Happy new year and hello from Canada! It is a beautiful, sunny and incredibly cold day. Good luck to everyone this month.
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Hi everyone
First fast day completed successfully! Was much easier than I thought it would be to start up again, would even go as far as to say I enjoyed it! I weighed myself this morning to check on the damage I did over Xmas, 3lbs on which isn’t the end of the world but glad to be back on the program!
Hope everyone who fasted today had success and good luck to those doing it tomorrow.
Jo
Confirming 10 days for the rest of the month. Lost track of the date. We were expecting thunderstorms but nothing eventuated. The only exercise I do is 4 minutes HIIT every two days. On the other day I have started some strength training exercises. The increased weight put on is slowly coming off. On the milder days I try and spend a couple of hours in the garden.
Hello all you Little Voices, old and new, and my very best wishes for a happy, healthy and slimline new year!
Hi dear Coda, sorry for delay in checking in with my commitments – I was waiting until weigh-in today and hadn’t caught up with your new thread over the holidays so missed the fact you wanted commitments lodged before today. Anyway, here’s mine now:
10 pledged fasts. I will fast Mondays and Wednesdays as usual every week and will fit in a Friday on a couple of weeks. I, like Chipmunk, also pledge a dry January (apart from the few social events I have in my diary) as I feel wine is my main downfall on NFDs.
My starting weight is 9 stone (126 pounds) having gained 3 pounds (and 1.5 inches on waist!) over the festive season – and that was with 2 fasts per week! but I know I frequently exceeded my TDEE on non-fast days. You are very right to point out we need to monitor our non-fast days.
January should be easier for all of us with less social events, but let’s not get complacent on these NFDs!!
At this late hour on day one (11.30 pm UK) I can report first fast day completed – off to bed now dreaming of what I can consume tomorrow, but knowing come tomorrow I will probably not want what I dream of!!
Good work Coda on getting everyone motivated and organised – you are a sterling leader! Many thanks, Up
Hi there – well done everyone.
My first fast day went well. I had soup for lunch and soup with added veg for dinner.
I have tried to drink more water today.
I have achieved my 10k steps and worked out at the gym.
So pretty successful.
I am trying to resist jumping on and off the scales.
I have a second fast day tomorrow.
I have found that the longer I go until I eat the easier I find the fast day. Once I start eating that’s all I think about.
How do you all find your fast days?
Good evening everyone, greetings and best wishes for 2016 from sunny New Zealand. Just wondering if I would be accepted to join this group of amazing people for the month of January.
Life in NZ has been a bit of a blur for me these last 3 weeks, apologies for my absence, family and Christmas celebrations have been pretty intense and my PC has not been very active since mid December.
I have updated our December Thread and finalised our results so anyone wanting to catch up then it’s all there from those who completed their commitment to that Thread.
CODA, you are certainly a breath of fresh air with your enthusiasm, thank you for your commitment to us.
I have completed my January FD Calendar and commit to 8 Fast Days, usually Tuesday and Thursday for me and this allows me to toss in an additional one over a weekend if I feel the need. I am also doing something very scary this week and joining my local Gym, giving that a go for 3 months to see if I can budge the last of my beer belly.
My final weigh in for December recorded a total weight reduction of 15.5kgs (34lbs) plus a total of 30cms (12inches) overall from chest, belly and hips since 1 July, so even though I missed my goal of getting under 80kgs I was pretty pleased with the total result. Physically I feel great and the fact I’m not carrying around those additional 34lbs is making life so much easier for me right now.
I am renewing my December Goal and aiming to sneak below 80kgs by 31 January, that’s 10.50lbs away after the 6lbs I have put on since 20 Dec when I stopped my FD’s before Christmas. I must admit my consumption of all things festive were not too out of control however I’m sure it was the wine and beer that did the damage rather than the food, so it’s back on the wagon during the week for the whole of January (except my Birthday next week 🙂 🙂
Looking forward to hearing from all you wonderrful people during January, plus all the new ones in here, welcome aboard, I know CODA will take great care of us all.
Wow, just finished reading all the posts for this thread, and the best news I came across was another MALE on board.
Welcome to you BILLY BUNTER (great name). It looks like our job Bill is to keep these Ladies honest and set a male example to them that our beer bellies can compete with all the other female bits and pieces that need reducing, so it looks likes it’s up to us Mate to hold our end up for all the other men who could also be in this group. Your Profile makes interesting reading and I know you’ll get all the support you need from these Forums, so don’t hold back with any challenges you encounter along the way, we have all had our own personal challenges and you couldn’t ask for a more supportive group than this Little Voices Forum. Cheers, Mike
Happy 2016 to everyone. 😀
I will be doing 2 fasts a week. Fasting on Monday and Wednesday’s. I might sneak in the occasional Friday’s as well. Minimum 8 max 10.
Was at a friends house yesterday and I stuck to my less 500 calories and had a snack around 4pm and them dinner by 7pm I was so pleased with myself lucky they had substantial good food.
Today has been good and sticking within My tdee so far all planned out on MFP.
Coda – It suddenly came to me “I could commit to 12 fasts” so came onto the thread to post that just now to see that YOU thought of that well before me. Shows me I truly AM a scatterbrain.
First fast of the challenge down. (actually 3rd in a row). I am pleased to say that my weight is the lowest it has been since 1979 – 156 lb.
Rommy – what a good idea in order to get the step goal achieved. I will try it ! The only thing is that we had another dump of snow and walking is hard right now. Temperature is supposed to rise now so perhaps we will get some melting.
My meals are planned for this week so no problem there.
Sorry! I didn’t get a chance to read through the whole thread! I will do 12 fast days this month.
And yep, hope the weight follows!
Last month I was doing 3 total fast days in a row! Completely, 100% not eating a thing! But then once I started eating, I was REALLY EATING! So found I was just going up and down, and up and down. Pretty stupid. Like, what was I trying to prove?? And who was I trying to impress? My cat??! Pff! She just snubs me and walks away!
Cheers Action, I’m new to the 5:2 and have been really impressed with the motivational impact of the forums. Since, I’m a newbie, I’m still working through a whole lot of information at the moment, currently having my eyes opened wide by my background reading of Sugar in our diets – thanks to Annette for passing on the reference.
I’m in this for the long run, I think I have reasonable expectations 100lbs of fat in 2 years, but curious if other people think this is realistic.
After yesterday’s fast day, I dropped 4lbs according to the scales, I assume this is water weight as the liver starts dropping its stores – so I’m curious when my body starts to burn the belly fat for real.
I’ve got a few health challenges, but starting the 5:2 is a good start to addressing the issues.
Bill.
Hi Billy and welcome:
I agree with Coda that 100 pounds in two years is doable and people have reported just those results, but from experience and observation I believe it will be very hard. Everything from life events to plateaus will get in the way and give you reason to stop your efforts. But even if you don’t reach a 100 pound loss in two years, would it be OK to be down 30 pounds by this time next year, and 65 pounds down in two? And all the while knowing just how to lose more when the time is right? Would 100 pounds in 2 1/2 or 3 years be acceptable? Once you learn how 5:2 and IF in general works, you understand how you can lose and control your weight. It takes some time to get to this understanding and most people don’t last that long, but once you get there it can really change your life. If you look around this site and others dealing with IF, you constantly see people returning – saying it worked when they tried it before, they got off it for some reason, and now they are back knowing it will work again.
The goal of my comments is a hope that if you ever do determine you won’t be able to hit 100 pounds in two years, you won’t quit – you will just ‘suspend your efforts’ until the time is right to resume them. I lost 20 pounds each of my first two years experimenting with 5:2. In 2015, although I can easily stand to lose more weight, I decided to experiment with maintenance, and ended the year two pounds heavier than when I started – for me a successful maintenance result. This year, I am going to go back to the weight loss side of the ledger. It is that kind of flexibility that makes IF so powerful (and interesting).
As far as fat loss, your body will burn fat whenever it experiences a shortfall in calories. While most of your loss was water weight, some of it was fat. The math in this post will give you an idea of how much fat is burned on this and other diets given a level of calorie restriction: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/tdee-for-the-curious-or-why-dont-i-lose-weight-faster/
This thread will answer most of the common questions that come up with 5:2: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/
Good Luck!
Hi Coda,
I am honoured that you are worried about my long fasts. But please do not worry. I know what I am doing and will not be continuing with long fasts any longer than I need to. Shorter fasts will come along and will continue through maintenance. I have met many of my goals but my most urgent goal at the moment is to get off the medication that is, I believe, causing my hair loss. Thus the long fasts. Today by Blood Sugars readings are much lower, so the fast is working.
Thank you again for your concern.
Hi BILLY B, what a great big hairy audacious goal to aim for, 100 lbs over 2 years, that’s 104 weeks or 24 months. So to make life easier for yourself break down your totals into short recognisable milestones.
100lbs in 104 weeks is 1 lb per week on average (round figures) which averaged out is 4 lbs per month. So maybe aim for 6 lbs per month for the first 3 months, it’ll come off quicker at the start. So your first short term goal could be to reduce 18 lbs by 31 March 2016 (12 weeks) Then on 1st April you reset the clock and based on how you went up to 31 March set the next milestone out to 30 June, maybe another 18 lbs. From experience we all plateau after about 3 or 4 months and it needs a reassesment of startegy to keep up the momentum. That’s when the support from the Forums really kicks in.
As Coda suggested use the Tracker on this site, it’s a great visual record of how you are going and you can see the graph line drop based on your efforts. Good luck and great to have you here. Don’t let these lovely ladies give you any cheek, there are two of us now so Guy Power is growing….. Cheers, Mike
Hi Action, good to see you back! Sounds like a social time has been enjoyed 🎉
Thanks for posting your personal achievement on the Little Voices motivational statistics – I really find it inspiring to see at a glance how far people have come. If anyone is wondering if this WOE works, check out the page.
Fab weather we’re having ☀️☀️
Happy New year Coda and all you Little Voices! Sorry I have been away from my computer over Christmas (deliberately as it takes up so much time and I wanted to enjoy family and friends). I am back and would love to join the January challenge. I had a bit of a blip in December with a small weight gain, but I have been building muscle and my clothes are getting baggier and baggier – I always stuck to my fast days but it was what I did in between which I am sure was the reason! ;-). I am deliberately not stepping on the scales til this Saturday as I don’t want to depress myself. However I did continue going to the gym throughout Christmas and was back to 5:2 on the 4th January. I am planning on doing 3 fast days a week from 2nd January to Saturday 23rd January (a total of 8 days) when I will post my results (I won’t be around after the 23rd for the following 2 weeks as I am off skiing – lots of exercise but definitely not going to be able to fast over those weeks). Wishing you all lots of luck, will weigh in this Saturday after a good week. Oh and I am planning on cutting right back on the wine til my holiday, and will only drink if I go out socially, the wine cellar is well and truly padlocked!!
Good luck everybody, and here’s to a healthy and even slimmer 2016. My goal is to be safely well and truly back under 11 stone by my 51st Birthday mid-February and under 10 for the summer!!!!!
PS: Just realised whilst reading through my post before sending how interesting it is to really consider your goals as I actually checked my diary to count the fast days I was planning and then re-considered my goals to ensure that they were realistic, no point fooling yourself. I love the honesty of this group, and also the fact that I looked forward to getting back to it after Christmas. Started this WOE in July last year and have remained focussed all the way through and accepting that birthdays, rugby, christmas can happen and don’t mean you have to give up and go back to the old ways. This way is now the old way!!!
Ha ha Coda I can just picture you in the loo doing squats and press ups!! If I think I am going to eat something that I shouldn’t (usually when I am in the kitchen preparing dinner) I go out for a 5 minute walk and by the time I come back the feeling has passed me by. Or I make a cup of tea and to into another room and read a couple of chapters of my book 🙂
Hi Coda – I like so many others, find my fast days the easiest of all as long as I have planned what I am going to eat in advance. Whilst I love home cooking and virtually never buy ready meals, I do find that good quality fresh soups or meals such as ‘count on us’ from Marks & Sparks a real safety zone if I am finding it hard. Like you exercise is the main helper – I actually target my fast days with doing a class at the gym. Eg: I go to a spinning class on Mons, Weds and Friday mornings, so no need to eat til I get home at around midday, I always have porridge weighed out and ready to cook as soon as I get in, then a meal planned for the evening. ANother thing I find good is to go to the cinema in the evening sometimes if I am finding it hard, that takes my mind off it. And borrowing a dog to take for a walk is another good one. I’ve decided I am not going to do too many back to back fasts anymore however, as I find my sleep patterns (which are pretty rubbish anyway) deteriorate further, and I wake up genuinely hungry through the night and feeling jittery, it also leads me to eat to much on my normal days. So ideally M, W & F suit me best with the occasional extra thrown in at the weekend if I have overdone it.
Hi Coda,
Sorry for being late to this party. I am committing to 11 fast days in January – Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays for 3 weeks and 2 days for on of the weeks.
Starting weight 235.
Sticking to my TDEE on non-fast days is my biggest challenge, so I am glad you put that in as the goal, rather than actual weight lost.
I got myself a Fitbit for the New Year too.
Two days of fasting completed this week.
Thanks again for organizing and motivating us!
Hello Coda,
Sorry for being a bit late but wondered if I might be able to join as well? I plan on doing 2 fasts per week for the whole of Jan, with maybe an extra thrown in.
My first fast day was Monday, my second was today. Monday and Wednesdays will generally be my days.
Believe it or not this is now the third time I’ve “started” the Fast diet – I had good results both other times but came unstuck when I couldn’t keep losing so I’m hoping that staying accountable will mean that I actually stick to it.
Hello all, How’s is it going for all the Wednesday fasters?
I am finding it a bit difficult today, just wanting to eat but i am still within calories have been so tempted allday. Been drinking lots of warm water and coffee, got a headache as well. But i will stick with it and look forward to dinner in about 2hours. It will be an early night. Hope others are feeling better than i am.
Hi all
2nd fast day done and the hardest one in ages. Felt soooo hungry and was well hydrated so instead of waiting until evening like I would normally, gave in at lunchtime and had some grapes and a low cal cup a soup then adjusted my evening meal. Thats a result for me: to stay in control and not just say ‘b****r it’ and promise to add another FD later in week instead. Even spent time this evening cooking up meals for next few days without sneaking any. Fingers crossed the next FD will be easier.
Reading all the posts above from various people, one thing comes through loud and clear and this should be encouraging to all newbies to this 5:2 WOL. And that is if you are conscientious with your plan and stick to your 2 or 3 fast days every week plus don’t exceed your TDEE on non fast days then the weight will fall off you in a very regular and smart way of weight control.
Personally, I achieved a new low weight mile stone before Christmas and was very happy with my efforts however I knew that over Christmas & New Year I would slip back 2 or 3 kilos because I was not going to restrict myself with my Festive activities which always were going to involve good food, fine wine and extended family activities, plus of course a few rounds of social golf.
My gain was 2.9kgs (6.4 lbs) as at 3 Jan. Today after 2 fast days since the 3 Jan (plus today is my 3rd fast day for the week) I have recovered half of the 6lbs gain and would anticipate that by this time next week I’ll be back to my pre Christmas weight. So the moral to my story is by having confidence in this WOL it will treat you as well as you expect it to and we mustn’t get too despondent when we have our little “blips” in the weight tracker graph. I would have been miserable if I had not enjoyed my Christmas/New year social activities to the extent I did. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t binge with food or alcohol at any stage but neither did I hold back. I did everything in the knowledge that recovery in early January would be easy and I would be back on track on my plan by 11 January.
So people, make sure you still enjoy life while on your journey to skinny. If you are continually feeling that 5:2 WOL is making you miss out on all things enjoyable in life then reassess your plan. Make sure you do have some personal rewards built into your plan so it doesn’t dominate every day of your life and you live in fear that “if I eat this little treat will it set me back a whole week?” or thoughts to that effect. Set up your Daily food diary on My Fitness Pal, it lets you keep track on non fast days.
Great words af advice above CODA, thoughts are things and our thoughts turn into reality, like it or not, so if we all think positively then positive results will happen in our life. If we think we can or we can’t then we are right, so everyone think “we can” and guess what???
LISA: Fast Days get a lot easier, the body (and your mind) adjusts to your new WOL, make sure you stay busy on a FD, don’t sit and dwell on your empty tummy feelings or else that little voice in your mind will put nasty thoughts into your head and you may give in to it.
Take care everyone, keep posting your thoughts, thanks again CODA for looking after us so well and we’ll all be better people for our efforts, because we are all amazing people and we know this new WOL will add years to our lives for us to enjoy. 🙂 🙂
Home again after a couple of weeks of visiting friends and relations over New Year. Strangely enough (ha ha) my planned two fast days this week have been a complete disaster. I won’t go in to the gory details but suffice to say I am duly annoyed with myself. Today is going MUCH better and I seem to have found my “fasting mojo”again, though we have visitors at the weekend and that will be another matter. Three fast days planned for next week after they leave.
CODA, thanks for prompting ideas about diverting the eating impulse. All helpful however if someone could help me with those days when I am my own bloody minded worst enemy and eat it anyway, I’d be grateful!!
Welcome to all the new Little Voices – great to see so many on board and committed.
First fast of 2016 started today.
Last night I measured myself which is a great way of keeping track of inch loss even if the scales are not moving. Also planned my food for the day which I need to keep me focused, today at work I have 2 hard boiled eggs plus carrot and celery sticks. Evening meal will be roast chicken (left over from last night) with veg.
Fortunately I’m busy at work which means I am constantly moving around which will help me keep my mind off food and stop me from sitting on my a$$ all day
Have a great fasting day everyone
Hello Coda and the rest of you lovely lot.
I’ve now filled out my profile so hopefully that gives you a bit of background on me.
Fasts now completed for the week, they went well. I had a beef salad for dinner on Monday (saved all calories for the evening), and sushi for dinner last night.
Looking forward to seeing some results and getting back on track for the new year.
Fast day 2 of 9 Checkin:
Sticking with the simple porridge and skimmed milk for calories today, as it worked fine on Monday. Really proud of my control on non fast days, Cals consumed are within TDEE, with plenty of good lean protein and vegetables.
Watched “That Sugar Movie” on Amazon Prime, it’s going to help me make more informed nutritional choices. Thoroughly recommend it.
Planned 10km Row today as exercise,
Feeling good overall, looking forward to a successful day.
Bill
Hi – just read through the last few posts, loved hearing that our esteemed Action Hero even ‘enjoyed’ Christmas a little, I feel less guilty now – ha ha – why do so many of us do it to ourselves?! Coda is so right, sometimes we just cant follow the plan, we fall off the wagon, then feel rotten, then we do it again…. still I do seem to be doing this less these days and like you Coda, was so ready to get back on Monday. 2 fasts down and one more tomorrow and that’s week 1 done. Been very mindful of what’s going in my mouth on my NFDs too. Already my digestive system has settled down, no heartburn or bloat, feel more energy, feel slimmer, feel good! It surely feels so much better than overindulging? I just need to keep reminding myself of this when a bottle of wine and some tasty nibbles are calling my name……..Have promised myself a new pair of ski trousers before I go away end of Jan, and I am not interested in them unless they are a size 14 or under! (there I’ve said it)
Hi JF – I saw that you and Third Time Lucky were on this thread so I thought I’d come over for some motivation!
Coda thanks for the welcome, it’s good to hear that I’m not the only one who’s been up and down with my weight. And you are so right – you can get support from people on the forum but at the end of the day it’s up to you to make the right choices to get the body and lifestyle you want. That bit really resonated with me!
Lifeisabeach26 – totally agree with you and Coda, but I think it’s human nature to binge, beat ourselves up and then fall off the wagon and bury our heads. I am guilty of having done this too often!!
Did it! Got my s*** together and had a good fast day yesterday. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather this morning (first weigh-in since before Christmas) and found no real damage done over the holiday period. I am only 500gms (just over a pound) up on what I was at the end of the Christmas Challenge. Just the boost I need to see me through 9 more fast days this month.
CODA, LITTLE DRAGON and LIFESA, thanks for your words. First off, I know I’m not the only one who does this dumb stuff some days and it helps to put it in perspective. Second, like you CODA, this forum is what is making the difference to me. Encouragement and accountability – I know no-one will judge me, but it is the personal accountability I feel to be honest with the forum that often keeps me on the straight and narrow. Thanks all.
PS – CODA I’ve updated my profile.
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