥂 and even a piece of 🍰 2 or 3 times a week!!!
I found this quote helpful since reaching maintenance in December 2016 – hope it might resonate with some of you too “IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT LOSING THE WEIGHT; IT’S ABOUT LOSING THE LIFESTYLE AND MINDSET THAT GOT YOU THERE” Steve Maraboli.
Oh my, I just saw this topic 😀
Hello everybody 😀
I’m definitely joining this month , and looking forward to it. Looking forward to continue where I left off in January and to socialise with this great group 🤗
Thank you for hosting this month’s challenge Daffodil2010 😀
I will try and so better with my planks this month too.
@daffodil2010 Please add me to the February challenge. I’ve been on maintenance for 3 months and I credit the group with keeping me honest!
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We pay tribute to our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Michael Mosley. Michael was an integral part of our lives, […]
Michael is touring Australia this September! Here's a link to dates and tickets. Hope to see you there.
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