The new 5:2 diet thread

[GreenEggsAndNichts]

The continuing thread for those of us following either the 5:2 diet or the alternate-day fasting diet. Both are two versions of Intermittent Fasting, which you can read more about here.

The 5:2 diet was featured on Horizon recently, and essentially requires you to fast for 2 non-consecutive days per week. The other 5 days, you can eat what you like. Alternate-day fasting is just how it sounds; you fast every other day. By "fasting", we mean that we keep our calorie consumption very low, around 500 calories on average, on those days.

Come join us, and tell us about your experiences with this diet! :)

Fast day for me. Had a huge salad with Quorn chicken pieces. several people in the office commented on the size of it, saying i thought you was on a diet?!
Only about 350 calories even with coleslaw, it was very filling and satisfying.
9th fast day for me, it's so easy now. Keep wondering if it will remain this easy long term, as it would be amazing to keep it up. Can't see any reason why not, but don't usually stick to 'diets' once I've lost the weight i was aiming for - hence then needing a new diet, lol!
Not even slightly hungry, definitely find that a Camomile tea keeps hunger at bay

Well I'm off to bed in a minute. This is the end of my first fast day. It's been OK, although I did find I was really hungry after lunch (first meal of the day) and pretty much remained hungry all day. I think maybe the next time I need to eat more veg.

Well done all you fasters :)

greeneggsthanks for all the great info you've been posting and all the encouragement.

Well done all of you on your fast days, especially first fast days. It does get easier the more you do.
Another one completed had youngs cod in butter sauce, baby new potatoes, peas and Brocolli steamed. Just having a options mint hot choc and rich tea finger biscuits :)

Night all x

I'm freezing too. Really odd, didn't expect that as a side effect.

My theory is all the energy has been, er, burnt up warming up all my crucial organs so my feet and fingers can go freeze themselves. Or summat.

Well done fasters! It IS very cold today!!

Well went to weigh and am two pounds heavier than last week when i weighed after a two course lunch whereas today on a fast day! Doesn't make sense and my class teacher said i even look thinner! Will carry on regardless as its the longer term result I'm after.disappointing tho when i didn't overindulge on my eating days :-(

Louise are u on totm? I def gained then!!

Could be hormonal I guess.I always have lost weight erratically even when I've stuck properly to diets .anyway it's not putting me off cos I really like this way of eating!

Could be hormonal I guess.I always have lost weight erratically even when I've stuck properly to diets .anyway it's not putting me off cos I really like this way of eating!

Hi all,
Will I have been cold as well, but it may just be that the weather is not so warm. Er, bit Autumnal shall we say.

So fast day number 6? I think. It was ok, but I was jolly hungry most of the day. I might cut down to a one egg omelette so I can eat more veggies and fill up my grumbling tum. It was ok though, I'm getting used to being hungry.
My workplace resembles a branch of Thorntons most days so I was quite pleased that fasting stops me even considering a belgian chocolate with my cup of tea. It seems to do something to my brain and I don't even have to struggle with the decision. Complete resignation and apathy I think?
I am shifting my next fast day to Saturday so I can scoff lots of Indian food at our local Indian festival on Sunday (pats tummy). That is if it doesn't rain all day long.
Well done fellow fasters! Aren't we great!!
Good luck to all those fasting tomorrow!

Just finished 6th fast day. Feel very hungry now - I always feel hungry if I do cardio on a fast day, but it couldn't be helped. Will skip breakfast and start eating again with lunch. It's good to have it finished again till next Monday.

Today's food ( or lack of) 470 kcal
Breakfast 2 coffees with semi skimmed milk
Lunch 1 med boiled egg and a cup of miso soup
Dinner Roast chicken with a chilli tomato & courgette chutney with green beans and broccoli and a cup of tea.

No time right now to read thru thread will do later but just reporting in after my mahoosive 7 1/2 lb weight gain over weekend have done my usual mon/we'd fast (prob 550 cal mon 600 yest) and have lost 6lb so must have been mainly water .

Anyone else getting bloated stomach when they eat (even if just small amount food?)

whoooee another 1.5 pound off so thats 5 lbs in two weeks.. Well pleased with that. Also my waist has gone down TWO inches !!

Who is it that's reading the Dr Briffa book , I started it last night and was so amazed ( and I thought I knew everything about dieting!!) that I ended up reading it into the early hours ..

I'm on an eating day today , but low carbing.. but reading his book I'm now wondering if fast days could be LC also (and maybe even slightly higher fat ?) .. .. But i've not finished it yet..

I'm combining LC with 5:2 Laska so if you discover anything outstanding would you shout about it please?
Not avidly LC, but no refined carbs and nothing I've not prepared myself, but I'm not restricting what fruit or veg I eat.
I weighed this morning and I'm 3.5 lbs lighter than Monday morning!

First fast day. 1 coffee so far and feeling good. I think it is the first time I have actually felt enthusiastic about a diet. Might feel different later :)

Planning a banana and a low fat yoghurt mid morning, then something in the evening.

Hi squishy cant stay on this long - im in the office and may get modded!
its called Escape the diet Trap, by Dr John briffa . have a look on Amazon ..

Here goes first fast day today planning to do thurs and tues. I've had a cup of tea with milk and porridge with flaked almonds and cinnamon got a really busy day so planning a 4pm second meal. Wish me luck!

Hi guys, can I join you??

I need to loose a stone and just been reading about this diet....I am starting my first fasting day today as I haven't had breakfast yet!! What does everyone find best..fasting every other day or certain days of the week?

Hi Ilovecake I am doing 2 days out of 5 and not fixed days; they tend to be a Mon & Weds but is flexible if something crops up in the week just change the day. Still experimenting with types of food to keep me fullest longest

Hi Louise, on non fasting days i am allowed to eat any food...that just seems unreal! But no more than 2000cal and 500cal on fasting days! This doesn't seem to bad really just hope it works!!

That's about it cake! it's a bit of trial and error to start and some people seem to be losing loads of weight. I'm not finding that but doing it for health reasons mainly as like you have about a stone I would like to lose.I was hungry yesterday on a fast day but thinking about it didn't have any protein just veg salad etc so will try a different approach next Monday on my next one

Welcome Ilovecake1! I fast on Tues, Thurs, and Sat. I'd do alternate-day fasting, but have decided to just set three specific days so that I am always able to eat on Sundays (otherwise, I'd have to alternate Sundays fasting, and I don't want to disturb the family routine that much).

Low carbing is definitely something to consider for fast days. I know I'm unable to sustain LCing in the long term, though, which is why I'm giving this a go. It's working very well for me (7+ lbs down in two weeks) and I don't feel like I'm struggling with it at all.

Today is my fast day, am having a cup of coffee, and won't be eating until late afternoon/early evening. Shall be having my usual veg. :) Might have a piece of fruit as well to try to keep things moving along, so to speak.

Well done sqishy and laska, fab losses. I survived my snacky fast day yesterday with a couple of sneaky extra cups of tea. Funny how now it's a feed day and I can, I'm not as tempted to raid the tesco cake aisle any more mainly as I can't be arsed. I did eat a couple of squares of dark choc as soon as humanly possible this morning though, but I neeeeeeded them!