Hello!
I’m into my third week of the 5:2 diet and so far it’s going fine. I’m doing the milder 24h version, as I have a history of gastric ulcer. This diet is basically the opposite of what doctors had told me back in the day – to eat small meals every few hours to ease my super nervous, acid-overproducing stomach. When I heard about the 5:2 diet though, it just seemed so easy to do! And when I read about its health benefits I decided to give it a try.
The first time round I did 36h days and I literally did not have the stomach for it. My stomach hurt *a lot* (despite spreading the calories, drinking loads of water and noncaloric drinks). Antacids didn’t help and I was hurting even on non fasting days. I took this as a warning sign and stopped after a couple of weeks.
I recently found out though that there’s the option of doing 24h days, starting to fast midday and stopping a day later. That seemed a little more suitable to my special needs stomach, so I gave it a go and so far it’s working! I know I won’t lose weight as fast, but I’m willing to take it slow. I also don’t have a lot to lose, around 5 (stubborn!) kg.
I try to exercise regularly (spinning and/or pilates, 3-4 per week) and not overcompensate at meals before/after the fast. Although, the first week I really felt so famished coming out of a 24 hour fast that I might have overdone it a bit! I think I’m getting a better handle of it as time goes by, and most importantly my stomach is OK. I do take some zantac preemptively on the day with more fasting hours, just to be safe. And I do space out the 500 calories, except at nighttime of course, where I can enjoy a longer stretch of fasting. I know I’m compromising quite a few principles of the diet, but I do believe one has to be able to adapt it to suit their lifestyle and health needs.
Something that has also helped is psyllium husk which I drink with lots of water and it does fool my stomach for a couple of hours. It’s only 16 cals per tbs, but it’s 100% soluble fiber and helps with regular bowel movements on fasting days. Does anybody else use it?
I will now look for any tips and recipes, because I’m getting tired of tuna canned in water and salad leaves! I welcome any advice from people with similar health issues or same approach to the fast diet. Have a nice day!
xo
Jo
12:09 pm
2 Feb 16