Hi DonnyGirl60,

A lot of your questions will probably be answered here https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

5:2 doesn’t have an 8 hour window at all. It seems a lot of people now combine 5:2 with going 16 hours on fast days not eating at all but that’s nothing to do with the original 5:2 that I’ve been following for 8.5 years, and I’ve never done it.

You can eat what you like on your fast days, whenever you like – just as long as the total calorie count in the 24 hours doesn’t exceed 500 (or 600 for me). You just need to find a route that works for you, so you can sustain it for years, and then do it. It is recommended that you ensure a good amount of protein on the Fast Days so weight loss comes from fat and not muscle.

On the non fast days there is zero calorie counting and you can eat what you want – hopefully over time you will naturally want to eat less anyway on your non Fast Days as your appetite adapts and gets smaller.

There are a lot of recipes out there for meals on Fast Days – it all depends what you like to eat. Personally I hate most vegetables so most of those recipes were utterly useless for me, but I still found a way to make it work. Fruit is important to me.

Best of luck with it.