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If it helps anyone,I found that my weight went up in week 3 then started to come off again. Stick with it. My average weekly weight lost over 5 weeks is just under 2.5 pounds per week on a 5:2. I think that’s a reasonable, consistent amount to lose that hopefully I should be able to keep off. Only another 23 pounds to go! If I say it quickly it doesn’t sound too bad 🙂
I gained like 8 lbs this February not doing anything special. Although my decreasing weight probably made my tdee drop. I stuck with the programme and lost loads of weight the next month. It was weird because I also lost a lot of weight over the holidays when I thought I’d gain. I’ve stopped stressing. As long as the overall tendency is downwards I’m good.
hey all, when I’ve lost weight in the past and tracked it on a daily basis on some days it would fluctuate by as much as 4 lbs! I learned eventually that it wasn’t a crisis and that as along as the overall trend is downwards then I shouldn’t worry. Didn’t get rid of the feeling of disappointment though when standing on the scales. I’m trying now to only weigh myself weekly at the same time though if I could have more discipline I wouldn’t even do that and would just go by the fit of my clothes.
I love spreadsheets so I inevitably end up plotting my weight on a graph along with a target line to keep me motivated – very sad I know.
Anyway, so far it’s 4 weeks completed and 10 lbs down for me. I don’t dread fast days as I know they’re helping me and right now I feel like I could carry on this way of eating for a very long time.
Well that’s three weeks down and dusted and the signs are promising that I will be back into ‘racing snake’ condition by my target date of 7 November!
So far, having kicked off with a 4:3 on week one (kick start the snake!)and then the regular 4:2 for weeks 2 & 3, I have a loss of 9 lbs. I think doing this with my wife (who is already getting into clothes she hadn’t got into for some time!) makes it easy. We do Monday and Thursday as our fast days and do our own thing food wise on those days which seems to be working well. Good wishes to all.
Onwards and downwards he cried!
Like a lot of people I’m having a slower second month here! During July I lost 7 kg and 10 cms off my waist, but this month have so far lost only 2.2kg and 4 additional cm off my waist.
Still, I’m losing weight, and am feeling SO much better. 5:2 is so much easier to be consistent with do with a young family than Weight Watchers :o) … and I feel significantly less anxious about its impact on my seven year old daughter’s attitude toward food too.
Thanks everyone for the updates on how you’re getting on – they’re really encouraging and interesting.
I did it! I got to my goal weight – I lost 16lbs in just over a month, and I’m soooo pleased with the improvement to my body. I’m kicking myself for not doing it before! I am going to see about another 4-5 lbs now though, on account of my still not firm enough backside!! I’m doing well with my exercise routine which will help with that too. I bought some new jeans today from Tesco as my old ones are gaping now – it feels awesome. My lovely husband is doing really well too – he fasts 4 days a week, and is good on the other days too. He’s lost over a stone in 3 weeks! He has 2 more to go.
Well done everyone else, love the updates!
Hi
Well despite me saying I wouldn’t weigh myself for a month I’ve been weighing myself at least once a day LOL. I didn’t weigh myself at the start but I did take measurements. I believe I’ve lost about 1.5 kg in about 3 weeks. Which is great as I really only thought I needed to lose 3kg of fat. My tummy already looks much better. I’ll be thrilled if I’m able to reduce the lumps and bumps on the top of my thighs and above my knees.
This has been the easiest way of losing fat EVER! I don’t feel flat thinking of the endless low calorie days stretching ahead of me. I don’t need to count calories (I have some stock standard food I eat on fast days and I don’t even have to exercise.
LOVING IT!
2fast2furious CONGRATULATIONS! That is really really amazing, I feel very pleased for you!! Was this doing 5:2 or 4:3 (& any doing anything in particular on non-fast days?)
Congratulations to ChicitaGatita too – you are doing wonderfully!
So I am over a month (day 35 to be exact) into the regime! I have lost 10lbs on a combination of a 5:2 & 4:3, staying relative active. My diet has been both good (trying to cook lots of wholesome balanced unprocessed meals) & bad (eating too much unprocessed junk on a more-than-regular occasion) so something I plan to focus on in the next month. That said, I will still be relaxed towards treats, I just don’t want to continue eating to excess at times. The cold & the tiredness have been my greatest bug bear & I’m slightly nervous to see how fasting during the colder month will affect me. More thoughts about the whole thing on my blog: https://thefastingdoctor.wordpress.com/2014/08/26/reflections-1-month-on-the-52-diet/
Fasting today – had a lovely bone brother for dinner – hopefully it will give me iron levels a little boost!
So pleased to catch up with everyone’s progress – everyone seems to be doing so well which I am happy to read.
Thank you everyone! Lucky Lucy it was 3:4, if not 4:3 sometimes! And I was very, very good on non-fast days too, between 1000-1200Cals (1200 is my tdee) with only a very occasional day off. I also took up exercise, I do a really intensive cardio type exercise video for 25 minutes per day – it’s called T25 and I really recommend it. I also gave up fizzy drinks, and tea and coffee – as I had it so milky and so often that added 100s of Cals a day! We started cooking chicken and veg for dinner every night too – we have about half a chicken breast each with veg and a tiny bit of potatoes, as compared to fast food a few times a week before! It’s been a massive lifestyle change for me, it’s not just the weight, it’s everything – I feel great for it! xx
That is really great & some fab dedication 2fast2furious, I applaud you! Especially regarding the lifestyle changes – shows how it really can be done with determination! May I ask how you have found your energy levels during this whole process? I find that I’m struggling with lethargy despite reaching my tdee & beyond on non-fast days. Though I do recognise that a part of that could be current lifestyle factors (i.e. work being busy etc!)
Hi all, Managed to read back a bit, well done to everyone. I’ve been away for a few weeks and managed to keep to 5:2 but changing the days. Only lost 1lb over the two weeks. A bit disheartening, would have liked a consistent 1lb per week but – a loss is a loss after all. Clothes fit much better which for me is the main thing. Good luck to everyone for the next week.
Toby
Energy levels are through the roof. I voluntarily did some housework the other day, instead of just sitting around, haha! I work full time too, and sometimes I really don’t want to exercise after work, but I just make myself do it. I always feel better for doing it. Once or twice I have had real energy low days, and I’ve just dragged myself through it – even a half-arsed exercise video (with a few extra carbs to perk you up beforehand if necessary) is better than none at all! I was much more lethargic when I was more sedentary and ate more rubbish! x
hey everyone! haven’t gave an update in ages but really struggled last week and only managed to do one fast day so thought i would check in and read how everyones doing to see does it help! every one seems to be doing really well, i started on the 1st of August and have managed to lose 9lbs so far although didnt weigh myself last week as i thought i would be up! planned on doing a fast day today but that didnt work so i am prepared for tomro now and ready, hopefully i can do fast day tuesday, thursday and maybe friday again just to get a kick start!
Hi all. Seems to be good progress made by all of us since I joined this thread which is really encouraging!
I had a week off work last week. I still fasted on two days (which was hard) but then we went to London for a couple of days and ate lots so I haven’t weighed myself this week. However, today I’m wearing trousers I haven’t worn for a good few months. They’re tight but no longer unwearable so despite my fears about not having lost anything that’s kept me off the scales, just being able to wear these trousers has made me feel happy (they’re not even that nice, it’s just the fact that they fit).
Keep up the good work everybody 🙂
Wow, everyone seems to be doing really well here. Well done, everyone!
@gallysaz Have you ever done consecutive days?
@kosiejelly I love trying on clothes that didn’t fit anymore and then actually fitting into them. Well done!
Hello All and thanks for this great thread 🙂
This is an intro post so it is quite long. Nonetheless I hope it rings bells with some readers, rather than just being a ‘me, me, me’ post!
I’m a woman, aged 58 and three quarters and overweight. I’m hoping to keep focused on the general health benefits of fasting rather than getting obsessed with weight loss. Having said that, I have been about 3 stones/ 42 pounds/ 19 kg (just did that conversion for metric friends!)overweight for
about 10 years and I do want to lose it.
As a yoyo dieter in my teens, I developed some unhealthy attitudes to eating and body shape and I know they can easily resurface. I just read an earlier post from someone (sorry forgot your name) who said they stand on the scales and their friend looks at the numbers. I really identified with that feeling that ‘The Numbers’ become the most important thing- and thought it was a brilliant strategy to get around it.
I did try 5:2 in 2012 after the Horizon programme was shown but I found some of the old obsession with weight loss began to predominate in my mind, which often led to my sabotaging myself. I did experience changes in my enjoyment of food and eating, though. I experienced physical hunger and then enjoyed meeting the need, or allowing the pangs to pass.
To try and avoid falling back into the trap of weight loss then sabotage, I started again in June this year but did 6:1, feeling I would rather do something which I could keep to, rather than throwing myself into it, getting scared and abandoning it. However, my addicted mind began to play games, I was sick (once – I think it was the raw runner beans (!!!!)) and nauseous another time, so I decided to increase my cals on a fast day, first to 650, then the second week it was 850. Luckily the saner, kinder part of my mind noticed what the ‘chaotic’ part of me was doing and I began to motivate myself by coming on this forum and reading other people’s experiences, rereading ‘the science bit’ etc etc. Thank you to everyone whose posts I’ve read in the past week or two!
On Tuesday I decided to go back to 500 cal fasting and felt such a sense of achievement that I decided to stop messing about and do 5:2. Phew! I feel a great sense of relief now I’ve made the decision. Today has been my 2nd day for this week. I feel the need to reach out via this forum as I find evenings quite difficult.
I’m mainly going to monitor myself by dress size (though I did weigh myself when I stayed at a friend’s in July and I was 13 st 9 lbs / 191 lbs/ 86 kg ). I have already dropped from (just about) size 18 (UK) to size 16. My aim is to get to size 14 by mid December.
I hope I can get some support from this forum in changing my attitudes as much as my behaviour; and turning those changes into an inherent part of my way of life.
Thank you so much for reading and here’s to enjoyment of whatever we eat, large portion or small, tomorrow.
@flemishcurves I tried 2 consecutive days once and didn’t find it too bad but I wouldn’t do it every week!
Welcome bootsy badger!! Thanks for sharing your story and hopefully this forum helps you to get used to the 5:2, on fast days I find it easier to have something small in the morning and leave most of my calories for dinner as I find the evenings really tough aswell!!
This week is actually going really well, weighed myself and stayed the same which I was happy about!!
Just wondering does anyone know of you are doing 4:3 for a week is it 400 calories on fast days or still 500? Thanks 🙂
Thanks gallysaz! I’ll give your suggestion a go next week. I’ve been doing v small breakfast and a cup of tea (essential!); and dividing the remainder between lunch and dinner (inc cup of tea with milk or soya milk with each. My fix!)
I also have a fancy to try the old ‘Breakfast like a king (no, QUEEN), lunch like a prince -ess, supper of a pauper’. Just occurred to me this might be good for a TDEE day. Has anyone else tried it?
Tuesday will begin my 10th week of 5:2 though to be perfectly honest, most weeks I have done 4:3.
I have lost 19.5 lbs and lots of inches 🙂 I am confident I will accomplish my goal of 45 lbs before 2015. I can not imagine carrying two 10 lb bags of potatoes very far and yet that is how much I have lost. This WOE is changing my life. Thank you!
11 weeks in now and I’ve lost 22 lbs and 4.5 inches off my stomach. Its not all been plain sailing though, I seemed to plateau for about 2 weeks when I was 8 weeks in and then again at 10 weeks, but the loss over time has been consistent around 2 pounds per week.
I’ve upped my exercise too, walking around 4 miles a day and I find I’m making much healthier eating choices. I did my first back to back fast days this week and it was surprisingly easy. I always pick busy work days as I don’t think about the food too much then!!
So, only a stone to go and I want to achieve this within the next 8 weeks for my holiday. Thats been my motivation from day 1 and I’d recommend fixing a relatively short term goal, say 4 months, to anyone….keeps you focused on those difficult days!
Good luck everyone, there are some amazing stories on here.
Hi syl and welcome:
Here are some tips – #s 1 and 4 will help quite a bit at the start: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/
Good Luck!
Positive news from me. My weight loss had stalled for a couple of weeks but has started again. I didn’t get disheartened because I’ve read here so many times that it’s normal to have a few static weeks.
Plus I could feel the difference in my clothes so I knew something was happening even if it wasn’t reflected on the scales (I blame monthly hormonal changes). So this week I’m now down a total of 18 lbs from when I started 10 and a half weeks ago. I’m just under a stone from my initial target now (and a stone and a half from my “ideal weight that I never thought I’d reach again but which now doesn’t look as difficult as it used to” weight).
Yay 🙂
My first day and first post was 1st August with a goal of turning the ‘Silverfox’ into the ‘Racing Snake’ – well, here I am on 18th November with a weight loss of 16 lbs having dropped from 14st 2lbs to 12st 12 lbs – plus I have had to change me jeans to 34 inch waist from the now baggy 36 in !!
Not quite got to the full racing snake yet – but only another 5 lbs to go so it will be done by Christmas – fast on he cried !!
Well done Silverfox, you’ve done so well. You’ll have to have some serious dedication to lose another 5lbs by Xmas, but it’s very do-able if you try hard – you can do it! It’s really nice to come back to an old thread and see how I was doing a few months ago. I have lost another few lbs past my goal weight now, but I’m not really focusing too much on weight anymore, it’s all about exercising and toning up for me now, and just keeping the weight in check with the fasting once a week. It’s going really well, I look great and feel great – I intend to look better though, after some more working out!
i have to count the calories every time i eat .it is a little bit annoying . so i got a food scale from amazon yesterday . it made the thing easier . and it is portable .nice!
i suggest if you really want to do a diet .keep doing . otherwise it will be useless . and the food scale is necessary.
the one i got called “Carelove” .you can search it on amazon
good luck!
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