I am 65 and have been on the 5:2 for a year now. I think it is easier if there is another person also fasting near by and it’s good to chat about new menus and difficult times. We are in a pattern of usually Monday and Thursday being the fast days. I tend to eat more a couple of days after the fast day. It’s still takes a bit of hunkering down (back to the trenches!) on the two days but the rewards are in being the weight that you are happiest. Food is also easier on the limited calorie days.

Losing weight causes more wrinkles, not sure anything really gets rid of that except cosmetic surgery. Compensations are – no join pain, feel very energetic, attend gym regularly and a lightness of being, physical/emotional.

Hi Carolee, a whole year on 5:2. Good for you. I wish I knew someone locally on this diet, it does help to have support.

Yipyop, good for you on maitaining your wt. How did you like Singapore? Sometimes on vacations,
I think we don’t gain wt. even though we are eating because we are a little more active.

Is anyone experiencing feeling chilly all day on fast days? It makes sense, and I think there was a mention in the book, but I have not seen it in the forums yet.

to ply24mp
YES – i get really, painfully cold on fast days, esp late morning before i have my tiny lunch and again late aft before tiny dinner, but it does go away. i’ve been doing 5:2 for 7 months now and that started right away. since then, have started hot flashes (oh joy 🙂 and they are different. the “Cold” i feel on fast days is a concern though, as i’d think regulating body temp would not be impacted by fasting – would be great to hear about others’ experience too

Piper: the fat and starch together may be old, but it is the basis of the low carb/Atkins/etc etc . It is the carbohydrates that stimulate your insulin response. On pure low carbs, you can eat much higher calories ….and because most people have a limit on how much protien they chose to eat (6-8 oz steak for instance) fats typically make up the balance of the calories. If you are not eating a lot of carbohydrates, the protiens and fats “slip under the radar” and much less of them is converted to fat storage than would be the case if you ate the same meal with the bread or pasta. The problem for so many of us is that it is a “bleaker” diet as PBB once said. My personal challenge has been to find how many carbs I can have in moderation when I am also linking it to a 5:2 or a 3:2:2 in my case. Two days of fasting seems to buy me some breathing room to allow moderate carbs a couple days a week, whereas I couldn’t pull that off before. Strait low carb works for me….its just a very high price to pay and takes a lot of investment of time in planning/cooking more interesting meals that aren’t just a slab of meat and a salad. That is fun for a while (as in I do love to cook) but gets to be a burden when still trying to do a demanding job. Had to find a simpler WOL and 5:2 seems to be it for me. But I still have to be moderate on carbs or else abracadabra: the amazing expading woman grows to twice her size before your very eyes!

Hi ply24mp and thintoartinCal from a LOACA lurker! I try to keep up with this thread, but it’s too fast moving for me so I just lurk in the background and pop up every now and again ;o)

I also get very, very cold on fast days. I tell myself that it must be good, and that maybe my body is working hard to burn off all the fat bits, although the scales suggest otherwise! I’m very much like PreciousBooBoo and over the past year (on 24 April) I’ve been backwards, forwards and sideways … often at the same time!

Speaking of PreciousBooBoo, a big WELL DONE to you for losing the 2lbs you gained. It could well be the steroid patch – our LOACA bodies are definitely a little weird that way!

Good wishes for all the other LOACA’s on this thread and Keeeeeeep Fasting!

I agree with what yOu write Applecrisp. I’m just sorry I spent so long IN 80’S / 90’S thinking/saying ‘It’s not the pasta it’s the sauce.’
Trouble is there are huge commercial interests active in selling carbs (esp wheat imo) and so there is a lot of dis-information.

Or am I just paranoid? Many things are possible! 😉

I’ve really noticed how, when fasting /low carbing, how I miss out whole swathes of the supermarket – almost the whole centre part really.

The latest Australian Women’s weekly makes an interesting read re Magda and her trip down the Jenny Craig lane–interesting and sad, sad. She had made a bucket of money and had thousands of eyes on her and looked fabulous but now she is back where she started–or worse off. Shows what a hard journey it can be. Unfortunately she is hooked into trying Jenny’s regime once again–and I’m shouting at her get into 5:2 get into 5:2 the answer is not in prepackaged food, continual deprevation and the supposed ‘support’ of some thin lady that sits in an office saying eat 1,200 cals day for the rest of your life.

all I can say is Thank you Michael. We know its a long journey with its ups and downs but we also know its sustainable and works for most people–and of course we have our fabulous forum. Maybe we all need to send in before and after selfies to the mag and make a bucket of money!!!

Hello Everybody

This is such a good thread, as to be honest when reading the posts, its as though I have felt at some time or other almost every emotion that is shared here . . . except for the ones where health has been a real issue!

I have been thinking . . . would it be a good idea if you ladies invest in a little thermometer. Now the cheaper ones are not madly accurate but they will do for what we are wanting it to do. For those in the UK I bought mine at Boots – its a Boots own brand, and I put it in my mouth. Mine lately is 36.0 to 36.5 whereas it was as low as 34.8 in 2012 when I started journalling it.

The average normal body temperature taken in the mouth is 37ºC (98.6ºF), but anywhere between 36.5ºC and 37.2ºC (97.7ºF and 99ºF) may be normal. Normal armpit temperatures are 0.2ºC to 0.3ºC lower than this.

You need to take it first thing in the morning before you jump out of bed. Then keep a little journal and also post here so we can check. It told me that my expensive thyroid tests were maybe not the gold standard that it should be. So maybe I am making hormone but not utilising it efficiently.

I first started taking K2 with D3 as I read that can kickstart the thyroid.
Then I read the thyroid book I suggested here a while ago and ordered up my Iodoral tables 12.5.

Well a lot of puffiness off my entire body has gone . . . and what is happening is that I am having an easier time of it all and feeling so much better and keeping my lowest weight for a while now . . . whereas before it would just go back up and up and up. Also even if not showing up on the scale [ I play a lot of tennis so muscly] clothes that were really too tight are now comfortable.

Just wondered if this might be a good idea. I am doing this to see if I can work naturally with my thyroid to bring it back online without resorting to thyroid stuff. But keeping an eye on it all just in case this way is not enough. If I can maintain my weight at where I want it, and feel energetic and ache-free then I will be a happy bunny. Re aches, well my grand-mother lower back was not in evidence all last week whilst I was lifting her . . . and I now have almost no stiffness when I get up up first thing.

If no one wants to play then all good . . . just that I have been thinking of this for us all last weekend so now thought I might suggest it.

Keep on keeping on Ladies . . .
I think you all ROCK!

Pecious Boo Boo, I did get the joke, humor is greatly needed on this thread and life. I just wanted to explain what I meant. I’m sorry if I was too serious. I enjoy you and hope you know that.

K8tie would be interested in your study. Also, what was the book you rec’d. I would need a competent thermometer- which I imagine I could get at walgreens. Anything else? We go by Fahrenheit so will see if it converts. You just take your temp. 1st thing in the AM and chart it?

l also read your profile and am not sure what QHHT pratitioner is? Could you explain? Thanks.

Hello All,
Well the best laid plans( and all that!),
Did not complete my last fast week or start my 1000 cal diet, life has suddenly become a mad social whirl of commitments and social engagements,
I have not had a minute for, fasting, shopping, planning, gyming or weighing so the diet has been on the back burner. In fact this afternoon I was so exhausted I had to have a 3 hour siesta because I was almost unable to keep awake at work this morning. If you knew me you would find this shocking. I seriously hope I am not coming down with some virus. Anyway just keeping you up to date with my lack of progress.
Had a quick read of the thread for the last week, sounds positive, on the whole so well done all you fasters. I promise to keep in touch but life is fairly busy now I am living a single life again, nothing exciting, but making new friends and trying new activities. I love living on my own I hope the novelty doesn’t wear off.
Aim for April 7 lbs off so I need to get my ar– into gear.
I am thinking that I might cope with a one day fast if it is a non work day, not sure, may give it a try.

Hi I am going through the menopause and have been speaking to a nutritionist menopause expert she was saying that some women going through this find it hard to lose weight because we cannot digest bad carbs so she advises 2 stick to eating more fruit and veg and only eating a tiny amount of carbs

Hi Girls,

I am going to take a hiatus from the forum as I have started doing some free on-line courses in nutrition, physiology and chemistry. I find the last one vital as I didn’t do chemistry at school (though my boys did) and it forms the basis of everything including our bodies. There are some truly magnificent on-line courses offered free from universities all over the world and you can go as in depth as you chose by working through them. Some are, like the ones I’m doing at the moment, set on a schedule with assignment and test dates but others can be started anytime and completed in your own time. Although the majority can not be credited towards a degree, I am doing this for my own information and sense of achievement.

So, having said that, I have taken a break from exercise over the last week and it has proved very revealing. At 53 & only 5’1 with only about 1kg to lose to reach the upper limit of my healthy BMI range – 6kg to be at my goal: in the middle of it – I have realised that it is almost impossible to lose weight without exercising as I simply either starve or, if I eat a balanced diet, maintain (if I didn’t count all my cals I’d be gaining!!). Even 30 mins a day makes a difference to what I can eat & I mean a HUGE difference.

I think that a lot of people are drawn to this diet with false expectations because of the modern connotation of the word “diet” –> to lose weight. In fact the word “diet” simply refers to the food we eat regardless of quantity or quality. Dr Mosley developed the plan after having an MRI scan for another programme he was working on. The results showed that he was what he describes as ‘TOFI’ – ‘Thin on the Outside and Fat on the Inside’. His blood pressure and cholesterol were both dramatically above what they should be, yet he was only slightly overweight. That’s when he decided to delve into a solution – after all the Horizon programme was called “Eat, Fast & Live Longer” – the word “diet” wasn’t even in the title – but it was part of the main title of the book (which also, to the uninitiated, looked like a book about losing weight quickly).

These comments are only my observations based on myself, no-one else – so, please, all you lovely ladies on LOACA, don’t take them as a personal slight (though I have read posts elsewhere on the forums made by young women with healthy BMIs & body fat %s who can’t understand why extra weight and fat isn’t just dropping off them at the rate of knots – silly girls).

So, it’s back to a minimum of 30 minutes exercise a day and hit the study (in between being a domestic goddess of cousre). I’ll still pop in every now & then to have a read & see how everyone is doing but, if I don’t post for a while, don’t think I have abandoned interest.

Cheers & Good Luck Ladies,
Kim 😀

You have made some excellent comments, Kim (@ripcurlgirl). You have also achieved a great weight loss in the past year (around 25 kg by now, judging by your profile). I haven’t posted here in a while, but I still read all of your posts every day. How are you doing, @markie99? You haven’t posted here in ages. I have lost 11.2 kg (about 1 st 11 lbs or 25 pounds)on the Fast Diet since November. Like Kim, I couldn’t have lost the weight without exercising as well, 5 times a week – which, for me, means brisk walking for an hour at a time. I have gradually increased my walking distance to 4.6 km (2.9 miles) and will probably have to walk even further (6-7 km?) in order to lose my remaining excess weight (about 21 kg, 3 st 4 lb, 46 pounds). I occasionally try some HIIT on my exercise bike, but am still a bit dubious about its success (I don’t think I’m built for speed)! I am resting a sore foot at the moment and can’t walk today and tomorrow, so my results at weigh-in on Saturday will be interesting. I am still committed to this diet (as in “way of eating”) and expect to follow it for the rest of my life. I agree that the title of the book was a clever marketing ploy – it draws in those looking for a quick fix as well as those who already know that “fast” means “abstain from food” in this case. Any other Australians out there may be interested to know that the “Eat, Fast, Live Longer” documentary is being repeated on Foxtel (on the BBC Knowledge Channel, 612) on Thursday 17th April, at 8.40 pm.

Hi Tasppergirl – welcome! Don’t despair about the plateau (one of the most used words on this thread 🙂 – I stick for 4 or 5 weeks at a stretch within the same 2-3 pound range, before dropping another quarter pound, and lots of other women seem to be experiencing the same.

I don’t know much about exercise and the effects on weight gain/loss, but I have a feeling that what they were talking about in the book was people who do really strenuous, professional athlete type exercise, and that those people gain weight quickly when they stop exercising. I’m trying to increase my activity in a very modest way, and I’m finding – like Ripcurlgirl above – that even an extra walk in a day can just tip the balance for me towards weight loss rather than staying put.

I bought a Fitbit this week, a little gadget that you clip to your belt (or bra!), and strap to your wrist at night. It syncs with an app on my iphone, and tells me how many steps I’ve taken, miles walked, floors climbed and calories burned. (there’s a bunch of other stuff too). I’m convinced that this extra push to do a bit more gentle exercise was responsible for me dropping another pound this week after a five week plateau – for example, last night I did a brisk 45 minute walk home after a restaurant dinner rather than grabbing a taxi, just for the pleasure of seeing I’d exceeded my targets!

Have a great weekend everyone. JoJo, lovely to have you back. Kim/ripcurlgirl – enjoy your courses, I’m full of admiration! PBB – thanks for being such a welcoming presence to everyone on this thread. Onwards and downwards indeed!

Hi PreciousBooBoo,
Thanks for the advice but you and I both know that I can’t do ‘not dieting’ without quick weight gains. Actually I gave up all alcohol in a new year resolution, I thought it was a sensible as I was embarking on the fast way of life. I was also trying to set my son, currently into binge drinking, a good example. It is not a bid deal for me as I am only a social drinker, you know just a couple of gin and tonics per week and a glass of wine in a restaurant with a meal. I am a cheap date now, fizzy water only. I can’t honestly say I miss it much. I have decided to fast on Mondays, see how it goes. I start the 1000 cals Tuesday to Sat next week. Sunday will be my day off.

I know exactly what you mean, ply. I’ve had a very nasty cold that made me feel really rough and lasted for just over 2 weeks, during which time most days were virtually fast days as there was very little I could face eating.

However, today I think I’m finally over it but this was a fast day and a complete disaster. No chocolate or cake binges, just rather too much basically healthy stuff. I’ve gone right over the top, as if catching up. I’m glad to say this hasn’t happened very often in 14 months, so I say what the hell, I’ll soon be back on track.

hermajtomomi, congratulations on breaking through that plateau! I’m with you on listening to what our bodies have to say. I have always felt a need for a big breakfast, but after several months of 5:2 have been able to try saving up all my calories for dinner time with success, and now am finding that I want a smaller breakfast than before on non-fasting days. Probably a good thing, since I need less food for maintenance than I did before! Sometimes I get cravings for a certain kind of fruit or veg, especially if it’s in season (one year I had a terrific craving for champagne grapes when they were in season), and I’ve always figured there was something in that food that my body needed, and just went with it. Of course we can also develop cravings for junk foods, some of them are even engineered to do that, but common sense can tell us the difference!

LUVTCOOK, I find the same thing with breakfast, if it’s based on high-protein foods with some whole fruit I feel good for several hours; if it’s based on starches, even whole grains, or if I drink juice, I’ll be hungry within 2 hours. A Wasa crisp bread with an ounce and a half of good cheese works for me, too; I think all that fiber in the Wasa prevents a blood glucose surge. And I find that adding significant walking to my life makes a bigger difference for my weight loss than it theoretically should according to the number of calories I burn off.

Although I’m in the U.S. I have not seen that TV show, but I read about what the contestants go through and it sounds really horrible. No wonder NBC makes them sign all their rights away; I think that they are vulnerable to lawsuits even so, with the practice of intimidating people into working out while injured. This is supposed to be about health? I don’t think so.

I also love to cook; my son and I have recently been enjoying a lot of recipes from “The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook” by Jack Bishop. I even adapt the recipes for fast days by reducing the amount of olive oil, butter, or cheese called for in the recipes. Last night we had an olive and thyme torta, roasted Belgian endive with butter and a pinch of parmesan, roasted fennel and red onion with a bit of olive oil, and homemade bruschetta (for my son). I was able to have good-sized portions and still bring it in at 500 calories, and it was delicious.

Hi all,
Just got to share my one pound down weigh in today, probably be back tomorrow as Sunday my chill day, food wise. It just goes to show a week off the routine then back to it with a vengeance does your body the power of good. It’s typical actually, probably about relaxation of mind and body. I only did one visit to the gym in the last 10 days and that was for a yoga class, hardly taxing, interesting but not strenuous. I think I am going to learn from this and start my meditation cd which I have not taken out of the packet yet since Christmas. Apart from my daily dog walk I have been very lazy. Still it’s the Easter Holidays for me now and some serious decorating planned. Just bought all the paint and decided on a theme of duck egg blue and brown, wonder whether that is mood enhancing? Good luck to all my fasting friends especially those tempted by chocolate, I feel for you. Yesterday I had to walk past my favourite bakers, where the huge Cornish pasties sat in the window, reduced to 50 pence each, it was agony. I treated myself to some filleted sea breem from the wet fish shop, it was delicious.

Hi Adelaidegirl

(are you from Adelaide? – so am I)

Good luck with your first fast tomorrow.

Several people I know do hydrotherapy and swear by the classes – as you say, if you fall over then the worst is getting your head wet.

I’m fasting today (as usual) but have 6.30pm meeting and husband getting Chinese takeaway so will have to be VERY careful. Last week was moderately disastrous with scales and tape measure confirming, so need to refocus today.

The guidelines for this food plan is to eat 500 calories on your fast days. How you divide it up across protein, fat, and carbs is up to you.

You may find you are fuller if you eat fewer carbs, but there are no rules. People are reporting what works for them. If you want more carbs, eat them.

Hey, Boo and all-

just checking in. What a lovely set of women. I just went to a women’s retreat with my daughter this weekend and feel raring to go! Just what the doctor ordered. The church is pretty progressive..we studied archetypes…so I’m working on “Goddess”! (Beats crone, anyway!) 🙂

ommamma- beans are very good for you, do not give them up, especially the tiny amount that you were talking about here.

adelaide-water exercise sounds great.

K8tie- I don’t have a working thermometer, just threw the old one out, but I may get one.

I plan on doing a vision board. Has anyone heard of them, and what were your experiences?

xxP

Is everyone doing okay?