Francis please don’t give up.
Tell yourself that you will get the thing you are craving tomorrow.
You could try a herbal tea, black coffee or sparkling water with a slice of lime.
Try and keep busy, do some housework or go for a walk.
If all else fails go to bed early and when you wake up it will be time for breakfast.
I’ve only been on it 4wks, it does get a bit easier.
Elaine 🙂

It does get easier. In fact I have reached the stage when I look forward to my fast – it makes me feel good! Part of it is that you lose the fear of the sensation of hunger. And part of it might well be sugar/starch withdrawal. I think one of the best things that has come out of fasting for me is that I can tell the difference between true hunger and the munchies.

I find savoury drinks are a great help – bovril, bouillon or marmite. They have a few calories but just count them for your total calories for the day.

Well done! Thats great.Keep going and you will see the results I have been doing 5:2 about 5 weeks now and have lost 9lbs. I have really struggled at points eg hunger, lack of sleep, but am learing its all about dealing with the things the come up. Monday fast can actually become really enjoyable after a big weekend too

Francis so glad you kept going, knew you could.
Good luck with your journey.
Elaine 🙂

I love my Monday fast days. It’s almost like a detox after the weekend when I tend to eat things I don’t eat throughout the week.

I have been doing 5:2 for four weeks now and find I am not at all hungry on my fast days. I split my 500 cals between 3 meals as I find this is best for me. I also find I am eating a lot less on my normal days too.

The best thing is ….it works and I am losing weight!

Hi terri …it takes a little while to get used to the 500cal limit and but it’s worth sticking with it.

Personally I’m not a fan of meal replacements as that’s a whole different way of doing things. It’s easily possible to have 3 meals a day and stay within 500 cals.

Just for example, I have

Breakfast – Porridge made with 25g oatmeal and water and eaten with 50ml unsweetened almond milk = 106 cals

Lunch – bowl of homemade vegetable soup + 60 cals

Dinner – Veg or quorn curry/chilli/bolognese with either cauliflower rice or courgette spaghetti or pitta bread with salad and hoummus followed by fresh fruit = 300 cals

I drink loads of water with slices of lemon or lime in and black coffee and I can honestly say I don’t feel I’m missing out because – there’s always tomorrow which is not a fast day!

And you ate chocolates today….just draw a line, declare today a normal day and fast tomorrow. that’s the beauty of 5:2.

Keep on keeping on…you’ll get there.

Great Francis that you stuck it out! It does get easier over time.

There are quite a few different ways to approach the fast days. Personally I do not eat anything the whole day and have 500 or less cal in the evening. If I eat anything during the day it seems like my tummy is waking up and wants more, so it is better for me to eat nothing.

@terri: you might want to consider the 4:3 for a week to get things moving again?

Stef.

What is TDEE? I see that a lot. Thanks

Etherial

There are two lots of initials you’ll see appearing on this forum

BMR and TDEE

Both of these are calculated using your age/height/current weight and lifestyle

BMR is Basal (or Basic) Metabolic Rate – that is the amount of calories your body needs just to exist – i.e. the amount you would use if you lay in bed all day and didn’t move

TDEE is Total Daily Energy Expenditure – this is calcuated using your BMR and level of activity. It is the amount you need to maintain your current weight.

Ideally, therefore, we should eat NO MORE than our TDEE on non fast days. I try to stay below mine for the following reason

The maths are very simple – we need to use more energy (calories) than we consume

So output higher than input …we lose weight
input higher than output….we gain weight

When output is higher than input the body starts to use stored fat for energy

In the right hand column of this page, and all the pages, on this site you will see a link called ‘helpful site links’. Click on that and it will take you to a calculator where you enter your info and your BMI (Body Mass Index); BMR and TDEE.

There are also explanatory notes on that page to help.

Hope this helps a bit

Nika, I agree with your take on exercise. I know better than to rely on that and totally concur that what you put in your mouth is key to weight loss. I even went out and purchased some Dexitrim Extreme for appetite control, but realize that my cravings are minimal, if any, and the product works a little. It has Keto 7, which is a good fatburner. I’ll continue using this bottle, but won’t buy another or anything else. I’ve only used it this month. I’ll stick to the program without any added chemicals. I think it may be bad for the body and I don’t want to depend on them, anyway.

I’ve lost 12.5 lbs. since March without working out, but will soon resume my workouts sometime soon. I always have to hype myself up when I stay away from my workouts too long. It’s been about 7 months without my regime and I’m feeling a little guilty, but your words encourage me to get back into it when I feel like it.

I’m going to do an experiment starting next week, where I’m only going to eat one meal in the afternoon for my fasting days. I’ve noticed that when we go out to eat in the afternoons on the weekends, we’re not hungry for the rest of the day, but force ourselves to eat dinner late at night. Makes no sense, but what did we know? I order a swiss cheese omelette with bacon and can only eat half because the protein fills me up. But for fast days, I’ll have fish and load it up with peppers, onions, and mushrooms, and steamed green beans on the side. Or I can do a swiss cheese omelette with a little cheese and chicken-apple sausage. No matter what, it will not go over 500 calories.

I will stay within my 500 calorie allotment and see if the scale starts moving again.

Thanks again.

Hi Francis,

I am glad you stuck with it! Good for you. At first I struggled with the fasting days. As you get through a few weeks, you actually start looking forward to fast days. I like to think of it as a cleansing day. I force myself to eat vegetables and protein and lots of water.

That said, I am back from vacation and 3 weeks of no fasting and had my first week of fasting. It was horrible. Reminded me of my first few days doing the 5:2 plan. I thought that maybe I would not come back after such a hard week, but I lost 2.4lbs. So I am sticking with it and hope you do too!

Good luck!!

@coates393 I don’t think 2 rich tea biscuits on one occasion are going to make much difference to your diet in the long run.

I can’t help with the sweet cravings….mine tend to head to the savoury side. I’ve found the only way to deal with them is to ignore them and go and do something else.

xx