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” kno the maths/science point to it being impossible to fail ”
Hello, weight loss is not always a predictable process. Weight is influenced by eating larger volumes of food (and therefore retaining it somewhere in your digestive/elimination system), water fluctuations, electrolyte shifts, post-exercise muscle inflammation and water retention, salt and water retention, fluctuations in the amount of bacteria in your gut, menstrual cycles (if applicable) etc. etc.
If you could share some of the numbers that you calculated in line with the maths part of 5:2 (e.g., your TDEE – and (say) an MFP estimate of how much food and kcals you ate on your fast days and non-fat days) then it might be possible for people to check them and reassure you that rather than it being a true, over-consumption, related gain, it’s probable that it’s one of the above and will sort itself out over the next few days.
Hang in there. Weight loss is not a linear concept. You’re essentially shifting your system into a new regime. The body’s reaction will not correlate 1:1. Over time, it will.
My wife had the same issue with not losing weight – even the first few days! I told her to give it two weeks before she quit to allow the body to adjust and reset. Sure enough, after two weeks, the weight started declining. Even then, however, it did not come off constantly. She would hit plateaus where nothing would happen or she might even gain a pound or two. But when she stuck with it, the weight continued. I was confident in telling her this because I had started 5:2 about two months ahead of her and was simply telling her what I was experiencing. In fact, I hit a plateau that lasted nearly a month! Then the weight started to drop quickly.
The key is to stick to the diet (and the ratio of 5:2 makes it doable!). I’m proud to say that I’ve been on FD for 2.5 years with a total loss of 35 pounds – the first 30 in the first year, then I went into maintenance mode for the next year. The last 5 came off over the past six months and I wanted to do it just to be a bit more in the mid-range comfortably in the “normal” end of the BMI scale. My wife has had similar success (although she didn’t need to lose as much as me). She’s down 20 pounds and maintaining it nicely!
BTW – we’re both middle aged (think around 50ish) so even with slowing metabolism and less exercise than we should, intermittent fasting has been awesome for us. Good luck and stick to it!
Hi Batliner
I am not very experienced at the 5/2 but I do know that any weight gain is very demotivating for anyone, let alone on week one.
When doing something to help ourselves we all need to see the results and feel the buzz of satisfaction from our efforts ASAP but I would give it a month no matter what so that you can say I gave it my best shot before you throw the towel in.
In 2012 in did 5 weeks of 5/2 and lost 14lb and this time so far I’ve done 5 weeks and lost 7lb, weird because to the best of my knowledge I’m not doing anything differently this time round, dont get me wrong I’m still pleased with the results but I liked the 2012 results better :-).
I plan to stay on 5/2 up until Christmas at least as feel its not a sprint its at least a middle distance race if not a marathon.
Its not just a matter of losing weight for me I like the idea of the body going into repair mode on fast days and have read some people’s posts of fantastic results in this department I would love to experience too.
So at Christmas it will be 17 or 18 weeks of 5/2 for me and I’m going to give it my absolute best shot to stay that distance ( minimum) by which time I can look back and assess my personal experience of 5/2 having given it a decent chance.
I hope come January 2015 we are both still posting on this site as 5/2 has become a way of life but one step at a time for me and let’s see what that leads me to.
Good luck and I really hope you have a fantastic result in week two.
John
Hi gay and welcome:
If you are doing 5:2 correctly, no problem. You don’t always lose weight every week: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/ #2
Good Luck!
This is just What I would do if in the first couple of weeks I wasn’t losing weight, I must state this is just my opinion and not of any more value than that.
I would on non fast days make sure I ate no less than 1700 cals and no more than 1800 just to see if I was over or under eating on these days, I have noticed I get less weight loss on the weeks when I try to hard on non fast days to be to restrictive, obviously the other extreme of over eating wouldn’t be great either.
As said just my opinion but sometimes the harder we try the further we push things away in life, might be worth a try
Hi catriona:
5:2 is calorie based, not food based. You can have any food you want as long as you stay, on average, within your caloric guidelines. This might help: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/
Good Luck!
If you don’t mind me asking, do you have much weight to lose?
I don’t believe it is possible to accurately track weight going down in fractions of a pound. Two glasses of water weigh almost a pound, and the amount of food in transit in your body will vary from day to day depending on what you eat.
I am the most impatient person I’ve ever met, and wanted immediate results, but you don’t always get what you want, but this way of eating works. It isn’t a quick fix though.
I have a few suggestions that might help,
Keep off the scales, and weigh no more than once a week. Pick a day and stick to it. If you can keep off the scales for 2 weeks do so until you start to see movement in the right direction.
Double check your calculations and make sure you haven’t over estimated your TDEE, and take a look at what you are eating. Cut right down on the carbs and sugar.
Don’t give up!
I agree with Amazon, in my first month I couldn’t see any movement but when it hit the 4/5 week mark it did drop. I have now reduced my weigh ins so I don’t get disappointed. My aim is to reduce it so I only weigh in once a month. Stick with it a bit longer and yes it maybe an idea to check your bmr and tdee. You may need to work it out on a lower activity level and keep your intake under your tdee. Don’t give up yet.
What is the point in tracking day to day fluctuations in weight due to food transit, whether you are well hydrated or not etc. It sounds like a recipe for disappointment to me. You say you want to lose 8lbs, but do you need to, and is that a sustainable weight? Maybe that is why you are having problems losing anything.
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