So it’s week four for me and I’ve lost 3kg. I’m thrilled.

After a big loss in week one, and then putting nearly all of it back on in week two, I did almost – almost! – throw in the towel. And then I reminded myself that I said I’d give this four weeks to see if it works, and boy am I glad I did. Here’s are my numbers:

Start: 80.3 kg
Week 1: 78.6
Week 2: 79.2 (I went up to 80 during this week)
Week 3: 78.5
Week 4: 77.4

I’ve also done enough maths to know that I can eat 10% over my TDEE on non-fast days (not that ever I aim to) and still hit my weight loss goal (65kg) in six months. This is helped along by exercise (I run, do weights, and walk a lot) but, as ever with weight loss, calories are king.

I know I could lose the weight more quickly if I counted calories on my non-fast days, but for me that seems to go against the spirit of 5:2 – the best part of which has been how FREEING it is to stop punishing and rewarding myself with food.

I just eat what I want, except when I don’t.

And it turns out – if you remove most of the emotion from food – what I want is pretty standard and relatively healthy, with the occasional pub night, takeaway or sweet – which I don’t over indulge in anymore, because I don’t feel like it’s ‘the last time I can ever have this’.

Anyway – gosh what an essay! I’m going to keep track of my progress here. I hope you all are finding 5:2 as rewarding as I am!

So at the start of week 5 I was back up to 78.9!

A kilo and a half gain. Two weeks ago that would have sent me into a tailspin, but I remembered to factor in: 1. I moved house on Sunday. Sore muscles (and boy did I have those!) retain water and 2. I got my period. And yep, that retains water too.

So I did my normal fast days (and my normal feast days), drank a lot of water, and four days later I’m down to 76.5.

A 2.5kg variation in four days is a really good reminder of just how unreliable the numbers on the scales are!

Oh well – as long as there is an overall downward trend I’m happy 🙂

So after two months of doing 5:2, I’m back to where I was in my second week. I’m so frustrated.

And I know it’s my fault. I started getting a bit less strict on my fast days, or not making it all the way through them. I’ve had a lot on in the evenings, and I haven’t been able to turn down an unplanned meal or evening out.

Then I would do two days of fasting in a row to make up for it, but all that did was trigger my IBS – something I haven’t had a problem with in years. And then I would need to eat to make myself feel better (mostly physically, but probably emotionally too).

I probably haven’t done a full fasting day in a few weeks. So it’s no surprise that I’m back here. But I’m ready to get back to it, and do it properly. This time around, I’m trying:

– eating three small meals on my fast days instead of one big one (my guts are a lot happier with this!)
– a short run on weekdays (it helps my mood, energy, self esteem, digestion – all the things I try to fix with food)
– stick to my IBS friendly foods on non-fast days (lots of probiotics, veggies, avoiding dairy and high fat food)

I think if I can stick to these three very simple things I can get back on track. Wish me luck!

So I decided to fast on a workout day this week – for the first time. It’s gone really well! I had a piece of toast (with vegemite and avocado – so good) for lunch, and veggies for late dinner.

In between, I did an hour long weights class and a 2K run. Happily surprised to find the workout was no harder than normal – I maybe even had a bit more energy? Hoping I’ll be sore tomorrow 🙂