I'm not sure if this is really working for me... anything I can do to boost it?

[Katnisscupcake]

Hi there,

Sorry to whinge... but 3 weeks in of doing this 5:2 diet and I've only lost 2 lbs.

My colleague (doing the diet with me) has lost 6 lbs. What am I doing wrong?

I eat under 500 calories on fast days, around 400 in total. I've found that by eating nothing through the day and then having a low calorie meal (usually a nice vegetable soup and a piece of thin dry wholemeal toast) leaves me enough to have a couple of low calorie snacks in the evening (Special K bar/biscuits, packet of French Fries, an apple).

On Non-fast days I don't write down my calorie intake, I just add it up in my head as I go along. I don't snack as much and I monitor my meal portions.

I've just done a calculator online and it says that I should be having 1697 calories a day and I am definitely below that.

I put in that I don't do exercise as I sit down all day, but I do try and get the dogs out for a walk (about 2 miles) once every other day. Not necessarily a brisk walk though, but plenty of hills.

Is there anything else I can do (without adding another fast day in - yet), to boost the weight loss?

I just think that I've really boosted my willpower by doing this diet as I want to stick to it, but don't really feel like I'm seeing much of a result .

Katniss
How much did your colleague have to lose?
How much do you have to lose?
Have they gained weight recently - so a lot of its in fluids rather than fat cells?
Ignore her, worry about you.

Also NO SNACKING
The calorie counts on snacks are mostly under by 10-20%
And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE record your calories on MFP as you go.
When people do it in their heads, statistically they underestimate by 30-40%

Chances are you are over eating on almost every single day.
And you have not mentioned drinks...
Do you just drink water, as ALL other drinks have calories in ... especially fruit juices and booze

Give MFP a go for a couple of weeks - set it to maintain your weight so you'll be way under on fast days BUT track every single thing that you consume, even the splash of milk in tea and that half biscuit from the tray on the desk ...

Most people with a decent amount to lose (including me) do MFP for a couple of months to retrain their appetites. It works.

It might depend on your weight when you started - if you don't really have a lot to lose, it probably won't drop off in such dramatic fashion. Are you fairly slim anyway?

Ok, so my height is 5ft 8 and my weight now is 10 stone 11. BMI is within the healthy range.

I'm a size 14 and so it's more size than weight that I want to change. I want to be a size 12.

I work from home and I'm very strict on Fast days. I have diet fizzy water (2 calories per bottle - 2 small bottles a day) and tea. I allow 15 calories for my tea including splash of milk and 2 sweeteners. Usually 2-3 cups all day (including the evening).

I didn't realise that about snacks the low calorie snacks...

I don't eat even a crumb of food from when I get up until about 5pm. That's when I have the home-made Veg soup. I weigh all the vegetables so I know exactly how many calories are in it, including the calories for the different stock cubes.

I did sign up for MFP but didn't find it easy to use on my tablet so didn't bother. Maybe I will try it on my laptop while I'm working and see if it helps.

Thank you!

If your bmi is already in the healthy range, then 2 pounds in 3 weeks is about right. I'd say you're doing just fine, but you need more patience!

And if it's dress size you're more concerned about, then exercise, especially strength training, is what you need to look into.

Katniss
yup, you wont lose as much because you have less to lose!
and to drop sizes, you need to up your exercise
yoga, pilates, weights, wii fit, the shred
they will make your body denser and therefore thinner

Thank you Melanie.

Patience is definitely something I could work on !!

My problem is that I HATE exercise. I always have!! So I've started walking twice a week in the evening for about 2 miles and then take the dogs out for a brisk 1 mile walk once a day.

The only exercise I like is dancing. But I can't find a decent dance class around here or anyone to come with me (I don't really want to do it on my own).

I guess at the end of the day, my weight is going in the right direction, so I'll work on the patience...

Oh no Talkinpeace, with you and Melanie saying it, it's inevitable isn't it, I'm going to have to up the exercise ...

Every morning, while the kettle is boiling, do 2 sets each of 20 push ups and squats. 5 minutes, tops.

Dancing is my favourite form of exercise too - why cant you go on your own?

Tango & Salsa will both get you pretty darned toned

I'm going swimming two mornings a week now, and as I have children and a husband who works all evening I can only go early mornings while they're all still asleep. Like you I HATE excersise but I love the peace I get in the pool while I plod up and down. I do Zumba on a Monday night; again I HATE aerobics but Zumba is such a laugh and I go with some girl friends.

Hey,

Another one who doesn't exercise. I simply don't have the time to! I was plateauing after a period if loss.

I switched to 4:3 and I've seen a steady 1lb a week loss again. So thoroughly recommend. My BMI is around 24 .

Good luck!!!

100ml of skimmed milk is 35 cals and 100ml of semi skimmed is 50.

Honestly up you need to use MFP. It will help.

I always thought a pack of stir fry veg was 0 calories when actually a pack is something like 135 .

Do you have a bike? If so just get out on a ride. DH and I have downloaded RunKeeper and you can set it to walk, cycle or run. Tells you how many minutes it takes to do a mile/km and also how many cals you have burned at the end.