Hi everyone,
Yesterday was a fast day for me and it was kind of tough. But I did it. And this group really helps me get through it. Also, just knowing that I can have whatever I want “tomorrow” helps a lot too. Next week’s fast days will be my challenge. Monday is Memorial Day, so I won’t have to work, and I will be with my sort of boyfriend all weekend and I haven’t told him about this. (He’ll just worry that I’m starving myself to death – as IF that were even possible!) – And then on Thursday the 28th, my niece is coming over from Ireland- so that will also be a challenge for me. It will be interesting to see how I handle it. I’m feeling pretty strong though. I will be sure to stay linked to you all for support!
Enjoy yourselves!
PeanutsFan XO

Hi there, I’ve just joined this site; I have done the 5:2 diet before for over a year, but because I am a (now recovered) compulsive eater it only helped for 6 months. I am back now because I have 18 months abstinence from my compulsive eating (I am a member of Overeaters Anonymous), and I hope that I can now manage better.

I see that many people are talking about bingeing; the problem as I see it is that a plan like this can (and did for me) obscure the problem under a veneer of doing well for 2 days a week.

There is a disclaimer too; it says you shouldn’t do this without medical help if you have an eating disorder.

If you are bingeing regularly, you almost certainly have a food disorder.

Sadly the medical community can be really slow to diagnose this, partly because we are so good at hiding it from everyone, even ourselves.

Please get eating disorder help from your GP or from Overeaters Anonymous (which is also also for bulimics and anorexics.) It is worth it, you are worth it, and it works.

My hope is that this plan will reinforce my abstinence and healthy eating, but it will never replace it.

Evening all, I’m coming to the end of another FD and doing okay, hungry but happy. Very pleased to hear of the plateau-busting loss sanguine!! Go you. Good to see you back peanuts and congrats on the FD success – the ‘I can eat that tomorrow’ trick has been so important for me too. fizzy – it seems the up and down can be part of the process sometimes so I propose a ban on beating yourself up and a fresh start tomorrow. I am convinced that the energy I wasted (and still waste at times) in feeling guilty and beating up on myself just make the whole thing worse. Wise words Bootsy and congratulations on your success too.
Welcome diana, it’s good to have your thoughts on balancing an eating disorder with the desire for a healthier body and mind and I certainly take on board that the 5:2 site has a disclaimer about eating disorders. Of course, as you say, most of these disorders are self-diagnosed or diagnosed with the help of Dr Google and/or support groups because unfortunately so many of us do not disclose the issues we find shameful to our doctors.
As someone with a binge-eating habit I have found both positives and negatives in doing 5:2 and on balance it has been very positive. I think part of the binge-eating mindset for me was a tendency to ‘all-or-nothing’ thinking and that then extended to 5:2. So, when I heard myself raving about how amazing the program was or despairing that ‘this will never work’ or ‘now I’ve blown it I’ll eat it all’ I recognised the same tendency. Then I could politely remind myself that there actually is a whole section on the dial that goes between 1 and 10 (that is, the 2-8 that I generally ignore!) and that I should not be looking for a miracle cure for anything that requires daily, dogged effort to work through. In other words 5:2 wasn’t going to be a solution but a tool.

For me 5:2 has (is) totally re-calibrating my attitude to food in ways that after 10 months of it I am only just beginning to appreciate and which I am hopeful do reflect some long-term neurological change and that’s very, very exciting. I’m also aware that like anyone with a particular ‘disposition’ I can respond to stress by reverting to type and then want to eat for Australia, although thankfully now I can usually pull myself out of that.

Even more important though is that I can now enjoy previously ‘forbidden’ or ‘trigger foods’ and actually just enjoy them for what they are: food stuff and not morally-laden time bombs about to go off in my hand (or mouth!) and tip me into a binge. It’s very liberating to not always worry that a taste will be the end of me (which of course became a self-fulfilling prophesy). Now I can say enough (okay 90% of the time 😉 ) and leave the rest for next time. That’s something I’ve gained from 5:2 with its focus on having to manage hunger and deprivation one day and not having to impose such deprivation the next day, unlike a conventional diet.

Anyway, enough raving on from me. I’m just very grateful that here is a community of people who come to share their very human experiences – sometimes this is to vent ‘post-binge’ or sometimes to look for strength and it’s all part of supporting one another. keep posting everyone 🙂

Good for you getting back on the wagon fizzy!! Yes, I have avoided mirrors and large shop windows for a long time, but funny thing recently was walking along past a large reflective shop window and seeing my reflection – I almost jumped when I realised and thought, is that ME??? It looked like a normal-sized person so I had to stop and check!!! Now I take a sneaky peek whenever I get the opportunity (but not too close as the wrinkles are still there!). The weird thing was I really didn’t think it was me. Good luck to those fasting tomorrow. I did great on Monday but then have been really hungry and eaten a lot the last 2 days, so tomorrow may be a little tough.

Hi Fizzy, well so far I’ve lost 24kg (about 52lbs) and I started 5:2 at the end of July last year, so slow and steady progress. I travel a fair bit for work (and recreation 🙂 ) and I haven’t fasted on those weeks so that accounts for about 10-12 weeks of no fasting in that time. Mostly I do good on a Monday and not so good on a Thursday but it still seems enough so I lose somewhere between 200gm and 500gm a week (1/2lb to 1lb per week). I still have a lot of weight to lose unfortunately, so it will probably be another 10 months to a year before I reach my goal. I am going away again shortly for about 4 weeks so I won’t fast when I’m traveling however I do find that traveling is a time when I tend to eat less for some reason. Are you fasting today??

Good evening everyone! I hope you’re all well and being kind to yourselves. I haven’t been around for a bit and feel I’ve missed loads!

Fizzy & Spring, well done on your weight losses! I avoid windows too, and don’t get me started on changing room mirrors, these are enough to send me to the cupboards as soon as I get home from a shopping trip! Spring, you’re right to be pleased with slow and steady progress, it is better in the long term and for changing thought processes.

Penguin, I hope you feel you’re on top of your work, keep going as you’re doing great, and I think you inspire all of us here. (There’s some extra pressure for you!)

Queen, what happened with having only one meal on a non fast day? Did you try it? I think a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. Isn’t it just the energy produced when you burn a crisp or a bit of potato with a Bunsen Burner???

Jade…….A WEDGE OF LETTUCE????? ARE YOU MAD, WOMAN?????????????? I do like the sound of Chrissie’s kidney bean and tofu salad, it doesn’t sound like salad because it doesn’t have leaves in it.

Well, I’ve had a mixed couple of weeks. I only managed one diet day last week. I did Thursday ok, but woke up on Sunday and I didn’t want to do it. I just wanted a normal Sunday. So I didn’t.
I managed one yesterday, and I have to admit that I’m finally finding the fast days easier in terms of craving food constantly. I can’t explain why, but at least the day is easier.

Today I tried on some tops I haven’t worn in ages, and they fit! I think it was mainly round my back and shoulders that I could see a difference. I need to get some new (ahem) underwear, which I always find really stressy, but maybe I can put up with trying on stuff now I know I have a choice of things to wear. I also managed to put on my newly washed jeans, whereas I usually have to squeeze in and wear them a couple of times for the fabric to soften. I’ve not lost any weight, though. I’m hovering between 12st 1 and 12st 2, and I need to push to get under 12 in the next couple of weeks.

Getting into clothes is usually the point in a diet where I would stop, and eventually (pfft! I mean immediately) fall back into old habits, as I suppose I would see this as an end point, so I need to power through and not get to excited as I’m still far away from my goal weight.

Keep going all!
xxx

Hi Helen.
What a lovely feeling when your clothes fit again! I’ve got so many lovely clothes waiting for me when I get a little bit lower in weight.

Stress makes me eat so I’m going to have to be very careful as I’m playing at a concert tonight! I’ll be fine beforehand but when I get home I’ll have to go straight to bed or I’ll raid the fridge!
I got my leccy bill yesterday and had eaten a unplanned bowl of my son’s high cal meusli before I realised it! It’s like something takes over (Mr Hyde strikes again!).
Have a great day everyone!

Hi Helen! The concert went well thanks inspite of terrible nerves and freezing fingers! My other half is a guitarist and he was also having problems! He had a drip hanging off the end of his nose which threatened to land on the guitare at any second !! It’s not easy to harp with cold stiff fingers and whoever organised the event in the ‘Halles de Gouarec’ which is a beautiful old building consisting of a roof and lots of big, open arches was obviously hoping for warmer weather!
I will read your link tonight.
Have a lovely day!
Chrissie.

It’s so lovely to see you all on-line again Helen, Chrissy, fitnfast, fizzy and mcca – welcome back!. I enjoyed reading the link Helen and could certainly identify with the ideas there although the brain plasticity theory also has a few things to say about why we crave and the pathways that are ‘crossed’ in early experiences that link food and pleasure with ways of managing anxiety/bad feelings. A multifaceted approach is needed to battle this one, that’s for sure.

mcca – you are so right about the slow trip down denial (not just a river in Egypt 😉 ) and that self-talk is so easy for me to hook into – I have had exactly the same experience recently. I am officially back on the wagon after 4 days of assessing students during which the staff tea room was filled with food both healthy and treats alike… so much so that Monday’s fast was something of a relief!

Take care all and keep up the good fight x

LOL!! 🙂 I had to laugh at the “I want to slap my own face everytime I think of food!!!” Chrissy. So know the feeling although I sometimes think ‘Am I sabotaging my efforts just so I CAN punish myself??” Weirdly wired, that’s me.

I’m heading away for work (and holiday) shortly and so will be reliant on intermittent/possibly dodgy Wi-Fi and may not be checking in quite as often over the next 4-5 weeks. Traveling is always easier for me food-wise so I don’t anticipate any problems and won’t have the cash to binge while I’m on my traveling budget (once the work expense account is no longer available 😉 ). I’m heading up to the Northern hemisphere so the rain better ease off and the sunshine start 🙂

Good luck to all fasters out there.

MichelIMB welcome!

Wonderful day yesterday. In control and not hungry.A great feeling.

Have a great day everyone.

Thanks comespring, I can’t tell you how much comfort your post has given me. I’m sitting after yet another binge feeling awful (physically and mentally). But something inside tells me That this 5:2 is the right thing for me and the more posts I read like yours the more I’m sure. I think I’m going to give it a go and do my first fast day tomorrow. Not eating feels like it’ll be easier than trying to eat ‘sensibly’ lol.

Hi between my bad typing and this kindle I make errors – it should have said Wendy Bird! Rethink should be I think!! Phew…..typos

Good morning all, so my first fast day, feeling a bit nervous but positive. Thanks for your post Fizzy, it’s nice to read that you’ve had the odd binge but still kept going. As Spring said I indulge in ‘all or nothing’ thinking and in the past have thought a plan is no good for me if I binge rather than just persevering.
I love reading all your posts as I don’t really have anyone to talk to about all this xx

Hi All!
Wendy: I’ve been sending you positive FD vibes. Hope it is going well. Keep drinking 0 cal beverages to help fill you up. I love water with fresh slices of orange & lemon.
Stay strong & in control

HI all!

I hope you’re all well.

Penguin, it’s great to be out of school, yay summer! Can you set a routine for your fast days like a timetable, and make plans to be busy for them so your mind is occupied?

I’ve definitely plateaued. I haven’t weighed myself for a couple of weeks as my last fast day was May 27th. This is for a couple of reasons. It was just my birthday, so poop to dieting! Also I felt drawing a line under it at the end of May was best as I’m off to summer camp until September, and I feel I simply won’t be able to fast at all.
I will be ludicrously busy though, and every summer I work there I lose a bit of weight because of this.

I hope to apply some of the lessons I’ve learnt here by having a couple of days a week of ‘semi-fasting’, where perhaps I eat really small meals, and just drink water. Or I might be able to have a weekend where I only eat dinner. We’ll see. I’ll still check in here though for inspiration, if that’s ok?

I was trying on some trousers in Dorothy Perkins today, and while they looked terrible for my shape (I still have really heavy legs) they were a size 14! I haven’t been able to get their 14s up past my knees for years!!! Yippee!

I just read an interesting fact from Gary Taubes: when you don’t eat enough protein or fat, you very soon after eating carbs, even good carbs, you are thinking about and craving food.

Try eating a steak or some meat. See if you have cravings afte that.

That is why you have cravings after eating sweets or carbs, and can overeat those, but you rarely if ever overeat pork chops or meat.

Kitty: Thanks for sharing your stories. I have yet to be caught in a binge and have no idea how I would explain the empty pizza box or ice cream tub. Your 11lb lose is an inspiration. Good luck on 5:2

I have posted on other areas of this site and then happened upon this link. Where have you been all my life? LOL. I am soooooo tired of feeling like some sort of freak by people saying EXACTLY what Kitty mentioned, ‘eat when your hungry…..stop whr
En you are full.’ I have been Low Carb/ High Fat for 6 months and if one more person tells me that they can’t believe anyone can have an appetite while in ketosis. I maintained ketosis for over 2 months (eating less than 20 grams of carbs daily) and yes I ate the heck out of cheese and meats. My binging can be almost anything.

At any rate, I found some people that can relate and who won’t scold and correct me. I am afraid to eat wheat or grain products and decided since I am used to being without them, and I could eat truck loads, I’m not going to add them to my diet. I have been eating fruit and a lot more veggies. I love them and have really missed them.

I had a successful fast day last week but have not this week. I attempted Tuesday and yesterday but ended up eating over 500. Not a lot over, but over. I fast for, usually, 18 hours daily. I’d rather have a ‘binge’ then try to spread my calories through the day.

My boy friend and I bought a house, we settle on Monday and move on Tuesday. I’m super stressed with packing, wrapping my work responsibilities up to take a week off and, did I say packing?? Lol
I live in the states, east coast. Fitnfast? We go way back!!! Lol.
Thanks for listening, er, reading my vent.

I simply adore all of you here.

Mcca—eating sugar icing figures… I laughed out loud because I have SO been there. My latest has been eating chocolate baking chips out of the bag by the handful. Frozen. I wish I could understand it. Several days ago I polished off a wheel of brie in two days, along with two sleeves of saltines. Again, I wish I could understand it.

I had a pretty good fast day on Tuesday. It was spotty because I made cookies early in the day while telling myself that I wouldn’t eat the cookie dough because it was a fast day. Turns out I’m an exceptional liar, but only to myself. That said, I used some restraint and finished the day with a green salad. I would say I was closer to 600 cals but not much beyond that. I’m not sure if today is a fast day or not, but I haven’t eaten anything yet just in case. It’ll depend on what the hubs wants to do today when he gets home from a meeting. So it’ll be either today or tomorrow. Or Saturday. Whatever.

I’m so completely undone by having seen a very low weight and now being back to where I’ve been for weeks. I want so desperately to get out of this slump but it seems the harder I try the harder I fail. I’ve begun exercising again because I don’t want to be out of shape for a 5K I’m doing in August, but also because I feel as though I need the boost of calorie burning and sense of accomplishment that I’m not otherwise getting. And all of this after saying I wouldn’t use exercise to lose weight—that it HAD to be about the food.

Hi all you lovely people – have had a run of absolutely crumby days at work involving all sorts of stress and hassle and that’s before coming home to looking after my boys! All fasting seems to have fallen by the wayside (again) Tried to fast today got to about 4.30 after consuming approx. 250 calories and it all proceeded to go down hill from there – found myself stuffing in all sorts of things such as crackers with lashings of butter on, chunks of cheese, bread, etc felt really uncomfortable and disappointed with myself – am trying to keep in mind that after years of dieting and bingeing it will take more that 7 weeks to sort my bad habits emotionally and physically! Will try for another fast day next week,, maybe Monday. I am thinking I need to be kind to myself over the weekend so will not go mad stuffing my face but will not restrict myself to the 500 calories. Will see what next week brings….. a

Hello to everyone, hope you are all well today.
It’s been a bit of a sobering day for me so far. I have just been diagnosed with stage 2 non alcoholic liver disease, most likely caused by years of yoyo dieting and bingeing. To say I’m in shock is an understatement…. Now I HAVE to cut out fat and eat healthily, as my Dr said to carry on the way I’ve been will cause further scarring to the liver, cirrhosis and ultimately death. I am only 37.

So I guess I have new motivation to stop bingeing, esp. fatty foods.
You know, all these years I have abused my body by stuffing it with everything I’ve wanted and never really thought about what it’s done to me apart from the visual rolls of fat. It never crossed my mind that my poor organs are drowning in a sea of fat and may stop functioning properly.
Of course, all I can think about now is cake and ice cream. Red velvet cake and vanilla ice cream….jeez wtf is wrong with my brain! Food is killing me, yet I’m somehow hardwired to abandon all sense and pig out.

I know I’m a newbie here, but I feel like I’ve joined a little gang that actually cares about each other and I’m sure that having that support will help me through this.
Right, enough whining and moaning, la le la think happy thoughts!

Big hugs to you all, lovely strangers!

Morning fasters!
Let me just say how much strength I find while reading your posts. It helps to know I’m not alone in my struggle.

Penguin: I wish I could bake & still come in @ 600 cal. I would have made a secret batch for just me. I can be so greedy with sweets. I agree: it is about the food, but exercising is always a good idea. Keep fasting & the weight will come off.

Kitty: I have eaten a few jars of carmel sauce myself. It is no longer allowed in my house either.
My heart goes out to you in this difficult time. I don’t have the words to express all the things I want to say, but know that you are in my thoughts & prayers.

Jade: I would not say my overeating is a secret. I freely admit to co-workers & friends that I have food issues. My binging, on the other hand, is a secret. No one has a clue just how much I can eat. I have always managed to keep my weight in a “normal” range, so most people just laugh & say “sure- you have a problem with overeating.” They have no idea that I ate a dozen donuts on the way to work.

Question for the long time fasters out there:
Have you ever gotten to a point where the cravings went away. I hear people say, “it just doesn’t taste good to me anymore.” I successfully did 5:2 for 3 months last year. I lost weight, felt good and still craved/dreamed of sweets. Do you think it is possible for people like us to ever “be free”? Or are we like alcoholics and every day will be a struggle?

Hi, hope everyone is enjoying the weekend so far…..
I had a successful FD yesterday and have made a giant pot of mental (lentil!) soup for next week to save me cooking.
What do you guys tend to eat on your FD? I’m a fan of weetabix and almond milk.

I’ve been through the posts from the start, following everyone’s journey. Im inspired by you all…the strength and determination you’ve all shown while doing 5:2 is truly awesome. Being able to discipline yourself to start again after having a break is always where I’ve fallen down in the past, I just think Oh what’s the point… But seeing how well you’ve all done is giving me hope that I will be able to do the same if I slip.

Thanks guys, wishing you all a damn fine and healthy weekend xx

I really enjoy all the posts here. I have contimplated over eaters anonymous in the past. I have issues with social anxiety and know I’d never be able to walk into a meeting. I think that part of my personality is so ridiculous. Just walk into a place for heaven sake. So ridiculous. But I know me. Is there such a thing as online??? Lol

I have had a headache for 4 days now. I don’t know if it’s food related or stress. I’m moving Tuesday-stress. I gave up artificial sweeteners and drank a glass of diet iced tea with Splenda- food related???? I have no idea. Just tired of nausea and head pounding.

Happy Sunday everyone and again, thank you for your personal stories that help others more than you know.