This topic contains 16 replies, has 11 voices, and was last updated by Carla 10 years, 1 month ago.
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Hi gussiegoose, honestly I think you’d be totally daft to stop now. Why? You’ve said you find it easy to follow (maybe too easy – as Angie says, if you haven’t already checked your TDEE & been trying to stick roughly between BMR & TDEE numbers on non-fastdays then do that). AND you’ve lost 4lb!!! When was the last time you lost 4lb in 6 weeks, or so, without feeling deprived?
This is NOT a bikini diet, you don’t do it for a couple of months, you do it in one form or another for the rest of your life. It HAS TO BE comfortable and part of your new normal healthy lifestyle. You DO lose weight on it (if you were overweight to start with) but it is gradual for most people.
I’ve lost 3.5 stone so far but I’ve been doing it for 18 months. If you’re not willing to wait 18 months for healthy, sustainable, easy weight loss that will last then perhaps this is not the lifestyle for you.
I don’t want to come across as harsh but honestly you should be glad you’ve lost 4lb. Many people starting out on 5:2 don’t lose weight at all for weeks & months. They might notice their measurements changing but the human body is a mysterious beast and it can take months for actual weight loss to occur. Be glad you are not one of them and you have at least had some evidence, via the scales, that this is working for you.
Hi Gussiegoose! I know how it feels 🙂
maybe if you find it easy to stick to it, and want faster progress try throwing extra fast day? I know i can easily overeat my TDEE I’m 5’2 and my numbers are very low, and i didn’t see much of difference doing 5:2 (but i see you are doing well! even if it doesn’t seem to- think how many years it took you to put that weight on) I’m doing ADF now, and even tho is hard sometimes, i least i don’t have to worry much what i eat on my non fast days 🙂
good luck!
Hi @gussiegoose Just to add – it’s definitely worth sticking with it!
Weight loss is not an exact science – for example my overall weight loss since the beginning of February 2013 (nearly 13 months) is 50 lbs which is less than 1 lb per week. Some weeks I lose nothing, some weeks I gain, some weeks I lose a couple of pounds. It’s unpredictable but in the long run I am carrying around so much less excess fat.
You’ve been doing this for six weeks and have lost 4 lbs. There are people on these forums who would kill to lose 4 lbs in six weeks!!!
I tend to agree with you regarding ‘eat normally’. ‘Normally’ means different things to different people. If someone’s ‘normal’ calorie intake before starting 5:2 is around 2500/3000 calories per day (which is what I found mine was over a year ago – no wonder I was fat) but their actual Total Daily Energy Requirement (TDEE) is actually much less, say 1700, then eating their ‘normal’ daily intake means they will still not lose weight.
This is why, as Angie and Tracy have said, it is important to know your own TDEE and eat NO MORE than that on non fast days. Non fast days are about eating WHAT you like but NOT HOW MUCH you like.
Please keep going – the benefits are worth it in the end.
xx
I totally agree with @sylvestra many of us go much over THEE ‘eating normally’ knowing your numbers and sticking to them is a key! keep checking them time to time too, as they going down with your weight. So what was your THEE 3 month ago may well not be now! 🙂
keep us posted ! 🙂 xx
Hi Gussiegoose,
Yesterday I felt like tossing it all away after doing this since last November, and I’ve been getting results. Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged but then you need to stop and remember that it is worthwhile. I’m back to positive today and shaking my head at myself for even thinking about ditching the program.
I highly recommend that you do add some exercise into the program. Just getting out and going for a walk will make a difference. This I think is the first time that I have ever managed to combine dieting and exercise – and the combination of the two is magic.
If I average my weight loss out it is only around half a kilo a week – but boy do those half kilos add up over time. With eating to your TDEE on your non fast days I think that you will be pleasantly surprised over the next 6 weeks.
Looking forward to hearing your updates.
Hey, it’s way too early to give up! It really takes a good 6-8 weeks to settle into the diet.
It’s always going to be difficult at first: getting used to the hunger pangs, calculating the calories, working out a strategy for fast days (when to eat, how often and how much). These can all take their toll and make you think whether it is all worth the hassle, especially if you don’t lose much weight initially. But believe me, it is, you will soon get into a routine that suits you and will even be able to dish out a meal without having to look up the calorie content!
PS as TracyJ says, it’s not a diet, it’s for life – it really ought to be called the “5:2 Lifestyle”
Hi, I had a plateau for a few weeks despite doing the 2 days fasting a week and exercise on top of that. It is incredibly disheartening I know but I think you’ve just got to keep at it. Think of all the other benefits it will have for you.
In any case, since that plateau I’ve been regularly losing one or two pounds a week. I’m sure this will happen for you too. I think possibly the exercise is a good idea as well, I’m trying the high intensity interval training 3 times a week and seems to be working for me.
Good luck and let us know how it goes!
While watching the Eat,Fast,Live Longer video one tip that always stuck with me was high energy days and low energy days. I basically apply that as vegetable days on fasting days and fruits on feed days.
I can honestly say that eating more vegetables was a key for me. Switching from the starch carbs like breads to getting my carb from vegetables with their low calorie low energy fitting into my meals. When eating out I skip the comfort foods I mean the sides dishes as vegtables. I still like to go to a buffet on Sunday’s I started eating a salad first, then a plate of vegetables, getting some watermelon and pineapple strawberries. Mondays I go on fast day and I’m not craving anything I think because I had such good filling of vitamins and minerals on Sunday. Tuesday I go for spaghetti dinner.
Wednesday I go for a fast day. If I can’t do it on Wednesday, I try thursday and again Friday till I got 5:2
Later I tried to simplify meal menus by choosing fish for fasting days. I try for 4:3 if I get a fast day on mon and Wednesday. I go for it on Friday too. I have my favorite cereal ready to eat Saturday morning.
So this is how my week looks for dinners
Sunday buffet of salad, vegtables , and fruits a small steak and lobster.
Monday steamed Salmon fast portion
Tuesday. Spaghetti
Wednesday grilled catfish fast portion
Thursday roast
Friday steamed Salmon fast portion
Saturday. Cereal and soup then I go out with friends dinner.
I believe it could be easy to swap fish to non fasting week days. On Tuesday and Thursday.
For me the key is not being tempted by not having a meal plan for the week.
Thing is I rarely ate fish before 5:2 now I love it and try to Oder it when out to dinner just to sample how restaurants serve theirs and try it at home.
A little known fact about catfish and kidney beans are they help us recognize the ‘full’ feeling sooner and longer. So I also drink a lot with my meals .
Good luck hope you are well and wishing you and yours the best!
Don’t give up! The 5:2 isn’t a “crash diet”. You an expect to lose around a pound a week. Maybe 2 if you are doing an ADF (alternating day fast) and even with the ADF at one point of another you will plateau for a while. Even on the weeks the scales don’t move you will see adipose tissue shifting…clothes starting to fit better and such. Stick with it and I guarantee at the end of this year you will be glad you did.
The Fast Diet brought me down 3 sizes in 6 months.
http://mymorningcup-chc.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-cup-of-success-52-diet.html
and I am maintaining it through 6:1
This is the very last diet you’ll ever need!
And prior to last year I had tried them all.
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27 Feb 14