From Mass, USA First Day Today

This topic contains 255 replies, has 27 voices, and was last updated by  MassPoodleWoman 9 years ago.

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  • Hi My name is Ellen and I started today with my 1st fast day. I heard about this way of eating on NPR so decided to give it a shot. I have over 100 lbs to lose so it will take me a long time to do so.

    I am looking for a life style I can maintain over the long hall. I had previously lost about 130 lbs. and maintained about 100 lbs. of that for three years on a low carb but found that it started creeping back after menopause and couldn’t maintain the low carb life style. Then is the last year or so after I hurt my knee I gained 35 lbs. So as you can see I have gained most of the weight back and am feeling uncomfortable at this weight.

    I will say the first day was easier than I thought it would be.

    Hi I’m in MA too, and today was my first day as well! I have about 20 pounds to lose (again). I lost the weight a few years ago eating a whole food plant based diet (eat to live). It is very restrictive and I have had a hard time giving up certain foods for the long haul. I am still vegetarian (well, pescatarian) and avoid dairy, especially milk and yogurt, but have not been able to resist pizza and baked goods with butter, eggs, etc.. I’m hoping this 5:2 will help me lose weight without having to permanently give some of those things up. I found today, my first fast day, a breeze. I wasn’t too hungry, it was totally manageable. I had oatmeal for breakfast and a bean burger (homemade) for dinner. I have a bit of a headache now at bedtime, but no idea if related to fasting as I sometimes get a headache anyway.

    Congrats on a great first day, and I look forward to following your progress!

    Hello USA :),

    I’m not from Mass, but the midwest. I’ve been doing 5:2 (6:1 during the holidays) since October. I didn’t have much to lose (about 10 lbs.), but I was able to do it relatively quickly and painlessly :). I am now figuring out how I’m going to maybe lose a few more lbs. / maintain. Today I had a fast day and I may do a modified fast on Th.

    Good luck to you both! I do not count calories on my non fast days. I feel like I’ve regained my love of food and cooking with 5:2. With restrictions and guilt gone, I can focus on good, wholesome food 🙂

    If you have any questions, let me know and check in when you can.

    I did not have a problem fasting yesterday and even cooked a big pot of chicken and veggie soup, enough for 10 meals at about 250 calories a serving so I started to fill my freezer with meals for fast days. I felt fine all day and found the soup filling. I ate around noon and 5 pm so I had a long fast from about 10 PM the night before to noon and from about 5:30 till probably noon today.

    I am also proud of myself that I drank a mug of black coffee both yesterday and this morning. I have never been a fan of black coffee, always had to have it with cream. I figured I gave up sugar when I went low carb and didn’t think I could do that and now I can’t stand coffee with sugar. Now it’s my goal to give up the cream and have that become how I drink my coffee!

    Ok, I am happy. Two days of fasting in a row was pretty easy. Planned and ate just under 400 calories first day and just under 500 second day. I wouldn’t let myself buy bigger jeans and today I got a pair on I could not zip last week. I won’t weigh myself for a couple of weeks but the jeans and belt show me that it’s working. I had started last week with giving up refined carbs (bread, etc.) so it wasn’t just the fast but the fast was enough to help me get the jeans on. WOOHOO!

    Wow, that’s inspiring! Keep at it!

    I’m doing my second fast day today (Thursday). My first was Tuesday. I do weigh every day, and usually always have, except when I don’t want to see what the scale says! 😉

    I lost one pound after my fast day, and was the same weight again today. I do know it will go up and down a little bit as we go, and it doesn’t phase me. I kept to about 1300-1400 cals yesterday, and didn’t try too hard. I had a tiny little brownie (planned ahead, looked forward to it) and found it wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. Hopefully easier to skip it next time! I will eat exactly the same stuff today as I did Tuesday (makes it easier to plan!), breakfast and dinner, and tea in between if I want. I had my coffee this morning with cashew milk, at 13 calories, so I’m still not ready to try black, but I may get to that point. i did drop sweetener a few years ago, so never say never!

    Good luck with your “regular” eating days now. When will you fast again?

    It depends on what ends up on my schedule for tomorrow. It may be tomorrow as I have a work function Sunday night through Tuesday, so I won’t even try during that and a birthday party to go to on Saturday. So it will be tomorrow if I don’t end up with dinner plans (up in the air right now) or next Wednesday.

    I am planning on shopping tonight for so I can make 2 more fast day items for the freezer. I plan to make white bean chicken chili and a seafood kale Portuguese style stew to freeze so I have options and stuff already made in the freezer. I found it hard not to taste as I made the chicken and veggie soup so want to have the fast days meals made up in advance if it is a taste for seasoning type of meal. I can see doing a simple fish or chicken dish that you make for that day being pretty easy without tasting but not the soups/stews/chili.

    I did make it another morning on black coffee, so I am even on non fast days trying to make that work so I don’t feel deprived on fast days.

    Good luck with your second fast day. And congrats on the lb. Way to go. I know from when I lost all the weight before that for me, not getting on the scale daily and watching the ups and downs works better for me. I will probably weigh and measure after my fast days next week. How my clothes fit helps me gauge how I am doing.

    Hello, I am from San Diego and am on my 2nd fast day. So far this has been easy as I have done the HCG diet before where everyday was 500 calories for 30 days. I like the fact that you can look forward to the next day where you know your diet wont be so restrictive and you can enjoy weekends and going out. I am 54 and have gained a lot of weight (especially around my middle)during menopause and I do not like how I feel or how my jeans fit. I want to lose about 40 pounds. I think this is a very doable lifestyle. Best of luck to everyone!

    Hi Mom –
    I am not sure the HCG diet is but I don’t think I have the will power to do 500 calories for 30 days. I am 53 so around your age. Hope you found day 2 easy.

    I made it another morning on black coffee. It almost tasted good, so I must be getting used to it.

    I enjoyed my “feed day”. I didn’t eat until 1 PM and had a bowl of white chicken chili from a grocery store near my office so had a 18 hours between my last meal on the fast day. I went out for a quick bite after errand running, enjoying a half portion of shrimp and grits and a green salad and a couple of Cosmos. I did use fitday.com to track it and I figure I was at about 1500 calories with what I ate and drank.

    I used the chili I ate to come up with the recipe I used to make a pot for my freezer as it is one of my favorite soups, made this morning. I am looking forward to trying it.

    Today will be another fast day for me. I wanted to get a 3rd in as I didn’t want to wait a whole week for another fast day as I am away Sunday through Tuesday. And I look at my weeks as Sunday through Saturday. I plan next Wednesday and Thursday to be fast days next week. I feel more energy and am getting more accomplished around the house. I will say I am cold on fast days. So here goes it, a 3rd fast day my first week.

    Hey there fellow Yankees!

    I’m in the SF area and, like Mass, heard about this on NPR a while back. It took me until the new year (actually my wedding countdown page reading 131 days!) to realize I needed to start something – yesterday! I started with about 60 pounds to lose, but three weeks in, I’m already down 13 from peak as of today. The loss has naturally been slowing, but now that the sixth fast is over, I can honestly say they do get easier – and its funny, the hunger really does start to subside (that’s the part I thought the book might be lying about).

    I haven’t tried three fasts in one week (that’s like the EOD diet, which I also read and figured was a bit much for me) – but let me know how it goes. I’ve heard that can be a great way to bust a 5:2 plateau!

    Good on ya, all!

    Hi AmericanBride and congrats on your engagement and upcoming wedding. I wouldn’t do 3 days in a week except that I have a conference to go to and thought I didn’t want to stop my momentum on making this part of my life and it just seemed too long to go till next Wednesday and there is no way I could do the fast when breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks are served at a conference. Next week will be just 2….

    Congrats on the 13 LBs. Way to go!

    I heard about it on NPR too – gotta love NPR!

    Popping in on your thread since there’s a collection of Americanites here! I’m from Oregon (heard about the diet from NPR too… 🙂 ).

    I completed my second week’s fast yesterday and have lost 7 lbs so far! I have about 50lbs to go before I’m in the “healthy” range though. I’m excited to see this diet work for me after reading all the stories on here!

    LacerX – Glad to see we Americans are banding together, LOL. Congrats on the 7 lbs. I am waiting until next week after my Wednesday/Thursday fast to weigh and measure….

    Thanks MassPoodle – good luck with your three days! I’m impressed!!

    Hi everyone – I need help and support. I am on my 2nd week (3rd fast day)
    all I can think of is food….ugh !
    today I had 2 hard boiled eggs/ 1/2 banana and spinach salad (vinegar only for dressing) that totalled to 280 calories….so far but it’s only 4 pm

    I really want to lose 15-20 lbs and keep it off.

    any encouragement…hints would be so welcomed…
    btw I also heard it on NPR recently – a friend told me about it last year though.
    and I am from Santa Rosa, Ca 🙂
    but my son lives outside of Manchester UK – love visiting

    Hello Poodlewoman and everyone else!

    I am here in Southern California and starting 5:2 this week. I have about 70 lbs. to lose.

    I am definitely not a fan of Facebook, although I know they have a ton of 5:2 groups, so I thought I’d sign up here. Also, I like belonging to the official 5:2 site.

    We can all do this!

    welcome thecoffeebrain. where in So Cal are you ?
    and YES WE CAN do this ! (have to)

    Hi CoffeeBrain and Virginia – glad to see other join in the conversation. Virginia – Are you eating breakfast? I have found that if I eat breakfast, I am hungrier than if I wait till after lunch to start eating. Everyone is different, though so that may or may not help. One of the tings I like, is not being told to eat breakfast, just me, but the breakfast is the most important meal stuff was always hard for me.

    Hi masspoodlewoman (do you have a lot of poodles? I have a doodle )
    I tend to eat around 10a.m. ish ….I know it will get better…just an adjustment. keep sending ideas though

    Yes I breed, show and raise poodles. I have 4, from 9 months to 5 years old. Have had poodles now for 21 years. Expecting a litter in March hopefully. 3 girls Jasmine, Rickie Lee, and Chance and one boy, Bruce.

    Thank you for the welcomes! virginia, I am here in Southern CA, South Bay area, next to the ocean. I’ll be doing my fasting Monday and Tuesday. I hear you. We HAVE to do this. I promised myself that in 2015 I would get healthy and lose weight. Well, January is almost gone, and I’ve done nothing. Now is the time!

    Yay – I have lost 2 pounds and started on Tuesday with fast days on Tuesday and Thursday. I realize the first 5 are the easiest as it’s water weight. I have not been hungry at all today after a broth bowl at Panera and they are delish and under 400 calories. I am enjoying a glass of red wine tonight. Happy Friday!

    Good morning from Los Angeles! This is the start of my fast week. I am viewing this as a lifestyle change and not another diet. I just quit Weight Watchers. The losing and gaining of weight is insanity. I just can’t count points anymore.

    Welcome to the USA thread Marmalade! Good luck with this way of life, most of us on this tread are just starting a week or 2 in. I bet LA is having nicer weather than here in Mass, we have snow. I am enjoying it and looking forward to going out and shoveling as it is pretty here.

    Well I did give into the scale today as curiosity was getting the better of me. I am ESTATIC to report that I lost 13 lbs. from high weight and 10 lbs. since my first weigh in (the day after my first fast. So I am going to report it as a 13 Lbs. loss so far). I lost 2.5 inches of my neck which to me is amazing, 1.5 off my bust and 2 inches off my waist. Because of the 2.5 inches off my neck , I must have also loss weight in my face as I look thinner in the mirror! WOOOOHOOOO! So not only do my jeans fit that I couldn’t zip, I feel better with more energy, and I can say I look thinner. Most people won’t notice the loss in my body as when you have over 100 lbs. to lose, it not noticeable to others. Buy I see it the fat is disappearing from my bra line to my waist so I have a waist again. I lost my waist sometime in the last year and I always had a waist. Welcome back waist!

    Wow!! MassPoodleWoman that’s awesome!!!! Being able to see all those changes must be so exciting! I haven’t done the measurements for myself but your post makes me want to go out and buy a measuring tape right now!

    LacerX – do it, the tracker on this website has you measure neck, waist, hips and bust. I know from my low carb days, that there were times my body was not losing weight but I was losing inches and it was encouraging. Losing inches really is what weight loss is about. And it amazing what the inches lost does for your appearance and attitude! I will also track my thigh and upper arm measurements as I want to see those go down as well.

    Hello USA fasters!

    Wow, it’s so fun to read all the posts here! I’ve been doing 5:2 / 6:1 since October, and I am enjoying this WOL so much. I am very close to my goal weight now (about 5 pounds). However, I haven’t been been as motivated to lose this last bit of weight lately. I know that it’s okay, but I’d still like to get to my ideal weight.

    I was only able to get in one fast last week, and I had quite an extravagant weekend. I’m definitely fasting today and trying to decide if I can do two days in a row, or make Wed. my second day… I’m going away the next 2 weekends, so I need to get in 2 fast days this week and next week for sure!

    MassPoodle, AmericanBride & LacerX, you all have such great results so far!! Don’t you love the confidence you have now? Fast days are still not easy for me, but in a sick way I do crave them now. I do need to somehow find my balance, my non fast days are not healthy enough. I’ve been saying that I’m going to plan for more veggies on non fast days, now I have to follow through with it!

    Marmalade, I know that calorie counting (WW) works for some, but not for me. I need my freedom and variety ;). How do you feel about fasting so far?

    CoffeeBrain, are you still planning on fasting M,T this week? I’d really love to stick with that too & would love to hear how you are doing!

    Check in when you can USA, the support is needed with this WOL!! I’m sure I’ll check back later today, the forum is my main distraction on fast days.

    Have a good one!
    Em

    Morning Emilyashen! Today would normally be my fast day too but my husband has the day off today and wanted to cook me a special dinner tonight. Can’t say no to that!! 🙂 I’ll be fasting tomorrow and Thursday now instead.

    I still have so much to lose and have only been doing this two weeks (this will be my third week) so it’s still in the new, exciting phase. I’ve been thinking about how I’ll make sure I stick with it and I think part of it will be reminding myself about all the other health benefits beyond the weight loss. I just read Michael’s book last week and it was really interesting and helpful. Learning about how fasting impacts your body in so many positive ways beyond just losing weight is awesome!

    Another part will be staying involved with the website. I like reading people’s success stories – they make me feel excited and hopeful, which I think will be helpful when I start getting in any sort of funk.

    My opinion is that you can do whatever you’d like to do. 🙂 If you’d like to fast two days in a row, you can. You’ve fasted before for a full day plenty of times, and many people in the world have fasted for far longer – if they can, why can’t you? You already know you can, you just have to do it! 🙂

    Yay! More USA posters! I am really confused by all of the different threads here, but they are all soooo motivating! I live in Texas, and I just started a few days ago. My plan is to fast on Mondays and Thursdays, so today is my second fast day. Only black coffee so far and feel fine. Last Thursday I didn’t eat anything until about 7:00 pm, and that worked for me then. It was just a frozen meal (well under 500 calories) and some vegetable juice. I went to bed early that night also.
    And I also love dogs!!

    LacerX, you are so right, reminding yourself of all the benefits helps to get through a fast. Thanks for the encouragement!! I am going to try to fast 2 days in a row, should be interesting… I lost the weight by fasting Mondays & Thursdays, so I think those two days are ideal for me. However, you never know until you try. I will keep you all posted. I may make my daily goal 600 for each day instead of 500…

    Welcome DeanieBo! The forum can be confusing, but I have been lucky to join a few really supportive threads. I used to try to post in some of the new ones, but realized that they sometimes die out pretty quick. It looks like this thread is turning into a positive one, which is great! I haven’t been able to fast until dinner yet. I still need my protein bar at lunch to make it through the day.

    Green iced tea and sparking water have been game changers for me. I drink a can of flavored sparkling water (LeCroix is the best) right before bed and it helps my stomach to feel a bit more full. I also use 3 green tea bags to make iced tea in the afternoon. It’s these little rituals that help me get through the day.

    Happy fasting! And enjoy your home cooked meal LacerX! We’ll help you get through the fast day tomorrow 🙂

    Hello U.S. newbies and welcome:

    There is a massive amount of information on this site, but it is scattered. I suggest that in addition of following whatever thread you choose to follow, you scan ‘Recent Posts’, too. This will give you a broad view of the site and much more information than if you just focus on one thread.

    Here is some information that might help as you go forward with 5:2: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

    Good Luck!

    Thank you simcoeluv!

    Hi I’m back, on my third fast day. Tried only eating dinner this time ( first two I ate breakfast and dinner). I managed, but think I will try a salad for lunch and then a light dinner next time. I also managed my coffee black today. I’ll never love it that way (I don’t think!) but it was okay, I guess. I may need to move up to 3 fast days (4:3) because I lost sight of the benefits of fasting over the “break”. I have a hard time staying “diet” focused, and didn’t restrict my eating enough on non- fast days last week, and ended up back where I started, not losing at all. I hope to do better this week!

    Hi all,
    Today was the start of my second week and my 3rd fast day. For some reason, today was hard – maybe because I am really stressed at work. Started day with black coffee, 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese with celery, carrots and radishes at lunch and just had some chicken and bell peppers for dinner. I might just go to be early! I will weigh on Friday morning after my fast day on Thursday.

    Good morning States!

    I completed my fast day yesterday, although I may have been a little over in calories (550). I was happy to maintain my weight the scale this morning. This is after quite a heavy eating/drinking weekend. Also, I only got in one fast over the last few weeks. I’m shooting for 2 this week with today being my second fast. I have never fasted 2 days in a row, so I’m interested in how this experiment will go.

    I have been having a much harder time with my second fast of the week, so maybe two in a row will work for me?? I exercised a little yesterday, and plan to take an ab focused class tonight.

    So far so good, but it’s only 9:00am here…

    Kim, have you tried your coffee with a little cinnamon? That’s my favorite way to drink it black. I also tried Matcha green tea yesterday and it really took the edge off. Mom, stressful days are always hard. Think about how good you’ll feel on Friday if you get in 2 fasts. I truly believe that you’ll lose weight if you do 2 proper fasts a week. I also feel like my skin has greatly improved along with my eczema. I really could go on and on about the health benefits. It works, keep going everyone!!

    Good morning everyone –

    Congrats Emilyashen! I’m interested to hear how two days in a row goes since I may find myself doing it in the future for some reason. I hope to hear it was a total breeze! 🙂

    Didn’t do my fast yesterday and was treated to a fancy homemade meal from my husband. He really went all out and it was totally worth it to move my day to today instead.

    So, fast day today and Thursday for me this week! Things are looking good so far (at 8 in the morning :)). I have a full schedule today and am hoping that will help make the day fly by. I like to save my calories all for dinner and am planning on having the steak salad recipe from the book with the leftover steak from last night’s feast.

    I plan on going to the gym right after work, then on to singing practice. Hopefully all that activity will keep me honest today.

    How did everyone else do yesterday? Fasters, did you fast? Non-fasters, did you have a nice day anyway? 🙂

    Ha ha ha, LacerX! I ended up not fasting yesterday. I didn’t exactly “cave” but when a friend asked me to meet for lunch yesterday, I just had to say yes!! I am retired, and most of my friends still work, so when they can get together, I usually join them. I am proud of myself nevertheless, because I didn’t overeat and I didn’t have the attitude that I have already blown it why not have a total pigout?? That is probably my biggest downfall. So all things considered, I did well. I doubt if I could ever fast 2 days in a row. I did years ago, but I found it very difficult. Good luck everyone!

    Hello all,
    I am also from Mass, USA! I started with my first fast day on Monday and didn’t find it too difficult – just a couple of times where I had to remind myself why I am doing this! I’m a 45 year old woman and need to lose 20 lbs., 10 of which I have lost twice! Low carb works for me, but not as a long term solution. I also heard about the 5;2 diet on NPR and it just seems like it is a feasible long term lifestyle so here I go!
    I waited to start until returning from vacation and the first fast day was actually a welcome change from all the overindulging!
    Good luck to all.
    Billie

    Good evening,

    So I am finishing up my 2 fasting days in a row experiment. It really wasn’t so bad! No hunger today and everything I ate felt like more than enough food. I was around 550 calories for both days. I don’t think I’ll do it regularly, but I now know I can do it :).

    Welcome Billie! Please check in when you can, it helps us all to hear updates. Lacer, glad you enjoyed your feast! It sounds like you had a good fast day after :). I’m trying to work on not feeling guilty on non fast days…

    Night,
    Em

    Hi back from the conference. Today was supposed to be a fast day but because of the snow here in the Northeast, I ended up staying a day later so will fast tomorrow and Friday or Saturday as I ate breakfast this morning and I am sure I went over in calories to do a fast day. This is one of the things I like about this way of eating, you can be flexible about it.

    I am proud to say I have had black coffee all week so it has been 9 days of only black coffee!

    Welcome Billie! 🙂

    Emilyashen – I’m glad to hear your two days weren’t too much of a slog! Nice job!

    MassPoodleWoman – good work with the black coffee! I started drinking my coffee black a few years ago, but I had some help. 😉

    What happened was I went to our company’s coffee roaster to drop something off and they offered me a cup of what they had just brewed. Of course I said yes, our coffee is very good and they, of course, always brew it perfectly. At the time, I took my coffee with a little cream, no sugar. They handed me my lovely cup of freshly brewed joe and handed me a big jug of cream. I added my dollop and stirred away. I took my first sip and immediately realized that the cream was VERY spoiled. Ew ew ew.

    The roaster took the jug back and dumped it into the sink and the chunks that fell out were so gross and stinky. After that, I couldn’t drink it with cream because it just made me think of that gross spoiled cream that I drank.

    Now it’s black coffee all the way!! 🙂

    Forgot to mention that today is my second fast day of the week! Also, when I weighed in this morning I came in at 197.6!! That’s down from 206 🙂 I was pretty surprised considering I had a lunch meeting yesterday where I pigged out big time.

    Looks like it’s working!

    Wow, congrats LacerX that is awesome. I am on my 2nd fast day this week and will weigh-in tomorrow. I already feel like my jeans fit a little better. I lost 2 pounds my first week.

    Fast day for me today, so far so good. Black coffee, lunch was smoked salmon with poached eggs and a touch of hot sauce. Tonight seafood, kale and kennel soup. Around 490 calories

    Glad to see good results for you LacerX, nice loss already.

    LacerX your results are inspiring! I did my 2nd fast day yesterday and it was a breeze because work was so hectic.
    I opted for no coffee, but reading your posts I may just have to try it black… that would be huge to give up the cream altogether. I will try it on Monday fast day & see if I can handle it!! 🙂

    Billie – You can do the black coffee, I didn’t think I could as I was a light cream fanatic (could barely deal with 1/2 n 1/2)and I am on day 11 of no cream!

    Nice job Billie! I fasted yesterday also. The day went well for the same reason yours did, I was really busy!

    Our friends came over to hang out last night and I have to say that made it a little tougher. I ended up making two versions of my stir fry – one for the non-fasters and one for me. It ended up working well in the end, but I have to say it stressed me out a little having them come over and having drinks and a stir fry with lovely looking noodles (compared to mine that was just veggies and chicken). But I stuck with it and even shared my fast diet book with my friend who is going to start doing it also. 🙂

    Another fast day for me today. Black coffee this morning. And I made a fish dish at lunch that was great. I bought a 24 oz package of frozen fish at Target that the portions were individually wrapped in 4-5 Oz packs. I used Miso Ginger broth from Trader Joes to marinade and steam it and veggies in. It was really good and about 250 cals including a tsp of butter to soften the shallots in then put a large handful of green beans, topped that with a few mushrooms, put the fish on top put 1/2 cup of miso broth in and some fresh grated ginger and pepper. Brought to a boil covered pan and cooked for 5 or so minutes. Removed the fish and boiled down the broth as a sauce. I did add a little Sriracha sauce as I like spicy. It was good and simple. I will have chicken veggie soup from the freezer for dinner.

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