Congratulations on losing 2 stone since September, that is an enormous achievement in such a short time. Regular fasting and a reduction in consumption of refined carbohydrates(bread/rice/pasta/potatoes) with a reduction of sugar PLUS regular fasting, reducing stress, getting plenty of sleep are going to have more impact on further weight reduction than more exercise according to Fung.

Jason Fung ‘The Obesity Code’ argues that our bodies constantly strive to remain the same and that we have a set body weight that our bodies strive to maintain that by increasing your appetite(which is happening to you) and reducing our energy expenditure. Try reducing the number of gym sessions/running to make sure that you can fit 2 fasts a week in as the priority.

I am not sporty but took up running(aged 52) when I started the 5:2 almost 4 years ago. Exercise has many benefits, but losing weight isn’t one of them. At my very fittest I was struggling to lose any more weight.I am running a half marathon(well, staggering around slowly) in 9 short weeks, so I am starting to run 3 short runs(2 miles) and one longer one each week. This will allow me to get in 2 24 hour fasts from dinner to dinner which I just started before Christmas and I find much much easier than having a meal.

Fung argues that what we eat is only half of the solution and the other is regular fasting of 24-36 hours to reduce the Insulin and to start using body fat for energy. I think that he is right, my jeans are looser and I didn’t start the new year with a festive weight gain for the very first time..ever.

Is that any help?

Hi Paddywack,

I’m also somewhat new to 5:2, though I am a longtime exerciser. When I began and was diligent with 5:2 last year, I lost weight fairly rapidly. Some things that happened:
*I found I fell into 16:8 somewhat naturally; as I cut out breakfast on my fast days, I started cutting it out on my NFD as well (which frankly is the only reason I didn’t gain weight over the holiday).
*Fasting on running days is/was fine, as long as they were regular putzy runs. Running hills or interval training (using fast twitch as opposed to slow twitch muscles) was a big no-no. Strength training (also fast twitch) also a big no-no. I felt awful, foggy head, very low energy.

As a side, and background to my advice, I did an olympic distance triathlon a few years ago and lost a significant amount of weight during the 3-4 month training process, by going at it 90% paleo, or 90% low carb. I would grab a half a peanut butter sandwich to tuck in my rear pocket during 30 mile+ bike rides, but this was before doing fasting runs. Not sure if I would do the same now. Depends on how I feel.

With new fitness goals that include regular strength training with regular longer runs and intervals, I’m transitioning to 6:1, and sort of 16:8, and I’m thinking you could do the same and continue to lose weight, though likely not at the rapid rate you were doing. But that’s the whole point, right? Both with exercising and fasting, that it’s long term habits and goals that feed into a sustainable way of life. I would recalculate your TDEE with the extra exercise taken into account and increase your calories slightly, and get them in the form of fiber/protein and fat and see how you feel. I think you can feed part of your increased appetite, but how you do so will matter, ie, don’t let yourself get too low sugar/energy before eating. And remember we are all built differently! My spouse gets crazy if he does not get enough carbs in his diet, but he can do low fat no problem. I go crazy if I don’t have enough fat in my diet, no matter how much protein I’m taking in. Doing the 24-36 hour fasts Annette is talking about would be fine for me if I was just running, but having chatted around here in a few groups there seems to be a consensus that strength/weights are really, really hard to do on fast days. So modify slowly, and figure out what works for you!

Hi paddy,

I do 2 fasts per week. I.e. Dinner Sunday night, next food 360 cals at dinner Monday night, then break my fasting after 12 noon on Tuesday. It can get confusing because people use the word fast to mean 2 different things i.e. A 5:2 version of a fast or a water only fast. Many peopke on 5:2 don’t eat on a fasting day till their 1 e ening meal. This is because this group wake the hunger dragon if they eat at all during the day. There is another group who don’t get this and they commonly split their fast day calories into 2 or 3 tiny meals.

Because I am unable to exercise for medical reasons My TDEE is quite low, so I incorporate 16:8 into my nonFDs as well. So for those 5 days I don’t eat breakfast, and only eat after 12 noon and in an 8 hr window. This helps to moderate my food intake. If I eat breakfast on those 5 days, the hunger dragon wakes up and I overeat for my needs. It’s not about willpower. There are some people who have this phenomena and some who don’t.

From what I’ve read around the forum, it would be better to tailor your exercise regime to FDs and non FDs. We all are individual and you will need to tweak what you are doing with some experimentation. I wouldn’t give up the extra exercise though, unless no amount of tweaking over several months givesyou a solution. Then only pull it back a bit till the weight is off, then go back to it, the most important thing for our health generally is to normalise our weight, as that excess weight disrupts various bodily systems and strains our hearts.

Onwards and downwards,
Merry