Hi All,

I hope you are all doing fine and staying safe in this challenging Covid-19 time.

I am writing in sadness and frustration, minutes after stepping on the scale: I am 2 weeks in 5:2 and did not lose any weight. And the worst thing is that I don’t know why, so I would love to hear your opinions and suggestions.

A bit of background:

1. This is the 5th time I do the 5:2 diet: The first time was 4 years ago, to lose 8 kg, and then I did it three times more over the last 3 years just to lose 2-3 kg after the Christmas holidays or in preparation for my wedding. Thanks to these occasional 5:2 sprints, constant 6:1 and regular calories counting, in the last 3 years I always happily kept my weight in the range 68-65 kg, with small ups and downs. All the times I did 5:2 I lost weight at an average pace of 0.5 kg/week with no problem

2. I moved back to Belgium from Singapore 8 months ago and my weight crept up to 72 kg again 🙁 I knew it might happen: Singapore lifestyle was healthier, plus I needed to re-adjust to my life here again. Now my life is stable again and I have started 5:2 to go back to at least 67 kg (so I have at least 5 kg to lose)

2. My TDEE is around 1600 Kcal and my BMR is 1400 Kcal, but judging from decades of dieting my BMR might actually be a bit lower (because I am quite sedentary and have a very low metabolism, which also reflects on my body temperature, paleness and bowel movements). I know that if I don’t go below an average of 1200 Kcal/day I won’t lose any weight

3. I count my calories every day, not only on fast days (been doing this for 4 years, it’s a habit now). I weight/measure everything I eat and cook, which is especially easier now that I eat only at home since restaurants are closed. I eat 400 to 500 Kcal on fast days. For my feed days, I like to indulge more in the weekend, so I keep the calories below or equal to 1200 on 2 feed days and go up to 1500-1700 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The daily average over a week, according to my calories tracker, is 1100-1200/day. This is the eating pattern I used the other times I did 5:2 as well.

4. Due to lockdown, I have been even more inactive than before. I work full time at home and due to the long working hours I don’t have the time/energy for long workouts, but since 3 weeks I started to do something small every day: a small 30min bike trip, climbing the stairs of my building up and down 20 times, some abs exercises and in the weekend a 2-hour walk or a longer bike trip (20-25 km). They don’t count as proper workouts but at least I try not to be stuck to my chair 24/7.

What could it be preventing me to lose weight this time? Am I so inactive that my metabolism hit rock bottom? Is it because I am getting older compared to the last times I did 5:2 (I turned 36)? Should I eat even less?

I am at a loss and I feel so frustrated (and hungry!) and I just feel like giving up 🙁

Would love to hear your thoughts and tips and, if you have experienced this before, what solved it for you?

Thank you in advance!!

xx

Thank you so much Cinque!!

Your post really motivated me to push through and guess what: I went on the scale this morning and I was 1.7 kg down! 😉

I guess I was expecting a faster loss at start because I was used to it from my previous 5:2 experiences, I shouldn’t have lost hope so fast. But the body changes, situations changes, and I think I was just expecting too much from myself (and my body).

I’ll keep going, hope to progress further!

Have a great day 🙂