New to the forum but 23 weeks in

This topic contains 13 replies, has 14 voices, and was last updated by  Iona72 3 years, 4 months ago.

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  • Today is the magic day! After 23 weeks, losing an average of 0.7kg (1.5 lbs) per week, I have got my waist size to be less than half my height. On 3rd Feb 2013 I was 94.3kg (14st 12lbs with a waist of 107cm – today I am 78.6kg (12st 5lbs) with a waist of 93cm. I haven’t felt this healthy and energetic since my 20s, I haven’t seen the GP since I started it (and for the last decade I seem to have caught every virus going, taken ages to recover from them, and had to have loads of blood tests), my acid reflux (or GORD) hasn’t played up once, and I’ve been taking lanzoprazole to try to control it since 2000 (13 years). It’s no exaggeration to say that this eating strategy has changed my life. I’m going to give it another 3 weeks to consolidate, then move to 6:1 to see what happens with that maintenance approach. I’m doing this for the rest of my life.

    The busier and more active I am on fasting days the easier I find them, although the first 4 weeks did take a lot of mental effort, and occasionally a fast day will still drag a bit, but 90% of them are a breeze. Also, when on holiday (usually walking ones) I don’t do the fasting at all. With 2 such holidays during these 23 weeks they actually made little difference to the overall results because my portion control has also dramatically improved and I naturally no longer want to eat so much anyway.

    Of course none of my trousers fit any more – but having hit my final target getting 15 pairs taken in is simply a way of celebrating the result.

    I used 2 earlier targets to help keep up my initial enthusiasm – first to get my BMI to a max of 25 which meant a weight of 87.4kg (13st 11 lbs) which was achieved after 10.5 weeks. Second I thought can I get back to 13st (82.5kg) which I hadn’t seen since I was a teenager? I did that after another 8.5 weeks, although I then plateaued for 2 weeks before continuing the downward trend and getting where I am today in another 3 weeks.

    I now know loads of other people who have also started the 5:2 and everyone is doing well on it.

    Brilliant, Mr Data! – Thanks for telling your story. I loved hearing the specific details, especially about the target scheme you followed. Magic indeed! Long may you continue to thrive.

    That is fantastic! I will keep your story to the fore, while I fast tomorrow.

    Congratulations Mr Data!
    You’re going great guns, and stories like this make my first day hunger seem worth it!

    Keep up the good work 🙂

    One year later – am I still doing well? Well, basically YES.

    Carried on with 5:2 for 3 more weeks then switched to 6:1. Had a slightly interesting time with a stress fracture of my left tibia after trying to take up running in August, and then a serious chest infection over Christmas for 6 weeks. The weight dropped a little lower and stayed off OK until Christmas but I wasn’t feeling as good as I had done on 5:2. My weight went as low as 11st 13lbs (75.6kg) but that felt like it was a bit too low. I decided to go back on to 5:2 again after a 3 week throat infection in March, but allow myself more treats on the 5 to stop too much weight loss. Since last year, the highest my weight went up to was 80.2kg (12st 9lbs) – but it’s averaged around 78.3kg (12st 5lbs) and so my BMI has generally been 22.4. My waist has consistently stayed at less than half my height.

    During the last year I’ve also halved the dosage for my asthma inhaler and the dosage for my reflux drug – maybe coincidence, but probably not. Having a lot less fat round my gut area has to be healthier – and I certainly look a lot better.

    As of today it’s now been 14 weeks since I was ill, my weight is 77.1kg (12st 2lbs) and my BMI is 22.05. 3 weeks ago I had a fantastic walking holiday in Dorset covering more miles at a higher average speed than I’ve managed in years (I’m 50).

    The 5:2 continues to deliver for me 75 weeks since I first took it up. Best of luck to everyone else.

    Mr Data your story is very inspiring. Thanks for the update. It’s great to know this way of life is sustainable.

    Thank you soooo much for coming back after a year! It is very important to hear that maintenance works. Your story is very inspiring and I hope a lot of people read it. Keep up the great work and let us know how you progress.
    Best wishes
    Stef.

    Thanks Mr Data . I am on my first week and reading all the post I can for encouragement xx

    Thanks for the responses – glad you liked the post. For those just starting and finding the fast days tricky I’d say just stick with it. The first 4 weeks I did it the mental effort on fasting days was pretty high to stick to the regime. After that it became a lot easier. These days – though this may seem very odd to some – I actually miss it if I don’t fast for 2 days per week. I grew to actively like the feeling of the fast, it makes me more energised and I don’t feel like I’m dragging around dead weight in my stomach.

    My portion control has remained good – I just don’t like or want a big meal any more. I’m not really a foody – more somebody who eats to live, than lives to eat – but there are certain foods I do really enjoy the taste of and those do still test my resolve – roast pork and crackling for instance. However, if I do ever eat more than I really should on a 5 day and get a bit bloated, then I know I have 2 fast days to get over it and any weight I put on will come off.

    Personally I never expected the 5:2 to be a quick fix. I know some people have extremely ambitious hopes of it, presumably because so many other diet fads over-promise and may give significant initial weight loss which proves unsustainable. In the first 6 months I was on the 5:2 I lost an average of 1.5 lbs per week, including some plateau weeks where nothing seemed to change. That always struck me as a nice healthy, steady rate of weight loss and the lack of any rebound weight gain convinces me this is the way to go. It took me 15-20 years to put on all the extra unwanted weight – to lose all that and keep it off in just 6 months seems perfectly fast enough to me.

    Like so many worthwhile things, the 5:2 is a marathon, not a sprint. Stick with it and I’m sure you’ll reap the rewards just like I have. My intention continues to be to 5:2 for the rest of my life.

    Now been 5:2’ing for just over 2 years. Recently decided to aim to maintain a BMI of around 22.5. Today it’s 22.45. (It started at 26.97, lowest was 21.59 but people thought I looked a bit too thin.) Weight wise 78.6kg is the mark I’m aiming for – as long as I continue to consistently have more days under it than over it I shall stay happy. Still working through left over Christmas treats so probably eating a little more than usual on the 5’s – but the 2’s are as easy as ever and continue to keep the weight where I need it to be.

    Good luck to everyone just starting and well done to those maintaining.

    3 years in today and still doing OK. A couple of kg higher then I’d really like to be but heading back in the right direction to a BMI of 22.5 (22.82 today). Still 5:2 every week except when on holiday. Had some stress last year with a job loss which hasn’t helped, but now got a new job which should see me into retirement so feeling much happier.

    Recent blood tests show my cholesterol is fine and no risk of diabetes. 4 years ago those test results weren’t so good. Cholesterol was raised and I was risking becoming pre-diabetic.

    My “QRisk” for cardiovascular disease is also extremely low, so it’s all looking good.

    If you are just starting – good luck, and yes, it really does work. If you are successfully maintaining, well done and keep it up.

    Congratulations Mr Data. You have done very well. I am also very pleased with this program having lost about 13 kilo in almost 12 months. Not as fast as you but I have had many holidays etc and I just get back into it when I return. I also have fasted on some holidays as well. My goal is another 10 to 3 kilo this year. It is for life and for the first time I feel when I reach my goal that all will be ok as I will manage my ideal weight with a weekly fast or more if needed. I am no longer scared of the scales..I like them.

    Congratulations and thank you Mr Data!

    Congratulations on your successful journey with 5:2, and thank you for telling us about it. You are inspirational for us all and particularly the men on 5:2. Your health improvement must be giving you lots of satisfaction. 50 is an important age where things start to appear, and you’ve made a significant change improving your health a great deal. Well done.

    Merry,
    Now 16kgs lighter, BMI 23.6, off blood pressure meds and no longer needing yearly cardiac tests, on 5:2 for life.

    Way to go Mr Data extremely well done. Keeping on with keeping on 5:2 does pay dividends. You are a fantastic example to all of us.

    13 months for me tomorrow I am not as successful as you have been but I don’t do 5:2 for weight but for Health improvements and benefits which I’ve gotten in spades. The weight loss from 232.3 to 185 ish +/- 2 is a pure free bonus I’ve gotten over the last year for all the health improvements I have obtained.

    Congratulations on your success and best wishes for your future on 5:2. Again a very well done you deserve it.

    Thanks SwissFasters, Merryme and QuietOne.

    You are all doing very well yourselves. A few people who started about the same time as me have subsequently stopped and actually regained most of the weight they lost – but if you don’t change the fundamental habits that caused you to gain weight in the first place then you won’t keep it off if you give up the 5:2 approach. My only way to keep where I am now is just to keep doing 5:2 – and by now that really isn’t a problem. I definitely never want to go back to where I was in Feb 2013.

    Good luck to everyone. Stay determined.

    I am so pleased that I found your updates today. I am on a fasting day and am on my fourth week on 5:2. It’s a real inspiration to hear your story and to hear that it works in the long run.

    My weight loss is dead slow so far – 1.5 kg i the 3 weeks – but as I know it is going to work, I am fine with thinking long term.

    Everyone’s posts here have been a huge help today. Thanks.

    Hi SP:

    The average weight loss on 5:2 is about a pound a week. You are right on schedule!

    Here is some information that might help: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

    Good Luck!

    OK, time for the annual update. 4 years in and still 5:2ing. Slightly heavier most of the last year than I’d like to have been but then I’ve had to cope with redundancy, a new job, both parents-in-law dying, the hacking cough virus for 5 weeks and double knee surgery (for a third time) just 1 week ago. As a result I haven’t exercised as much as I’ve wanted to, but once the knees recover hopefully I can get back to being a bit more active again. Ideally I’d like to be 78.6kg, but I’ve averaged 80.6kg in the last year, ranging from 77.8 – 82.8kg. Similarly, I’d like my BMI to be 22.5, but I’ve averaged 23.1, ranging from 22.2 – 23.7. (My starting point was 94.3kg and 27.0 BMI.)

    Still eating the same two menus on my 2 non-consecutive fast days, still not counting calories on any other days and still not fasting on holidays. Keeping it simple and consistent largely seems to work for me.

    Thank you so much for this post and the confirmation of long-term success with 5:2. Stories like yours reinforce my own 10-month experience of 5:2 as a “forever solution”. Simple and consistent are the key words. Four stone down and no longer diabetic, I still have a long way to go — but I’ll get there, too.

    See you next year! 😀

    5th Annual Update. Weight on 03/02/18 is 81.0kg. Still 5:2ing, varied breakfast a bit more with granola and yoghurt for some good guts bacteria, and I’m doing short duration high intensity training on a static bike 3x a week plus 30secs of press ups and 30secs of the plank at other times. Had another (non-knee) operation half way through the year and been able to be much more active since then. I’m very slightly lighter than I was this time last year but 0.9kg, or 2lbs, is well within the range of daily variation I see (I still weigh myself everyday when I’m at home and do neck, chest, waist, belly button and hip measurements every Sunday). I would still like to get back down to where I was after 2 years at around 78.6 kg which is 5lbs lighter than at present. However, I started at 94.3 kg so I am still 13.3kg or 29.3lbs lighter than when I started and I am still 6.4kg or 14.1lbs under a BMI of 25. I just have to keep on keeping on.

    Good luck to all maintainers and all newbies alike.

    7 years in – not sure what happened to my update last year but I had back surgery in late January 19 so I was probably more than a little bit distracted. Bulging disc and a cyst on my sciatic nerve – not nice!

    Anyway the latest stats are:

    Date: 3/2/13, 3/2/14, 3/2/15, 3/2/16, 3/2/17, 3/2/18, 3/2/19, 2/2/20
    Kg: # # 94.3, # 77.6, # 78.1, # 79.8, # 81.9, # 81.0, # 82.4, # 80.7
    BMI: # 27.0, # 22.2, # 22.3, # 22.8, # 23.4, # 23.2, # 23.6, # 23.1

    being a healthy weight to begin with probably helped with the recovery from surgery. Certainly didn’t hurt anyway.

    Well done Mr D, you have had lots to deal with over the years but have still done an amazing job at sticking to it! I have hovered around the same weight for a few years now up and down 5 or 6 pounds but really I need to get rid of about 20 pounds. Thanks for sharing your story and helping my motivation. Catch up with you at 8 years I hope.

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