Did 5:2 work for you? If not post here and tell me why...

[BetsyBell]

I'm a huge advocate for 5:2 but I often wonder about the people who drift away from the main threads and if it's because in the long run they didn't get on with it.

I understand all the positives about intermittent fasting but in the interest of balance I'd like to know why it doesn't work out for some people.

If you didn't get on with 5:2 for whatever reason I'd love to hear from you, mainly so I can dish out better advice to people on the main threads!

MrsCB 16:8 is a daily form of IF I believe.

I think you are correct talkinpeace - 5:2 is probably easier for those who have reasonable eating habits to begin with.

I find myself getting a bit stabby with Mimi Spencer when she describes how easy it is and how good it was to go from her (already acceptable) previous BMI to one that is borderline underweight ( I felt particularly stabby on fast days ).

I eat a bit more than I should on my non fast days - it's easily done, that's how I got a bit overweight in the first place, but at least with 5:2 I can maintain my weight which as I am in my 40s and technically not that tubby at a BMI of 25, is not too shabby.

rookie I agree with you about Mimi Spencer. She was not overweight to begin with so reasonable to assume that her 'normal' eating habits were ok which would probably explain why it worked so well for her!

For those of us who are overweight, there is a reason for that which is we eat/drink too much. This diet doesn't really mean eat normally on NFD'S, ime, you still need to be conscious of what you are eating, albeit slightly more than other diets.

I could easily eat 2500-3000 calories per day if I truly ate and drank what I wanted to. My TDEE is 2200 so clearly I still need to calorie count on a daily basis.

A cruel fact that is often overlooked is that TDEE is an estimate across populations and may be a lot lower for some individuals than others of the same weight, height and age.

So, these unfortunates may indeed keep to their official TDEE on NFDs, but it is still too many cals for them.

Anyone who has lost more than about 10 kg will have a quite different metabolism to someone who is naturally that weight. It can take 10 years for the body to reset.

People who have dieted a lot often have much lower metabolism than others of the same weight, due to muscle loss, longterm nutrient deficiency and generally buggered body chemistry.
The years before and around the menopause can also drastically lower the TDEE.

My tdee is just over 1500. All diets are difficult for me. Maintaining my weight is difficult for me. I find it hurtful when people suggest I am eating more than I think or I must have spent years overeating, or dieting and bingeing to get to the weight I am now.

No, actually, I have spent years being mindful and careful.

Just not quite mindful and careful enough, evidently!

Sorry, Minty

I was looking at populations & statistics too: official figures for the UK are that 37% of women are dieting most of their time; in fact the average woman spends 31 years dieting.

Interesting to read all this. I have realised there is a BIG difference between being empty and being hungry. I never understood that before. If I felt any messages of any kind from my digestive system, I would just shove something in my mouth.

Things are different now. I observe how I am feeling, and mostly I am not 'hungry' at all on FDs. It's when I eat something for breakfast that it becomes difficult.

I have friends who say they couldn't possibly do 5:2 because they'd simply die if they couldn't eat when they want to. Maybe some people really do need to eat frequently for medical reasons (like diabetes) but mostly I think just the idea of 'fasting' is scary and uncomfortable.

Anything new takes a while to kick in, then it becomes second nature. I have been doing 5:2 for over a year now and have no plans of stopping. I feel so good, and my body has never looked or felt slimmer or healthier.

BetsyBell thank you for asking this question

Some of the recent posts on here are why I stopped going on the main thread...a lot of people seemed to be going to quite extreme lengths and it always appeared to be competitive about who can fast the longest or who could skip meals etc on NFD's which, to me, is not the point of this diet.

It is put me off tbh but I had forgotten about that aspect of the thread until I read the posts on here. I think it sends the wrong message to any newbies who venture on the thread .

I take your point spooky. We do try and reassure new starters that they don't need to pay much attention to that stuff but yes, it could be daunting for people wondering if they should get involved.

Where else would we talk about that stuff though? The newbies become old hands very quickly and want to discuss the variations they're trying out. It's more excitedness rather than competitiveness.

spooky - I think it is a little unfair to say the main thread is competitive. I have been on a few of the threads now and all I have seen is people posting what they have managed to achieve and pride from the other posters. We are all really proud when some one achieves something. I have never seen any showing off, any I did 125 hours without food, why did you only manage 124 minutes?

.

I also get spookys point.
Its very easy to joke about the first fast of the new year - for those of us who have been doing it a long time.
The border line between inspiration and intimidation
between encouragement and competition
you've made me think a bit more about my posts.
No bad thing

I was on the original threads from 2012 (have nchanged since) and I agree with spooky. It did get so that a lot of the more successful people were going longer and longer without food. However, it wasn't really done in a competitive way but more in a 'wow I can control my body' kind of way. At that te before the programme aired it was all v experimental and people were trying to see what worked for them.

From experience I have a friend who doesn't eat until after 4 on nfd and has lost loads of weight but she isn't doing 5:2 anymore. It's more a weird form of starvation diet.

Well FWIW I have never seen an intimidation.

Just some gentle telling off, TiP, not that you did .

From experience I have a friend who doesn't eat until after 4 on nfd and has lost loads of weight but she isn't doing 5:2 anymore. It's more a weird form of starvation diet

do you think she has taken it too far Baking?
I can see that anything which involves fasting would be attractive and a little risky to those with anorexic tendancies

People with EDs are advised not to do 5:2 or any form of IF. They are one of the few groups for whom it can be intrinsically dangerous.

However, losing weight for ED sufferers can be risky whatever method - best to consult their GP surgery for referral and get specialist support.

Don't get me wrong, the main thread is very supportive and welcoming to newbies. However, I found it uncomfortable with people seeing how far they could push themselves in terms if fasting and this made me feel like I was failing because I was still struggling with the fast days 6 months in

This was just my experience and I know there are loads of people who have thrived and benefitted from the thread I did pick up lots of tips and tricks from there so I apologise if I was so critical of thread - I just don't think it was the right environment for me.

Not critical at all, spooky, a very valid observation. And it is hard to get the tone just right for everyone.

I just couldn't do it. I was so, so hungry and couldn't cope with the fast days.

I see the main thread as a way to share what I've done - for my benefit, no one else's really, other than a shared experience. Its like keeping a public food diary.

I'm always impressed by those who push further, but its not for me, so I don't even think about it. I just stick to the 16 hour fast before eating anything on a FD and sometimes do 16:8 on NFD.

I'm in awe of some of BCF's frenzies though!

I am on my second day of fasting today, dh and I decided to do a few days of fasting to get ourselves into it. He has quite a lot more to lose than me, I have probably a stone or one and a half to make me very happy, my bmi is currently 21.

I have always been of the opinion that eating less and exercising more is the best way to lose weight but dh will try every diet out there and he loses weight then gains in a really vicious cycle. I am now trying to do this diet with him to help him stick to it but I am seriously struggling and even on day 2!?!?

My mind feels dull and I have literally no energy to get off the sofa. My 1yo dd will wake from her morning nap soon and I am dreading it which makes me very sad, I have a headache, feel cold, tired and miserable.

I am also the kind of person who gets really irritable without food. I'm thinking I can't carry on. I'd rather just eat more fish, quorn, whole foods, fruit, veg and exercise. What to do???

Mumra I think you should eat something. 5:2 is not about fasting for several days at a time at all. Maybe have a look at the Horizon episode that spawned the whole 2 days a week fasting thing - Mosley developed it as a way to achieve the same health benefits of longer fasts but without the trauma of longer fasts:

Horizon video:
vimeo.com/50912488

There are presumably people who get on fine with 4 days fasts but I imagine they would have to build up to it? And not have a 1 year old and a family to look after...

Mumra
I've never fully fasted two days in a row. Much too much like hard work.
I love food, I love cooking.
5:2 lets me do both without stressing about my weight damaging my knees even more.
I fast Monday and Thursday.

spooky I’m amazed it appears to you that there’s competition on the main threads. I do think there’s some competition between some posters on other threads, but not on these ones. I agree with Betsy in part that it’s excitement, also some pride as toffee says which I think explains the "Wow I can control my body" comment by Baking (no bad thing and perhaps understandable when many of us pre-5:2 have struggled with our weights for years, decades in my case). Personally I did a few zero cal fasts and 36 hour ones in the summer because I’d read reports of added health benefits and I like to mix things up sometimes as well as to challenge myself.

I just read what I say above and realise I probably sound very defensive and of course these things are subjective but when I read your posts earlier I was really shocked and wanted to put across my experiences, especially as newcomers will be reading this thread. I honestly don’t recall any competitiveness at all; it’s all been 100% supportive in my view.

Sorry to not reply sooner and thanks for the thoughts Betsy, Bella and the others.

I think you are right and I should be a bit more determined about the 2nd fast day, I will need to get a bit more organised and plan ahead more though. I am wondering whether the key might be to get DH to join me, he has talked about it vaguely and I think if we are both trying to do it together, it would make it a lot easier - he actually does probably more of the cooking/meal planning than me, so that avoids the scenario where I'm hoping to do a FD and he's gone and bought sausages or something for us all

I will think about it some more, meanwhile tomorrow is my not-eating-with-kids day (due to work/childcare schedule), so am definitely going to try for a FD tomorrow anyhow!

And yes, I know I should be channeling Yoda there - "Do, or do not do. There is no try"

( but no )