New Here, looking for support and encouragement.

This topic contains 7 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by BigDave 10 years, 5 months ago.

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)

Penmeister

11:55 pm
8 Jun 14
Permalink

I wanted to introduce myself and hope to find some fast friends! I will be 50 in July and made a promise to get in the best shape of my life before my birthday. Last year I was doing great with exercise and diet, then we saw the program Michael Mosley did (we are in California) and we both started the fast diet, my partner first – he is still going months later. But…I had a loss that set me back – it even put me in the E.R. (thought I was having a heart attack, turned out to be grief). Anyway – I fell off the wagon completely and actually put weight on!

I am back at it, have been exercising 6 days a week, I also have a fitbit tracker and HR monitor to help me see how I am doing. I have been eating more healthfully and have lost some weight, still not back to where I was last fall (my starting weight last year was 213, last fall it was 185…right now I am 195.4.

So, I am going to give the Fast Diet a shot again for all the reasons in the book, but also…in hopes of losing weight. Since my partner has been doing it so long it will help to have someone here as “backup” and he is pretty religious about his M/Th routine. But I am hoping to find others to share this with, bounce ideas off etc.

It doesn’t matter where you are from but since there seem to be far fewer Americans doing the 5:2 – if you are in the US and want a friend in your journey…let me know. But it doesn’t matter if you are in the UK, Europe, AU or anywhere else, it is a lot more fun to take on challenges with friends!

Good luck everyone. Oh, and I noticed last time, my poor sense of smell became much more acute (strange side affect but that was kind of interesting). I start tomorrow – happy fasting!

Amy C.

11:57 pm
8 Jun 14
Permalink

I am American – living in Texas right now.

There are several Americans on this forum. I enjoy communicating with people around the world.

Penmeister

12:05 am
9 Jun 14
Permalink

Hi Amy,

I enjoy it too, my boyfriend is actually from England and we met in Germany…27 years ago! I looked on my fitbit forum and there is a group for Aussies, by Aussies so I didn’t join. The other groups don’t seem to be very active. On FB there are a couple of groups, again – not very active and very few Americans so since there seem to be fewer of us doing it, just wanted to give a shout out, not to discriminate. All friends from all parts of the world welcome. Thanks for saying hello!

How long have you been doing it? Any problems? Seeing weight loss? Any info or help is welcome!

Amy C.

3:06 am
9 Jun 14
Permalink

I started 5:2 last February and have lost about 23 lbs on it.

I love the control I feel on the fast days. I never believed I could go that long without eating! I feel great afterwards.

I am currently having a challenge with the non fast days — I eat more than I should and am working on listening to what my body wants rather than my emotions. I really love eating more than anything else.

I bought the cookbook and am enjoying the different spices used in Fast Cook. Many dishes are quite good. There is a bit of conversion that needs to go on to use it. Yesterday I had to look up the definition of hob and to convert 180 degrees C to Fahrenheit as well as a figure out what a stoned prune is and what is meant by runny honey (actually, still not quite sure. I just used regular honey). I enjoy the result of the recipes as I get tired of American food after a while.

There is lots of support on this forum.

There is an American 5:2 FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/american52fasting/. It is similar to this forum, but lot less active — only a couple of posts a day.

BigDave

3:20 am
9 Jun 14
Permalink

Welcome, I’m new here also. I live in Atlanta and have been doing IF since the start of May. I’ve lost 17 lbs so far which Is pretty remarkable to me. I’m doing 3 fast days a week for now, Sun Tues Thurs but I’ll drop back to 2 once I hit my goal weight (I’m 210 currently, want to be 195-200). I lift heavy weights every 10 days, and then I do cardio on my fast days.

I’m very excited because this is the first eating program that I feel I can do for the long haul, not just a quick fix to drop a few pounds. I love food and cooking, so trying to restrict calories every day just didn’t work for me. I’m also hoping for good news around my blood pressure which is borderline high. My next physical is in July so fingers crossed I get good news. Oh I should mention that I’m 47, married, and my wife is on the program also. Good luck on your journey and you have a friend here—

Dave

Penmeister

3:24 am
9 Jun 14
Permalink

Thanks Amy – I have actually been on Nutrisystem, and it worked like a charm before but now? I am just not very good about sticking to what I should eat, incorporate things I shouldn’t and not tracking very well. The good news is the meals are very low calorie and I have at least 2 months worth on hand – that helps with the fasting. I am not a cook, my boyfriend has always cooked and the more I do cook or go in the kitchen, the more I am likely to eat. So for now I want to plan out what I will eat before fast days, use the meals to help out with calorie counting, and if I am going to have home cooking, I would rather that be on non-fast days.

I am also eating a lot more Greek yogurt, that is a good thing for me to have at breakfast (80 cal) strawberries and raspberries – eggs are always good, oatmeal. Normally I eat a huge salad for dinner and an NS meal…or whatever my boyfriend cooks. But with the fast will do a meal and veggies.

I think because of my age, this time of life (although I have no other signs or indications that my hormones are playing tricks) I am sure the weight loss will be much more difficult than in years past – but I really want to get to a healthy weight and stay there. The other benefits would be awesome too.

So you lost 23 lbs in about 4 months? Great. Thanks for the info, I also signed up for the FB group, thanks.

Penmeister

3:29 am
9 Jun 14
Permalink

Thanks Big Dave, I wonder if we can still call you that once you hit your goal weight or if it is a height thing? Congrats to both you and your wife, it is always good to lose those pounds~ I started trying to get in shape because my BP was going up, this was last year and I started exercising long before dieting, I noticed right away that my BP went way down with exercise, I was getting stronger, more stamina – but the weight didn’t budge. Then I started eating better but fell off the wagon, I detest starting over again but…here we go again.

So, I plan to make it stick this time. I didn’t quit smoking on the first go either so… hoping to make this a good and healthy change.

Good luck on your journey and thanks for being a friend!

Penny

BigDave

3:49 am
9 Jun 14
Permalink

Pen quitting smoking is the best thing you can do for your health, congrats on the healthy outlook! And no I’m not super tall or heavy, I think that nickname came from the weightlifting or maybe I have a big personality? 🙂 Best of luck and keep us informed on your progress, I bet your BF is super happy you’re back on the train….

Dave