Newbie here; mom of 4 wanting to be fit again

This topic contains 9 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by bigbooty 8 years, 7 months ago.

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heidimagidi

6:45 pm
14 Apr 16
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I am a 33 year old mom of 4. I have always been a fit person. After having my 4th child, I couldn’t get the ‘baby weight’ to leave. I even gained another 10 lbs the next year. I ignored it for awhile, I guess thinking I never had to try & I lost weight, this would be the same.
I have tried low calorie diets, high protein/low carb diets and working out regularly. The low carb worked the best in the way of weight loss, but I had a mental fog and my mood was that of a grouchy teen. I gained that weight back quickly after quitting low carb.
I am hoping the 5:2 diet is the key for my weight loss. I have been at this weight for 2 years and I have only bought 7 pieces of clothes. I am determined to not buy more to fit me, I am going to lose weight and wear my old size.
I want to lose 30 lbs, maybe 40 lbs. The 30 lbs weight loss would have been at prepregnancy weight.

I am on my first fast day today. I am not going to lie, it is hard. I tried to have protein at breakfast to stay full longer, by lunch my stomach was growling and screaming at me. I had some carrots & hummus at lunch and still felt hungry, so I am sipping sparkling water. I read on the board some people don’t eat till dinner to help not feeling hungry all day. Does that work? I am going to need to find a plan B cause plan A (eating small amounts all day) is killing me. I will keep reading thru posts to find some more ideas and techniques.

rlw66

6:59 pm
14 Apr 16
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Hi heidimagidi – Today is my second day of fasting (Monday being my first) and I felt the same way. I’m eating 500 stretched out throughout the day (I’m one of those people who for YEARS has believed you need to eat every couple of hours to keep your metabolism going! 🙁 ) …..Today the hunger pains don’t seem as unmanageable but I planned a bit for today…so this morning before I worked out I had 1/2 cup Greek yougart with fresh strawberries, coffee (with cream!) and water. I’m now having my lunch which is a 100 cal piece of salmon and a cup of broccoli. For dinner, I will be having chili-lime chicken on top of a HUGE cabbage salad. 🙂 I do try to go to bed “early” on fast days just so that my mind will be quiet. When the hunger is bad and I just can’t seem to get any relief I do eat some veggies with 1 tbsp of “dip”, and lots of water. I’ve been reading through lots of posts and it looks like the best thing to do is try various things (times of day to eat, etc.,) to see what works for you. I can tell you that on Monday when I went to bed — I was hungry but I was so HAPPY I made it a whole day without “giving in”. I LOVE the way I feel on fast days — I just need my head to be quiet! I have about 60 pounds to lose so I’ve got a ways to go and I’m hoping to eventually get to the water/coffee/tea diet on fast days. But for now, this seems manageable.

Best of luck to you!

simcoeluv

7:12 pm
14 Apr 16
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Hi Heidi and welcome:

Your history illustrates the effects of some widely held misconceptions. The high protein/low carb diet worked for weight loss but you did not feel good doing it. Science has long known that a high protein diet causes people to ‘not feel good’, but that knowledge has not filtered down to the diet book writers. What works fine is a high fat, low carb diet. But people are still afraid of fat, so as it is becoming clear that carbs are bad the default substitute is protein. With the results you experienced.

Also, most believe that it is necessary to eat three or more times a day. That is what they have been told. But nothing could be further from the truth. What many newbies discover is that they get more hungry after they eat, especially if they eat carbs, and that the fewer carbs they eat and the less they eat in general the less hungry they are.

Many have found that one high fat, moderate protein, no/low carb meal in the evening works best on diet days. Sometimes you have to ‘work up to it’, but after a few days of what you are experiencing, people either settle there or somewhere in the ballpark, or quit 5:2. I hope you don’t quit, because 5:2 really works long term!

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

Good Luck!

QuietOne

8:11 pm
14 Apr 16
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When I started 5:2 16 months ago, it was very difficult and after several months I switched to water fasting only. In Feb this year when I returned to a strict 5:2 as a test I found eating 1/4 of my TDEE was HORRID. All it did was feed the feelings of hunger. I went back to water fasts March 1st and its all good.

If I was going to eat at all on 5:2 fast days it would be in the evening and I’d go with as low carb as I could do, moderate protein, high fat, and high fiber. It does seem to get me through the night better. Fasting days I do tend to wake up a earlier, an hour or so. But also on the second day I have a tremendous amount of energy and mental acuity. Multi-tasking becomes easy. Go figure.

I find water fasting is just plain easier than trying to eat a miserly small meal. Also I get more bang for my effort doing zero caloric fast days.

Stick with it, it is doable and sustainable. 5:2 isn’t fast. It is about the fasting. You won’t believe the new you in a year. Best wishes on your journey to the new you.

gracie

7:37 am
15 Apr 16
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Hi Heidi, I’m a first time mother to a 9 month old. I’m 4 fasts down, my second go at 5:2, I lost 7 pounds a few years ago so trying it again. I think it fits in really well to a busy working mums lifestyle. Sure there is barely time to eat anyway! Everyone is different but from my experience of doing it before for 10 weeks the empty feeling goes away.

Would love to make this a way of life. I really hope I keep it up & this enthusiasm is not just initial excitement. Have a 15 pound goal.

Hope you got through! I eat breakfast & lunch.

heidimagidi

12:31 am
17 Apr 16
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Thanks for the info everyone. I really bombed day 1. I went over the 500 cal. idea. So I don’t know that day 1 will count, maybe a test run day. Eeekkk.
I am starting again Monday. I will try as others said and as I have read on other sites; the actual fast of no food. Just water, coffee or tea. I don’t know if I can do it but I will not know until I try. If it doesn’t work, I will go back to food just planning better, like some veggie soup.
I understand it will get easier, it’s hard to remind yourself of this when your stomach is screaming, but I will try. I also understand there are other health benefits other than losing weight. I will keep coming to this forum for support on my bad days and for ideas and inspiration.
Thanks for the replies! 🙂

gracie

1:56 pm
19 Apr 16
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Hi Heidi, how did you get on on Monday? One thing I find helpful is that the hunger comes in waves, so if I say to myself no I’m not having anything then in 20-30 seconds that feeling is gone! Sparkling water really helps me too.

I noticed in week 2 I didn’t overeat on my non fast days and felt quicker fuller. I couldn’t finish my dinner on Saturday evening, that never happens! I’ve read that this is common on this diet, that your hunger levels sort of reprogramme. I hope that happens for you and you don’t feel like you’re starving!

I lost 4 pounds in the first two weeks and I had treats both weekends, and wine too.

bigbooty

3:49 pm
19 Apr 16
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Hi Gracie,

When your stomach is empty a hormone called Ghrelin is produced that tells your brain your hungry. When your stomach has stretched from eating it stops producing ghrelin and leptin is produced that tells your brain your full. As you eat less on the 5:2 diet your stomach starts to shrink. You need to eat less food for it to stretch and stop producing ghrelin.

Heidi,

Drink lots of water, it helps. Also take vitamin B5 before and during your fast. It will help. Hang tough, you can do it. And as weird as it sounds if you can get through the whole day without eating you don’t wake up the next day hungry!! Weird but true.

gracie

11:05 pm
20 Apr 16
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Thanks bigbooty 😀 What does the B5 do?

bigbooty

11:12 pm
20 Apr 16
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B5 helps in liver function. You want your liver working as best it can while fasting. Helps in conversion of carbs and fat into energy, once again useful when fasting.