Loosing weight slowly :-(

This topic contains 4 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by JulieK1967 10 years, 7 months ago.

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Redhead56

8:04 am
3 May 14
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It´s my first time to join a forum.I´m 56 years old, 1,64m an started the 5:2 diet 3 months ago with a weight of 76kg.I´ve lost 3 kilos! I think that´s not too much. My fasting days are Monday and Thursday.I eat a normal dinner Monday evening around 7.00 pm. Tuesday I have a 200kcal lunch around 12.30 with steamed vegetable or salmon with a boiled egg or a mixed salad with a teaspoon of olive oil and a vinegar spray.I drink lots of water,green tea, herbal tea and some cups of black coffee over the day. Then I have a normal dinner around 7.00pm ( like pasta with vegetables, chicken filet or fish with potatoes and vegetables sometimes I have an icecream or some chocolate after dinner)The same procedure on Wednesday evening till Thursday evening. On the fasting days I feel very good, fresh and fit.I´m used to it now and I like the fasting days. I walk the dog every day for 30 minutes,I´m working in the garden daily, taking the stairs instead of using the lift, walking instead of using the car. I think I´m quite active but 3 kg weight loss is somehow frustrating…
Could it be that it will take a longer time to loose weight because it took 10 years to gain 10 kg? Or am I doing something wrong? The 24 hours fasting seemed to be perfect for me…I was always checking the book if I had missed some important information but I couldn´t find one. At least I´ve bought the german edition to check again but it was the same result I didn´t find any “hidden” information.
Maybe someone has made the same experience and would like to tell me….

JulieK1967

10:13 am
3 May 14
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Hi Redhead56 welcome & well done for joining the forum.

I’m a little confused when you say your fasting days are Monday & Thursday when you mention having a “normal” dinner on Monday around 7pm & you describe Tuesday as having 200cal lunch then a fairly normal main meal. If your lunch is 200 calories which meal is just 300 calories Monday or Tuesday?

If your fasting day is Monday then this means you should eat your last food on Sunday dinnertime & then consume your 500 calories during Monday (split if you want or in just one meal) & your fast ends Tuesday morning when you wake up. You don’t need to be counting calories as such on Tuesday unless you meant Tuesday is your fasting day?

On my fast days (Mon & Thurs) my last meal is Sunday at 6pm I then eat nothing until a 450 cal meal on Monday around 6pm so I have a full 24 hour food fast. I drink tea/coffee with milk so I deduct 50 cals from my total allowed. After this light meal on Monday I then eat nothing until 8am on Tuesday morning so that is a 14 hour fast, basically 36 hours with just the 500 calories consumed.

Your weight loss does seem quite slow. Have you worked out your TDDE (see the link at the top of page under the word HOW) maybe you are consuming too many calories on your non fasting days for the level of activity that you do. Your walking needs to be very brisk indeed if this is your only exercise, a 30 min walk average walk only burns around 80 calories unless you are really walking fast & getting slightly out of breath in which case it is nearer 100 cals.

Pasta & potatoes are carbohydrate rich foods, I’ve lost 4kg since November but I stopped the diet over Christmas & didn’t really get back on it until 8 weeks ago. I had 6kg to lose so I’m nearly there. I am trying to cut back on carbs at all costs. I don’t eat any carbs to speak of on fasting days just lean meat/fish & salad. On my non-fasting days I’m cutting back on potatoes, pasta & bread as from doing a food diary I can see I eat way too many carbs & this is contributing to my weight gain over the years.

Good luck & I suggest you have a look again at your fasting day & see if you have worked it out right ie fasting from Sunday evening to Tuesday morning with just 500 cals consumed in between. The same for Thursday, eat your last meal 6pm Wednesday night & fast until breakfast on Friday with just 500 cals on Thursday.

Dummerchen

10:26 am
3 May 14
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Hi Redhead56,

if I understood you correctly, you fast from dinner Monday to dinner Tuesday with 200 kcal during this 24 hour period. It is certainly one way to fast as described in the book but please bear in mind that 5:2 was not designed as a weight loss diet.

When you read the forum you will find that most people have a 36 period of fasting with 500/600 kcal in that period. Most of us will stop eating after dinner (on Monday in your example), then the whole following day (Tuesday) is a fasting day. “Normal” eating resumes the day after fast day at breakfast (Wednesday) making the fast period longer, therefore restricting the weekly calories more than you do. If weight loss is your goal, try this approach and see how it works for you.

The other thing: do you weigh your food? It is very easy to overestimate the portion size by eye balling or counting spoons, decks of cards and handfulls. It might also be worth to weigh and record all your food on non-fast days for a while. This way you will get an idea if your normal eating is reasonable or out of control. 5:2 will not lead to significant weight loss if you munch your way through 5000 kcal on each non-fasting day.

I personally found that fasting with its emphasis on protein-rich foods for fast day meals has changed my eating habits on non-fast days. I have cut down on carbohydrates, in particular sugar and white flour, and feel much better for it. Don’t get me wrong – nothing is totally off the menu but I no longer want a lot of bread, ice cream or chocolate. This probably contributes to weight loss because of the effect sugar and starch has on insulin and therefore on fat metabolism.

Redhead56

11:25 am
3 May 14
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Hi JulieK1967

Thanks for your reply. You´re right. It´s confusing. My fasting days are Tuesday and Thursday. So I have my last dinner Monday evening. Tuesday I have my 200 kcal lunch and in the evening I eat my “normal” dinner. I thought 24 hour fasting would be ok.
So I will try it the other way and see what will happen.

JulieK1967

12:14 pm
3 May 14
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Hi Redhead56

Yes I think that is the problem you simply aren’t “fasting” for long enough for it to make any difference. What you describe as a fasting day would be an average non-fasting day for me ie no breakfast & 200 calories for lunch then a normal dinner.

See how you go having a 300 calorie evening meal Tuesday (or 500 calorie if you skip breakfast & lunch). I’m sure you’ll notice a difference.

Julie