2 dress sizes is very impressive. Perhaps you are just on a bit of a plateau or you may just have averaged out the calories in and calories used.

I am a 64 yr old male just starting my 15th Fast Day. I have lost weight but am a bit concerned over some of the postings concerning weight loss or lack of it. I am not being critical of any individual, far from it and I do not like to see any sarcasm aimed at any one, But….
Posters need to support each other. Some posters clearly are on various types of medication and this may well have some type of effect on attempts at losing weight. For any one on medication do as Michael and Mimi have said elsewhere, seek medical advice but do not give up hope. Certain medication I was on had a side effect of weight gain. This was unknown to me and a change did help. Good luck to all giving this diet a go.

Week 9 just finished. Please see my blog for inspiration. http://hourfasting.blogspot.co.uk/

I tried this diet for the first time in the autumn after watching the Horizon programme. I really struggled on fast days – grinding headache, bone tired and irritable beyond reason. Worst of all, I didn’t lose any weight. It was affecting my ability to concentrate at work, so I gave it up as a bad job. This month, I decided to give it another go, with some modifications. I’d been cutting out coffee on fast days – this time I continued to drink black coffee and found the whole thing much easier – now I know what the headaches and tiredness were all about! I’ve also stopped having breakfast. I’d trained myself to have it, though it wasn’t natural to me, because I thought I needed it. But if I revert to my more natural pattern of not eating til lunchtime, I find it much easier to make it through and I can have a very decent lunch and dinner on 500 calories. I was not previously at all careful about limiting calories on non-fasting days and was definitely eating above 2000. This time I started monitoring every day on MFP and aimed for an daily average over a week of 1200 calories. I didn’t make it, and it was only the fact that I’m in half marathon training and burned over 2500 calories through exericse in the week which brought me down to an average of 1400. Nevertheless, I lost 2lbs this week (the first on-diet weigh in). which is pretty much what you’d expect from an overall weekly deficit of 4200 calories. For weightloss (and I stress that point), there’s nothing magical about this diet. It’s a calories in/calories out equation, like every other. The point is that it is a more psychologically sustainable way of dieting than daily restriction. I’m going to try to keep going for six weeks and see what happens, hoping that over time I”ll also start more naturally limiting my non-fast day overeating. By the way, I don’t eat junk, don’t snack, and cook fresh and delicious food. Just too much of it!

I’ve been on the plan about two weeks and love it. I’ve lost 3.5 lbs. and am very pleased.

Shirley, are you vigilant about not going over 500 calories on your fast days? I triple check my calorie count for my fast day, planning out my fast day the night before. Also, although I absolutely refuse to count calories on my feed days, I am mindful and aware of what I’m eating. I don’t deny myself, and yes, sometimes my portions were larger than what I should have eaten, but I still lost weight. And I do feel I’m eating less on my feed days than what I used to. Since nothing is off limits…I absolutely feel no need to binge like I used to.

This plan is amazing. Period.

Hi there, I have been on the diet for 6 weeks and have only lost about 2 lbs. On fast days, I eat nothing until about 7.00pm when I eat my dinner of about 400 calories, I do have tea with a splash of skimmed milk throughout the day (but I include this in my 500 calories for the day). I am tracking my calorie intake on non-fast days and take in about 1800 – 2000. I do drink alcohol at the weekend and the odd latte in the week, but rarely go over the calorie limit of 2000.

Surely worrying too much about what we eat on non-fast days kind of defeats the object and just means we’re on a diet all the time.

If anyone has any suggestions, I’d be really grateful to hear them.

Hellooo,
I’ve been having a good read on the comments – quite mixed reviews.
As soon as I get my book and have a good read I will have a go. So key is to do measurements and try and stay sensible on non-fast days … although the fasting days are worrying me :/
If anyone can send any tips I would be most grateful 🙂

I’ve been on the 5:2 since the programme originally aired last September. I’ve lost a lot of weight and also experienced a plateau so thought i’d share a few things here (sorry for long post)…

I’m a 44 year old Male 5’10”, started the diet at 15st 3lbs. I fast on Monday and Thursday and eat an evening meal of 500 calories or less. During the day I don’t snack, and only drink water and black coffee (sometimes I cheat and have semi skimmed milk in the coffee but I’m cutting that out from here on).

After 5 months I’d got down to 12st 13lbs (loss of 32lbs or just over 2 stone). But ended up putting a few lbs back on due to Xmas and a week’s holiday when I didn’t fast and have plateaued at about 13st 2lbs.

I’m now through the plateu and am slowly losing weight again but not at the dramatic initial rate. Given that I intend to stay on the 5:2 for life I’m happy if I can only lose 1lb per month from here.

What I found is that I’d started snacking the night before a fast day, being a night owl I had a tendency to eat around midnight the night before a fast day. In the early days of fasting I didn’t do this. So for me the fast begins after dinner on the night before the fast so that I can get a full 24 hours of fasting in on a fast day.

Also be mindful of what others have said that a feast day isn’t an “Eat what you like” day, it’s an eat normally day. You can still eat burgers, pub meals, pizza etc… but don’t stuff yourself like a hamster to buffer up for the coming fast. Eat a bit more than usual but don’t gorge yourself.

Last year I was wearing size XL shirts – yesterday I tried on a size Small shirt while out shopping and it almost fitted apart from it being too tight around the chest (damn those pecs ;-)) – this diet is awesome – thanks Michael, you’re quite literally a life saver 🙂

I love what EasifyUK had to say. I have been on the plan now for two full weeks and heading into week three. I have lost 20 pounds so far (yeah I know that seems to be alot compared to some of the other figures I have been seeing on here -although I confess I don’t know how much a stone is in pounds). I seriously needed to lose the weight and the fat- my doctor was all over me about it. Although he has never said the words “pre-diabetic” (my blood sugars have been elevated the last couple of times) and I am on lipitor for high cholestrol. This plan has been amazing (and I do look at it as a plan not a diet-this is a lifestyle change)and not all that difficult to maintain. I added walking a mile and a half 5 times a week to my regime (pretty much the only exercise I get at this point) and have been watching what goes into the mouth on the non fast days. I actually have been calorie counting just to see and it has been fascinating to see that if I eat more smartly I do not exceed my daily allowance. I also don’t stress about weighing myself. I do it once a week on a Sunday morning and that is enough for me to know that I am making progress. I fully suspect at some point I am going to hit a plateau and then I will have to figure out what to do next to keep making progress. I should lose another 15 – 20 pounds. My sage words are . . . keep at it! It works!

@ella S: For people who may not be losing much weight, it may be worth examining how much food they are eating on non-fast days. Michael/Mimi say don’t be obsessed with calorie counting on non-fast days but as a general understanding of what you are actually consuming on a daily basis, it may be worth picking a few random days over the past couple of weeks (including a Sunday), listing everything you ate, and then work out the calories as accurately as possible. You may find that what you thought was acceptable (2000 for woman, 2500 for men) was higher than you expected. This can give you a broad understanding of what you should be consuming on non-fast days.

Have been doing the 5:2 diet for 4 weeks and not lost any weight. I take thyroxine for under active thyroid and HRT after hysterectomy could this be affecting my weight loss. I am so dissapointed as I am desperated to loose weight. Can anyone help x

Dear all, this is my first week. I am 45 and have polycystic ovaries. Always have had weight problems. Am mediterranean, very good nutrition, low calories but still cannot lose weight. I have big hopes with this. I know that my condition is a problem for lots of women but it’s never mentioned on “diet” books for women. Doctor , will this make a difference??? Thanks for reading.

117262. Do not give up and please try not to think in a negative way about this diet if weight loss is slow or none at all in the initial stages. I have lost aprox 12 pounds after 18 fast days. I have found that if I do have late night suppers, a couple of beers each night on my non fast days then my weight creeps up to negate some of my weight loss benefits. However I look at weight loss as a secondary target. It is the other benefits that are more important for me. My blood pressure is good, BMI is falling and I feel better within myself. I am not angelical about this diet, far from it but stick with it, become more aware of what you eat on non fast days and at least give it a couple of months. Good luck with it and keep us informed.

I’ve been on the Fast diet for 6 months. When I started the diet my cholesterol level had been a steady 4.4 for ten years and now it has risen to 5.1!!!

Funnily enough I had been 2 stone overweight for at least 10 years and had lost it (very slowly) before I started the Fast Diet. However I must now cut back on the cheese and butter etc that I thought I could eat on my non-fasting days, such a shame!

Just saw the program on Vermont Public Television. Very interested. I’d very much like to know if Michael’s IGF-1 values have STAYED down since he began the diet. I did some reading in the scientific literature and it seems that long term caloric restriction (while it has all the weight benefits shown) doesn’t have a long term effect on IGF-1. The IGF-1 decreases seem to be more closely related to decreases in protein intake – something potentially very important in protein-addicted 1st-world countries.

I have been following the Fast Diet for 5 weeks now. I am happy with the 8 pounds of weight lost. I have lost 3 inches from bust and hips, but the waist has remained the same. Has anyone else had this experience and would welcome any ideas to reduce the waist (yes, I am an apple)! I have increased my activity to walking the doggie 1 to 2 hours 5 days per week. Thank you!

One more thing, yesterday was a fast day and unfortunately, also a day when I had two root canals done. The pain last evening was very unpleasant, however, this morning there was no pain! Possibility that fasting helped with the healing?!!

I’ve lost around 6 pounds in 6 weeks with weight fluctuating. I also suffered headaches but since adding one or two coffees with a little skimmed milk I no longer suffer them. I have tended to gorge on non fast days so probably could have lost more. I tend to follow myfitness philosophy of eating back exercise calories. I have noticed a surge in energy and can manage high impact aerobics even on a fast day. I am a 56 year old female. My main reason is the health benefits. When I fast I eat 4 small meals throughout day. Not sure though if it matters how you split your fast day calories.

Like cynister I’m apple shaped. Even though my BMI was well within normal range I started this diet because my waist was getting close to half that of my height (78/160cm). I’m pleased to say that within 6 weeks I have lost 4cm around my waist (though only 4lbs in weight). I do a lot of moderate to intense exercise e.g. cycling and running, and therefore would suggest to cynister to try increasing the intensity of your exercise – if its OK to do so, may be by increasing the briskness of your walks if there is scope before progressing onto more intense activities such as swimming or cycling.

Just to say on a more positive note that Mike got back to me and will post an answer by the week end. Im still a big fan of this diet and if they can find out why it doesnt work for what is hopefully a small percentage of people then they’ve got it cracked. In a short space of time, doing this diet has completely changed my relationship with food – for the better. I thought I couldnt have a cup of tea without having a biscuit with it, I now know I can. Im also now more aware of the calories in things like puddings, so much so I wouldnt thank you for a piece of sticky toffee pudding now.not that im never going to have a piece again, but it will be much fewer sugar laden foods I’ll choose more often. Im cooking fresh food more often – and enjoying it better. So, really looking forward to Mike and Mimi finding the last piece of the puzzle for those of us that are faltering. Keep up the great work guys! X

hi pist1958 (Pia)

my wife has underactive thyroid and she’s not losing much either although she has lost fat and her cholesterol has come down so stick with it and see how it goes-

Hi Briccolone.

Thanks a lot, I will stick to it, measuring my waist and other areas too – hope it will work in the long run.

Pia 🙂

Using the app My Fitness Pal, I realised I was eating on average 3500 calories on my non-fasting days, and have been for the last few years. And I wondered why I wasn’t losing weight, despite fasting for two days, and doing HIT cardio work! Now I eat within a woman’s recommended allowance, and fasting, the weight is falling off. I have always been against calorie counting, so until starting this diet, I had absolutely no idea of how many calories where in foods and drinks, and to honest I am shocked and disgusted At myself for being such a pig. I am also seven months postnatal, had a huge baby by emergency Caesarian, and put on a lot of weight whilst pregnant. I waited until I had stopped breastfeeding before starting this diet. Finally, I have a realistic idea of what I can eat on a non-fast day. You can still eat chocolate, or fish and chips but just need to account for it in your recommend calorie intake. So I think when the book states you can eat what you want on non-fast days, they were right – as long as you stick within the daily allowance. I’m fine with that! Inches have been lost, and my baby tummy is much smaller, clothes feel better and that big double chin is shrinking. I will now go about the rest of my life feeling more informed about food, and let go of all those years of guilty pigging out! Bikini body here I come!

I have been doing 5:2 for about 12 weeks now – lost about 1st in 7 weeks – nothing budging at all now and I have found it v. v. hard to do when it has been so cold. I know part of the problem is I simply cannot drink tea without sugar but I do drink A LOT MORE water on fasting days.
However I have another problem. I love veg so do not find it difficult to use them however I seem to get more and more constipated the more I do this diet which is why I have had to give it a rest for a few weeks for my digestive processes to hopefully recover. Can’t understand it as I naturally eat a fair amount of veg on both fasting and non-fasting days. Could it be because I am not a big meat/chicekn/fish eater anyway, and before this “diet” would eat only 2 eggs a month, if that? Now of course I eat 3 or more a week …! Any ideas anyone (PS I am the sort of person who can eat a whole tin of prunes with no adverse effects, likewise brussels sprouts!).

Am I the only one who finds it very strange that some people are dropping weight like water while others similarly situated in terms of weight they need to lose have been struggling (like me)? What people are saying about needing to be “careful” on the non-fast days makes sense, but I find it hard to believe that those who are losing weight are that careful – if they were, they shouldn’t have needed to lose weight in the first place, no? Michael/Mimi – to the extent you have any influence over the research into this diet, please have them examine this phenomenon!