This topic contains 337 replies, has 98 voices, and was last updated by NancyDrew 9 years, 5 months ago.
Hey all!
Gingerbread, it´s soooo great to hear that you feel that way 🙂 And it is NOT silly at all to feel pretty. You´ve made a great decision and doing well, that is super.
You give us all motivation. As well as other members who take the time and tell how it is going etc.
Today I´m having a “normal day”. I did have a slight fear that I´d break and stuff my face with food since I fasted yesterday. So far so good. I haven´t calculated my calories for today but I think I´m ok, not overeating. My next fasting day is Thursday, I´m actually waiting for it already 😀 that´s silly!
Hi everyone,
I am in week 4 of the diet & have lost 11 lbs so far. I am currently obese and need to lose 4 stone to be back to a healthy weight. I couldn’t face the thought of trying to lose all 56 lbs in one go so I have set myself the target of losing a stone and a half in 11 weeks (I go on holiday in week 12) which will get my BMI back to being very overweight rather than obese. If I can get good results & stick to the diet then I’ll pick up again when I get back from holiday (heavier no doubt) with a new target.
I’m finding the diet straightforward to follow (not easy but straightforward) and meal planning is definitely the key for me. On fast days I have porridge for breakfast, only clear fluids during the day and then either fish/chicken & veggies or salad for my main meal and that seems to work. On the other weekdays I’m trying to be good too as I want to lose 2 lbs a week and have found the Hairy Dieters cookbooks invaluable in providing a wide range of really tasty, “proper” meals for 400 calories or less.
Really heartened to see so many success stories & so much support on the forums which will hopefully keep me on the straight & narrow in the weeks to come.
Welcome Dotty! Amazing loss so far, you must be very pleased. I’m glad you’re finding it to be suitable and no doubt you will continue post-holiday as you know it works. You might even find you don’t overdo it whilst away because many people (myself included) discover that their appetite reduces over time. Are you measuring too? Sometimes the scales can tell fibs! Also makes you feel good to have something tangible to measure against. I saw the Hairy Dieters book in my local library but couldn’t carry it alongside Nigella and Jamie which were rather large heavy books! I’ll get it next week. Gordon Ramsey has some nice recipes in his book too. Good luck, keep us updated on your progress.
So nice to hear everyone’s updates! Dotty P: the Hairy Dieters cookbook sounds very useful…I’m going to seek it out! And how nice it will be if you can lose that stone and a half before your holiday.
Jacaru: isn’t it weird how the day after fasting, you’re not that hungry? I’ve just fasted (well, still am fasting) for the 11th time today (woohoo!) and thus far I’ve been surprised every morning after, when I don’t fancy that HUGE breakfast I planned in my head the night before.
So, I’d intended to fast on Monday, but felt inexplicably wiped out, so I fasted today instead. It’s a little bit harder now my daughter is on her school holidays. I’ve always made a big deal of her having breakfast and she was quite concerned that I wasn’t having any. I’ve been saving all my calories until dinner, up until now, but ended up having a small lunch today to stop her worrying! She’s 13, and I was very cautious about dieting around from the outset…it’s a tricky age for being healthy about food. Any advice appreciated!
I hope you’ve all (fasting or otherwise) had a great day.
x
Have you talked to your daughter about the fact you are dieting? My daughter is only 4 and noticed her daddy weighing and wanted to be involved so I think they are just curious. Explaining about how too much fat at your age is unhealthy but stress that at her age it’s on might make her feel a little less worried. Maybe you can cook healthy meals with her so she gets a head start with healthy eating without being concerned with restricting calories. I know it’s such a tricky age because they are easily influenced! The one thing I remember from that age is that I appreciated my mum’s honesty on every subject.
Thanks Mamamoo and Gingerbeard! That’s all v.reassuring and helpful. We had a good chat about it yesterday and I will (as you say) try to include her in what’s going on. I think part of the problem is that we have always talked to her about healthy eating, and she loves cooking, but the idea of fasting has, of course, never come up! So it was a bit confusing for her. And whilst 13 year olds can be quite sophisticated, in all sorts of ways, I think she is struggling a tiny bit with the idea that what might be healthy for me, is certainly not healthy for her. We’ll certainly keep talking.
That said, she’s getting takeaway pizza with her friends tonight!
Hi Geoff66: good luck with your first fast day. 🙂
I’ve started taking much more notice of calories at a variety of supermarkets for the same item and am amazed that the same basic item varies quite a lot. Being vegetarian I’ve been having chickpeas and salad for dinner as I find it fills me up with a bit of feta if I have a few cals left. Today I have a tin of chickpeas from Aldi and they are a lot lower in calories than any other brand I’ve bought at only 72 calories for 100gms.(lidl 115 per 100gm)
I could eat the whole can for dinner with salad or roast some with spices for a snack during the day! Must find that recipe.
Trying 2 days consecutively as I was away for a long weekend and missed monday – anyone done this successfully?
Wow I didn’t realise basic ingredients can vary so much! Obviously things like ratatouille can vary due to recipe differences, but for chickpeas that’s surprising. Is that the drained calories? The only difference I can think of is if they measure it with the water then smaller peas will obviously weigh differently to larger ones as there may be less in the can. Check the drained weight printed on different cans. With regards to back to back fasting, I’ve not tried it myself but I know others who have successfully done it. It’s a very individual thing. Personally I’d rather not but I wish I could manage it!
guys you might be able to give me a bit of advice I need to lose about 7lbs which is about 3kg. I want go from 8st 10 to 8st 3 if I can. I’m on week 4 being doing 2 fast days but not seeing any dramatic weight loss like some of you mentioned above. on fast day I normally eat a breakfast, small lunch and dinner there is 12 hours between my last meal on a non fast day and breakfast on fast day, normally small bowl of porridge, after this, I eat two rice cakes and an apple and dinner normally chicken stir fry lots of veg, brown rice etc. any advice on what I should do differently. I also walk every day drink over a litre of water and Im doing 30 day ab challenge so up to 75 crunches and 60 sit ups daily. Thanks all x
Hi Debz! 3 pieces of advice for you – 1. Only have 2 meals on a fast day, aiming for food consumption within an 8hour window, 2. Ditch the refined carbs like rice cakes and stick to protein + loads of veg, 3. Don’t expect fast weight loss as you’re already skinny so your body isn’t working as hard to move around like someone obese. Your TDEE will probably be around 500-800cals less than someone bigger. Hope that helps 🙂
Thanks Mamamoo, I’m struggling with the 2 meals a day because I eat at 6.30am and won’t eat again for 12 hours, I have a 2 hour commute to work so by the time lunch time comes around I’m normally really hungry. I don’t eat my main meal until the evening time. I’m also struggling for low calorie lunch options so the apple and rice cakes were as low as I could find. Any lunch time suggestions anyone, I’m in work so its something that needs to be prepared the night before.
Hmm… Well I usually skip breakfast and have lunch at 11 then fruit for snack at 3 and dinner at 6. But before I used to have 20g oats with 50/50 milk/water then ratatouille and egg for lunch and chicken or smoked salmon and vegetables at dinner. Saw me through ok but I prefer to have 2 larger meals now. If you make vegetables and low cal fruit (berries/plums) the bulk of your calorie intake then you shouldn’t have too much trouble. Veggie sticks with roast chicken is easy to prepare, or vegetable frittata. Today I had a dry dried egg with cheese & herbs on top, some ham and roasted tomatoes. I sometimes make sandwiches using lettuce to wrap the contents. The reason I avoid and carbs is because they make me hungrier. The body uses carbs before protein which is probably why you’re struggling midday. See if you can make it to 11am then have lunch and snack at work.
Hi everyone
2 weeks in and 3.9 pounds lost! Even ate cake and a takeaway on Saturday. Hopeful that this rate of loss will continue. Slow and steady,amazingly don’t feel deprived and can cook and have family meals guilt free ( I cook healthy stuff, but do like a bit of butter on my veg) no more passing on the potatoes or pasta on non fasting days…..feeling liberated from 20 years of every diet ever invented 🙂
Foods that are a god send on fasting days
Miso soup 37 cals
Sugar free jelly 6-10 cals a pot
Skinny popcorn 50 cals ish a bag
Waitrose love life spinach and ricotta cannelloni 279 cals (is amazing)
Hi Mamamoo,
I didn’t take my measurements at the start which I do regret now but I seriously did not expect to have such a stellar start to the diet. Usually I only lose 1lb per week at best and that’s normally from somewhere obsure like my little toe!
I can tell I’ve lost from my waist, around my ribs and (miracle of miracles) my lardy backside from the way my clothes fit. I’ve got a big bust (but that’s never bothered me) and I’ve never managed to lose weight from that area in previous diets. Much to my other halfs relief (!!) no obvious sign of weight loss there this time around so far.
My scales only measure to the nearest pound as they are so old so I only acknowledge the weight loss when its a definite, no wavering answer from the digital display. My weight does seem to stay stable though, in the week I stay the same or go down I never seem to fluctuate wildly from day to day like I have on some previous diets which is good. I have put on the occasional pound over the weekend but as Monday is one of my Fast days so far I have managed to lose it again by Tuesday.
You seem to be giving out plenty of good advice so I’ll definitely be hanging on your coat tails!
Aww thanks *blush*! I didn’t expect to have such a good start either. My awareness of hunger has changed completely. I love the freedom but I also relish the chance to really listen to my body’s signals rather than just eat for the sake of it. Well done for doing so brilliantly so far. I would definitely start measuring if your scales are not so accurate. Mine does to the nearest 1/4 lb. I love talking to everyone and learning from others. So far I’ve learned not to wake the hungry dragon too early or he gets grumpy and demands feeding more, and my body hates carbs in large doses.
We’ll it now 2pm and been keeping my self busy, house tidy , lawn cut, been the gym, washing done and pegged out just get tea ready next and do the ironing. The wife might enjoy me being on this diet !!! Had breakfast and tea is planned. Good to read what other people and how they handle it, the secret for me will be to plan my fast days and remember that on no fast days eat what I want not every thing I want in other words eat sensibly not every thing in site
My first fast day was Monday, I had a normal day yesterday and felt guilty for eating what I wanted. I still don’t think I did badly. Another normal day today, though I am not as hungry as I would normally be, I have been thinking it is the heat as much as anything. Next fast day is tomorrow. I am still in the frame of mind that it can’t work but I know it can. I am also resisting temptation to weigh myself every day, that’s where I have fallen down on other diets.
Hi everyone. I actually started in mid-May, but took two weeks off in June while I was on vacation, so I figure I’m sort of at the same starting point as everyone else on this thread! I’ve lost 8 lbs so far (want to lose about 10 more). I haven’t weighed in over a week, so I’m hoping it’s a bit more by now. I started out alternate day fasting, but have settled into a 4:3 and sometimes 5:2 pattern most weeks. My fasting goal is Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, keeping all my 500-600 calories for my evening dinner only (other than some sugar-free gum during the day). I’m really liking this WOE. It’s so much easier than daily restriction. I’ve even gotten back into baking treats for my kids on Saturdays every now and then!
Hi Gruvychick – the book I have is the Fast Diet (on Kindle) but I have found that all I really need to know about 5:2 is on the website. IMHO no need to spend a fortune on various books when all info is free on -line. Even the number of calories in food can be “googled” . This is one diet where there is no real need to spend a fortune on books or special foods, The only other thing I use is a set of scales graded in grams to help with calorie control and they are part of my kitchen equipment in any case.
If it helps to read lots of books on the subject – and there are many – then go for it. All I’m saying is I don’t find it necessary.
Whatever you read, good luck with your weight loss 🙂
Toby
Hi all!
I myself haven´t purchased any books what so ever. I don´t think I´ll need them. And luckily we have a great free finnish website that has many many foods and products with nutrition information as well as calories, it´s great and very easy to use. I´m sure you can also google the calories, as Tobythedog said. Handy!
Tomorrow is my second fast-day. I already wrote down what I´ll eat and counted the calories. So much easier to stick with your daily calories when you plan ahead, don´t u think? 🙂
– Natrium
My Story: on June 23rd I started doing research on diets cause the scales tipped at 155 pounds and I was shocked. I started at that time limiting my calories to 1200 a day and walking 3-4 times a week for 30 minutes. Imagine my shock when I got on the scales on July 9th and it said 160! I cried. I was like what …….. this ain’t working so I found this diet and thought no way can I do this b/c I I like food but I kept to eating 1200 healthy calories and fasted on the 10th the 16th and the 21st. Because I thought it would be hard to do it twice a week.Yesterday I got on the same scales and it said 152, and I lost an inch from my hips waist and 2 inches of my thighs, I was happy! So with that said starting now I am going to do twice a week because I have evidence this works, starting at Once a week let me know when my hunger pains started so it helped me plan when I should have my meals without being cranky and wanting to go nuts on people! This really does work and I can’t wait to lose the remaining 20pds for my goal.
Gingerbeard don’t beat yourself up. We are all in the same boat! Are you able to fast on one weekend day? My husband and I fast on Saturdays because we are very busy with shopping, ballet and visiting family. It certainly helps because we always used to eat out and now we don’t. With regards to BBQs or house parties, bring your own food. Homemade burgers and chicken drumsticks with grilled veggies or crudités are ideal for staying on track. Bring enough to share and your friends will appreciate it! And one thing I learned from slimming world is that the lowest calorie alcoholic beverage is vodka and diet coke. Wine is still heavy on the calories and almost as bad as beer! Perhaps a white wine spritzer if you really want wine, as it’s mixed with soda water. For evening munchies (not bothersome at the moment because I go to bed early) I save some calories for a small bowl of yogurt with fruit and toasted nuts. Sweet and puddingy enough to satisfy that sweet tooth of mine. If savoury is more appealing then wholemeal crackers like ryvita or crisprolls are lovely with a little Parma ham or laughing cow with cherry tomatoes. I find that’s nice instead of crisps. I always keep boiled eggs and pickled onions/beetroot in the fridge for emergencies too. Not that it helped me yesterday as I fell off the wagon at 4pm due to being overtired! Hope that helps, have a great fast day and enjoy the sunshine 🙂
Hello fantastic fasters! It’s been so motivating reading of all your success – and how you’ve pushed through the struggles! I have been fasting for a month now and lost a total of 3kg. This week has been the hardest so far in that I haven’t lost the kilo a week I had expected. My sense is that I have eaten too many calories on my non-fast days this week but was also wondering if other people have plateaued at this stage? I can’t help but feel it may be a bit soon? Thanks for sharing everyone!
Hi Tilly don’t worry, just log your food intake on the myfitnesspal app for a week and see if it’s going over your TDEE. I’ve lost about the same as you in 4 weeks and still doing ok. But in the 2nd week I didn’t lose much so that’s when I started logging. It really helps me stay on track, even though they say no need to count calories. Also means I’m planning my meals better and actually puts me off adding a bit here and a snack there. Good luck 🙂
Mmmmm. Now really want parma ham and crackers Mamamoo and Gingerbeard! But I will wait for dinner: fast day today!
TillyLace, I think 3kg in a month is a good and healthy loss! Well done! And as I understand it, it is inevitable we don’t keep losing at the rate of the first couple of weeks…if you did, you would probably not be losing fat. So keep up the good work! I’ve lost about 10 pounds (4.5kg) over six weeks. Personally, I’d rather keep up a slower rate of loss than let dieting eat too much into my five non-fasting days. 🙂
Thanks so much Mamamoo and HungrySchmungry! I definitely am very pleased with what I’ve achieved so far! And well done to you both! It’s great to hear other peoples journeys – it’s reassuring and motivating! I’m hoping to lose 10kg over the next 3 months but will absolutely be proud just to stick to fasting!
Thanks again guys!
Second week on 5:2. First fast day this week very difficult. Nagging hunger all day-unlike first week. I went over by about 50 cals. Could not sleep, ate an apple, then finally felt OK. Then feeding day, by lunch time I experienced symptoms of extremely low blood sugar, which is strange since I ate breakfast. I need to do this. I need to succeed. 🙂
Greetings! Newbie here!
My interest in fasting began after reading Brad Pilon’s ‘Eat Stop Eat’– on the advice of my daughter. It was a short info-packed read, and just the kick start I needed.
With little exception, the 5:2 regime has worked for me for about 5 weeks now. I want a ‘lifestyle’ and not a ‘diet’. I don’t want to deny myself a dinner at a restaurant or a chocolate treat when I crave it.
I weigh myself once a week and, at this point, look only to have lost *some* weight. That encourages me.
There are some quirky/silly (I think) notions that I need to get past:
~ maybe I shouldn’t exercise too much after a fast day begins. (What if it causes hunger and I give in to eating?)
~ breaking a fast at the 23-hour point means my fast session was not successful.
I LIKE fasting. Once my fast starts, I find that I can ‘put off’ my continual/raging thoughts about food. That is quite a change for me!
pmhlb
Hi this is my first week. I have had I fast day and the next is tomorrow I feel great (apart from hayfever) I am already looking at food as cals not how tasty things are I hear myself saying is it worth it? And most of the time its not. I even do fancy chocolate and normally I dont go a day without chocolate. I cant waitto get on the scales and see what I have done even excited! (Never thought I would say that). I have a long way to go but I feel positive about 5:2
Hello all! I hope you’ve had a good day and are feeling well. I realised today how helpful it has been to have my partner fasting with me: for a bunch of reasons, he didn’t fast today, and when I got home from work he was preparing and enormous feast of delicious food, having forgotten, apparently, that I was fasting. Argh. I stuck to my planned meal though, so am feeling proud, if grumpy. And I’m pleased to say that my daughter seems unfussed by my fasting today.
Gingerbeard: I’m having that very same that ‘odd feeling of hunger you get in the evening after supper’, right now. I know I’m not hungry, in fact I feel quite full (broccoli!) but I could soooo eat something else now. I think it’s a combination of being in the habit of eating in the evening, and having kicked off the hunger by eating. The forum is a good distraction, anyway.
Hello SuccessyWoman (nice!), Marika, pmhlb and sambam. Here’s to getting through those fast days, especially the difficult ones! 🙂
Hi all!
I’m a new 5:2’er – I started on Wednesday with a fast day (I just had watermelon as I haven’t gotten my act together yet & I’m craving it in this heat..!) & am doing another tomorrow. I’m hoping to follow largely a ‘paleo’ diet in the meanwhile, not calorie restricted but just to minimise processed foods/sugar intake. That said, I’m not going to be regimental about it & if it’s someone’s birthday I’m not going to say no to cake 😉
pmhlb – I actually did some early morning exercise on my first fast day & it actually set me up well for the day & if anything, I found it energising. Plus it tired me out in the evening so I got an amazing night’s sleep/wasn’t too bothered about being hungry! I think I’ll try & wake up early tomorrow to do some high intensity training too (we’re talking literally 10-15 minutes worth or less!)
It is interesting what people are talking about re: ‘too’ many calories on non-fast days (& in the other case of arobin1366, restricting calories on non-fast days to 1200). I personally think it is a fine balance. Too little calories (which for me I wonder if I would head that way <1800/day. ) & your body goes into ‘starvation’ mode especially combined with the fasting days. Which means any relaxation of the calorie intake will probably mean weight gain. Not ideal. Too many calories & the excess will mean weight gain. I think ultimately the net calories per week is the deciding factor plus the effects on the fast days on burning fat too. So for those who are worried about occasional ‘slip ups’ (within reason of course), I wouldn’t worry too much, it may actually be keeping your metabolism revved up!
Hi everyone, great day for me! Not fasting but felt really full up quickly. I even missed snacks I’d planned because I didn’t need them. Went for a long walk with the dog and ended up jogging halfway round just because I felt energetic. This is a real achievement for me because I have never ever ran without pain/burning in my lungs (I’m asthmatic and need inhalers for these situations). I’m so pleased I could burst!
Hi lucky:
“Too little calories (which for me I wonder if I would head that way <1800/day. ) & your body goes into ‘starvation’ mode especially combined with the fasting days.”
The ‘starvation mode’ is a myth:
http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/food-thought-fast-day-starvation-mode/
Hi Everyone! Today was a Non fasting day for me and I amazed at how I am not craving food! Yesterday was a fast and I did great.My husband came home with McDonalds’s and I said “Nope I can eat that tomorrow” I woke up this morning and had a healthy breakfast of eggs and soup for lunch. For dinner the family wants Lasagna and all I can think is the calories and carbs in that. I am craving the fish and vegetables I have waiting for me on my next Fast Day…I guess I am going to have to hit the store. I even turned down the chocolate chip cookies today!
Second fasting day for me today since starting on Monday. I think I am having around 600 calories, maybe a few below or a few above. Certainly feeling better already. I had a banana for breafast, porridge pot for lunch and then I had boil in the bag fish and 300g of veg for my evening meal. I knew I was still low on calories and feeling peckish later I took 300g of mixed summer berries and rhubarb, stewed them and had those.
Time for bed now as I have a little hunger pang, but a glass of water should sort that.
Hi there everyone. I started 4:3ing about 20th june. So far I have lost 7 lb and am happy with that. I have a lot of weight to lose…about 5 stone to get rid of. It has been a pleasure putting it on, but it is no pleasure having sore knees and a hairy face and catching sight of myself in the mirror. I will be 40 in 2 years time and feel that for the past 9 years, when I have had my 4 beautiful children I have dodged every photo opportunity. I dont think I have 1 photo of me with any of my children after my first baby and that fills me with great sadness and regret. My mother was overweight all of my life ( we were both size 8 or 10 prior to babies) and I just dont want to waste any more of my precious life in regret. I am utterly determined.
My main things I have noticed on the fast diet are that if I eat red meat on an feeding day it seems to go right through me like a flock of sparrows! Also I get quite cranky at the night of a fast even though I might not even feel the hunger. I am a dead laid back person, but I do wonder if food is a pacifier for me. I also feel a bit more alive and sometimes too alive to sleep. Xx
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