Good plan, I have been drinking green teas as well (the Twinings ones which also have fruit in as I find them yummy!)
I found the first week pretty easy yes, so I am feeling confident today. I decided just to weigh myself on the morning after each fast – my scales do body fat, weight and tell me BMI too – and also measure my waist and keep track of all the measurements. I lost 4.4lb the first week but I am sure some of that is the weight of food where I hadn’t eaten much on the fast days. Watch this space! xx

Hi Sandra

I would hate to see you fail at this and wish you all the luck.The whole point of this way of eating is in the name “fast” which means to eat as little as possible. Grazing or eating several times a day defeats the whole object of this as every time you eat your body is diverted from what the all important repair to deal with the food coming in.What seems to work best for most is 2 meals and then as you get used to this way of fasting with any luck you can make it to one meal. When you have those meals is totally up to you but don’t ruin it by eating numerous times. Try not to eat till lunchtime and then have an early supper and an early night, drinking lots during day.
Best of luck.

Hi arbed01

See what suits you. The longer you can go without food the better for you so play around with it for a few fast days just don’t graze otherwise its pointless. I eat at lunchtime and supper time and usually these times are within 6-8 of each other to maximise fast time either side. Ideally i would like to just be able to eat one meal a day but it doesn’t quite suit.

As for the veg, what about salads instead ?

OMG…my first day had fruit this morning only 4.15pm and i’m sooooo hungry, please tell me that it gets a little easier…. 🙁

Ive been doing this for 12 weeks and have lost a stone. I work shifts, do quite a demanding job and can work for extended hours so on the face of it that could pose some challenges but i have easily adapted.

Most of all i don’t get hung up on calories. I learnt quite quickly what 500 cals was and most of the time i don’t make that but am really full. On non fast days ( not feast days as some call them) i found i quickly wanted less to eat. This is NOT a diet to me even though when i began i had quite a few pounds to lose. Its the way i eat now and im feeling really well.

Im fasting today so to give you an idea i finished my dinner yesterday at around 6.30pm, skipped breakfast and had 2 hard boiled eggs and a hand full of cherry tomatoes, raw sugar snap peas and mange tout. I have just eaten dinner and had fish and salad and a yoghurt and im full.

Good luck it does get easier and keep hydrated.

I bought the book, also the recipe book as well as a vegetarian 5:2 recipe book. The recipe books have only just arrived so I will have to have a good look at them later. I find that rereading the original book, does help to keep me focused. So far, I have done three fast days and managed very well – I have lost five pounds in eight days which I know will be mostly fluid, but it is a boost!

According to ‘The Fast Diet’ book, no studies have yet been done to settle whether one meal or several meals throughout the day (totalling 500/600cals) on a fast day produce any better or worse results. Michel M. chose to have breakfast and an evening meal; Mimi S. preferred two meals plus light snacks in between; Prof Mark Mattson, from the National Institute on Aging in the USA, says major health benefits will be gained whichever way one consumes one’s calorie allowance. Net conclusion, per Mimi S: ‘So go with a timetable that suits you.’ (See chapter entitled ‘The Fast Diet In Practice’ – When to eat – pp 75-77 of 183 pages in Kindle edition.)
On this basis, most of the significant fasting actually goes on whilst one sleeps, during the two nights either side of one’s fast day – this pattern is sometimes described as ‘Sleep-Fast-Sleep’. To gain the health benefits of fasting, one just needs to abstain from food for periods of about 12-14 hours (as one’s daily stores of fuel converted food – glycogen – is usually exhausted after 10-12 hours and the body switches into fat-burning mode). It makes sense to have one’s sleeping times overnight included as part of one’s blocks of this fasting time.
Some people like to go without food for longer than 12-14 hours; some enjoy fasting for 24 hours, even. What really matters is finding a timetable that fits one’s temperament and needs, so that one can happily sustain the 5:2 approach long-term. It can take quite a bit of experimentation to find what does most suit one’s own situation – and that can often change, anyway – but, luckily, one of the 5:2 approach’s big plus points is its flexibility. Enjoy your experiments and I wish you every success in achieving your goals.

A key thing that made it easier for me was realising that 1) it’s okay to be hungry for a while and 2) the hunger doesn’t get any worse. I had assumed that the hunger would build and build through the day, but it doesn’t, it comes in waves and then recedes (especially if I have a drink of water or coffee or something). When I realised that, I found I could deal with it and think ‘oh here comes another wave’ rather than ‘oh my God I’m sooo hungry I must eat soon’