Hi Suzie118! I’ve been on the 5:2 routine since mid-2018. I found that occasionally I would reach a plateau, or in some cases just got out of sync and off the routine entirely (C-19 certainly didn’t help). I have found that the best way to move forward when this occurs for me is to follow a different routine — example, this time around I made good progress for about 3 weeks then I just couldn’t handle the hunger (suspect it was just too much stress in addition to everything else going on with C-19). So, I switched to the 16:8 routine. I am back on track for weight loss, and don’t have the serious hunger effects that I have been experiencing on the 5:2 recently. So, I’ve learned that I simply need to alter the routine I follow once in awhile to give myself a break and to keep moving forward. The main thing I keep in mind on the 16:8 routine is to not stress-eat / overeat during the 8 hours, so at present I plan for meals for the day and then make a point of eating only those things I have planned. The other thing I am doing is not drinking any soda of any kind (including diet soda) — I mainly drink tea, water or coffee. For some reason, soda tends to cause a fluid retention situation more than any other food for me (I can literally gain 3-4 pounds over just 1-2 days if I drink soda). So far, it’s working for me…. Best wishes, and stay well!