Hi guys, it’s been great reading everyones post, I’m near the end of the 2nd fast day of the week. I always count cals on non fast days to keep an eye on what I’m doing but this week I’ve been a bit greedy so not holding out much hope for a weight loss when I weigh in tomorrow.

The last couple days I’ve been out walking and have now downloaded an app telling me how many cals i’m burning, walked just over 2 hilly miles early this afternoon and app tells me I’ve burned 215 cals! !! Now, does that mean I can eat an extra 215 cals on my fast day – for free? ?

Shaza 🙂

Hi, I want to lose weight for a wedding in August but also because I am rapidly turning into a blob and my bras don’t fit (in fact, nothing fits!). I am 49 years old and live in Essex with my husband and 20 year old son. I bumped into an old acquaintance yesterday who recommended the 5:2 diet so here I am. Incidentally, during my lifetime I must have lost and gained a person and am fed up (literally).

Hi Shaz, you have to stick to as close to 500 cals on fast days as you can. If you don’t it won’t work. On none fast days rather than eating those cals why not have them as extra insurance that you lose weight.

Good look with trying to keep to yourr TDEE, what are you problem areas and where are you going overboard. On average how much are you going over each day?

Jaye 🙂

Hi everyone!

Jenny I also love a glass of wine, but have cut down over the last few years. Not only for the added love-handles but also the empty calories, poor sleep and I got mega headaches, a cocktail of disaster. So now I try only to drink on 2/5 days of the week…I used to buy normal bottles and as @Jaye girl says big danger zone for me, as you end up with an empty bottle. Now I get the little 187ml bottles, and that’s enough. Also have found that having mineral water/soda with lime at the same time helps hydration, so goodbye headaches 😉

Hi, just read your post. I am a newbie I just started 5:2 on 16th March. I have some confusion about the fast days. Like yourself I have to take meds in the morning with food. I do try and stick to 500 cals on fasting days. But cannot get my head round total fasting eg., if I eat at 10pm at night then have breakfast at 10am, is this fasting.

I am on steroids and find the most simple things to understand are complex in my mind. Regards Pat

Oh fast hope this helps not a fun way to start your trip …. Hubs is dealing with back issues now and didn’t go to a shoot this weekend (competitive shooter) and it was a big one so I know he is in misery

This past week has totally sucked for me .. I don’t have a handle on stress eating at all .. Monday I will not only have a plan I will have my food set Sunday night

Hi @paddywhack333 and sorry to have not tried to help earlier, I just now saw your post. My understanding is the fast is for 36 hours. So, I’ll have a snack at night before bed (usually midnight) let’s say it’s on Sunday/Monday. I won’t eat again until Tuesday at noon. So it’s really 1 1/2 days on 500 kcal total. At least that’s my understanding in reading the FAQs (http://thefastdiet.co.uk/michael-answers-frequently-asked-questions/) and newbie sections. Hope this helps!

I think in the end, it’s what works best for you. If you’re losing weight, then it’s all good 🙂

Thank you for all the info. I have had my first fast day today as I ate loads yesterday so thought I mght find it easier if I fasted today. Feel fine but have been really thirsty – is that normal? I’ve ordered the Fast Beach Diet book and downloaded the app. Am a bit scared of the exercise as frightened I’ll do myself an injury!!! Thanks again for your help.

Hi Everybod

First post for ages and wow this thread has really taken off.

Hello again, Shaza. If I have read your last post right, you are still not sure whether you can eat extra calories, on top of your TDEE, to ‘replace’ those used through exercise. As Annette52 posted: no, you can’t. The TDEE calculator takes into account the amount of exercise you do. It advises you to underestimate your level of exercise, as generally we all do less than we think. If you feel you have MARKEDLY increased your physical activity level recently, then return to ‘How it Works’ tab and recalculate your TDEE. But of course you’d need to readjust it if you again became less active! To use myself as an example, last Autumn I judged myself to be ‘sedentary’. In the past couple of months, hand on heart, I have become more active (cycling a lot more etc), so I went back to the calculator and put that I was ‘lightly active’ – so my TDEE altered. I hope this has helped clarify things.

Hi Bootsy, thanks for your reply. When I first worked out my TDEE I put sedentary for fitness/excercise. I am getting confused because if for example I eat 1500 cals in a day but burn off 500 through exercise, does that not give me a calorie intake of 1000 for that day cos I’ve lost some through excercise. Just downloaded mapmyrun and it adds the exercise cals to myfitnesspal then it adds on additional cals i’m allowed to eat depending on the cals I’ve burned through excercise. I’m not talking about the tdee. It’s currently set at 1520 cals a day and I’m currently under that for today, I’m just purely wondering about the exercise cals, you hear of athletes having to eat thousands of cals daily cos they burn off loads, that’s what I mean although obviously a much smaller scalein my case, don’t think I’d ever be classed as an athlete 😉

Shaza 🙂

Hi Bootsy, thanks for the advice. I’m drinking mint tea and have just ordered the mint and liquorice from Ocado which is naturally sweet. Am a bit apprehensive about next fast day as back at work this week and scared I’m going to be starving. Anyone got any advice? Thanks.

Hi Again Everybod

Jossypod, I’m very jammy cos I don’t work these days but I have read lots of posts where people say they enjoy fasting on a work day as they are busy and it helps keep their mind off food.

My main suggestion is to use the first month or so of 5:2 to work out what suits you best. Within the basic framework, people adapt it in all sorts of ways to suit their own lives. Maybe you will find that it suits you better to have one of your FDs at the weekend (or whenever) when you’re not working would suit you better. Try not to be scared: maybe see it as an adventure of discovery about what you and your body can do.

I’ve found that I’ve gradually got more experienced with being in a fasted state, so I know that I can ride the hunger pangs without ending up chewing the furniture – and in fact sometimes I positively enjoy it. Even 3 months ago I would never have believed that could be possible. On the other hand, sometimes I still feel apprehensive about an approaching FD but then most times it’s been much easier in reality than in expectation.

Take care and keep us posted. Bootsy x

Shaza – I agree with rho! If you eat below your TDEE, even before all the exercise, you can rejoice as you should lose weight more quickly!

If you did want to put the exercise calories you have ‘burned’ back into your system; and sorry if I’m repeating myself, simply put your new level of activity (eg lightly active = sport 1 – 3 days per week) into the ‘How it Works’ calculator and it will allow you the extra calories you need per day. It’s giving you average figures, so you don’t need to do a calculation everyday. As you said, you’re probably not in the ‘elite athlete’ category – yet 😉 – so just enjoy that speedy size/ weight reduction.

Bootsy x

Hi Beldyboop

So agree with you not weighing yourself too often. Weight fluctuates so much within a day or week. ‘Older readers’ will know that that is a bit of a bee in my bonnet! However, of course, diff’rent strokes for diff’rent folks – some people use daily weighing as a big part of their motivation. I just know that, for me, it would work against me: a half ounce rise and I would be in danger of heading to the biscuit tin, just like I used to on previous ‘diets’.

I have to say excellent news that you slept well after your first FD 🙂 For the first few months, I was so lively that it turned into insomnia. My sleep pattern has finally settled down – think my system is just used to regular fasting now.

So many people also report, as you did, they are ‘not hungry’ the day after a fast. I’m always gobsmacked to hear that, as I generally enjoy a splendid breakfast the day after!! Quite often I find I’m (genuinely) hungry again a couple of hours after, so I tend to have ‘elevenses’ (like in Enid Blyton books hahaha). Then the hunger gradually dwindles through the rest of the day and I would only have a small evening meal. Just posting all this blah to illustrate, again, how flexible this Way of Eating can be.

Good luck on Tues.
Bootsy x

Hi lazycat

I would say: try and see 5:2 as a marathon, not a sprint. Put the boozy/noshy weekend behind you and just concentrate on doing your 2 FDs and keeping within your TDEE on the other 5. If you establish 5:2 as a routine, although of course with occasional planned or even unplanned days of extra food and drink, you will steadily lose weight.

Hope you have a good week
Bootsy x

Oh man I’m tired!!! Lovely weekend but tired from the wind, the sea air, the Prosecco lol the driving and a cold coming on… Come on now!!!! It’s time I didn’t have an ailment lol. I want to answer everyone but I’m brain dead! I will do it tomorrow though.

@fastdiet! Bloody hell girl, in future get the docs asap! Hope you feel better soon, we are like creaking barn gates lol.

whoever said they were thirsty. We get 40% of our daily water intake from food. It’s really important to have plenty of water. And if you don’t you’ll feel crap, you’ll get dizzy, headaches, dry chapped lips etc. If your urine starts to look dark and smells strong then get more fluid in you.

The exercise question…. Really, try to ignore those extra calories and enjoy a better weight loss.

Well done Jenny, it’s dead easy to turn a bit of a blind eye, we all do it but the bugger always catches us up lol. You are doing brilliantly. Just shave off a glass here and there and do it so you just don’t miss it just like we do with the food. We can do it!

Uggg…. Brain is dead…. SIZE 14 JEANS!!! lol, I’ve spent my life in between sizes, are you apple shape by any chance?

I’m off to bed… Ate my TDEE last two days, I expect to pay for it with 2/3lbs tomorrow, oh well. It might mean I get to lose 2 stone twice in a week and go under 16 stone twice too lol.

Jenny, I weigh every day, I fast Mon/Wed some fridays. I take my Thu weight as my end of week. Anything from then on goes into the next week. I have mon/tue/wed to try to balance or reduce the scales. I weigh daily because I like it Lol. Because I keep well under my TDEE 4/5 of my NFDs I can see it coming off each day which makes me happy but it’s whatever works for you. But choose 1 day that you record the loss.

Night all. X

Hi everyone, wow, so many messages on here today, I can’t keep up! 🙂

Bootsy and Rho, you are both right, I’m gonna look at my excercise calories as a bonus to losing weight and not as an excuse to eat more crap, I love chocolate but can be brutal with myself about eating it when I’m in the zone and after picking up size 8 joggers and size 10 skinny jeans his morning I am defo in the zone!

Doing a little dance – it’s totally the way to go although I did let out a small giggle when trying on those size 8’s 🙂

Feel I’m becoming a little vain now as can’t walk past a mirror at home without checking myself out, lol!

This all makes it worthwhile, I started in January and have lost 20lbs, feel better within myself, more energy, confidence, will power and even though I still suffer the coldness and fatigue on fast days I just push through it by telling myself it’s just for today, tomorrow I can eat, but as others have posted I don’t wake up starving which makes me smile and adds to my ever increasing willpower!

For those newbys still getting used to this WOL, when I first started fasting my original routine was to have some breakfast, ham salad for lunch then soup for dinner but I found this hard as I just thought about food the entire (work) day and stomach constantly grumbled – we really fell out with each other in those early weeks! Then I decided to not waken my stomach so early and missed out breakfast, then more recently I’ve managed on just water and black tea til around 3pm before having a low cal yoghurt then saving around 440 cals for dinner at 6pm – I was so chuffed for myself managing that and now me and the stomach are friends again 🙂

I’m on holiday all this week, going to visit my mum and dad with the kids, I’m tempted to give the fasts a miss for this week but a little scared to let go to be honest – come so far now, not going back!

Good luck everyone with the fasts, I really do enjoy reading everyones posts 🙂

Shaza 🙂

Hi everyone!

Bootsy Badger, I liked your reply, love your humour. I have been the down the insomnia route and intermittently am wide-eyed til the early hours due to the perimenopause. Was surprised to sleep on FD’s but there we go, early days. Agree with you that the best thing about this is it fits into everyones’s lives and hunger/eating patterns..

Lazycat, I’ve written down FD’s on a piece of paper for April and stuck in on my wall, so they look more manageable, there are 6 until the end of April, which should mean 7 Ibs. I’m wildly impatient too, and feel that something might get in my way, but reading on this forum, if you’re prepared for FD it should be cool. Also think milestones are important, so weekly jumps of joy to any changes or weight loss, with some kind of treat, doesn’t have to be food, let’s see if I practise what I preach.

Jayegirl, glad you had a nice weekend!

Shazaslimby congrats!

see you all here!

Hi guys,

Fast day for me today, got a cold so feel icky, no energy but I’m thinkng the cold will help me not want to eat lol.

Can I just give my 2 cent about ‘diet, low fat foods’, especially for the NEWBIES. Someone said they have a low cal yoghurt which is obviously low fat. Please avoid diet food as much as possible and please read ALL the information you can find on the net re sugar and diet food. Diet foods are crap, they are packed with sugar! Take out fat which is a natural substance that our bodies can use, and replace with sugar and all you are doing is adding to fat storage. Not to mention the spike in your blood sugars when you eat sugar which if at all possible you should avoid on FDS as this will cause most of us to just want more sugar. Fast days are designed to keep insulin level, sugar disrupts that and gives spikes. Eat protiens, fish, prawns and eggs are all very low in cals, eat with veg and salad and as few carbs as possible which are higher in cals and sugars. Obviously it works for some people, but if you have a substantial amount of weight to lose do yourself a favour and stay away from diet, low fat and pre packed processed foods as much as you can. Yoghurts are tricky, even full fat greek yoghurt has lots of sugar in it. I don’t get that myself but I used to eat a lot of yoghurt not realising how much sugar I was eating. Having dumped all those kinds of foods and eating a more natural pick n kill diet lol. Anything that grows, fush, meat, eggs etc, found a decent low GI bread, stopped eating pasta and potatoes eating sweet potatoes instead I’m averaging 3/4lbs loss a week. I’ve naturally cut my food intake dramatically because fasting has rid me of cravings for white bread, cereals, crumpets, teacakes etc.

About to get on the scales. From the way I feel I’m thinking a 4/5lb weight gain just for eating my full TDEE for two days. I tend to eat around 1100/1200 on average of my 2000. Scarey how quickly it go back on just from that. But I do lose it quicker by only eating from hunger which keeps my daily cals low so it makes sence a big increase will pack it back on. I’ll report back with the bad news lol.

I agree that it’s easier to fast for a full 24hrs 8pm/8pm for me and not eat food at all just drink. But it is individual. I used to eat porridge at 11 when I was working and dinner at 7.30 but I find if I know I’m not eating I accept it and don’t think about it.

Well done on your new smaller clothes @shaz, be proud it will make you want to stick with this WOL for life.

Good luck @lazycat, shput us if you need advice or just want to write about your day.

@paddywack Yes that’s a fast. It’s as much about sticking to the 500 cals as it is the oeriod of time we first eat. Some people have 3 small meals through the day. So say I ate at 8 last night and wanted breakfast, lunch and dinner today on my fast day, so long as I stick to my 500 cals it will still be a fast. Ypu’ll fast from last night till breakfast today (how clever is that, fasting in the night lol) then have your small lunch when you are hungry, finish off with your evening meal (coming to 500 cals). Then don’t eat again (fasting through the night again). Tomorrow you up and like the majority of us ypu won’t be hungry! It’s a new day, your body doesn’t care it didn’t eat much yesterday. You might not even want breakfast. Try to figure out when you are really hungry rather than you want to eat. Fasting will make hungry ckear to you lol. And that’s your fast done! If you need any help or more understanding please let us know. Good luck.

Jaye. 🙂

Hi JayeGirl and others.

Thanks for the support. Fasting today and only had lemon and ginger tea so far. Thoughts of food pop into my head periodically but I am pushing them back out asap. I would normally have 3 small meals during a fast day, usually consisting of quorn sausages and tin of soup. Have decided to shake things up a bit today and fast until dinner when I plan to have big hearty bowl of home made lentil soup. However, my ever expanding belly is complaining in protest but plan to stick with it.

Interesting points on low fat food

Lazycat

Morning all,
feeling better each day; still some leg cramping but most of back pain is gone. Rode in the golf cart while my mom and hubby played 18 holes. Good to see new names on here-I just skimmed through for a quick read while I have a sec.
Whoever asked about whether 12 hours is considered a fast…different sources use different definitions. I guess it comes down to what works for you. There is some evidence from Dr. Krista Varady (?sp) in Chicago (Dr. Moser used as some of the basis for his recommendations) that women see the best results with an extended period, ideally 18 hours, with less than 50 calories during that time. So that is my goal, for example:
Finish dinner at 7:30pm Sunday, have liquids until at least 1:30p on Monday (have been stretching out to 3:30 or so most fast days), then have a small snack and dinner at regular time, keeping calories around 500 for the day. She also advocates fasting on alternate days based on her research. I find that hard to plan around for social events so have been doing 3 days a week.
Other people will not eat anything, just liquids for a full 36 hours….
Go with your 12 hours until you get in the groove then see what is happening weight loss wise would be my unscientific advise. I echo those who said that once you get underway, it is really easier to just sip on lots of liquids until time to eat…if I start eating little bits of food along the way, my tummy just rumbles for more.
The meds are distressing my stomach even while taking with food so I know I’ll have to lay off the fast days until I’m off them.

Welcome @kforcake, great name!

It is psychological lol, the hunger. I too used to have nothing all day untill about 5. It does get easier, honest. Keep sipping hot and cold drinks. Make sure you are prepared about what you will eat for your 500 cals the day before and how you will eat them. As 1, 2 or 3 meals. Lots of us find water/drinks all day and one meal in the evening is best. Others prefer a ‘true fast’ and have no food for 36 hrs.

If you are feeling light headed then drink more water. If you usually drink plenty of caffiene and you are not on fast days that can cause you to feel light headed. If you like Miso soup they are a great beefy drink that can help you through at just 18cals per drink.

If ypu need any help just ask, we’ll all look forward to hearing how you are doing.

Jaye 🙂

Hi KforCake

I’m a newbie, tomorrow will be my 3rd fast, am semi-dreading and looking forward to it, the day seemed so long without food 🙁 but will stick to it, will drink water, and like Miso, and then have meal around 7pm, I felt wiped out on last FD, low, low energy but feel this one will become better. I deffo love the support of this forum 🙂 I’m trying to set lot’s of goals so it’s not just a “sea” of FD’s ahead, but manageable chunks of fasting, with food in sight.

Hope the rest of your FD goes ok

Hey Manchesterlass, have you heard about Mr Smiths in Warrington burning down! My old haunt in my late teens lol. Remember that although you’re now used to fasting and old hand, by virtue of the fact you are struggling with hunger today just shows that even 3 months in you are still working had at it and progressing. And when the scales go down again on weigh in day, that feeling of elation NEVER gets old for any of us! So don’t get bored with it, still see it as the challange it is that you are winning everyday….Go Manchesterlass!!! (Smiley)

Successful fast day yesterday, back down to 16.05lbs, I was 15.13.5lbs Friday, 16.2.05lbs yesterday after my naughty but very enjoyable weekend. I’ll have to celebrate going under 16 stone twice LOL. Please all feel free to join in with me.

So my summer pledge, I’m thinking I must have started 3 weeks ago around March 26th with my pledge, weighing in at 235lbs. I’m in my 3rd week now, I weigh in on Thu after my 2 fast day, Saturday if I fast on Friday to make 3. Today I weigh 224.5lbs. I said I wanted to lose another 20lbs by the day I go on vacation June 11th. I’ve lost 9.5lbs so far.

Oh you know I said I love peanut butter with a Banana on my low GI toast. I was chatting to my niece, she’s working out with a trainer to get fit and change her shape, she looks fantastic, only a size 10 lol. Anyway we chatted over a lovely dinner of hake wrapped in Parma ham, sweet potatoe wedges,riasted baby toms and broccoli. She had a look through my daily food intake on MyFitnessPal and was giving me a few tips which are especially good for women 40+ who can no longer tolorate many carbs (you know that bloated feeling, sluggish, weight not shifting) we all have experienced. She said that I should just have the peanut butter with the banana!! Omg it’s delicious lol. The point being, banana and carbs are doubling up on carbs right… And it’s best to have a good amount of protien to carb ratio for us to digest and use well in our bodies. I tried it today at 12.30, my first meal since my dinner last night. Actually my bread was mouldy lol so a good excuse. Well I still feel full! I sliced my small banana into about 7 chunks, spread the PB on it and had it with my skinny, unsweetened cappuccino. She also said to put a bit of cheese inside a chicken breast or sprinkle some on at the end and melt it or wrap in lean bacon. Snack on babybel light, just different ways to have more protien with a meal on NFDs. Food for thought.

How is everyone doing on their summer pledges? Can we have some updates, is anyone struggling, maybe we can share tips to help. Yesterday I was very hungry, I kept telling myself to think of how less fat I will be in my swimsuit on holiday to turn my mind from the hunger lol.

How are our newbies doing?

Jaye 🙂

Hey @kforcake. Opps lol, that’s more calories than you would use for a meal lol. Hope they are skinny. Could you swap to a cappuccino! It’s less milk, also less sugar. You’re taking in a lot of hidden sugars in the milk there. Try not to undo your good fast days because you go over your TDEE due to using too many calories on milky coffees. Can you swap one for a tea of some sort, or introduce more water rather than hot drinks. I drink soda water or sparkling water with an ice cube and a slice of lemon throughout the day. I just keep topping it up. Great for keeping your liquids up.

The miso is lovely, although I’ve not had one on a fast day for a while they do keep the hunger pangs at bay.

Remember, if you can drop your TDEE by a couple of hundred on NFDs you’ll have a better weight loss. In the early weeks while your tummy is shrinking, your brain getting used to knowing it needs a lot less carbs and your appetite naturally reducing, use of all your TDEE if you need to.

Jaye 🙂