Keep on keeping on! I was also at 81k a couple of years ago and dropped to 64 k the hard way – deprivation etc. The weight has started creeping back on (family photo shock) so I started doing 5:2. I haven’t weighed myself since July though so I can’t tell you exactly how it’s going – but it’s going, and with no deprivation! Try not getting on the scales for a few weeks maybe?

I to have the same problem my weight it fluctuating. On my fast day it goes down few pounds next day it up again. I having lost any weight in 2 weeks and it making me feel so depressed.
Please help. Can anyone tell me what I’m doing wrong. ?

If you want to count calories duna you can get a free programme called MyFitnessPal which will help.
I seem to have hit a plateau too, but have lost half inch off my waist so dont lose heart Tina321 things are probably happening but not yet registering for you 🙂

Thank u lindyw got the fitness pal now. It does help.

Ijust logged on to forum for this same reason. I plateaued for last 6-8 weeks with up and down on weekly basis of about 1kg but not further improving. Since Feb I lost overall 11kg from 100kg so very happy but still I want to get down to ideal weight for me of 83kg, a way to go yet. I am glad to hear this is common, but not convinced it is because I am already lighter! Is it possible that there is “easy weight” to lose and “hard weight ” to lose and do I now need to step up the regime, either more days fasting or combine with exercise.
By the way I have recognised now my main reason of weight gain like most people I guess was drinking alcohol which I have cut down on quite a lot so I am hoping this does the trick.
But not sure how maintainable that one will be! Ha!

hi guys, ive been doing this plan for over a year now,
i to have hit plateaus,
one lasted almost 4 months! but the good news is while the weight loss stopped the inch loss kicks in, so get out that tape measure! keep at it, if you want to up your fast days then do so, i found swimming helped me kick start things again, but i do understand both of these options are not always do-able for everyone, the loss will start again if you continue as you are, but you need to give your body time to adjust and catch up. remember you didnt gain this weight over 6 weeks, for me it was over a few years it slowly crept on.
keep an eye on your feed days and keep within your allowance, its so easy to over do things, i don’t count cals on non fast days, as this would drive me nuts and feel like every other diet out there. try not to get disapointed this is a life long change not a quick fix, good luck xx

If you keep just below the TDEE for your current weight, then you will lose weight.If you want to change anything then increase your activity or change it to something else for a while. Plateaus are just your body catching up with all of the changes. I had a plateau for a month but lost 7 inches!!!!!!!

However, if you lose to drop your TDEE to your ideal weight, then you may find it difficult to lose any weight at all, as your body tries to hang onto the calories that are being consumed.

I’m on alternate day fasting since April (complete fasting, no calories at all on fasting days) and encountered the same phenomenon. Right now I’m stuck since beginning of September. I’ve added some more sports but this didn’t help. Now I’m changing my diet by eliminating wheat products of any kind and replacement with oats, rye, Quinoa. Watching the Aetiology of fasting on u-tube and reading the book “wheat belly” I’m curious if this will make a change.

I’m enjoying the fasting days so much, I don’t want to break the program so I hope, dietary changes will make it!

Q

Well it has been good to read this and I’ll try to get back on track. I lost 30 pounds in 6 months – then NOTHING for the last 6 – in fact I gained 4-5 back. About a month ago I gave up on this and have been searching for new ways. After reading this, I guess I’ll get back to 5/2 again. I don’t read that anyone had a 5-6 month plateau! And I bike. And I was very very good in following the fasting and not overeating other days.
If anyone else has had such a long plateau and then started losing again – I’d love to hear about it – and if you have any hints. I may try 4/3 for awhile. And now that spring is here I’ll start walking more.
Thanks

Hello, Joao,
I started “fasting” in Jan. 2013. I still do 2 days (very strict about it, I may add) and my weight has levelled off. Naturally increasing the amount of exercise helps the weight to drop off a bit quicker. I now “fast” to maintain the weight loss already achieved. Perhaps for a couple of weeks you could try 4:3. I have done this in the past and found it helpful.

Hiya DebG, Yep – definitely got you beat on the plateau length 😉 By February 2014 I had been doing 5:2 for 18 months and had lost about 4 stone. It had tailed off very gradually for about a year to ‘maybe’ 1lb or half a lb per month. I had not introduced any extra exercise at all in that 18 months (probably a bit less than I’d done before actually) and I decided it was time to start toning, having lost so much weight I didn’t want to get ‘floppy’.

I lost a further few lb in the first 3 months or so of my new exercise regime (4-5 swimming sessions of 1 hour or more per-week – roughly 10-15kilometers in total) which upped my previous exercise level by about 400%.

Then from May 2014 until now I have not lost a single lb and have actually put about 4-5lb on in that time. Exercise has always been a problem for me to be honest. The more I do the more I weigh usually, which I was expecting, as I knew I would put on a little muscle weight as I made the conversion from fat to muscle. Thing is, although I have toned up and can see a difference in my fitness and firmness I have not lost inches either really. Still wearing the same clothes as this time last year. The diet is fine too – I’m not saintly and do occasionally over-indulge on a non-fastday but it’s not often and I am making positive, healthy food choices these days.

So yeah, there you go – that’s a doozy of a plateau for you. Thing is – I don’t really care. I’m the smallest I’ve been since I was a teenager and I’m wearing size 10-12s. I’m still a good stone away from a ‘good’ BMI and probably 2 stone from being in reach of my ‘ideal’ BMI but whatever man – I’ll take it.

I’ve come to the end of my gym membership and I’m having some work done at home, so I’ll be unable to make the most of it for the next few months anyway, so I’ve decided to knock the gym on the head for now and concentrate on the diet alone again. See how that goes. Maybe mixing it up for a few months will help me push on again. Maybe not. As long as I’m hovering around this weight (which I am) I’m fine with that, whatever happens. I like the 5:2 and the weight loss aspect has been a lovely surprise to me over the past 2 and a half years but I LOVE the health benefits and they’ll keep me going on this lifestyle forever.

Good luck everyone else. 🙂

Hi everyone can people help – I stopped losing weight and now I am constantly hovering around 57.5-8 kg! This has been the same for two months now! I don’t know whAt im doing wrong I exercise on all my non 500 days and still not shifting. I don’t think I’m overeating at all! Please help

Hi 135:

The average weight loss on 5:2 is about a pound a week. Your large, initial loss was mostly water weight. There is no way you can lose that much fat in a week – even people that eat nothing average only a 4 or 5 pound loss a week.

You will now experience a period of time, maybe weeks, when your weight loss is 0 or very little. You might even gain a bit back, even though you are ‘doing everything right’. At the end of it all, you will average out to about a pound a week loss.

Here are some tips – you might read the “Warnings” post and the ‘Really, No Weight Loss’ post to give you an idea of how 5:2 works: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!