Oh dear!

There are many variations between what individuals do but the basic 5:2 works like this:

1)Have your evening meal the night before your fastday
2)Wake up the next day and spread your 500 calories throughout this waking day however you choose (some eat 1 500 calorie meal towards the end of the day, some have 3 tiny meals – whatever suits you)
3)Go to bed having only eaten 500 calories

Do this 2 days during the week – That’s it.

Some people do just do a 24 hour ‘genuine’ fast and then eat a normal meal (not restricting to 500 cals) sometimes that works but most people will be realistically doing 36 hours ish in reality.

Hi Colette…you will lose weight because on fast days your calorie intake is much reduced – approx 25% of your normal eating. If you go to the ‘how?’ link at the top of the page you will see another link (BMR/TDEE). In there you will see what these acronyms mean and an explanation of why you need to know. There is also a calculator to establish your own levels.

The main thing on fast days it to try not to obsess about food. What you think of as hunger is usually thirst and a cup of black coffee/tea or a glass of water will sort them out. There is no need to miss out on coffee or tea on fast days provided you use part of your 500 cal allowance for the milk etc. 5:2 is not about denying yourself that’s what make it so sustainable.

As for when to eat on fast days, it’s a case of trying things to see what fits.Just make sure you have NO MORE THAN 500 calories total on your fast day including drinks (you don’t have to use all 500, I don’t). Some people have 3 small meals – a fast from dinner the previous evening until breakfast (12 hours), some people have lunch and dinner (18 hour fast) and some, like me, do dinner until dinner of 500 cals (24 hour fast) and yet others wait until breakfast on their next fast day (36 hour fast). Some do dinner to dinner, others lunch to lunch. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way. This way of eating should fit round you and your lifestyle, it shouldn’t take over your life. If you can’t fast on a planned day, no problem, do it another day. If you start fasting and then something happens to upset the plan…do it another day.
If what you’re doing today doesn’t work for you… do a different way next time.

On your non fast days the ideal is to eat at a level BETWEEN your BMR and your TDEE. No foods are ‘forbidden’ – you can eat WHAT you want just NOT HOW MUCH you want.

t takes a little while to get used to this new way of eating but it becomes second nature after a while.

Good luck

xx