its_me, congratulations on beginning 5:2, and good for you for just diving in! You are correct that a lot of that first few kilos is probably water, but, not all of it… some of it is fat, and, more importantly, it sounds like you learned a lot very quickly! Average weight loss on 5:2 is about a pound (0.45 kg) a week, for once in my life I have been exactly average, lost 40 pounds (18 kg) in 40 weeks and am now maintaining at a BMI of 20.1 using 6:1.

Sometimes there can be a few speed bumps along the way — some fast days are harder than others (although I oddly now *miss* fasting two days a week, only one day a week feels very strange) — sometimes weight loss stalls for a few weeks, or the scales even give you a *higher* number one week when you’re sure you’ve done everything right (it’s water weight again) — but intermittent fasting, and specifically 5:2, is the most do-able weight loss method I’ve ever come across, and the bonus is that there are health benefits even when the scales don’t budge, so no fast day is ever wasted 🙂

Another speed bump people run into has to do with the concept of eating ‘normally’, as a lot of the eating that goes on around us is not really all that normal, and the amount a person needs to eat to maintain his or her weight decreases as the BMI decreases… I found that calculating my TDEE (under the ‘how’ tab at the top of the page) at my goal weight and using non-fasting days to learn how to eat that number of calories in a way that was satisfying to me was a very useful strategy for both losing the weight and getting ready for maintenance.

Good luck!

Hi its_me

What Franfit says is important about keeping at around your TDEE on your normal non-fasting days. I have found cutting down carbs has been very beneficial. I read the labels on foods that I buy to see how many carbs they contain. I did a food diary for several weeks & was eating twice as many carbs per day as was recommended so now I really watch my portions of pasta, rice, potatoes & especially bread. I would think nothing of having 3 or 4 slices of french bread with a meal before. So many calories & no nutritional value. On my fast days (Mon & Thurs) I don’t eat any carbs other than the few in salad.

If you are struggling to consume 600 calories & only want to eat once during your fast day then add a small baked potato to your main meal or a handful of nuts/seeds to the salad? Also a small glass of fresh orange juice with bits (not the concentrated stuff) will give you 100 calories or so.

I’ve been doing 5:2 properly since March this year & have lost 10 pounds now, about 1 pound weight loss per week is ideal, weight usually creeps on slowly so it’s best to lose it slowly. I don’t drink any water on fast days in fact I never drink water unless it’s really hot which is rare here in Ireland lol. I take a glass of dilute squash (cordial) to drink during the night if I’m thirsty. I have my usual 3-4 large cups of tea/coffee with milk throughout the day & deduct the 50 calories I use in milk so my evening meal is about 450 calories. My last meal is 5-6pm Sunday the next time I eat is my 450 calorie meal about 6pm Monday then I fast again until 9am Tues when I have breakfast so I have 2 fasts of 24hrs and 14hrs broken by the one small meal. Same again for Thursday. If I eat at lunchtime on my fasting day it sets me off picking at food much easier to wait & eat once in the evening I find.

Good luck!