oh dear that is so frustrating, there is a posting ‘still no weight loss’ on the forum and you may find that helpful. one of the points on that thread was to have thyroid checked out because an under active thyroid causes weight gain –that is what had happened to me.
check out the site and other posts under topics, hopefully you will find something helpful.
have you checked out the HIT exercise regime?

Silly question – You are eating somewhere comfortably between your BMR and your TDEE on non-fastdays aren’t you?

Hi…you say you have lots of potatoes, rice and dairy…the potatoes and rice are very high carbs. Low carb Higher fat is better than the other way round. Maybe try cutting back on these for a week or two to see if that helps. You also seem to be eating right up to your TDEE on non fast days – while this is usually fine, the other thing to try is pulling back a bit or use an app to record the exact amount of cal/kj you are having to be sure you are within the TDEE figure.
Also as has been suggested, check the side effects of your medication and that sugar free gum which can contain additives and sweeteners which can also interfere with weight loss.

Mostly stop feeling guilty and try not to stress. this is a new way of eating it isn’t supposed to be a hardship and it isn’t a ‘test’ you have to pass so please stop being so hard on yourself…that may be part of the problem.

xx

^^ i second the high carbs and the fact that you are eating right up to your TDEE. If you do not measure your calorie intake absolutely accurate it is very easy in your case to go over your TDEE (as you are eating right up to it)

I have realised that stuff that I did not consider to be “calories”, such as salad dressings, ketchup…have quite a lot of calories! Also the very occassional cookie that I did not log…had up to 80cal each!

Perhaps you can try to replace your potatoes with some green veggies?

I really hope you can find a way to turn things around as losing weight would give you a boost.
Best of luck
Stef.

Hi, I watched the Horizon programme on BBC2 last night, it was very interesting about carbohydrates, proteins and fats. I was left with more open ideas about balance. We humans are omnivores and I think the balance that suits is very individual. If you want to know what the content of the food is http://www.myfitnesspal.com is very good and free.

I think you are possibly right re the anxiety. Perhaps concentrating on fasting with the 500 cals on fast days for just health benefits, not weighing yourself and eating moderately whatever your body seems to want on other days (well last night said sugar + fat was not good, it was the combo!) would be helpful for a while?

Anything that relaxes you would be good, sleep is very important they say, in weight loss. How hard and how often you exercise can either strengthen you or stress you. If you are doing ‘hard’ exercise every day you may not be allowing recovery. If I remember correctly, Michael only did the HIIT once a week – though I think he does it twice now.

I think my body has its own wisdom but I do not always hear its small voice or ignore it, then wonder why it rebels!

Kind regards

Hi ChilliGriffin, I think I tend to agree with Rabbitfood. This mystery is probably stressing you out more than you were to start with. As long as you make sure to eat more than your BMR on non-fastdays, I think I’d just do the 2 500 Kcal days a week and try not to stress about the rest of it.

I think you stated earlier that you felt like you were overeating on non-fastdays and that you were actually kind of having to force yourself to eat. Well, just don’t do that. Be sure to eat enough to take you over your BMR but beyond that don’t worry about it.

As far as carbs are concerned, I don’t think it’s a big issue – I like rice, bread & pasta etc myself and haven’t cut them out on 5:2. Just be aware of not having more than one or two carby food types per day I’d say (toast for brekkie, veggie pasta bake for dinner – that kind of thing) and tend towards meat, veggies and pulses wherever you can. I agree that you shouldn’t worry too much about cutting out fat, some fats are good for you and any natural fat has to be better for you than the synthesised, chemical rich ‘spreads’ and fat free cheese & other dairy products available. God knows what’s replacing the fat in those things but I’d bet good money that whatever it is is worse for you than naturally occurring fat.

Dear chiligirl,

So sorry to hear that your weigth and inches do not budge. I know how discouraging that can be. I want however to share some tips that I hope may help you

1 if possible make yout own food from scratch and try to use natural ingredients ( potatoes that you boil, ovencooked chicken breast and steamed broccoli)
2: when filling your plate, 2/4 should be filles with veggies, 1/4 with chicken, meat or fish and 1/4 with potatoes,rice or pasta
3: make sure you drink enough water
4: when exercising try one day with cardio exercises. The exercise should last for at least 30 mi. And you should be able to talk when exercising. One day should include exercises that builds muscles, llift weight, use the a rowing machine or use a kettlebell as muscles are great for burning fat. Then one day should be intervall training ( for example try to run on a teeadmill using the following program : 5 min walking pace , 5 min running light , then 20 *45 sec where you up the pace with to clicks each time a total of 20 times.after each 45 sec pause for 15 sec by standing on the side of the treadmill,then end the program with walking briskly for 5-10 min.
5: the other days don’t exercise as your body needs to recover, but move around (take the stairs instead of the elevator, if you have an office job try to work standing for 30 min a day, park the car the furthest from the shops entrance, etc etc

Great hugs, please don’t give up

Hi Chilli, I bought an electric food scales the other day and actually started weighing out portions of pasta, rice, seeds, meat, cereal, fruits like bananas and things like avocados. I thought my portion sizes were accurate but they were double and a bit. 30g portion of wholewheat pasta is tiny and not what I’ve been putting on my plate!

I don’t know if you weigh your foods but it might help you get a handle on the carbs and calories in refined foods. You can use google to search the nutrition of anything in any weight. I’m the same age as you and in the past have never lost weight sensibly. I’d say since childhood I’ve been eating adult portions. I really hope this helps because it opened my eyes.

Aily
xx