Day 6 Wales UK – NFD
I’m a bit late to the party.

I was taking part in the June challenge but after gaining 3 pounds I became very disheartened & dropped out.

I couldn’t see where I was going wrong, I was fasting twice a week 500 calories & sticking to 1800 calories on the other days. I used the online calculator to work out my BMR & TDEE

Did a bit of investigating, had my BMR worked out at the gym & it turns out it’s actually 1388 not over 1500 as I thought . So even with all my hard work I was still consuming too many calories each week.

I have found out that the medication (paroxetine) I take has affected my BMR & also the distribution of fat in my body.

I need to take a few days to consider changing my medication.

Feeling low & a bit hopeless 🙁

Welcome back @m33 Please don’t feel 😟 . Weight loss is not the only benefit of fasting. So please don’t feel your hard work was wasted. if you average your calorie intake over 7 days during June, you weren’t eating too much over your lower TDEE so I would think your medication was the culprit rather than calorie intake. I do hope you find an answer.

There is a huge variation worldwide using on line calculators. If I use this site my TDEE is 1243 calories, the Mayo clinic allows 1700 calories and an Australian site 1800! Since I want this to be a sustainable WOL and I hate counting calories I’ve shifted my focus to eating as healthily as possible. Lots of fresh veg, a small amount of protein and healthy fats. I’m careful with carbs and regularly do a check to see if my portion sizes are getting out of hand. I eat and drink whatever I fancy but the foods I choose are never refined or processed. This together with the occassional week of calorie counting for a reality check has kept me under goal since April 2015.

I lost weight eating 500 calories on fast days and eating around 1700 on non fast days. I’m only 5’2″. I think what I ate contributed to the loss.

Day 7 Australia NFD

2d post St. Louis USA

@metatauta. And anyone else interested in checking out the Trim Healthy Mama Not Naughty Noodles you might want to get on their mailing list so they let you know when they have sales and maybe free shipping. $12 is pretty pricey for shipping. I don’t think I paid that much. I think they may also have a Not Naughty Rice.

Hi @keetseel, sorry to hear about your dog. Pets are family. You must miss him sorely xx

Day 7 – Tokyo, Japan – FD … 84.4kg

Spike up in weight but I was already down to 83.3kg after drinking 3 glasses of water, workout and unexpected bowel movement. My wife made pasta last night so I was likely very carb loaded. When you check your weight as often as I do it is pretty common to see spikes and dips that don’t last.

Next month I start off with two weeks of traveling and one will be in China which I’m not really that thrilled about. I think I will push fasting a little harder this month as sometimes it just isn’t practical when traveling. I’m sure there will be a lot of special meals in China. We are actually going there to hire a new team for my company. When it is all said and done I’m going to be fasting about 100 days this year so I don’t think missing a few is a big deal.

Starting a pocket group for day 7 – please edit as needed.

@bigviking
@dykask
@xrox
@debster251
@chitown gal
@califdreamer

Day 6 NFD North Wales.

@strawberriesandcream. Thank you for you advise about repeating the mantra no thank you. Had a very successful FD yesterday which gave me a high.

Had very little sleep last night as my granddaughter was not well. Hoping that doesn’t make me overeat today. Granddaughter seems much better this morning thank goodness.

Day 7 UK FD

171 lbs. inevitable bounce up, given my rather large portions of dhal with guacamole yesterday. Maybe I can turn it around again today. I was so enjoying the fast journey down…but I enjoyed the dhal too… made with gooseberries and red currants, spinach, sweet potato, ginger, turmeric, garlic, red pepper, chilis, spring onions, mint, oregano, broad beans, runner beans, yellow split peas and puy lentils. Summer in a pot 🙂 The guacamole was perfect on top to cool it down and add an extra tang.

Day 7 UK NFD 🌈 (was meant to be FD as part of my 2 weeks AFD but drinks tonight so swap for tomorrow).

What is it with shopping when it arrives have to have a little nibble and dip into everything. NFD yesterday, within my daily calorie allowance but lots of unnecessary picking of food.

Drinking water 💦🐉💦🐉💦🐉throughout the day today, evening drinks 🍹 out. Have a good day all. Keep on keeping on 👊🏻

Day 7 – UK – CD

Yesterday was a wonderful CD, already noticeable how much less food I need to feel full which is a nice little added bonus.

After 4 consecutive days working out I gave my body a rest and just had an hours walk. It was quite humid in Nottingham so I think that was a good call.

Aim for today is keep under that TDEE; I am easily managing to keep well under my 1900 allowance since feeling satiated so quickly.

I’m also swapping the processed foods I sometimes have for more healthier, self-prepared foods… Aiming for feeling fabulous when I hit 40 on the 30th!

Keep up the good work everyone and stay strong

Day 7 – UK – NFD

Day 7, London U.K., NFD

Second fast day yesterday and managed quite well, surprised myself! Had a small breakfast, nibbles for lunch and a heathy dinner, 600 cals in all and felt really good. 4.5lb down today since Monday but I know most of that will be water, especially since I did a huge walk yesterday and sweated half my body weight. Jeez it’s hot in London this week!!

Day 7, UK, FD

I need some new scales 😡

Day 7, London, UK, NFD,

Well, there seems to be some whooshing going on, or dribbling (@laurealice, 1.5kg in 2 weeks including a huge whoosh……….. Fantastic!!!)

@liathanail, 3.7KG!!!! so rewarding, I still find it funny that WATER is the best and worst kept secret in weight loss!!! We KNOW we should be guzzling lots of water, but we don’t, we can survive 3 weeks without food but only 3 days without water, yet we’ve been conditioned to continuously graze and stuff our faces!!! Tell someone you haven’t eaten for 24hrs (liquid fast) and see their reaction, tell them you haven’t had water for 24hrs, they’d probably say….. ‘Yeah, so what?’ When I first started 5:2 I had to set my phone alarm for every hour, now it’s become habit………….. as long as I don’t forget my water bottle talisman!!!!

Looking forward to a CD as I’ve had to make tomorrow a NFD too, This holiday is proving expensive ‘cause of all the new clothes I’ve had to buy!!!! I’ve gone down the cheap road as I’m not at target weight (yet) and this years summer clothes will be too big next year, what a fantastic thought!! I bought a pair of shorts yesterday which I couldn’t try on, but holding them up, I thought, ‘Hmm, they look about right’ ………….. Well, I reckon I could get 2 of me in them now, yet they still ‘look’ right. I’ve gone from a size 18UK to a size 12-14, but my brain hasn’t caught up so the shorts I bought…………….. size 18!!!! Doh!!!!

Ramble done!!!!!

Good luck everyone, if you’re melting in London………………. Go drown a dragon or two!!!!!!

Day 7 Essex, UK NFD

Hey everyone feeling good again today. Was so amazed yesterday that I didn’t feel at all hungry so was able to control my calorie intake. After my FD Wednesday I was expecting to be Ravenous yesterday!! It’s nice to feel in control.

@keetseel Very sorry to hear the sad news about your doggie. Its hard when you lose family canine or otherwise. Be kind to yourself x

Thank you everyone for your posts it’s really helping reading them being a newbie and all 😁

Have a fab day!!!!

Day 7 Belfast FD
After all the posts about noodles yesterday, I went and bought some konjac noodles, so that is my lunch today. Looking forward to it. Didn’t manage to get Trim healthy mama ones, which don’t seem to be so readily available in the U.K. but have an alternative.
@okeydokey poor you. Your burns sound so painful. Take good care of yourself.
@keetseel so sorry to hear about your furry friend.
@hannahwatto family times like those bring both sadness and an opportunity for quality family time. Hope all goes well.
@m33 this is a way of life. Take time to assess then start afresh with renewed vigour. Apart from the health benefits, even maintaining is a positive. There’s always light at the end of the tunnel.
Thank you @dykask for pre-empting my post and putting me on the list. 👍
@fatrabbit I’m salivating at the thought of your Dahl! Mmmmm!
@flourbaby sometimes it’s hard to get rid of our ‘fat’ mentality! What a successful journey you’ve had.

Am pleased with myself for my water intake this week, and am starting to harvest my veggies – peas, lettuce and spinach. I didn’t get my seedlings in early enough, so the harvest is a bit behind! Nothing like home grown!
Have a great day everyone.

Day 7, Belfast, NFD

Yesterday’s FD went ok. Keeping on the water and checking in to this forum helped me keep my focus.

@keetseel so sorry to hear about your dog. We’ve got a springer and looking after another springer while a friend is working abroad. They are such characters and you do get so attached. Sending hugs.

@jarbia – we laugh that when the temperature here hits 16, we’re all “Summer’s here!! Scorchio!!”

@fatrabbit – that dhal sounds epic! Love the sound of that.

Good luck everyone today. Have a good one.

Day 7 UK NFD will aim to catch up with posts over the weekend x

Day 7, Gozo, Malta, nfd

I weighted this morning and I’m half a kilo less then yesterday although yesterday s fast day was at around 900 calories.

Today I’m being very mindful to have a controlled day and eat below my tdee.

There is going to be another heat wave here and though it’s hot I feel so much better than last year carrying all that weight.

Hannawatto I hope you’ll be ok sorting out things of your brother.

Onwards and downwards, have a great day everyone.

Day 7 – USA – FD

Day 7 USA FD
As someone else mentioned, my body also seems to like the plan of lose some weight then plateau for a bit. I’m getting used to it and, as I get close to my goal weight, it seems healthy, but I miss the days of being able to have a pretty solid week of this WOL and seeing the result when I step on the scale at the end of the week. Having said that, I keep reminding myself that I truly want these pounds and inches to be gone for good, and I suspect that slow and generally steady is going to be better in the long run. Patience rather than frustration is my goal right now.

@m33 I hear your frustration related to mess and weight. I went through a time last Fall when my docs were shifting my epilepsy mess. First, I lost a bunch of weight- my metabolism sped up and it was like reverse menopause! Then, they shifted my mess again, and I gained weight, no matter what I did … I have now stabilized as my meds have stabilized, but it was such a frustrating time! So hang in there and, perhaps, the benefits of 5:2 can be the positive, stabilizing factor as the docs figure out the meds. But venting here seems like the right thing to do, because it’s a tough thing to go through. And hang in there!

Day 7, South Wales, NFD
Still waiting for the whoosh….after 3 weeks of plateau….but I do feel better and it was great to be able to get into a summer skirt that’s been out of bounds for a LONG time recently. It’s good to hear that others experience the plateau, but hoping all those on it now see some positive news on the scales too!
Good luck for the weekend folks, whether fasting or not

Day 7: Gloucestershire, UK: NFD
Sorry, @coda, I completely forgot to log in yesterday. We had to go to Reading University for our daughters graduation. Had a lovely day, VERY hot. Proud parents of PhD daughter! Dairy researcher.
Had an evening meal out as a celebration….just our dog, left at home but with access to the garden, fasted most of the day!
Me? Well I’m still working on it.

Day 7 California USA NFD

Well yesterday’s weight of 145.8 or 66.1 kg after 144.4 the previous day was definitely a bounce because this morning I was 143 or 64.9, my lowest since starting 5:2 and 12.8 pounds since May 10. Yesterday was a FD, but still… I think it was all the salt in the miso soup I had a couple days ago. I added too much to my cup of hot water and had to keep adding water as I drank it. So bounces do happen!

It’s supposed to get to 41 C today and it’s already 23.3 and only 7:30 AM. Ugh! Thank goodness for air conditioning!

@adorabubble, it’s funny how I don’t feel hungry the morning after a FD either, but yesterday it was all I could do to get through the day at 500 calories. One thing I notice is that I have a tougher time with FD when I don’t get enough sleep the night before. Yesterday I felt anxious and irritable all day.

@bert1802, plateaus seem to be a way of life with 5:2 but when the numbers finally budge, they usually make up for the plateau, at least that’s been my experience. I kind of forgot about the Wii. Maybe I’ll fire it up today. It’s always good for entertaining exercise and I love some of the balance games. The hula hoop exercise with the balance board is just like using an actual hula hoop, good for the midsection and challenging. Thank you for reminding me.

Today’s Day 7, NFD. But I’m posting to give myself a public pat on the back for yesterday’s FD.

I usually just have coffee on my FDs because I find it mentally easier to prohibit myself from eating at all, than trying to confine myself to 500 calories. But last night we were going to a ballgame and I figured the temptation to do the whole ballgame experience would be too great. I did some prior research and decided I could treat myself to a (small basic) hotdog without breaking the 500 calorie limit. Of course, the stadium was filled with delicious warm smells, and all around me people were eating popcorn, pretzels, shredded pork rolls, nachos etc. But! I found I was actually enjoying inhaling the smells and this was satisfying me enough that I didn’t actually need to eat as well. So had nothing! 🙂 Did not think that was going to happen!