I just hate the English, Amazon (for these 7 weeks) 🙂
Although I should probably admit to having been born in England…
This topic contains 16,527 replies, has 252 voices, and was last updated by Bob23 1 year, 5 months ago.
I spent the evening with my Welsh friend, and after 26 minutes we had a conversation about coming out like a steam train and then running out of fuel when only halfway there…………………
Needless to say, I enjoyed the match.
I also enjoyed lots of bread, crackers, crisps, cheese and spicy chicken wings and a whole bottle of red!
In the words of Scarlet O’Hara,
Tomorrow is another (fast) day 😉
My best tips but might not suit everyone
Try to leave off eating as long as you can on fast days . if I start too east early it triggers my appetite
You won’t starve and when I hear my tummy rumble I imagine it is churning out the fat
Remember you CAN eat anything you want BUT not as much as you want . This is what got us fat in the first place
Drink loads of water
Have a great day guys
Wee xx
Agree with both Jojo and Wee about what to do … I try to only have one meal on FD’s as otherwise it’s too easy to go overboard and then when you DO eat I often can’t finish my meal and I LEAVE IT (it can go to the dogs or chooks depending on what it is).
My tip for newbies is to not only weigh but measure on a weekly basis as there are times the scales don’t move down but the tape measure does.
Just back from a party – lots and LOTs of food/drink to be had. A very warm night too at least it cooled down from today which was very warm indeed.
Hello fasting people. Been off for a while, real life getting in the way of reading the posts but I managed to spend some time today catching up.
I have lost 19kg exactly since starting 5:2 on 8 October 2014, to add to the elephant. 4-6 kg to go I think. See when I get there!
I have found, bizarrely, that if I start a feed day equal, or lower, than the previous day I eat very lightly, without too much effort although I don’t stint. If, however, I have gone up, even by a couple of hundred grams, I am much more inclined to overindulge.
Logically I know weight fluctuates naturally day by day but my willpower takes a beating when I go up and I have to psych myself up again for the next fast day. I guess this means I am an emotional eater. Having said that, I took the test on the website a couple of weeks ago when everyone was abuzz with that TV show (we have not had yet) and came out as a constant grazer. I guess that makes me an emotional constant grazer.
Fabulous!
I am looking forward to hearing what to do with lemons and stevia.
Weebil.
I agree with your sentiment on a healthy diet every day Amazon.
For me having the fast day food planned in advance is crucial. I know in my head what I’ll be eating and roughly when, and then I think I’m mentally committed to it.
Also I make sure I have healthy snacks in, instead of biscuits and crisps! Then i have no option but to reach for something low cal, nutritious and healthy!
I’m trying hard not to resort to snacking on any day as it leads to more and more snacks being consumed.
I’ve been hungry for most of the day today after the carb fest last night but have only had my planned egg sarnie. The chicken and veggies are in the oven, and I’m watching the rugby and attempting to talk myself out of opening the bottle of cider that is calling to me from the fridge!
Jojo, don’t be annoyed with yourself, just work out a way to avoid it happening again. How about taking a small flask of soup with you to rehearsal?
We are all doing well with this WOE but I do think that we can be too hard on ourselves when we succumb to overeating. The majority of us have been overeating for most of our adult lives, and we should bear that in mind when things don’t go according to plan. We can’t change the habits of so many years in such a short time, or push ourselves too hard as it too difficult for even the most determined of us.
We must remember to be kind to ourselves, especially when we fail.
How does the song go,
pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again.
It’s not easy all of the time, but we can do it 🙂
I agree with you Amazon .
When I tried diets before , and I mean diets . If I slipped up and eat something that wasn’t allowed . In my head I said ” to hell with it” and ate everything in sight and the packets they came in . Then I felt so down about it I kept going .
5.2 is Not a diet it is AWOL and I can eat what I want BUT NOT as much as I want .
I still have some sweet things when I feel like it . Some of the things I used to love like bread and potatoes don’t even interest me now . I pick something up in a supermarket and when I look at the calories and carbs I think ” not worth it” and put it back . I am getting a lot more choosy in what I eat .
I enjoy what I eat now and take time to taste it as I used to just shovel it in .
I still love my food but I am careful . If I do ever go overboard I will not beat myself up . I will just start again the next day .
You guys in here have helped me to become a much stronger person in what I choose to eat and I thank you all so much for that,
Phew!! rant over . I enjoyed it though 🙂
Wee xx
Jojo
I belive you chocolate indulgence isnt a way of life.
so enjoy it from time to time as a planned treat.
I have that once a month with my daughter. Shes 11 and loves ice cream . Weight is already an issue for her. So im teaching her it’s ok as the occasional treat.
something that if she can look forward to the planned treats. She may not feel as tempted at other times.
Sometime in February 2013 I watched a PBS documentary Eat, Fast, Live Longer. Shortly after another documentary The Truth About Exercise. Â Approximately a year earlier I crashed my suv into a tree after sliding on ice on an interstate. My right foot had multiple injuries which healed , I was still living a sedentary lifestyle a year later. After watching the documentaries I decided I would start the 5:2 fasting because I was 274lbs, and wanted to lower my risk of age related diseases.
I struggled at first with the 600 calorie days but within 3 months was able to have successful 600 calorie days week after week, and at week 8 I had lost 10lbs. At week 20 I had lost another 10 lbs. At week 40 I had lost 33 lbs.  Then i had some financial issues , and a change of profession. I had abandoned the diet  going back to eating only cheap and subsistence foods. I was happy with the 5:2 but simply stopped.Â
 In 2014 re watching the documentaries again I decided to step on the scale again. As the anniversary of me starting the 5:2 came I weighed in.  I had lost 27 lbs even though I had not been fasting for 4 months.  I made the decision to restart 5:2 and commit to a goal of losing 100 lbs to get to the weight for my age and hieght. My second year I decided I would start becoming more active physically and  try either 4:3 or ADF. Before restarting I joined the 5:2 fasting forum sponsored by DR MOSELY , and decided it was time for me to start jumping rope again with the goal of accomplishing HIT AND OR H.I.I.T .
 I did restart 5:2 immediately and found that the jumping rope triggered my hunger pangs on fast days. So i would alternate fast days and the next day after my last feed day meal I would jump rope until I ran out of breath, but would keep going with jumping jacks at a slower pace for a full 10 minutes of exercise. My understanding is ten minutes of jumprope is equivalent to 160 calories.  So if my goal was 2,000 calories a week I would need to jumprope 12.5 times a week. That didn’t seem very doable. So i looked realistically at what is doable for jumping rope. 2 times a day 4 days a week. It occurred to me that I could start the 4:3 which is same as 5:2  only 1 more day. This gives me formula of trying to lose close to lbs a week.  One and a half pound from fasting and another half pound from exercise. I needed a little more doable exercise to get to the 2000 calorie of exercise. I decided I would increase my N.E.A.T. at work and took a warehouse job where I was averaging 150,000 steps per week.
 I recieved a bad diagnosis of having diabetes just as I was getting this all fit into my lifestyle.
So i took a pause from fasting. But not a pause from the exercise. After 2 months of testing sugar levels in the mornings I found which foods i could tolerate and which goods I could not. Â Basically I only eat from the low end of gycemic index. Eating more fish on days where im basically having carb free days. After figuring this out I wanted to return to the fasting approach offers of improving my healrh risks.Â
I tried ADF , but found that I was very sluggish at work. At the gym I was not appearing to gain muscle mass. I decided ADF was not for me.
 I thought to try the 4:3 fasting diet agian , but had to make adjustments to my eating times because they just didn’t fit with the warehouse job.many months went by with most weeks of 5:2 . It was just too difficult to cope with low energy at work without eating from the high end of the gycemic index. So i was still searching for to fit 2 lbs a week into my lifestyle.Â
I decided I give my weekends!
I’m most comfortable and found 4:3 most doable when i could fast on monday, Wednesday, and Friday . Leaving the weekends as tdee feed days. But after much pondering decided I would start 1 of two 27 water fasts.
After reading as much info on the naturally occurring human DNA repair mode. 27 hour water fasts is what I have settled on and is my personal opinion that aids in extending longevity.  So my lunch break on friday I eat the foods i belueve aid the body to create the best dna repair environment.  Eating at 5am froday morning I go home around noon and sleep until Saturday morning at 8am I break my fast with pumpkin and oatbran. I try to stay at my tdee until 9 pm saturday evening eating the foods that help the body in the cell division process as my food choices,  and start another 27 hour water fast. It ends at 1201 monday morning  just 1 hour before starting my work week.
Wednesday is my easiest day at work so I. Have to have a 300 calorie day to start the work and another 300 for lunch. Go home and sleep until I can reached the 36 hour point on 600 calories.Â
 Simply put im doing 4:3  On Wednesday,  friday, Sunday.  I’m still able to jumprope for ten minutes twice on Mondays Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays the feed days.
After two years im happy to say I’ve lost 60 lbs.
What im most happy about is it isnt just about my subcantaneous fat around my waist. Though I’m very glad to be losing it. Its the visceral fat that surrounds my organs. That is why I’m putting in such an effort on 2000 calories a week in addition to fasting. Â Also changing the foods from what crave to what is scientifically proven to be a benefit to human health. Foods like fish, nuts, and anti cancer food.choosing anti inflammatory foods too.
And being vigilant in keeping up on all vitamin and minerals. Â My approach is to make my health goal only my subcantaneous fat. Â To choose the diet and exercise that points to extending longevity. Â I don’t believe that after being obese for 20 years that there will be zero consequences. However i read research that points to there being a dramatic improvement.
 I’ll finnish with saying I don’t believe this is the most optimal approach. However i believe it the most doable for my work and life style.  I can stick to this.
i know i will make it to goal, but feel happy with the longevity approach along the journey.
Hello all,
Sunday morning and peace has returned…..VERY loud 21st party next door last night, Doof Doof music till 1am! Even had to close most of the windows on a very hot night. I am glad I don’t have to face the mess this morning!
Jojo I am sorry but struggling to come up with three original thoughts re success on 5:2 as all the very experienced fasters have already posted all my feelings/practices. Something that really rang true for me however, was your comment last week and I have already pinched it and used it. This sums up the heart of 5:2. You said that you had said to someone who commented on your great weight loss “I am not on a diet, I fast twice a week”. Says it all for me!
I second Amazon and Wee too, re your chocolate frenzy….DONT beat yourself up! I think that the stress of the long day, freezing cold and using all your adrenaline to learn three new songs at once, you simply pushed yourself beyond your limits. And your body was screaming for a quick fix. And chocolate happened to be in your line of sight. You are human after all. I think Amazons suggestion of soup or something warm is a great idea to avoid it happening next time. Mistakes help us to learn to do better. I hope you recovered enough to enjoy the party!
SAMM thanks for the summary of your journey. I find it fascinating that you can be so persistent and determined, yet so humble about your achievements. Also, as with so many fasters on this thread, so enlightening and so encouraging. I would not be lighter than I have been for 25 years without this forum and 5:2
Wee I did laugh at your expression of even eating the packets once you got started! At least you would have gotten lots of fibre!
Cheers to all X
Good morning fellow fasters.
A lovely warm morning, however now that OH has left the house I have finally been able to turn the air con off but will have to put it back on around midday so the house is cool enough for him when he returns.
Jojo, we all slip up occasionally, I understand your frustrations with it but please don’t beat yourself up about it, just start again in the morning. I hope you had a blast at the party though and that you had a good rest beforehand with getting rid of the headache.
SAMM as always such a lot that you do and research, I could not do what you do but that’s okay too. As RT says you’re doing a study of one (yourself) and finding what’s your doable. I’m also doing a study of one (myself) and finding what works for me and is doable for me.
Wee how’s your dad going? Hope he’s fully recovered from his fall (I guess it was a fall of some sort).
Ply hoping your mum is recovering more each day.
Hi to everyone else in here … hoping you have a great day 😀
Edited to add: Jojo looks like we posted around the same time 😀 glad you had a blast 😆
Over the months that I’ve been using the 5:2 forum there’s been a lot of discussion about the role of physical activity vs calorie restriction in weight loss.
Most of you here probably know me only as someone at maintenance (indeed, I only started posting once I’d reached goal). As with everyone though, I have a back story.
After being a fat child and teenager, I was within healthy BMI (top end) during my 20s. I injured my back 15 years ago (early 30s) and had 9 months off work (7 housebound, unable to reach my feet to put knickers, shoes or socks on, or walk or sit down or drive etc). For much of that time I couldn’t exert enough downforce to flush the toilet or mash potato.
One thing I could do (because I could kneel down!) was use the computer. So I ordered stuff on the internet (something to look forward to when I could finally leave the house by myself!).
I was of course completely dependent upon the food that OH brought into the house. If biscuits and cakes were not on the shopping list, then he never bought them. And I was reliant on him for meals (he’s always been slim, so portion control not an issue 🙂 )
I have clothes that I bought then that didn’t fit me when I became mobile again, and do not fit me now (and I am now at least 5kg lighter than I have ever been as a ‘healthy’ adult).
I didn’t have scales in the house when I was incapacitated, so I don’t know how much weight I lost then and obviously some of it was fat and some muscle…
But at least for me, with no complicating factors, this demonstrated that exercise was irrelevant to weight loss. Indeed, reduced exercise was positively beneficial! The thinnest I’ve ever been was waiting for back surgery 🙂
I guess my body was using a lot of calories trying to heal itself at that time. But since surgery my
back’s been fine and I’ve been fully active, sometimes exercising a lot (80-100 mile cycle rides). But, until now and as a direct result of 5:2, I have never been as slim as when I was disabled.
Thank you all for the good wishes for my mom. She finally came home last night, and had a much better day today. Nothing like sleeping in your own bed after a hospital stay! Just back from the store to stock up on provisions for them, as the forecast calls for snow for the next three days! It has become a big problem, as there is no place to put the snow. Temps have been frigid, so nothing is melting.
I went to the wake for the young man who was killed last night. Impossibly sad. His mom was comforting his friends, telling them how much he loved them . Such strength and generosity! I am happy that this week is over.
I have so much admiration and respect for all of you, and the ways you have changed your life and your health. Truly inspirational. xoxoxox Ply
Thanks Ply,
Glad to hear your Mum is improving. I know from experience that you just want to be home.
And good luck with finding storage space for your snow! We had a few cms only, that then froze, but is mostly gone today (a tropical 5 degrees!).
So sad about your friend’s son. Although there is never a good time to lose someone.
I think the family are often stronger at the funeral. From experience, they have usually had at least a week to come to terms with the death. For friends and less immediate family, the funeral is the day when the reality of your loved one really being gone kicks in…
Re sugars.
There is an article in the Sunday Age, a Melbourne newspaper, on a film made with the help of Hugh Jackman, Stephen Fry and others. The film is called That Sugar Film. In it the filmmaker Damon Gameau has used himself as a guinea pig. The results are what we all think. Bad for your health in so many ways. 😉
I’m sorry I cannot make a live link to the article, but it’s worth reading. And then look out for the film when it is shown in your area. I expect PBS would be the logical network in America.
Cheers, all. Bay 🙄
Hi Bay,
Thanks for that, looks like a film worth seeing! I found the website and hopefully can post the link! He also has an interesting blog re his experience. Thanks for highlighting it.
http://www.thatsugarfilm.com/
Also, his blog http://gameauland.com/thatsugarfilm/
as you said Bay, probably stuff we all know already, but great reinforcement!
Hi Bay,
A timely reminder on the sugars in healthy foods, thanks!
This week I bought a bag of yoghurt ginger from Holland and Barrett (health food retailer). I ate too many admittedly, although they weren’t really that nice just addictive! They made my teeth hurt and I felt sick and tired later in the day.
Stupidly I hadn’t read the product info in the store (I hadn’t taken my reading glasses), or before I ate them… A whopping 65g of sugar per 100g!! Obviously they tasted very sweet, but really! And in a health food store…
They ought to come with a health warning!
Morning/evening all.
I am sitting here trying to tell myself that I don’t need anything to eat just yet, and attempting to banish the vision of peanut butter on toast!
I’m not being helped by the delicious aroma of the chicken stock on the hob.
I guess I should get into the kitchen and start making some delicious FD meals with the remaining chicken.
A friend of mine has just started having a weekly organic fruit and veg box delivered and she has given me a huge bunch of chard as she doesn’t know if she’ll like it and has lots of other leafy greens in the box. I love chard and shall be using it in the sweet and sour chicken I intend to make.
Have a good day/evening everyone.
Hi jojo,
Congrats on the weight, and the resolve!
You’ve been working away at this for so long, it’s no surprise you’ve needed a bit of a rest. But you haven’t gained the weight back, just maintained your weight. Good work.
I definitely agree Re: exercise and toning. It’s great to feel your muscles working. And great to see them also!
And exercise, whilst not really aiding weight loss, is fantastic for helping weight maintenance. I think you’ve been demonstrating that yourself recently!
Amazon,
I hope your friend didn’t give you all the chard, else she never will find out if she likes it 🙂
I grow it, but don’t eat it often as OH doesn’t like it. It stands well in the polytunnel over winter, and keeps the Ladies supplied with fresh greens. While some might think it’s wasted on hens, they do lay the best eggs I’ve ever tasted 🙂
My friend can be a bit fussy and it was obvious that she didn’t like the look of it! I’ve put the white stalks in the sweet and sour chicken. I found a Hairy Dieters recipe and followed that with a few tweaks, stevia rather than sugar, half the amount of oil, extra chilli and some extra veg and have 4 generous 300 calorie portions.
I’ve also made chicken, mushroom and pesto pasta, using almond milk for the sauce, that also comes in at 300 calories. I’m taking a break from veggie chilli and veggie curry as I was beginning to get bored.
11 meals from one chicken, and I’ve got a huge pan of stock waiting to be used 🙂
I used to grow chard and there was always some ready to pick 52 weeks of the year. If there is one thing I would like it is a larger garden so I could grow some veg. Mine doesn’t get much sun and is tiny. My allotment got to be too much for me so I gave it up. I don’t regret it as I was struggling to keep up with everything, but I do miss having fresh produce.
My curiosity got the better of me, so asked Mr Google what Chard was. Here in Aus we call it Silver Beet, and it grows all year round. I grow it and put it in stir fry or just steam it lightly and add tiny bit of salt and butter, very nice plus lots of iron! I bet your chooks love it Happy!
Amazon if I look outside (it’s very late) I can see reflected light from your halo all the way to the Sthn Hemisphere….very productive day you have had!
Hi Nama.
There are several different varieties of chard. The one I’m talking about is what my Adelaide friend grows and calls spinach, white stalks with green leaves, and is what my friend gave me.
I love cooking and I often used to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday in the kitchen making up lunches and dinners for the working week ahead. It is very satisfying to haave a pile of containers filled with delicious food ready to go in the fridge or the freezer. It also meant and still does, that a takeaway is less tempting on days when I don’t have time or can’t be bothered, as I can have a hot meal in less than 10 minutes.
ply, I forgot to say earlier, so glad to hear that your Mum is well enough to come home. Her recovery will speed up now that she is sitting in her own armchair and sleeping in her own bed without all the unavoidable disturbance that being in hospital entails.
Hi Amazon,
That’s the one I grow (dark green with white stalks). I tried a rainbow one last year but couldn’t get used to eating the yellow and red stalks! I am with you re batch cooking, why go to all that trouble for just one meal?
When I was working the hospital food was very expensive and not that nice, so I always took leftovers etc for lunch. My husband has taken a cut lunch for the 42 years I have been making it for him! He likes a sandwich and we use a bread machine for that, we have worn out three machines and about 6 electric knives over the years. I make it for him but he is the Engineer in the family and can slice it much more neatly than me! I would like to try sourdough one day, but afraid it would tempt me too much!
I have been procrastinating over ironing all week, now it’s midnight and I have finally done most of it, I am a night owl like Jojo! Spent lots of time on line this evening choosing ballet tickets, the one I want to see isn’t til September but need to get in early for good tickets. The Australian Ballet is doing The Dream, Cinderella, a Modern one, Giselle and Sleeping Beauty this year. I want to see Sleeping Beauty as have never seen it. The iron is flashing at me!
I’m just remembering my observation at the warehouse about the truck loading crew.
It’s tough job, when I looked up the calories burned fir 1 hour it’s like 700 calories an hour. Ive forgotten actually. But its high. What was focussed on was that were using compound movements , they were getting bigger muscles , but some of them were getting fatter. Yes. Fatter! Intrigued I want a quick understanding and it’s a very simple one. TDEE
They are eating more than TDEE so their bodies were creating fat…
Of course if they even ate the healthiest stuff on earth or the fast food garbage it’s more than TDEE they get fatter , if it’s less than TDEE they lose fat.
That set me on course to to be a calorie counting expert. And it took very little effort, less than I thought.
I began cooking mine own foods measuring out and packing in the freezer in 250 and 500 calorie amounts. I’ve settled on Saturday as my cook day . Taking about two hours now to cook soups and measure out the mixed vegetables.
I’ve lost wright every month every since except this last January because I was on planned break, bulking.
The statistic in the states is that 80% of Americans do t know how to how calories .
Another tidbit is most people don’t know that obese peoples can live into their 90’s when exercising regularly.
So my approach is to do both count the calories and excercise.
My most dramatic yoyo diet took me down to 200lbs , I was basically starving myself. I lost in 4 months 54lbs. But put it right back on and leveled at 264 for 12 years . Got into the car accident and put on another 10lbs. My peak weight prompted me to watch the eat,fast,live longer video. I knew about fasting for health benefits for more than 20 years earlier, but didnt connected fasting for weight loss. Until the doable suggestion was made. I applied the doable prompt to counting calories. It is doable to cook on a feed day and count the calories into Pyrex bowls.
It has become so routine I no longer hope I’ll lose the fat around my waist. I decided to keep on keepin on with what is working. I know that at this pace I’ll be at goal in less than a year now. I’ll have the understanding of how to keep it off too. Counting calories and not going over TDEE.
Even if I eat that orange peel dark chocolate bar! As long as I stay under TDEE I know what the outcome will be.
About the hidden sugars.
I have a dear family member that is banned from home and I won’t speak too.
A a famous cola is the choice of drink, and the red boxed cigarettes.
I detect there is bi polar tendencies even though I’m not qualified to say that.
Just sharing something as the sugar discussion passes through this thread.
If there is more to a person mood then sugar and nicotine , ie mental labels.
Be observerant of when they are bingeing on sugars , because they become jeykl or Hyde.
In one of those sleep deprived , sugar binge, nicotine states the individual said to my wife whom had been told her cancer would be fatal, ” how’s your karma making you feel? ”
I just told hours before about the prognosis . So it wasn’t a coincidental statement.
This also the individual that threatens to hurt people in when getting fired. After talking to a pyscologist about this family member . Her advice was first a question. ” SAMM are you qualified to know when someone is going to have psychotic episode . I answered no? the replied “then call the police and let the authorities decide if any other action is needed.
So told that person that is exactly what I’m going to do next time violence is touted.
However , I Still see the 8 colas causing mood swings. As opposed to the 18 cigarettes .
Since I’m related I also stopped with the sugar bingeing and my moods swings are much more improved.
I no longer depend on sugar rush to get things done or be motivated. I believe because I strength train I’m just simply feeling stronger and don’t need to be in a MOOD. To get thing done.
Sorry this is kind of rambley. There’s been discussions on this thread about family members that cause grief. So I just thought to say perhaps if we just take notice of their sugar consumption during their outbursts. May help their inner circle families to have a low sugar diet implemanated over time.
Lemon tea and lemon water with stevia is my common drinks now.
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We pay tribute to our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Michael Mosley. Michael was an integral part of our lives, […]
Michael is touring Australia this September! Here's a link to dates and tickets. Hope to see you there.
Michael Mosley gives an update for 2019, current research in the field and announces a tour starting in February.
in Welcome to The Fast Diet and Exercise forums • updated 55 minutes ago by Merryapple
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6 Feb 15