5:2 Fasting Diet

I'd forgotten how good I feel on 'fast' days. So glad I got back to this.
NOT weighing myself at all this time- I'll go by feel of jeans. A bit on the tight side at the moment!

How is it going Wombat? I'm still having some low cal days weight loss maintained. No longer weigh myself so often, but noticed buying winter trousers I need the next smaller size. Not been in this size for 30 odd years. All worth it, keep going. X

I've lost about 7lbs, but I seem to hover around the same weight. I loose a couple of pounds and then put them back on! I can't seem to keep the couple of pounds off! Any suggestions?

Try being stricter on the 'eat' days.1200 cals.x

J52 Easier said than done!! But you are right. I need to cut out the biscuits on the non fat days.

Janthea, we all seem to react differently to the 5:2. I found it easier to do alternate days. Have you tried that? It probably allows for the biscuits because in fact you are cutting down to 3 days of 500 cals. Hope it works. X

It's good to see some are still having good results. I fell completely off the diet wagon. I'm thinking of starting the Harcombe diet tomorrow. Tried it before and had a good result but couldn't fathom phase 2. Will try again and hope this will be my last diet?

What's the Harcombe diet?

The Harcombe diet is low carb. It is very restrictive for the first 5 days (phase 1) but having done it before, i can confirm that it eliminates cravings for sweet things and carbs. I lost 8lbs in 5 days before. You then move onto phase 2 which means you can introduce carbs but you cant mix carbs and fats at the same time. That's where I came unstuck but I'm determined this time. Google Harcombe diet. Zoe Harcombe debunks loads of dieting myths and explains why most diets fail. Here goes. I ll be posting my losses in the weekly weigh in (hopefully)

Thanks wombat22 I will.

I think this 5:2 is fabulous. It's really just a different way of eating without feeling deprived. When on Weight Watchers or Slimming World there are things you aren't allowed which to me was so boring. I have lost 12 pounds in the last 11 weeks.
I am one pound off my goal weight and once achieved, will continue fasting just once a week so that I maintain the weight loss.
Best thing (for me, anyway) ever invented!

Having read through loads of forums, I am going to be starting 5:2 tomorrow. Good luck all

I am just reaching the third week of 5:2 diet, after years of WW and always struggling to be something slim, ( never have been but there is always hope!!) I am enjoying this diet. I can manage the fasting day and enjoy the freedom the other days without going mad.
However I have lost 4-5 lbs, part of that was extra weight after a two week summer French holiday.
I then put back 2 pounds and felt really peeved! Today after a fast day yesterday the 2 lbs are off again.
Is this how it goes? Please let me know if its similar for some of you.

maggiep This seems to happen to me. I put weight on on holiday because I am not "good" but it seems to go pretty quickly when back on the 5:2.

I only ever weigh myself the morning after a fast day, otherwise it seems rather up and down.

I need to lose a serious amount of weight, probably 3 stones would be really good.

I piled on the pounds after moving to France nearly 6 years ago. There's a reason why France is well known for it's baguettes, croissants, pastries, etc. because they are to die for. As I don't have any scales I'm not sure what I weigh exactly so I am going to judge weight loss by dress size. Am currently in size 16/18. After reading through this I feel really motivated to shift the weight and get back into clothes I thought would never fit again.

So, today is my first fast day. I had half the amount of my normal breakfast cereal this morning and have skipped lunch, as this is where I consume the majority of my daily calories, and just had a cup of mint tea instead. The time is now 3.30 pm and I don't actually feel hungry, which I am quite surprised about! I plan to have plain fish and mixed veggies for dinner.

I have just gone through my trousers that I can no longer fit into and have arranged them in order of size from biggest to smallest. I am going to keep the biggest pair out on view until I can fit into them again and so on until I can get into the smallest pair. I am thinking that will hopefully keep me motivated when or if hunger pangs strike.

I'm feeling really optimistic about doing this. Will keep posting on progress.

Well done kalexie for making a start and good luck to you. This week I am finding it impossible to have two free diet days, as so busy out and meeting friends, but next week I will definitely try harder. My nephew who has done this for a few months and looks much slimmer says he doesn't weigh himself anymore but judges how his clothes fit and he is back into trousers that fitted him two yrs ago! I am hopeful too

Well done kalexie. Keep going! You will get there. I keep pair of my larger size trousers as a reminder. It took me a year to lose 3 stones. But during that time my who attitude,due to food changed. Alternate day 500 cals suited me best. Now, a year and 3 months later, I do 5:2 to maintain my weight. Good luck! X

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. Good luck to all you Gransnetters out there who are doing the same.

Well, I got to 5.30 pm last evening when I decided to make my fish and veggies and felt so light headed when I stood up that I was afraid I was going to pass out but that obviously passed when I'd had something to eat.
Did anyone else experience this at first? Does it improve as you get used to having the fast days?

I too, like others, thought I would be absolutely ravenous by this morning but I wasn't hungry at all. Just going to have what I normally have now until next fast day but I will half the portion size.

Keep up the good work everyone xxxx

Kalexie. I sometime experienced light headed ness at first, but it soon went away. I think it was due to low sugar. Harley's do 10 cal jellies, they may help. Recently had the same feeling when I woke, after a very low cal day. I felt I had eaten too much in the previous day. I now know moderation is a better way! X

Hi again.

Had my second fast day yesterday. I had scrambled egg with just a touch of semi-skimmed milk and a cup of mint tea for breakfast. I decided to have fish & mixed veggies again but instead of having it all at once at tea time and skipping lunch, I had the fish at lunch time and the mixed veggies later to avoid the light-headedness that I experienced on the first fast day. This worked really well and I felt much better.

Also having smaller portions of my normal meals on non-fast days. Because it doesn't actually feel like I'm 'on a diet' I think that this is going to be really easy to stick to.

How is everyone else doing?

Kalexie I found the slight light headedness goes as you get used to the diet.
Has anyone else found that they seem to need smaller portions than they used to?

The 5.2 diet is the only one which has ever really worked for me.
I've lost about 12 lbs and finding it relatively easy to maintain.
On non diet days I don't eat as much as I used to, the diet days seem to
diminish my overall apetite.
One side effect, - my clothes are now too big, and that's a great feeling!

I'm going to stick to this diet (with a break for Christmas), but in time when I reach my target weight I shall reduce it to one day per week.
6.1 instead of 5.2....

Nelliemoser it may be that as the diet progresses your stomach possibly shrinks a bit and so you feel fuller on smaller portions.

I think that there's quite a large psychological element as well to having smaller portions on the non-fast days as I'm finding that I don't want to undo the good work that I've done the day before. Also having to reduce to 500 calories twice a week makes you more aware of just how calorific some things actually are.

henetha yes, it is indeed a wonderful feeling when your clothes start getting too big. Big motivation to carry on to target weight and then the perfect excuse to indulge in some retail therapy, lol!

This is my first week on 5:2 diet and am delighted to say I have lost 5lbs. For me this is a miracle......don't usually do diets, but I have found this simple enough for even me to cope with!