Hi C and welcome:

Here is most of the info you will need to be successful on 5:2: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

Hi C:

Splenda, and all other 0 calorie foods, are fine on 5:2.

One of the ‘secrets’ that show up after doing 5:2 correctly for awhile is that many people reevaluate what they have been eating and make changes that they believe will be for the better.

So focus on doing your two diet days correctly for a month or two, and I suspect everything else will fall into place.

Good Luck!

Hi C,

I tend to rock the boat too much with my mantra of healthy eating, so please take or leave the info Im giving as you see fit.

If you are addicted to simple processed carbs then basically all that means is that you are unable to function without glucose spikes. Simple processed carbs such as bread, crackers, biscuits etc. are turned into maltose (two glucose rings joined together) whilst you are chewing the food in your mouth. It is then converted to glucose shortly after leaving your stomach and entering your small intestines. People that are unable to function without continual glucose spikes just have a liver that is poorly adapted to processing stored fats for energy.

So how does one adapt and make your liver function both as a glucose storing AND fat retrieving organ? Cant sugar coat it for you but its not going to be easy. It will take about a month of “detoxing” to get rid of your simple carb addiction. Running a calorie deficit as in 5:2 will certainly help. If you can manage it, just go cold turkey. No processed crap carbs.

Substitute it with high fibre alternatives and or good fat alternatives. Nuts like almonds as a go to snack. Cruciferous veggies. High fat low sugar Greek yogurt. Tart apples like granny smiths. You will have to tough it out for a month, it gets easier after that.

Can you be successful on 5:2 and still eat a crap diet? Yes, but its going to make the job real hard. Your chances of success will be a lot higher if you eat healthy and incorporate 5:2 as well.

Lots will chime in and say you don’t have to do it this way. However go to the Maintenance forum and ask the ones that have been successful and you will see a common theme emerge with what they eat. Good luck with it.

Cstout1947 – I enjoy a good news story,so your early success with 5:2 is great to hear. You asked about what to substitute your unhealthy snacks with. I’ve tried all sorts of things to replace potato chips/crips (which I love) and eventually decided it is better to eat a good filling meal with lots of veges, wholefoods and fibre and try to have no snacks at all till the next meal. I’ve tried substituting one snack for something healthier and I find I just eat too many calories by the end of the day. I have fruit available for emergencies, as I do give in to temptation sometimes. Some people have a few nuts or a square of very dark chocolate. Or a handful of sugar-snap peas or cherry tomatoes – something you like. Check the calories of your healthy snacks so you know roughly how much is OK.

I found once I got my Fast days sorted then i started to think more about what i ate on non-fast days. Good luck with your journey!

ccco USA FD Day 25:

I was lucky in that I already go rid of refined rice, white flour, sugar, etc. long before I 5:2. I did it one at a time. I had the hardest time with white bread! More recently I removed alcohol from my diet. I only drank wine and think I will have an occasional glass once I reach my goal. I also use Splenda. Outside of fruit, it’s my only sweet that I eat! Funny, though, as time went by I no longer could tolerate the foods I gave up. White bread, which I could eat by the loaf once I got started, I find intolerable! LOL Now I am working on gluten. Getting rid of food that isn’t good for you is hard be very doable over time. Since entering this 5:2 WOL, I have completely revamped my diet and now eat Mediterranean style. While it is still a work in progress, I feel so much better and I probably wouldn’t have made the changes without 5:2. I am now so much more aware of what I put in my mouth. Now I am working at keeping out of my house those things I can’t control how much I eat! Nuts are something that are part of the Mediterranean diet but I just can’t stop eating them! LOL Obama ate exactly 7 almonds every evening! I am going to focus on that thought and see if I can do that, too!! Good luck! I think this is a doable and healthy program!

ccco USA

Fasting_me, you may be right about the almonds! LOL Once the press got ahold of that, you took it all the way! It does sound like discipline, though, but still amusing. Thanks for responding, I think that I won’t consider February a wash because I spent the whole months trying to get this program the way it works best for me and I think I finally got it. I have turned things around and my weight is going down again! I’ve only been doing this for about a month, so I am pretty sure that March should be a good month for me! Live and learn, as they say!! Good luck everyone and stay strong! 🙂