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!

Depends. Do you eat every single meal together? I can pick fast days that dh and I are eating at different times. Or do what my mother dies- make sure whatever she's cooked on a Sunday gas enough leftovers for dad on the Monday, while she fasts.

Mumfa Try say 800 cals on FDs to start. I did this for 3 months, as I absolutely couldn't manage lower - maybe because I exercise so intensively.
Anyway, it eventually clicked and now 500 cals are easy.
Some of us just need to ease our way in, others can jump into an icy pool and start swimming right away.
Definitely don't try a double FD until you are quite experienced.

Spooky Like the other 5:2ers here, I didn't see any competition on the 5:2 thread, just support.
I know, for example, several others report they are losing weight like mad and I lose v v slowly, but noone makes me feel like a failure at all.
We just accept our differences and enjoy hearing about them.

I did eat, thank you very much. I can't believe how quickly the head fuzz lifted after I ate...it was quite a relief.

I think you're right BigChoc I am tall and so I think my calorie allowance is higher than average for a woman anyway. For the first day I tried to start myself strictly and tried for 400 instead of 500 thinking I would then be happy when I could have that extra snack. I will try for 800 or less calories. I'm not a morning eater so I spread the meals out as three small meals in the afternoon - I need that energy boost for the school run and dinner times.

I'm still not sure it's going to work for me as I don't like associating guilt with eating and think it can lead somewhere bad but I think they are my own issues and not the actual 5/2 fast. Hopefully if I continue in the way that it actually states to I won't have feelings of guilt.

I am on 5:2 but some fast days I just feel the need to eat more than 500 cals and I let myself. I figure that as long as you are significantly reducing your calorie intake you will lose weight. That has been the case for myself and my dp. I've lost a stone in 3 months, she's lost 21 lbs. Another thing I was doing at first which I'm getting back into this week was eating vegan during the day on my non fast days. I felt so well doing that. I have found that I can play around with 5:2 quite a bit and still lose weight. I don't know how people have continued with it for months on end when they're not losing at all....that would drive me crazy!

lila
I don't know how people have continued with it for months on end when they're not losing at all....that would drive me crazy!
I have no more weight to lose - OK maybe a few pounds - but I keep doing intermittent fasting for the long term health reasons

I did 5:2 to keep (overweight) DH company, between August 2012 (v. early adopters) until early summer 2013 with a month off in December. He lost IIRC 1 1/2 stones. My BMI is around 20 so I saw no reason to lose weight but wanted the health benefits. My body fat decreased but the weight stayed about the same. Fasting gives me headaches so DH kindly suggested (eventually) I should stop - so I did. My TDEE is very low (due I expect to slender build and advanced age) and I suspect I was eating too much on NFDs.

In April - July last year I did couch to 5K and I currently run 3x a week, lift weights 2x a week, and go to an aerobics/general fitness class once a week. This maintains my weight as long as I stay off carbs as much as possible (hard for me as I don't eat meat fish or poultry and ideally would not eat dairy either if not for the practical difficulties of living wiht a carnivore)

Over that time my body fat has gone from over 26% to under 20%.
one more thing, I never eat breakfast.

Hope this helps.

Now, can someone cure the cellulite I am developing every damn where ?

My partner has been on the 5:2 diet for 15 months after seeing it on the BBC. Amazing results from 22% body fat to 10%. I know he is happy and has posted his results here www.triwithme.org/blog/5-2-diet

I am now going to join in, although as he has hit his target it is less of a priority for him.

Oh yes re starting a bit higher, I have always told myself under 600 is OK (rather than being totally strict about 500) and that does make it easier as if I can't get it "just right" and go slightly over 500 I don't see it as failing (which would just make me crash off the wagon and eat everything otherwise). Plus men get to have 600 and I'm just as tall as DH so I reckon it's fair to allow myself the bloke amount

Anyway I have just done a full FD and am feeling very smug because I was in John Lewis coffee shop earlier with a free coffee-and-cake voucher and did not use it Am saving it for a non-FD! Also did 30 Day Shred, so my halo is positively blinding...

Hi Talkin, yes, I see what you mean there. A friend of mine is continuing on a 6:1 basis but she has already lost the weight she wanted to lose and is just maintaining it. What I meant was the people who report being on the diet for 3 months who want to lose weight but haven't lost even a pound! That's dispiriting!

Having read the posts on here, I wonder if aiming for 800 calories on FD would work for me? I just cannot stick to 500 and always end up at 700-800 and then think I have failed so maybe allowing myself 800 will stop the guilt/feelings of failure!

It didn't work for me because I found it impossible to live on 500 cals. I would rather eat nothing at all for a day. I'd much prefer to count calories.

I think any sort of diet which requires fasting needs to be done in conjunction with meditation/ yoga. It's not really for people with busy lives.

What I don't get is this: why does fasting work better than other forms of calorie conrtol?

I'm also sceptical of any diet that is endorsed/ promoted by a celebrity with a book to sell.

got so tired on the days that i was fasting that i fell asleep and missed the school run! am currently trying to amend the diet slightly by bringing in a little more calories to the day so i can get through it.

Fedup, suspect that periods with very little food may improve insulin sensitivity and thereby allow fat to be mobilized / prevent fat storage.

Yes, Fedup, the science behind it is that calorie restriction forces your body to repair existing (and damaged) cells, whereas a constant supply of food means new cells are created all the time. Which is good if you're growing or pregnant, and so it's not suitable for those groups.

I've found it much easier to fast when I AM busy, but everyone is different.

I wouldn't class it as a sleb-touting-a-book, though. It's not necessary to buy the book at all (fiver or whatever it costs), there are no special shakes or bars, or monthly class fees.

I tried 5:2 for 3 months before realising it wasn't for me. My BMI is 24.5 and I wanted to loose about half a stone.

Like others, I was short tempered and shaky. Hunger wasn't so bothersome. The shaking was more of a problem because people having skin surgery don't appreciate a surgeon with shaky hands and a short temper!!

I do often fast until a late lunch, but mainly to reduce overall calories, and that works well for me.

fedupandfifty
within a few weeks of 5:2 I realised that the easiest way to do the fast days was to go 24 hours only on liquids and then have a huge bowl of something vegetabley at the end of the day

Nightfalls
Interesting that you got the shakes - DH has been doing lots of soldering lately and he finds his hands extra steady 16 hours into a fast - but he and I are very practiced at the water drinking now

I'm one of those who has been doing 5:2 for months with little/no weight loss so I am happy to answer some of those questions .

Firstly I'm not vastly overweight, I have a BMI of 25 so I would look better if I lost more weight, but fit my existing wardrobe and do a reasonable amount of exercise so I am fairly toned apart from the flabby bits.

I have tried most diets going and most recently before 5:2 WW. I found myself getting progressively more annoyed with WW - paying over a fiver a week to go to a church hall where they kept your details using a roladex system, used an on line app that was identical to my fitness pal except it used points rather than calories, and leaders who got annoyed if you went to a different meeting seemed a bit of a rip off. Also I felt it was very unhealthy that they kept promoting their expensive, highly processed WW bars. I basically spent something like £300 to lose about 4 pounds.

The reason most people go on diets is because their weight goes up - I am grateful that over a 6 month period my weight has remained stable and I have still been able to enjoy all my favourite food and drink on my non fast days.

Also my father has type 2 diabetes, he isn't overweight, quite the opposite, and both my grandparents on his side had it, therefore anything that can stop me getting that is good.

I find the fast days a bit of a pain tbh, I don't enjoy it, I am cranky and not able to do much exercise, but keep myself going with the thought that it will soon be over.

spooky Mumsnet 5:2 veteran Breadandwine started his 5:2 journey on 1000 cals a day I think and successfully lost weight. I'd try higher cals for you; good idea.

fedup I'm no scientist but my understanding is that the body starts burning body fat after 12-18 hours of no food which may be why body fat tends to go down quicker on 5:2 than standard calorie restriction diets. Some posters on the main thread report more dramatic inch loss on 5:2 than weight loss (as per scales). I'm another one who finds fasting easier the busier I am.

fedup It's not really for people with busy lives. That's the first time I've heard that about 5:2. Many of us have found that it's easier to fast - much easier, in fact - when busy, but as Melanie says, we're all different.

Just to add - I never got any euphoric/lighter feeling from fasting but didn't find it an impossible chore, even the headaches were just about bearable. Having said that, I don't get euphoria from running either as so many runners report .

What I have taken from this thread is a new ambition to try 16:8 which would be a lot easier if we didn't eat so late in the evening. FT working, exercising and eating right isn't easy ...

Maybe I'm not approaching it right, then! I work from home, so around food a lot. I'm avtually quite strict and rarely eat between 7 and 12 the following day. I find this quite easy, but when I tried to get down to below 1000 calories I found it more difficult. Especially on a cold day. I seem to find not eating for longish periods easier than eating small amounts. I don't know why this is.

I stick to 1200 a day, with exercise factored in. That's 7200 a week.

On 5:2 I could eat far more on non-fast days, but I wouldn't want to as I would feel like I was spoiling the diet.

I agree that 5:2 is more practical than most regimes, but I'd like to know how many people stick to it in the longer term, ie 6months or longer.

JayeAshe
the headaches are not the fasting - they are dehydration
drink a pint of water when you get up, a pint of water at lunchtime, a pint of water before supper and a pint of water before bed

it is well documented that lots of westerners are clinically dehydrated much of the time

Fedup
I've been doing 5:2 since September 2012, BreadandWine started a year before me, have a look at thread 1 and you'll see familiar names

fedup I've been doing 5:2 for nearly a year. Quite a few longtermers on the main and maintaining threads, also on the 5:2 forum.

I'm celebrating my anniversary! With a proper glass of Taittinger too, as its a non-fast day.

I fully understand that it's not for everyone. I absolutely cannot fast when I'm at home - far too many food temptations around.