It’s my fast day too and I was absolutely fine all day – until I had dinner! Now, for some reason, I want to eat – so I am drinking my home made flavoured water like there’s no tomorrow! I just hope I don’t have to get up through the night!!
This topic contains 7,289 replies, has 660 voices, and was last updated by Opal Shine 10 months ago.
Hi Linda – I slice up a lemon or a lime (or both) add about 10 slices of cucumber and 3-4 slices fresh ginger into a big jug (one that fits in the fridge door or on a shelf) and fill the jug with water – I use tap water because ours is good but you could use the cheap still mineral water if you want to – and put it in the fridge for 24 hours. It gives the water a light flavour depending on the lemon – if it tastes too strong I just add more water to each glass. I have 2 1.5 litre jugs and I use one a day so I always have one for drinking and one infusing. It’s calorie free and a lot cheaper than the flavoured water you can buy. I’ve used pineapple slices too but you can use whatever you like. I’ll try raspberries when they come into season later in the year.
I think my ‘munchies’ were caused by that darn awful pasta – I’m blaming that anyway.
xx
Hi everyone.
I introduced myself on The Fb page, which has already proved very supportive.
I am 52 so maybe doing 5;2 is meant to be!
I had my gym assessment yesterday and had lost no weight since October, put on body fat and and an inch on my waist! Oh how depressed I felt!
It’s been a roller coaster ride since October so there were times of weight loss along the way, but a holiday to Egypt, a severe burn on my hand, a suspected stroke ( which fortunately wasn’t) and lots of tests by the gastroenterologist as they can’t find my gallbladder! Hence my digestive system is up the creak!
Anyway today is a new day and I am giving 5:2 a go. Ordered the books, so not sure what I am doing yet!
I am going to Egypt again in March and a cruise in June so these things do get in the way!
My main aim is to lose 2 stone for the cruise, come back and lose whatever I have put on (!) so that I can chose a dress for my wonderful son’s wedding in September.
I know I can do it and I will! (Says she!)
At my age I just seem to be holding on to this weight so I know you will all understand!
Good luck to everyone and I look forward to being there for you all too!
Xx
hi i am 56 next month have been doing the 5.2 since nov 2013 lost a stone but now the last 4 weeks have plateau stay the same
need to move another half stone by march 5th
weight at the moment 76.2kg
cloths are to lost but the scale are saying some thing i don’t like the same.
how to kick start it again
Hi PreciousBooBoo,
I hear you! I have been on the 5:2 since January 6 2014, I haven’t lost any weight but my clothes do feel a little looser than normal so I am hoping that I am losing inches, I haven’t measured, for fear of disappointment:( But I am feeling a little better after reading all the inspirational postings on here. So let’s keep going! Oh BTW I am of a certain age too!
@briedog! why does it have to be half a stone by 5th March?
Setting yourself targets like that is usually setting yourself up for disappointment. Weight loss is not an exact science and it is just not possible to say you will a certain amount by a particular date.
You say your clothes are looser so you are losing inches if not weight.
have you thought about perhaps doing 4:3 for a couple of weeks to help kick start your loss…or doing a bit more exercise if you can? Are you keeping above your BMR and just below your TDEE on non fast days?
Beyond that there’s not much more to suggest I’m afraid except persevere. And try to forget losing a certain amount by a particular date.
xx
Our facebook page LLOACAWA (Lovely Ladies of a Certain Age …with Attitude) is here …
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LLOACAsWA/?fref=ts
for all LOACAs
xx
Well, I may have lost centimetres, but I’m now 1kg heavier than I was when I started 6 weeks ago. (I’ve joked with my doctor that my body shouldn’t have passed quality control.) From next week I’m going to do 4:3 for as long as I can tolerate, just to give the scales a kick to join the tape-measure.
Hello new LOACAs, including palmscj & briedog; I hope that the 5:2 is just the thing for you to accomplish the weight loss that you–like the rest of us–are so motivated to achieve. I have to weigh in (sorry for the unintended pun) with Sylvestra, though–beware attaching dates/events/desired dress sizes by a specific shopping trip to your weight loss success! She’s right; our journeys are so unique, and this Way of Eating (WOE) is a different lifestyle, not a diet that gets you across a temporary ‘finish line’ by a certain date. Our bodies respond to these efforts in different ways at different times and sometimes we need to practice an inordinate amount of patience and work WITH their natural rhythms of gradual loss/occasional gain rather than against them by holding them to an arbitrary date when you want to see a certain number on the scale. I SO understand the temptation to do so, but I’m actually a great example of why not to do it.
I started this weight loss journey last September at 156 lbs., knowing that I wanted to first work my way back to 140, then eventually go on from there and get my long-term weight down somewhere between 128-132. I hoped to be close to 140 somewhere near the new year, but instead of holding myself to that hard and fast goal, I tried to celebrate any true, sustained movement toward that number. Sure enough, I did manage to hover around 140 by early January (after nearly 5 months on the plan), and I was thrilled with the progress I’d made so far. With a vacation to the Bahamas scheduled in mid-February, I was very tempted to set a new (and what seems like a not-far fetched) goal of dropping another 5 lbs by my departure date nearly six weeks away–that seems reasonable, doesn’t it?) but I resisted the urge. I knew that if I set that arbitrary goal of seeing 135 on the scale by the day I got on that plane and in to a swimsuit and DIDN’T make it, I’d end up feeling like I had failed, or ‘missed the mark’ somehow, and we all know how discouraging and frustrating that is! Instead, I decided to let that date arrive and I would celebrate the chance to go on this wonderful vacation with my lovely husband, and with the strong, healthy body that I would be walking around in at that point–no matter what the scale said. This was truly a very different mindset for me; I am so that girl who would’ve–before starting the 5:2–had a number and a date fixed in my head before a major event.
And I am SO glad that I didn’t do that because sure enough, after a very slow but pretty steady downward trend in my weight since beginning in September and reaching that 140 mark in January, my body seems to have decided to turn it around and go the other way! I wrote in a recent post about being surprised and a little bewildered by this recent addition of nearly 4 lbs (2 of which I have been able to peel off again), but so many other LOACAS have experienced the same thing and just waited it out, being as consistent as possible or addressing it with more exercise or adjusting their fast days as needed that it spurs me on to do the same, rather than feel too discouraged. My body and I will get there (to my long-term goal) when it’s ready to be there, and not a day before that. And in the meantime, I’m going to show up to all the lovely things ahead on the calendar–several big upcoming parties, two black tie events, a family wedding, the pool opening in May–with a big smile and in whatever fits best, without feeling like I ‘passed’ or ‘failed’ according to what number is on the scale that day. Undoubtedly, goals–and their correlating numbers–are important motivators to us as we make our way on this journey, but I have found over the years that they can be double-edged swords if we use them to beat ourselves up if we aren’t there by a preconceived date.
So, good luck to all who are just beginning this WOE, and to all the LOACAs who are well on their way.
You are so right @sharatl – especially what you say about ‘pass’ and ‘fail’ – the only person who passes or fails you is yourself …I have weight loss ‘goals’ but I wouldn’t put a date on them…I WILL get there though – eventually. It’s just a case of keeping on keeping on!
xx
@briedog – you need to go to the ‘how?’ link at the top of the page where there is an explanation of BMR and TDEE and why you should know these. there is also a calculator so you can find your personal levels.
xx
@roba I haven’t got the request from you can you try again
https://www.facebook.com/groups/LLOACAsWA/
It’s done this way so we know that anyone joining has come from these forums
xx
Hi @sharatl really sound advice. While I know where I’m headed I’ve not given myself a deadline. It’s so disheartening to get to your deadline and not achieved and a sure way to throw in the towel.
Like @preciousbooboo it seems that mine is coming off in chunks too. The first week nothing, the second week a big fat (literally) 6 pounds, week 3 a pound and last week a big fat nothing again. It’s weigh in day tomorrow and I started measuring last week as well as sometimes I feel that, even though I’ve not lost any weight, my clothes feel better.
I have wondered though whether the varying weight loss is hormonal – being that I am a LOACA ! I’ll be 58 in April but had a hysterectomy when I was in my mid thirties. I have been confirmed as menopausal but obviously without the obvious physical signs that I’ve come out the other side it’s difficult to know whereabouts I’m up to with it.
Anyway, onward & downward
Linda 🙂
Dear @sylvestra I click on that link and fb says that the page I requested was not found. 🙁
@sylvestra so I have searched and found you and requested to be admitted to this most amazing group. Thank you!
@briedog. You don’t have to eat all your TDEE calories on a non fast day but make sure that you eat ABOVE your BMR.
Good luck
Xx
Hi Ladies.
I’m finding this thread very helpful- thank you!!! I managed to lose a couple of stone 3 years ago and am trying very hard not to put it all back on again,having put on about half a stone over Xmas. I’ve been doing FD for 4 weeks and lost around 4 lb, although weight seems to fluctuate wildly from day to day. BTW I’m 66 and definitely apple shaped.
@suefrocks Hi. 4lbs in 4 weeks is a perfectly acceptable eight loss. this isn’t fastER it’s fastING so that is a healthy sustainable amount to lose. Sometimes the weight comes off in ‘lumps’ no loss for a caouple of weeks then a big one.
If you weigh yourself daily then you will see wild fluctuations. Your weight can vary up to 2lbs in a day. Try not to step on the scales more than once a week so you can see the trend not the ups and downs.
Age and shape is something we all have to put up with and has no bearing on the success or otherwise of this way of eating. You just do this the way it fits you and your lifestyle best.
Good luck
xx
@suefrocks apologies for the typos …blame my Kindle! Of course it should say ‘acceptable weight loss’ and ‘couple of weeks’
xx
Precious Boo Boo , I have both of the books you suggesed. I am taking Pregnenolone, DHEA and Adrene Vive ( Aform of cortisol) and Vit. D. Just wondered if you are taking anything similar?
I’ve noticrd my aches and pains have subsided. I have more and energy and I think (pray) my anxiety is improving as well.
So many new names coming here, how exciting. It is hard to talk to people about the fasting if they know little about it.
My sister went to a Catholic retreat and she got a pamphlet on sprituality and fasting. She pointed out to me that Roman Catholics had always fasted and said she remembers during lent on Wed. and Fri. they fasted. I just don’t understand why this is such an issue for some people? It is not radical or extreme. OK got that off my chest.
Precious Boo Boo, Hi today is my fast day (so far so good) I do have a private Dr. in my area, so I am lucky. I have lost about 7lb. since Jan. 2nd but I have a long way to go. It seems the heavier you are the more you loose initially. My next drs. appt. is March 20th so I hope I lose some more wt. It’s kind of curious that my doc is starting a wt. lose “group”. Not sure how to describe but I did not attend the meeting which was hosted at his house.
I did not want to give the impression that my friends and family don’t support me, they do. It is not supported by my GP and many news articals have labled it suspect. I don’t discuss it with mst people.
Sylvestra, agree about not weighing every day. It’s frustrating when the scale doesn’t move and I don’t trust my scale at home so I put a barbell on there to be sure. It was correct.
This thread has been great reading – I have lost 3 to 4 lbs in the first four weeks of 5:2.
I am going to drink more water every day, because I have noticed that fasting makes me very thirsty and I don’t really get enough water to drink.
I do have wine on feast days,and I have a glass of water between 3 to 5 glasses of wine (yup).
I don’t take alcohol on fast days, and if I don’t lose weight, I can always take another two afd’s.
I have about 15 lbs to lose.
My cholesterol started at 6.7 mmol/L, which is well up from 4.9 in my forties. I am 54 years old.
I will get a blood test in four to six weeks time and will report back if there are any improvements in cholesterol or weight.
🙂
I’ve gained a lot of inspiration from reading this thread. I’m 53 this year and have been doing the 5:2 since 13th January. I’ve lost about 3.5 pounds in four weeks. Not as much as I had hoped but a loss is better than a gain. I’m really good on fast days and stay under 500 cals and drink lots of water. Funny thing is I seem to weigh more after a fast day than after a couple of feast days. Has anyone else noticed this? For example yesterday morning (after two feast days) I was 72.5 kgs (eek!). Then yesterday was a fast day for me. This morning I weighed 73.1 kg. Could this be water retention?
@billie, I find that I get a better indication of my week’s progtess by weighing myself on Saturday mornings. There seem to be too many fluctuations in my weight on the other days of the week.
@billie I agree with with Gomarg – weigh yourself once a week on the same day at the same time and wearing the same clothes. More often than that can be depressing if you see gains.
Your weight can fluctuate by 2lbs in a day so weighing daily is not giving you the general trend – which is the important thing.
These daily gains and losses could be anything – possibly water retention. On your fast days you will usually consume more fluid than on your non fast days so your body may very well be retaining part of that and will eliminate it during the non fast day.
xx
Hi @thumbnail
I’m glad you brought up the fact that you are thirsty – me too and strangely enough I’m specifically thirsty for good old plain water.
I too only weigh and measure myself once a week. Someone earlier (apologies I can’t remember who) said that we should look at it as a series of steps instead of a slop – or words to that effect – which I thought was a good description. My losses have varied from week to week. Once I went from zero one week to six pounds.
The way I’m looking at it is, over the long term, it’s coming off and I’m determined to keep it off this time – having yoyo dieted for years.
Onward and Downward fellow LLOACAs ;-D
@sylvestra. What was that about wearing the same clothes? What clothes? I weigh myself as nature intended! Hehe
I’m with you @sonunda – not a good look but I’m taking every ounce I can get.Lol
Hello I am a 50 something lady who is menopausal. I live in California but heard about this diet from a coworker who traveled to our UK office. I was so frustrated with my weight situation that I decided to try the diet. I had remained a stable weight for 15 years and then suddenly last year, I gained 15 pounds!!! I was mortified. I couldn’t fit my clothes. I was so disgusted with myself. Well what I realized that not only was I probably eating more than my menopausal metabolism could handle but I was also not moving, exercising and burning enough. So I started the diet and have lost about 1 pound a week ever since. I am on week 7 and still feel it is working. I have made a conscious effort to exercise more vigorously than I was. I would suggest you review your activity. That seemed to turn the tide for me.
@sonunda …ha ha so do I but I said that in case anyone went to the local chemist to weigh!! It could cause a stir!!!
xx
Haha @sonunda and @sylvestra, I weigh au naturelle as well! I also like to follow @dumpling‘s “dumping” advice first if I can manage it. The scales were kind to me again this morning, for the start of my 59th year, by showing me a loss of 0.8 kg (1.8lbs), which is a total loss of 9.1 kg (1 st 6 lb or 20 pounds) since November.
Are you having a birthday @gomarg? Can we have cake? A great big virtual chocolatey, creamy one with absolutely no calories? 😀 😀
Today is a feast day. But oh, boy have I had a go. I had breakfast out, then chocolate cake and just ate the lion’s share of a big bag of potato chips. I feel shocking. But dinner is soon, and tonight’s is lamb curry. I have had alot of water. There will be a few glasses of champagne/wine consumed tonight too. I might fast tomorrow. 😀
Pray for me. Obviously.
I have started the 5:2 diet several times, and I keep falling off the wagon. I know that I am an emotional eater, and that is the problem. Does anyone have any ideas to do help to do better? I also don’t exercise very much, but I am bound and determined this time to make it work. Luckily I don’t have too much to lose, but the health advantages(especially our age)are very important. It is not difficult,like any other diet, but you have to follow it. That last statement is meant for me. Any advice anyone has would be an real help to me. Thanks
Hi @iwfama in what way do you ‘fall off the wagon’? if you could explain it would be easier to help
xx
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We pay tribute to our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Michael Mosley. Michael was an integral part of our lives, […]
Michael is touring Australia this September! Here's a link to dates and tickets. Hope to see you there.
Michael Mosley gives an update for 2019, current research in the field and announces a tour starting in February.
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