5:2 Diet (part II)

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Many thanks AB. I think I'll make some soups this winter. We've been buying them which makes it easy to count calories but hm would allow us to have larger portions as I'd make them without oil.

amibovvered

Just realised I haven't eaten yet today. How odd. This is the longest I've gone without food so far, so I might as well have my tea for my supper and not bother with the supper. I'd not bother with the tea except it's a thawed out salmon cottage pie so will have to throw it out otherwise (took it out last night and it's not been in fridge) which is not very MS.

OCS_Fan

Now my partner has had the all clear, we have started our first fast day today. I bought the recipe book on my Kindle so we had poached eggs with spinach, vine tomatoes and a mushroom for breakfast. He had two eggs, I had one. Also a cup of tea with milk. Nothing else now until 7pm when we are having baked cod with lemongrass and stem broccoli.

I think I'll be ok but he has blood sugar issues so I'm going to do some carrot sticks just in case.

I think I'll find fast days easier when I'm back at work.

ibizafan_2

I have been doing the diet for around 5 weeks now and have lost 11 pounds. Whilst not being very overweight, lots of all inclusive holidays and being 61 have taken their toll. I watched the Horizon programme when it aired and found it really interesting at the time, so decided to give it a go. I am really surprised how easy it is. I don't feel hungry at all on fast days, and do an hours Zumba on one of the days (Monday) and do a waitressing job which involves 5 miles fast walking on the evening of the second day (Thursday). I have never eaten breakfast anyway, so find it easy to save the calories for a light lunch and evening meal at 6pm. I tried drinking fruit infusions instead of tea, but don't like them at all so I still factor in one cup of tea with 1% milk! The best thing about the diet is tomorrow is only a few hours away, although I am not eating as much on the "normal" days as I used to, which is great. I am now down to 9 stone 7 and at 5'7 that seems quite a good weight. I have accepted that I will never get down to my pre age 40 weight of 8 to 8 stone 7!

OCS_Fan

Hi Ibizafan, thanks for the reply. I'm 47, 5 ft 4 and currently 12 stone 7. I'm aiming for 10 stone but it's also a life style change for me. I don't drink much alcohol or overeat that much. However, I know I need to exercise more and ignore my sweet tooth.

You have done fantastically well to lose 11 lbs in 5 weeks. I will be really pleased with a steady weight loss of 1-2lbs a week. How many calories do you think you have on a non-fast day? I'm worried that we are cutting down too much. Do you avoid carbohydrates on non-fast days like bread, pasta and potatoes or eat normally?

I think I will find exercising easier when I'm back at work in September. At the moment, I have time to do a 45 minute/3 mile brisk walk a day. I can also go to Zumba once a week in term time. I plan to fast on Mondays and Thursdays most weeks but this week I'm probably doing Friday.

I've found today relatively easy. I had one cup of tea with 1% milk before breakfast. Then a green tea with lemon mid morning, a glass of water with a dash of no sugar squash later and a herbal tea of lemon and ginger at about 5pm. We had our main meal at 7pm. We had baked cod with lemongrass and green veg. A recipe from the 5:2 book that I've put on my kindle.

ibizafan_2

You could probably afford to eat a bit more on a fast day, but if you aren't struggling with hunger, just go with it. From what I've been reading, some people don't eat anything on fast days! I tend to have a boiled egg with one slice of whole meal toast (just a scraping of very low fat spread) for lunch, and perhaps a lean pork loin chop with just green veg or fish with the same for dinner. Then I have half a small pot of fat free natural Greek yogurt. Plus sparkling water when I feel I should drink something. On non fast days I eat potatoes and bread but probably only eat around 1500 calories. Weekends I might relax it a bit, especially if we go out for a meal, or have a bottle of wine. Seems to be working, so I must be doing something right. I am doing an hours Zumba three times a week, which must help. When I've lost a bit more, I think I'll go onto the 6:1 regime, and just play it by ear. Good luck!

OCS_Fan

Thank you. I'll probably report back here every now and again. My first weigh in is on Sunday.:p

OCS_Fan

Yesterday was fast day number 3 for OH and I. Still on school holidays so next week will be real test when back at work. We had jumbo oats with berries for breakfast and a cup of tea at 9am and then at 6pm we had a 2 egg omelette each with spinach, spring onion and tomoto. This kept me just under 500 cals. My OH had some emmental cheese with his as he had 100 more calories to play with. I also munched through 1 medium carrot cut into batons mid afternoon, as well as 2 grapes and half a walnut! I'm hoping to see more of a change on the scales when I weigh in in Friday, as so far I've lost 1lb (although my clothes feel loser). My OH has lost 8lbs in total, taking him to 14st. He exercises daily though; I just use the exercise bike.

How's everyone else doing?:rotfl:

ibizafan_2

Down to 9 stone 5, and with less than two weeks until we fly off to Australia for a month, I am giving the diet a rest until I get back. Then, I'll see what I weigh and either go back on it or go on 6:1. I really think my current weight is low enough, although the fasting is supposed to be delivering other health benefits, so I'd be interested in what others do when they get to their ideal weight.

OCS_Fan

Well done Ibizafan on your weight loss. Have a great holoday:beer:!