I decided to introduce myself–I’m Tina. I started the 5:2 plan on April 11. It’s May 31 and I’ve lost ten pounds. I have moved up and down a little bit, but I’ve noticed that what you do eat on food days is still important.

I’m doing this more because I want long-term health than for the weight loss, though I’m loving the weight loss. I’m 57 and find that as I age, it becomes easier and easier to put on extra pounds. I am active but not skinny. I notice that I tend to stop exercise due to an injury or illness and then I’m discouraged by how quickly those little pounds add up. I’m very curious to see if I form a new opinion about what my ideal weight should be. I’m used to thinking that under 150 pounds is good. Maybe it should be under 140 pounds. I don’t know.

Now that I’m on the sixth week, I’ve noticed a few surprising things I wanted to share:
1) I actually kind of look forward to the fasting day. How weird is that? It feels good, in a way. I feel like I’m “doing the right thing,” proud of my accomplishment, less sluggish, and look forward to knowing the next day I can eat what I wish.

2) I’ve reformulated my impression of how much food is the right amount. I think we eat too much, period. All those early childhood lessons about cleaning your plate? Really, we humans don’t need that much food. We need good food.

3) I find being a little bit hungry while going to sleep is a much nicer feeling that over-stuffed. It’s a much, MUCH nicer feeling than indigestion. Once since starting the fast, I ate too much and too close to bedtime. That was a good lesson. I don’t need that much food.

4) If I’m craving an ice cream or cupcake on a fast day, the odds are really good that I won’t really want one the next day. The less sugar I eat, the less sugar I crave. STILL, I don’t want to start feeling “deprived,” so I tell myself that if I really want something, I can have it tomorrow. Nine times out of ten, I don’t actually have it. That feels great.

5) At first, I shied away from working out on fast days. Now I work out. Not only do I have more time to work out, but it distracts me, and I’m not that hungry.

6) I eat just one meal on a fast day, either at 1:00 pm or at 6:00 p.m., depending on our plans. If I eat at 1:00, the whole day is pretty darned easy. I’m mostly not hungry. When I do eat, I usually have a big bowl of chopped kale, raw slice brussel sprouts, chopped carrot, chopped cabbage, a small 1.5 or 2 ounce service of grilled salmon or part of a chicken breast, and a very small amount of dressing or lemon juice on top. It’s satisfying–takes a long time to chew all those veggies, and it fills me up.

I hope to do this forever, knowing if something really special happens on a fast day, I can change my plans and make up for it on another day. I’m so glad to have stumbled upon this. And, I’m a data head, so I love the data that is persuasive — intermittent fasting is probably one of the best ways to age healthfully. Thanks for the listen!