Hello everyone,

It all started when I witnessed the shocking transformation of a co-worker that I had not seen in about 6 months. She looked amazing and had obviously lost a lot of weight. When I asked her how she had done it her answer was the 5:2 diet. I had never been a dieter in the past and had never heard of the 5:2 diet. After she filled me in on the basics I decided to give it a shot since I needed to lose about 30 lbs, my blood work revealed that my cholesterol had gone up and my liver function did not look good. Fast forward 1.5 months and I lost 7 pounds (about 3 kgs)and actually now look forward to my fasting days. I look at it as giving my body a break from food. I not only sleep better on the days I fast, I also have a lot more energy and still find a way to go to the gym.
One thing I’ve noticed is that eating most of my 500 calories towards the end of the day works better for me as I usually get hungrier around 5-6 PM.
Eating a few raw almonds is a great way to stave off my hunger throughout the day and has lasting effects.
I have also noticed that I don’t eat more on my non fasting days. In fact I don’t even wake up hungry. I’m also a lot more aware about the type of calories I am consuming.
I recently added an extra fasting day (4:3) and find that it works even better for me. So now I fast on Mon-Wed-Fri or Tu-Thu-Sun.

The beauty of this diet is that there is very little thinking involved in it. No daily calorie counting..what a drag… I can go out and enjoy my food on weekends.

Happy dieting to you all!

Thank you Cinque..If you’ve been hanging in there for 3 months it only gives me a greater incentive to keep going. My co-worker lost 36 pounds in a little less than a year and told me that she didn’t look at it as being on a diet. It became a lifestyle.
As for alternating between 5:2 and 4:3 I think it’s an excellent idea. I know that if I “splurge” a little on Friday and Saturday I am more than ready to give my body a break from food come Sunday.
Good luck to you and keep going!

Meshel,

I agree with you..Diets that promise rapid weight loss and are restrictive don’t work. I can’t possibly imagine cutting out carbs entirely as I love a good pasta dish. The problem with these diets is that the minute you go back to your old habits you not only put the weight back on, you sometimes gain even more partly because you’re so frustrated that you entirely give up and go on an eating rampage.

From my own experience as a newbie..1 month later and 9 pounds down here’s what I can share with you:

Fasting days can be tough at first, 500 calories is a joke but it is worth hanging in there because it does get easier after 2 weeks and you even start looking forward to your fasting day.

If you’re someone who is ok skipping breakfast, do so and allocate most of your calories intake towards the second half of the day or just have lunch and dinner. I have found that I get hungrier towards the end of the day and I’d rather not go to bed feeling hungry.

On your fasting day eat a lot of fiber rich vegetables. They’re healthy, filling and low in calories. Here are some ideas that work for me:

If I have to have breakfast, a 1/4 cup of oatmeal cooked in water to which you add a little non fat/low fat milk with fresh berries.
Lunch consists of a salad with lettuce, a little albacore tuna (white tuna), carrots, tomatoes and any other vegetable. The dressing has very little oil 1/2 tbsp and mostly balsamic vinegar which is a sweeter type of vinegar.
For dinner, a tomato based vegetable soup with some white beans, kale … and lots of spices. I have found that soups are very satisfying and spicing them somehow makes them even more so.
For snacks, almonds and carrots are great.

I also find that exercising does not make me hungrier on these days. In fact, it gives me an added incentive. I also try to keep as busy as possible so that I don’t have to think about food.

Knowing that you can eat normally the following day gives you a great incentive to go through your fasting day and this to me is the most attractive feature of this diet. Also, I love how flexible it is as it allows me to pick which days I decide to fast.

Most importantly, slow weight loss gives much better long term results because while you’re fasting you’re also learning how to eat and how to take care of your body. I now think twice about what I’m ingesting on my non fasting days.

Hope you see great results!