I'm doing it! 5:2 starts this week. Anyone else starting out?

[SageYourResoluteOracle]

Okay. Huge issues with weight all my adult life. Have done weight watchers in the past and was my slimmest on my wedding day (a cliche, I know). Fast forward 4 years, one baby later and a diagnosis of premature menopause (and a lot of other stress which has shamefully led to comfort eating) and I have to get my weight sorted. I feel exhausted almost all the time and I can't go on like this. I also used to run half marathons and 10ks. Can't imagine being able to do that atm.

My stats:
Age: 35
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 13st 13lb
BMI: 31.3= obese
Dress size: 14/16
Shoe size: 6/7
Health issues: on cyclical HRT until I'm at least 50; hypothyroidism.
Mercifully, my bone density is great (there is a risk of osteoporosis with premature meno due to low estrogen levels)

All my weight is middle centred or on my thighs. Not healthy.

Anyone else just started 5:2 or about to start?

thinking of starting 5:2....did u find any difference

I'm on my second fast day. The first one was easy. Today I have woken up hungry which is an arse! I think it's because my breath "tasted" of the spring onions in last night's salad

Herbal tea.
Herbal tea
Herbal tea
Water

I have a 2 egg, tomato and spinach omelette to look forward to for dinner. It won't turn out as I'm not using any fat so it will look more scrambled but that's ok.

Some folk have lost several stone on 5:2, others with just a few lb to lose have also succeeded, see Inspiration thread

The weight loss is sustainable longterm - some old hands have been on maintenance a year.

You'd be very welcome to join us on the MainThread44
We're a really friendly bunch, lots of support and advice, no judgey pants

Can i ask what times people will be fasting , is it supposed to be a 12 or 24 hour fast or just a fast as in 500 calories ?

Not wanting to join in the diet but just to say my husband did this diet and it really worked for him, then again he does have good willpower. He wasn't very big too start with and was just wanting to lose a bit off his belly. He found sticking to diet easy, he prefered to just save his calories and have an evening meal at 8ish so he wasn't going to bed hungry

He just fasts once a week now to maintain weight loss, and he's not too strict with the 600 calls now. It really worked for him. Good luck op

Frumpet Usual plan:
. Eat normal supper the day before
. On FD, eat a total of 500 cals (600 for blokes).
. Eat normal breakfast the next day

Good luck - 5:2 is brilliant and really works. I started in Jan 2013 and have been maintaining mostly for nearly a year.

Don't be shy - come over to the main thread. It moves fast, but that's because there's so many people in the same, or similar, situations, which means you'll get amazing advice and support (and meet some of the loveliest people on MN )

Hi all, I started the 5:2 diet last week after finally buying a decent set of scales and frankly being horrified by my weight of 16st! I am 5 ft 9 but still clinically obese, I lost 3 lb last week and am also doing a Davina excercise DVD three times a week (ie when I'm not fasting), just hoping I loose a steady amount of weight! Would like some ideas for recipes as well as any good apps or websites for calorie counting,

Thanks!

Most folk find mfp best for cal counting
There's a link to great FD recipes in the Thread 44 OP

Hi all, it's so lovely to here all your stories. I'm on my first week. First fast day was yesterday. I did ok but needed the coffee. Is it ok to drink coffee?. I have skimmed milk and 1 sweeteners that helped me keep going. Is it ok to fast tomo? Wasn't sure how many days to leave in between fast days.

Li22ie Coffee, tea are fine, no limit. Just count calories if you have milk / sugar.
Most people find it easier to do NON-consecutive FDs, but do whatever suits your schedule.
Best to choose days when you are busy. 5:2 allows you to choose your FDs any week, so you can participate in any social or business occasions, i.e. live a normal life.

I'm starting today and sipping green tea as I type! Really hoping this works. I'm absolutely disgusted with the way I look and need to do something now....!

Hello! I've done this twice before and always fallen off the wagon. I'm going to give it another go as I feel like I am carrying packs of lard strapped to my middle or something. Will weigh myself tomorrow morning and report back.
May try 4:3 for the first couple of weeks.

I've just weighed myself and I'm 80kg, which is too much. I feel flabby. I'm 5'6, not sure what my BMI is, but too much.
Is anyone still reading this thread btw?

Me! Am going to give this another go! I lost a few lbs but probably wasn't strict enough and gave up too quickly.

Hello WipsGlitter! Thought I'd killed the thread :)
I wanted to go swimming this morning as I thought it would some exercise without killing myself on my first fast day. But it's bloody closed til 23rd June :(
I have the shred, which I think is possibly pushing it, what do you think? Can't do it tmrw as I need to do my tax return and was planning on fasting again Weds.

Hi, just checking in, how are the fellow 5:2'ers doing?

Well I didn't exactly stick to it but I did better than I have on any other plan and have kick started it with a weight loss this week of 1.5kgs which is not fabulous but better than nothing!

Also feel slightly less podgy round the middle. Definitely going to keep this going this week.

How's everyone else doing?

Just finishing 3rd FD at 600kcals and FUCKING STARVING!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me too. I'm doing low carb/paleo anyway and like it, but fell off the wagon a bit so now back on it and going to try fasting two days a week. I am starting tomorrow, planning only to see how it goes, will miss breakfast and go from there.

NFD today and feel much better. Went to bed in the end last night to put an end to hunger! Going to do another FD tomorrow.

So....first fast day today. Woke up feeling terrible after a bad nights sleep and almost forgot the whole idea but decided to go with it, but I did eat two slices of roast chicken for breakfast just to take the edge off as I felt so weak and shaky. Then just had herbal tea/water/black coffee until around 2 when I had half a tub of cottage cheese and a banana, then nothing until dinner when I had chicken breast, loads of veggies in a tomato sauce and a small portion of couscous. Have drunk a lot of water. Does that sound okay? I felt great actually, yes a bit hungry but somehow energetic, almost a bit buzzy. I chose today because it was a day off work but I was busy all day which kept me occupied. So what for tomorrow - normal eating? I'm going to try fasting again from Thurs tea time until Fri lunchtime as I have to go to work in the afternoon and I'm not sure I could cope at work. I'm hungry now and will have to eat something small before bed because I hate waking in the night hungry, I have bad insomnia at the best of times. I soooo hope I can make this work as I badly need to turn my health around and lose some weight for the long term.

I started yesterday. Went without breakfast then at about 12 I was feeling a bit bereft so I had a glass of tomato juice and that perked me up nicely.

I seem to have lost 2lbs in a day

Also, and I don't know if this is a good idea but today I didn't feel hungry when I got up so decided not to eat until lunchtime. Does that mean I have done a day and a half.