Welcome Aussie35 🙂

Great that you are doing this with a friend – good support and the healthiest of competition I hope! 🙂

I agree that you don’t need to do a lot of research to start. I went for 4 months with my only knowledge being the 2-page article I read in a women’s magazine. So I just ate 500 cals split between 3 meals a day on 2 days a week, and ate normally the rest of the time – and the weight consistently came off (pretty well).

Then I discovered this forum, and have learnt so much more from the experiences and support of others, which helped me keep going and reduce my intake as I was starting to gradually eat more cals on my fast days. It also led to me only having 2, sometimes just 1 meal a day on fast days – leaving eating to as late in the day as possible, and just drinking lots before, has worked well for me 😀

Re your question, I only roughly calculate calories, and do basically assume that a lot of veg has very few cals. I know that others are much more careful in their counting, and therefore weigh all foods. I suggest you start by doing whatever you are comfortable with re calorie counting, and only if the weight doesn’t start dropping at the rate you would expect (after a few weeks) then you may need to look at other options.

All the best on your 5:2 journey. 🙂
Cheers
Sassy

Great start Nat! 😀

I am sure there will be fat loss amongst those 6lbs. Have you thought about getting scales that measure body fat? I find this useful – weight can stay the same, but body fat can go down.

I think most of us have felt the way you describe about food on fast and non-fast days. Many find the fasting and dealing with hunger pangs gets easier over time, or at least you learn how to cope with it better (eg you associate the hunger pangs with the weight loss that fasting delivers, so almost enjoy them!!). And as you say, keeping busy does help the mind stop continually focusing on food.

It is a great by-product of this WOE that often you do gain better control over managing your food intake on non-fast days. (Not always tho, but don’t ever beat yourself up over giving into cravings – just start again 🙂 This WOE seems to be easier to get back into than many other eating regimes. It is not about deprivation.)

Best wishes for your 5:2 journey 🙂
Sassy

Thank you Sassy !

I will definitely look into a better scale. I have a very basic, cheap-o-run-of-mill digital scale (digital because I can’t see what the needle points to for beans on a regular dial scale…not because I’m tall mind you (only 5’2″), just crappy eyesight lol!) and it would be nice to be able to get an idea of my body fat.

Not working today but lots of home stuff to do. So, even tho it’s technically a non-fast day today, I should be able to keep away from the cookie jar during the day and enjoy a little popcorn while watching Part 2 of the last Harry Potter saga tonight (finally!)

Cheers,

Nat

Hi again Nat.

Digital scales are a lot easier, aren’t they? But always remember that all scales have error associated with them, which is another reason for not getting hung up about small changes up and down – it is the trend over time that is the important thing. 🙂

Nice to have a day off work – even if there is lots to do. Enjoy the Harry Potter! 🙂 (I must watch them all again sometime – younger son and I watched all the earlier ones prior to the final 2-parter). We are now looking forward to The Hobbit Part 2 – must get cinema tickets for Boxing Day 😀

Cheers
Sassy

Hi Everyone
What a week last week was!

Nat isn’t it wonderful when you see a loss like that on the scales. Don’t be disappointed if the second week isn’t as good. I’ve now completed week two and only had a loss of 200 grams this week. 🙂 I didn’t expect a huge drop this week but have to admit that the non logical side of me was just a tad disappointed (not that I really want to admit that). However we all know that pulling big numbers in weight loss week after week is something that you only see on TV.

My hubby on the other hand after only dropping 100 grams in the first week has come back strong with a 1.7 kilo drop this week. I’m so proud of him – after getting over his fear of starving he is committing to this and making the effort. Both of us are feeling like this is a really do-able manner of getting in control of our weight. I still need to find someway to get him moving his body more, I know that he will come round to that side of things in time.

Sassy, I’ve got digital scales that do body fat as well and they drive me insane! Despite that I’ve been working out at the gym for the past 6 weeks and I KNOW I have built muscle and burnt fat during that time the body fat percentage just wont consistently change down for me. It keeps fluctuating around the 41% mark (except for tonight when I jumped on with damp feet post my bath and got 38.8%). They are touchy and unbelievable. My husband smirked when I told him that and said his body fat is always around 31% and he has a lot more weight to lose than I do.

Aussienow I can’t wait for my size 14 shorts to be dropping off me. Hell – I can’t wait for my size 16s to drop – at the moment I’m just glad that the 16s are fitting me again. All my summer shorts from last season were too tight to wear just two weeks ago but I’m wearing one of them as I type now.

I keep on expecting to find some evil in this diet – it just seems too good to be true. I’ve been doing a lot of reading and researching on the net and the negative reviews that I have come across seem to have come from people that haven’t even bothered to read the book or find out anything much about the details or are trying to take it to extreams that this fasting method was never meant to go to. Everything I have read just convinces me more that this is a go-er and the results that I have achieved in just two weeks I don’t want to turn my back on.

Hi Everyone

I’ve really enjoyed reading the great progress stories. It’s comforting to know that others have committed and are progressing too. I re read some info about the health benefits of this WOE to start last Thursday mornings fast and to re focus my mind. I needed to remind myself of the real diabetes risk I face if my weight keeps going up (due to having gestational diabetes with baby#2) and that the risk of heart disease is reduced, as this is also in my family make up.

I’m two days away from finishing my third week. I struggled with hunger and staying focused during my first fast last Tuesday, but regrouped with a strong finish on Thursday.

I’m making better food choices based on appetite and taste rather than just grabbing stuff out the cupboard. Such a HUGE shift of mind set for me. It’s as if I’ve been reprogrammed to choose a healthier way of eating without my permission. A couple of times I didn’t listen to this new monologue and found it quite surprising and out of character.

Alcohol is more tasty and only wanted one very small glass of Baileys on only one night this past week (odd). Today at a 4 year olds birthday party, the M&M’s were too chocolatey, (what the??) And a plain Milk arrowroot biscuit with a cuppa with only 1/2 a tea spoon of sugar was too sweet. I said to OH I feel like an impostor.

Dinner at HJ’s with the kids tonight – I hear myself exclaim with absolute shock “OMG look at the KJ’s, over a thousand!”. I had to laugh at myself, I’ve never been worried about any of that before let alone pay attention to it. No longer a guilty pleasure, and it tasted awful.

The scales are telling me I’ve lost 4.5 kilos in just over 2 weeks. I know it’s true cause I feel lighter when I walk and am keen to get back into my runners. My energy and inspiration to exercise has come back. And my cup no longer over flow-eth, nor the podge protrude, as far. Gosh I’m feeling good about myself, even if no one has noticed either. This is the first time this year I can say I’m happy in my body.

If only we didn’t have another party to go to tomorrow, I’d prefer to be fasting as I feel so uncomfortable with all the sugary crap I ate today. I’ll do a 18:6 instead to balance things out.

OH hasn’t been as focused on the fasting as me, and hasn’t had a loss yet. We are reducing our sugar intake over all and eating healthier meals with lower cals. So I know he’s eating better at any rate. He’ll come to it when ready.

I am so happy!!!! Just goes to show me that what I would assume is “in character” and fixed, can be changed for a healthier preference. I have never had success with a diet that I managed by food alone and didn’t think this type of success was possible. I am loving this WOE and can’t wait for my next fast.

Hi Jools, and welcome! 🙂

Sounds like you are very well prepared for starting this new WOL; it is certainly worth doing the research so that you make the most of this new eating regime. As you would have gathered, there is a lot of flexibility, which is one of the things that makes it so doable 🙂

Continue to make good use of the forum for ideas, help, advice and support. Check the faqs from time to time – these are good reminders of the key features of this WOL, which sometimes we can forget about.

Keep us posted on how both you and hubby go.

Very best wishes as you start this journey 😀
Sassy

A hot day coming up here in Melbourne. This will be my fifth fast day today. Good luck to everyone else!

Hello everyone,

Last January I celebrated my 50th birthday with enthusiasm and an optimism for the next part of life’s journey. Unfortunately my year did not pan out as I would have liked with sporadic employment, ill-health and bouts of depression; something of a shock for a normally up-beat, fully employed and very healthy gal. Since January my weight has jumped from 62kg to 70kg. (Also a shock for somebody a shade above five foot!) Anyway, enough of the misery gutsing!

A few weeks ago I watched the ‘fast diet’ program on TV. The science behind it made immediate sense to me. I talked about it with my husband, then filed it away at the back of my mind for future reference. On Saturday a very dear friend popped in with a copy of Michael and Mimi’s book. On Sunday I read it cover to cover; and today, (Monday), my husband and I are on our first fasting day of the week. No time like the present!

I have been reading through this forum and really appreciate the encouragment, advice and sense of community. I am really looking forward to this particular journey and sharing and swapping stories and experiences.

Sassy, it is a glorious day in Adelaide. Welcome home, and enjoy!

Amanda 🙂

Good Afternoon Everyone, I hope today is a fantastic day for you all.

My fasting days are going extremely well. I actually look forward to them as I feel so much better the day after. I am walking but yet again every time I start something this year my body has different ideas. This time I have pulled the mussel at the back of my knee so walking long distances is a struggle and frustrating.

I have not lost any kgs yet but I am fluctuating from 77 to 75 so hopefully I will start to lose some soon.

Happy Monday everyone!

I am on my 5th fast today as well melbourne girl. It’s around 35 degrees in melbourne and I am sipping on homemade broth for lunch. Just found these cute little snacking cucumbers in the supermarket. They are teenie tiny and low cal for sure. So having those as well.

I too over indulged yesterday at our work Christmas lunch! Ate a whole dessert myself. It was baked lemon cheesecake and totally delish! Oops! Probably shouldn’t be writing about cheesecake when so many of us are fasting today.

Resisting the temptation to hop on the scales till Wednesday. Hoping yesterday didn’t set me back too much. I’m very encourage by all your results so fingers crossed!

Nik

Thanks all for the warm welcome and encouragement.

Well the first fasting is going fine although both my hubby and I have had the worst headache all day and just nothing will shift it. Neither of us are dehydrated as we are drinking lots of water and on top of that have had two coffees.

Mine is so bad I’ve had to lay down this afternoon as it was making me feel nauseous. Coincidence or an expected reaction? I did find only having a coffee this morning difficult but as I’m working early shifts all week my busy morning at work distracted me and I went through to lunch without much problem.

I’m looking forward to dinner of steamed salmon and veggies.

A very warm day here in the ‘Berra about 31C thank goodness for the A/C at home.

Jools

Hi everyone!

Am settled in my parents’ lounge room in Adelaide – warm but pleasant. Chicken salad with baked spuds for dinner; good yoghurt and berries for dessert – am trying to eat only healthily on non-fast days, but wasn’t able to resist a couple (ok 4) Cadbury chocolate fingers. Now I had better stick to herbal teas to get thru the evening!!

Hope all those fasting have had a good day and enjoyed your evening meal 🙂 Does the hot weather make it easier or harder?

Amanda – sorry to hear that you have had such a tough year, after a good start 🙁 but you sound very positive about beginning this Way Of Eating/ Life. Stick with it, and you should be back at 62kg without too many problems – weight quickly put on can also quickly come off – let’s hope that is the case for you 🙂

Ghostgirl – with those 4 days of fasting in your household, how do you manage the evening meals – do you have basically the same food but the non-faster has more/ additional food?

Clare – quite a few people on 5:2 find we have to deal with sceptics. Someone on the forum I think has suggested that these people are just jealous that you might succeed where they haven’t (if they are overweight) or that they don’t want you to be slim (if they are not overweight) and thus be some sort of competition!!! If you search the forum on this issue, you will probably find some good responses that you would be comfortable saying to others. Some of us don’t tell others we are doing 5:2 until we have results to show! Anyhow, don’t let others put you off – doesn’t sound like you are – you are doing this for you, and you don’t have to listen to naysayers.

Nik – all of us have days of overindulgence – just make sure you enjoy it while you do! 🙂 Sounds like you did 😀 I read an article in The Advertiser today that reports research from the Uni of Canterbury in the journal Appetite that shows that people who feel guilty about eating the less healthy foods are more likely to sink into unhealthy eating. But those who view the food as a reward and something to be enjoyed are more likely to stick to long term weight loss goals.

Jools – the warm weather wouldn’t help with headaches either! Ali gives good advice 🙂

Clovia – great that you look forward to fast days – I think lots of us do. Sorry to hear about your knee; such a nuisance when you want to exercise (I know!!).

And all of you stressing about turning 50 – it’s fine!! I am now half way to 60, and quite like the thought of getting a Seniors card in 5 years time!!! Hubby gets his in March… (Clare, I am an older mum too, sons are now 20 and 18 – once when I took younger son to primary school one of his peers asked if I was his nanna…!!)

I access the forum while on my iPad, which isn’t the easiest for scrolling up and down and checking out the various posts – I think Nika suggests opening more than 1 window for the forum, guess I should try that – so apologies if I have missed anyone who has posted recently.

Enjoy the balmy evening in Adelaide, Canberra and Melbourne – not sure how the temp is in other places!
Cheers
Sassy 😀

Totally off topic, but when is the wedding Nik? I am sure Paris is lovely at anytime, but I think spring is the traditional best time?? It can get very hot in summer. (This is probably the wrong forum in which to ask!!)

I’m in Paris NOW!!!

Side note…don’t get married end nov / early dec, it’s grey and cold. Just my 5 cents.
But still very romantic.

5:2 might be in hold for a while…so many restaurants and cafés. Every 5 out of 6 shops sell food .
Arrghghghghghg

But good luck everyone else,

Great to hear all of the successful days and may they continue!

I’m sticking to Mon/Thurs and find my eat days have noticeably less food too!
Yesterday I kept busy, ‘spring’ cleaning and stopping only for plenty of water and my Vegeta veg stock at lunchtime.

Have a good week everyone 🙂

Afternoon all it’s a hot one here – car on the way home said 34C! A/C is now cranked up at home so very pleasant here.

I finished my day with a half hour brisk walk in our gym at work as I was feeling energetic. My headache yesterday was horrendous, and as a migraine sufferer since the age 11 it was on par with one and I had no will to do anytning. I still have a slight headache today but hopeful it will clear eventually.

Our first fast day (36hrs) was good and typically when you know you are restricted you are more focused on food but we filled up on soda water and lemon, and our salmon and veggies with a splash of teriyaki was filling at dinner.

Meals have been small today with a few mouthfuls of yoghurt and Bircher muesli for breakfast, cold chicken and salad for lunch followed by some cherries. BBQ steak and salad planned for dinner given it is so hot. My hubby has discovered he eats to fill in time or when bored so this is something he is now aware of and will take steps to modify his eating – I just know the weight will drop off him faster than me!

As for Paris I was there in September and it is very difficult not to eat at least one pain au chocolate or croissant and the range of cheeses, small goods and chocolate is astounding! One thing I did find was that portion sizes were more reasonable – probably more like they were here 20 or 30 years ago.

I too face the big 5-0 birthday in three years and I am determined to be fitter and a healthier weight by then.

Small steps in 5kg lots is my goal as over reaching often leads to failure so I’m off the starting block and walking with purpose to that finish line far far away…Jools

Hi all – I am a newbie. I saw the doco a few months ago and have been intrigued by the 5:2 lifestyle ever since. I have been following a different plan the past couple of months which is basically low carb / high fat and also incorporates a bit of fasting. However, I found I got bored of the program (or maybe just lost momentum) and have recently begun focusing more on just healthy living. I don’t want to become complacent though – I need to lose around 10kg. I think 5:2 will work well for me as I eat out a bit on the weekend and would like more flexibility. I have decided my first fast day will be tomorrow – planning just to have peppermint tea and water all day until dinner time – then I will have some chicken and veggies for dinner. I don’t think I’ll have a problem with the fast as I am used to it from the previous program I was following. The only thing I will miss is my morning latte!! Wish me luck

Paris in May will be nice. Blossom should be out.
There is food everywhere…but you know what they don’t do? Is eat walking along.
How many of us do that.? Well, as a culture, they do not.

We are now in the south of France, considerably warmer than the 4 deg in Paris ( 13 today) but the ladies are slim. Must be all the smoking and drinking coffee in cafés.
Food ( ESP breads and pastries are plentiful) people probably just have one, unlike me for breakfast…Had 3 croissants and 2 choc au pain!! Yay me!! And I had them in bed. 😉

But you all enjoy your 500 cals ….cos once home, I’ll be on 250 cals!!!!

Au revoir

Hi Everyone, I am in South Australia. I began 6:1 fasting after I saw the Eat Fast Live doco on SBS a few weeks ago.
I am not overweight (180cm/ 65kg) but I would like to lose a little more (aim for <60kg) and the health benefits seem amazing.
My husband is on board too. We fast on Tuesdays.
My first fast day went well, It was easier than I thought. But… The next morning when I thought I would be ravenous, I wasn’t hungry at all and I had to force down a little apple LSA porridge for breaky. It made me feel awful! I was dry reaching in the loo, felt dizzy and so nauseous. After a rest and some dry crackers, which were the only thing I could stomach I felt a little better and could carry on the day but it scared me.
The next fast went well. I didn’t feel yuck in the morning. Happy!
Yesterday was my third attempt. I had an apple for morning tea, and a cabbage salad around 4pm. I drank heaps of water and cups of tea. Went to bed feeling very hungry and a little queezy. Woke up at 1am and vomited up everything! I felt so awful I made myself a piece of toast (which I don’t normally eat) and went back to bed around 2am. At 3am I was up vomiting again!
I feel disgusting today. I couldn’t even get out of bed to get the girls ready for school/kindy. Lucky DH is such a champ!
It cant be gastro ’cause its happened twice now.
Has anyone else experienced this?
Is my body telling me fasting is not good for me?
Help!

Thanks Ali,
That’s a good idea. I’ll try it next Tuesday 😉

So I’m about to break my first fast with a 500 calorie dinner of chicken, veg and some watermelon for dessert. Today hasn’t been too hard – I think my caffeine withdrawals have been the hardest thing to get through! The hunger is nothing compared to my body’s reaction to no caffeine. I am going to try to have my coffees around lunchtime on non-fast days so that the withdrawals will (hopefully) go away. So I did feel very tired today after midday and maybe rested my head on my desk a couple of times at work (don’t tell anyone!). But I just kept reminding myself that I was going to have a nice dinner tonight and that I could go back to my usual eating tomorrow.

Question – as I am new I don’t really know the answer to this – on your non-fast days, do you still tend to eat healthy meals? Do you find that if you occasionally have something “bad” that it affects your weightloss a lot? I am a pretty healthy eater, and can go without rice/bread often. I pretty much just eat meat, veg and sauces. However, I DO have maybe 3 or 4 “cheat” meals a week. Plus I may have a dessert (or two!) throughout the week. I want to know, if I continue this pattern and add in 5:2 will the weight come off quickly/easily? Or should I try to cut down on my “cheats”?

Hi everyone, I’ve just finished my 6th fast today.

It was pretty easy going though I don’t seem to have lost any weight this week! That brings my total loss from 5 fasts to a whole 1/2 kilo. So depressing! Am starting to think there’s something wrong with me. How can this be working for so many others and not me??

Ive been tracking my cals everyday on my fitness pal. My TDEE is 1789 and on non fast days I consume between 1500-1600. I don’t understand what’s going on.., 🙁

Thedot, I have a long macchiato on fast days. Far fewer cals than my normal cappuccino. just can’t face a full day of work without my coffee hit. I also generally eat pretty healthy all the time not only on fast days. Definately stay away from empty junk food calories but do have a little bread or rice or pasta which have been forbidden for so long. Maybe that’s why I’m not losing as much as I should be. Lol! Last week I actually ate a burger (a semi healthy gourmet one) with the bun!!

Redmac 1.5 kgs in 5 fasts is such a great result! Wish that’s what my numbers were doing.

Fastaussie, that sounds like a really violent reaction. Hope you are feeling better. You should definately take Alis advice and do some research on the other forums.

I’m thinking I am now going to give 4:3 a try and see if that shifts anything as its now around 22 weeks till the wedding. Aaaaarrrrggghh.

I can attest to the measurements – am in my 4th week but have only lost cms and weigh & measure regularly to help keep me motivated.

Two days ago I upped my water intake and lost 2.3 kgs in 2 days!! Are you drinking lots of water?

Hello,

After following this forum for a little while I thought I’d finally get involved. My name is Nickie and I have been doing this diet now for about three weeks. I have around 17kgs to lose (3 gone already). After seeing this documentary, all of a sudden I realised that it’s not a race. That I need to do something that is maintainable and doesn’t feel like I am restricting myself. Just the words “on a diet” implies that one day I’ll be off it. I need a way of life.

I started with my fiancé but he only lasted two fast days before the hunger (companied by a LOT of whinging) got the better of him. He has the fastest metabolism I have ever seen and eats incredibly healthy so he was doing it mainly as a support for me. I find I eat really well. Never anything processed and I make every thing in my kitchen from scratch. It’s the alcohol and eating out on weekends that get to me. I really love my fast days and enjoy the challenge of making the tastiest food for 500 calories. This morning along with my soy flat white I baked huveros ranchos, red cabbage with fresh lemon juice for lunch and I’ve made rice paper rolls with a chilli tamari dipping sauce for dinner.

I’m getting married August next year and would love to be at 60kgs by then but I won’t allow myself to get disheartened if I don’t get to that figure exactly. Well, I say that now! I really hope I can get there.

You all seem like an incredibly lovely and supportive group and I look forward to sharing in all your successes with you.

X nic