Need some help & advice please.

This topic contains 4 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by TracyJ 11 years, 3 months ago.

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

josie450

9:41 am
5 Aug 13
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Hi, I’m 3 weeks into my fast diet & have to say I love it & find my fast days pretty easy. The key is for me to stay busy and drink plenty. My starting weight was 15:7. For the last couple of week’s I’ve got down to 15:1 but then tend to put 3 pounds on during my non fast days, so I’ve more or less plateau’d at 15:4!

I’m going on holiday at the end of October & my goal for this would be to reach 13 & a half stone by this time. I’m setting myself small targets my first being to get below the 15 stone mark which is proving harder than I thought. Although the scales aren’t really moving as much as I’d liked my clothes are feeling looser, so I must be doing something right?

I would like some advice on how to maintain the weight loss between my fast days please, how many calories should I be eating etc. And if I eat out should I fast during the day to allow for this? It’s the start of a new week & my first fast day of the week starting at 15:4, I’m hoping in a week or so to come back & tell you all I’m below the 15 stone mark, so please HELP!!! Many Thanks x

NickiS83

12:06 pm
5 Aug 13
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Hi, I started the 5:2 diet at the beginning of the year and, at that time, was around 12 stone. I have now, after what seems like ages, managed to hit my target of 10 stone, and have actually gone on to lose a little extra, which is brilliant. My advice would be that, while 5:2 is a great tool to help with the weight loss, it won’t work on its own – I also had to incorporate a lot more exercise into my daily life and had to think seriously about what I was eating, even on non-fast days. There were times when my weight would plateau and to be honest those were the most difficult times, as it is hard to stick with it when you don’t seem to be seeing any results, but I often found that a little push (i.e. an extra fast day or gym session during the week) would get me over these hurdles and it started to get easier again.

TracyJ

2:04 pm
5 Aug 13
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Hi josie450, I’ve been doing this for a year now so I can give you the longterm perspective and it also sounds like we started out at or about the same weight (ish). A year on I have lost 3 stone and am now 12 stone but if you do the maths that only works out to just under 1lb a week, so don’t fret that you’ve only lost 3lb in 3 weeks. You have mentioned yourself that your clothes are feeling looser and this is what a lot of people report. No significant weight loss exactly but a readjustment of how their body fat is distributed and their clothes fitting/ looking better on them.
I get what NickiS83 is saying and she’s probably right for her own weight level (and mine now) but the 5:2 lifestyle does absolutely shift the pounds on its own with no help from exercise (in my case at least. I am starting to exercise and think about that side of it more now but I’ve done no more exercise this past year (and very probably quite a bit less actually) than I did before.
If you’re comfortable with the fasting and don’t want to up your activity level yet (going the whole hog on exercising, when you’re not used to it can result in muscle forming which might make it seem like you’re not losing weight or even putting it on because muscle is heavier than fat – so just bear that in mind if you do start a new exercise regime), you should probably go to the TDEE calculater and put in your vitals, which will give you your recommended calorie intake for fast days and also for non fast days. A rough rule of thumb is that you shouldn’t exceed 2000 calories on a non fast day but if you drop a couple of hundred off, whatever your personal figure is, then that should subtly help you lose weight a bit quicker (if that’s what you want).

josie450

6:25 am
6 Aug 13
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Hi Nicki & Tracy, Many thanks for the advice. I started my husband on the diet too yesterday & he struggled but actually lost 3lbs so hopefully he will continue with me. I’m also on my 2wks hols from work so I’m planning to get some walking & swimming in which will help too. Fingers crossed I can break the 15 stone barrier over the next couple of weeks. Will be reporting back. Thanks again xx

TracyJ

11:44 am
6 Aug 13
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Hi Josie450, good luck cracking the 15 stone barrier in the next couple of weeks. I just noticed your other question:
“And if I eat out should I fast during the day to allow for this?”

Yes, I would and do on non-fastdays – infact I now pretty much just eat once a day anyway and just switch between 1500-2000 calories or 500 calories, depending on if it’s a feast or fast day). Or, if you need to eat earlier in the day before you go out, just stick to things on the menu that you can easily calorie count. Quite a lot of places (esp chains) have cottoned on to the 5:2 early and do offer 600 calorie or less options on menus (not ideal for an actual fastday but useful info when you’re trying to stay under the 2000 mark on a non-fastday), so that’s an easy way of tracking at least one bit of your meal – then you just have your starter or desert (or both) to guesstimate (although if you’re likely to have both you might want to consider fasting for the rest of the day ;).