Hello everyone!

This topic contains 1 reply, has 2 voices, and was last updated by simcoeluv 9 years, 11 months ago.

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paige23

7:43 am
6 Jan 15
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I started the 5:2 about a week ago and I’m finding that it’s getting easier . I’ve done my two fasts for the week and have found that i need something little to keep me going in the morning as my little man gets me up early anyway!
The one question I have though is that I’ve already lost 5lbs! I started at 12st 6.6lbs and just weighed myself and I’m delighted to see that I’m now 12st 1.6lbs!
I was planning for a 1lb a week weight loss, is this too much?

simcoeluv

8:05 am
6 Jan 15
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Hi paige and welcome:

The one pound a week average for 5:2 is over time, not for any given week.

At the beginning, you may lose more, but along the way you might not lose any weight at all for three or four weeks at a time. This is when people quit because 5:2 does not work. But it does – only not consistently. You will lose 5 pounds one week, three the next, nothing for three, then a pound, then nothing for two and there you are around a pound a week average.

Also, anyone can gain or lose two (or more) pounds a day simply because of water retention or dehydration. That is why gauging your progress based on how much you lose after a diet day is a waste of time. You could do your diet day, get on a scale, and find you gained weight (many have, have complained, or have quit because after not eating much for a day, they gained weight – so 5:2 does not work). If you think about it, if your TDEE is 2000 and you don’t eat for a day, the maximum amount of fat you can lose is about 9 ounces. Anything more or less is just water weight or food in transit. And on 5:2, most try to eat as much as they can on diet days, not 0 calories, so their weight loss will not approach 9 ounces.

So, on average, most people lose about a pound a week.

Men are included in that average, and they lose more than women because their TDEEs are larger. So that means many women lose, on average, less than a pound a week.

While everyone embarking on a weight loss diet is focused on losing weight, with 5:2 I think they should be focused on doing their two diet days each week properly, with a secondary goal of sticking with 5:2 for at least two months.

However, I must observe that most people starting 5:2 seem instead to focus on how often, how much and what they can eat on their diet days to squeeze the maximum amount of calories allowed into their stomachs.

An interesting goal for someone on a weight loss diet.

Here are some tips. Number four covers TDEE, and number two covers consistency: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!