5:2 diet

darrensurrey

An interesting approach I was told if you're doing 5:2. The fasting days don't have to be actual days. You can do it thus:
Eat a normal lunch and stop eating at 1pm. Eat a light dinner (500/600 kcals). The next day you break your fast by eating lunch at 1pm. That's a 24 hour fasting day right there.

Hope that makes sense?

pink_petal

Hi Darren

I tried the 24 hour fast and it didn't have the same weight loss results for me. It might be ok for maintaining but 36 hour is definitely better for weight loss, in my experience.

A wee 0.5lb off for me this week. Plus I bought some new clothes on Tuesday ranging between size 8-size 12. A result for me considering I was a size 16 only a year ago!

Feed day for me today and just had a Pret tuna salad (with balsamic rather than their calorific dressing!) - yummy!How is everyone else getting on?

Ruby_Ruby

Well done PP, that's a great result. I'm a long, long way from a size 8, you're pretty much done soon aren't you?

Eat day for me yay, I had Tesco pancakes for breakfast

darrensurrey

pink_petal wrote: »

Hi Darren

I tried the 24 hour fast and it didn't have the same weight loss results for me. It might be ok for maintaining but 36 hour is definitely better for weight loss, in my experience.

A wee 0.5lb off for me this week. Plus I bought some new clothes on Tuesday ranging between size 8-size 12. A result for me considering I was a size 16 only a year ago!

Feed day for me today and just had a Pret tuna salad (with balsamic rather than their calorific dressing!) - yummy!How is everyone else getting on?

How long did you try 5:2?

Basically, with 36 hours, you're losing weight because you're not eating. It's the slippery slope to an ED.

I would try 5:2 for a month if not 3 before making any judgements on whether it works or not. Follow it to the letter. Eat normally (not low calorie) on non-fast days. Count everything that passes your lips on fast days as part of your 500/600. Only then can you really make a judgement on whether 5:2 works or not.

That'd be my approach. I did 16/8 in the end as it works better with my schedule.

darrensurrey

Just re-read my reply. Hope it doesn't sound aggressive!

I see a lot of people on MyFitnessPal take the wrong approach with 5:2 - they eat 500/600 on fast days and on non-fast days eat 1200(!). In other words they're in a mentality of avoiding food. For many, it can result in an eating disorder.

Also, whilst they will lose weight initially, they will encounter problems particularly in terms of a slowing metabolism. And they'll plateau. During that plateau stage, they'll quit and eat back all their losses. Typical yoyo dieter's pattern of behaviour. (Of course, if they continued to avoid food, they would eventually break through the plateau but this rarely happens unless the person really does have an ED!)

In the meantime, they'll experience health problems associated with malnutrition - hair loss, irregular periods, loss of sex drive, tiredness, knackered immune system etc.

pink_petal

Hi

Don't worry you don't sound aggressive. I've been doing 5:2 since the end of June... I don't know if you misread my post! I've had great success on it but only by doing the 500 cals in 36 hours. I tried to do 24 hours then eating normally for 2 weeks and it just didn't work for me. First week I stayed the same and the second week I gained weight! As soon as I went back to 36 hours the weight started coming off again and I'm now only 4lbs away from my target.

I may switch to 24 hours when I'm maintaining as I have a colleague who does that and she's maintained for the last 4 months that way.

pink_petal

Ruby_Ruby wrote: »

Well done PP, that's a great result. I'm a long, long way from a size 8, you're pretty much done soon aren't you?

Eat day for me yay, I had Tesco pancakes for breakfast

Thank you Ruby! I never thought I'd see the day to be honest. I've not been close to this weight/size since my early 20s (now 34!).

Only 4lbs to go to my target weight but my legs are still a bit chunky so I'll have re-evaluate when I get to my goal and see if I need to lose a couple more lbs.

PP x

darrensurrey

pink_petal wrote: »

Hi

Don't worry you don't sound aggressive. I've been doing 5:2 since the end of June... I don't know if you misread my post! I've had great success on it but only by doing the 500 cals in 36 hours. I tried to do 24 hours then eating normally for 2 weeks and it just didn't work for me. First week I stayed the same and the second week I gained weight! As soon as I went back to 36 hours the weight started coming off again and I'm now only 4lbs away from my target.

I may switch to 24 hours when I'm maintaining as I have a colleague who does that and she's maintained for the last 4 months that way.

That's a relief. I tend to type in an enthusiastic fashion as I am passionate about health and fitness.

I understood that you did 36 hour fasts. I think 2 weeks is a bit too short to determine whether something works or not. I consider the way human body adapts to different environments (eg losing weight, putting on weight, building muscle) to be akin to steering an ocean liner.

I suspect that you gained for the 2 weeks you did the "proper" 5:2 was because you'd been doing some form of dieting recently prior to starting 5:2 and your body was adjusting? It's also possible that you were not accurately recording your food intake ie guestimating intake rather than using kitchen scales.

You may find that when you switch back to 24 hour fasting windows, you gain some but it falls back down again and you may actually start losing more (which isn't necessarily a good thing).

I stopped 16/8 because I was losing more weight than I wanted to!

I do find IF in general is a useful tool for "the morning after the night before" eg a party. Or doing it in advance - I IFed on Christmas Day and broke my fast with Christmas dinner.

WRT your comment about leg size, I do find weight to be irrelevant when you're close to "goal weight". How you look in the mirror is much more motivating.

pink_petal

darrensurrey wrote: »

That's a relief. I tend to type in an enthusiastic fashion as I am passionate about health and fitness.

I understood that you did 36 hour fasts. I think 2 weeks is a bit too short to determine whether something works or not. I consider the way human body adapts to different environments (eg losing weight, putting on weight, building muscle) to be akin to steering an ocean liner.

I suspect that you gained for the 2 weeks you did the "proper" 5:2 was because you'd been doing some form of dieting recently prior to starting 5:2 and your body was adjusting? It's also possible that you were not accurately recording your food intake ie guestimating intake rather than using kitchen scales.

You may find that when you switch back to 24 hour fasting windows, you gain some but it falls back down again and you may actually start losing more (which isn't necessarily a good thing).

I stopped 16/8 because I was losing more weight than I wanted to!

I do find IF in general is a useful tool for "the morning after the night before" eg a party. Or doing it in advance - I IFed on Christmas Day and broke my fast with Christmas dinner.

WRT your comment about leg size, I do find weight to be irrelevant when you're close to "goal weight". How you look in the mirror is much more motivating.

I'd been doing plain old calorie counting for just under a year leading up to starting 5:2 and had lost 2 stone. However, I was finding it difficult to get that last stone off. I started doing the 36 hour version for a couple of weeks and the weight literally dropped off straight away. I then switched to the 24 hours after speaking to my colleague and the weight loss stopped but immediately started again when I went back to 36 hours.

I appreciate your enthusiasm but I gave it a chance and didn't get the same results. It's all about what works for you I guess. And having calorie counted for so long before starting 5:2 I am definitely not guestimating anything...I weigh everything...my OH finds this hilarious!

I definitely agree that weight isn't the be all and end all, it's how you look and feel. I'm happy now that I'm in a healthy BMI range for the first time in ages and I'm buying clothes a few sizes smaller. My legs are a law unto themselves, always the last place I lose weight!

darrensurrey

pink_petal wrote: »

I'd been doing plain old calorie counting for just under a year leading up to starting 5:2 and had lost 2 stone. However, I was finding it difficult to get that last stone off. I started doing the 36 hour version for a couple of weeks and the weight literally dropped off straight away. I then switched to the 24 hours after speaking to my colleague and the weight loss stopped but immediately started again when I went back to 36 hours.

I appreciate your enthusiasm but I gave it a chance and didn't get the same results. It's all about what works for you I guess. And having calorie counted for so long before starting 5:2 I am definitely not guestimating anything...I weigh everything...my OH finds this hilarious!

I definitely agree that weight isn't the be all and end all, it's how you look and feel. I'm happy now that I'm in a healthy BMI range for the first time in ages and I'm buying clothes a few sizes smaller. My legs are a law unto themselves, always the last place I lose weight!

My first guess was right then! What was your daily target? I guess it was quite low compared to your TDEE? This would explain the reaction increasing your calories had. (I say increasing - it's about average intake, really.)

I count cals and protein daily; I also keep an eye on sodium and carb levels to ensure they don't go too far either way.

Since you're almost there, it's perhaps time to set new health goals? I'd recommend strength training to hone your physique. Then next time your hubby laughs, you can pick him up and give him a fright.