5:2 :- 2 years on .. Backsliders and Rescinders: Recommit with me..

[Laska42]

Hi there, Im one of the 'old original' 5:2ers who started way back in August 2012 and lost 24lbs..

I maintained for over a year and was active on the Maintainers thread , but sadly since last summer/Autumn, ive backslid.. Now I'm 12lbs up off my lowest weight again

I know what to do , I know it works , but I can hardly say I should be on the 'maintainers' again. So im posting a new thread here , in the hope that I may find some other backsliders willing to recommit along with me before it's too late ..

Come and join me again before its too late.. We can regroup and get back on track.. I'm still managing to squeeze into my sz 10s (mostly) but I cant afford a new wardrobe, I dont want to buy a larger one.. and I certainly do want to get back to what I was (and maybe finish the job properly with another half stone off , so I can rejoin the Maintainers and comfortably say that this WOE is really this time going to stay with me for life..

So anyone with me? .. I have fasted today (first one for ages) .. WE CAN DO IT AGAIN!!

Hi honey. Thank you for your message. It makes a lot of sense. I'm not on any medication, can you recommend any herbal stuff? St John's wort is supposed to be good, perhaps I should try that.

I'm going to consciously take time for myself. Lots of bubble baths and pampering. I'm going to get into a book. Meet with friends. Do stuff for me. Take my mind off food.

I've spent much of today in tears or else near to tears. My Dp seems to be turning a corner with his depression. I think I've had to be so strong for so long that I feel exhausted. Now he seems to be getting well, I'm crashing down. It's so weird. I should be overjoyed.

Also I'm pre menstrual, so it could be that. Well, it's certainly not helping!

But these messages are helping. I don't feel so alone.

how are you sleeping? when i went through a patch of overeating at night (was a medication that brought it on for me) i found it really hard to sleep if i didn't virtually eat myself into it. ironically the medication was to help with sleeping issues

i now take melatonin extended release tablets that help me fall asleep and stay there.

there's also things like valerian root for anti anxiety, or something like calms that have that and a few other ingredients. some people feel st john's wart helps, there's also that 5htp stuff that some find great for mood now and claim is better than st. johns.

like the sound of long hot baths with a book and getting out and seeing friends.

it makes sense to fall apart when the stress eases - it's almost like you can collapse when the emergency is over. as a silly example look at the way that so many teachers fall ill the minute half term comes.

Morning all! Oh, fast days are soooo hard when it's cold! I think I might have to have a glass of warm water in a minute
How's everyone else doing?

stick with it dotty.

i'm feeling slightly downheartened by random gains and all but not the end of the world. going to try for a LOF. alright so far.

i've just done a few days of eating to around tdee and maybe slightly over on one day as it occurred to me i lost a lot very quickly in the first week or so (like half a stone) then leveled out then had random gains. decided maybe i'd stressed my body too much and needed to eat more than i had been doing and get the intermittent going again rather than just constant calorie deficit.

will see if that works and i see a loss again this week.

Hello everyone, hi honey, sorry for lateness in my reply. Been a busy weekend.

My sleeping isn't bad really, as in I don't suffer from insomnia. But there is a lot of anxiety on my part around bedtimes. My DP has on and off insomnia, he snores when he does sleep, and he can only get to sleep with the TV on. I, on the other hand have to have silence and darkness to sleep. We've honestly tried everything to get around it but even the thought of sharing a room with him to sleep sends me over the edge. So we take turns on the sofa., or I sleep in with my son. Not ideal and does my head in.

I do tend to eat late and I think it's linked to this anxiety.

Good luck today dotty. I'm not working today, my son is now down for a nap, and I think I'll get my head down too. I feel exhausted xx

Before I go for my nap, can anyone help me with tomorrow? It's my first fast day after a long hiatus. I'm anxious about it but determined.

Any suggestions as to what I can eat tomorrow? I'm having a mental block and could really use some advice.

i'm no help today i'm afraid as i'm struggling.

i'd only just written my post above when i had to toast a pita bread for my son and found myself starving and angry with it! lol.

i feel really resistant to it today and wondering whether to try something different. my thoughts are either to try a week of just narrow window eating - say nothing till 3 and nothing after 8 or to wait for my period to start (when you're in release mode anyway according to all sorts of systems) and do a 48hr fast.

i seem to recall i used to mix it up, and have to mix it up, fairly regularly when i was doing this before in order for it to keep working for me.

the idea of just making sure i eat well, don't overeat and make good choices most of the time and then doing a monthly two day fast in conjunction with my period seems appealing to me and more of a 'natural' cycle to follow than weeks. my menstrual cycle has a huge effect on my weight, mood, appetite etc and working with it might make sense.

just thinking out loud really.

for today i will hold off for another hour and then eat and not eat after 8 and make good food choices.

Honey, that's interesting about the menstrual cycle. When you say a 48 hour fast, what exactly does that entail? It's something I may consider in the future...

just not eating for a couple of days really - black coffee, herbal teas, water only.

so i last ate at 9pm last night and i wouldn't eat again till 9pm tomorrow for example.

48 is long sounding but i used to do 36hrs relatively comfortably - re: from 9pm last night till breakfast tomorrow would be 36.

5:2 really is about fasting 'lite' if you like, making it easier for people to achieve some benefits of fasting without having to go totally without food as most people find that really daunting.

i'm wondering if for me i'd be happier doing a harder fast re: no food at all and longer but having to do it less frequently. just thinking out loud for me really - def not recommending anything to anyone else with this iyswim.

I think with any eating "method" it's about finding the right thing for you. Some people need a structure to follow, every day. Others need to know what to eat but are able to modify amounts and times of eating themselves. Others splurge and then cut right back. I think if you can recognise which will work best for you and stick to it, you'll succeed, whatever that method actually is

still searching for mine btw!

i think what is blumming irritating is i know what works for me and it's living in a warm climate and swimming in the sea and spending very little time indoors.

the weight falls off of me and i can eat what i like.

wish it was the same here.

still undecided as to what i'm doing today but still liquid only so far i feel weirdly tantrumy. one minute i think of feck this i'm going to eat and the next i'm like eh? no, might as well keep going and not eat at all.

don't know what is with me today - so far since starting up again i think i've found the fasting easy whereas today i seem to be battling with my head over it.

how are you getting on dotty? still feeling cold? i haven't felt cold today just all over the place emotionally like a stompy toddler.

plenty of clothes, furry slippers, a scarf and fingerless gloves are keeping the cold at bay

honey I have days like that too, where I feel like I'm my own worst enemy or where I do things just to spite myself! Ridiculous
But you've broken the back of it now, just a few more hours to go.

yeah i might as well continue. if i go through to lunchtime that's a solid liquid only 40hr fast which is banked for the week.

bless you - i can remember that freezing cold feeling - i used to sit in my drafty little office huddled up in coat and scarves

Morning all

Well, day one of my return to fasting...

Feeling positive so far (I know, its only 10am!) - having a herbal tea right now and I don't have any nibbles on my desk to tempt me so there's a start.

Not sure what (if anything) to have for lunch. I didn't bring anything in with me. Maybe I'll grab a salad later.

Ah shit, just overheard people in the office are going to Nandos for lunch. Will have to swerve everyone and sit at my desk pretending to work :)

ah crap, first pang of hunger

it'll pass argh - just remember it passes. distract and it will be gone again.

still liquid only here and feeling ok now. have done some work this morning and now having a break before cracking on with house stuff.

half the trouble yesterday i think was that my stomach felt awful, despite not eating i felt bloated and full and kind of constipated and full of trapped wind. lying in bed last night i suddenly had loads of activity that i could feel in my bowels/intestines whatever and massive movements of air and rumbling and a feeling of adjustment. after a while i went to the toilet and afterwards felt better. i've been to the toilet again this morning and my digestion finally feels calm and i feel well.

i've noticed this pattern whereby when i have messed up my digestion with carbs that don't agree with me there is a compulsion to eat more of them and a cycle of getting temporary relief by eating more of the same know that sounds mad but i have heard of people craving things they're intolerant of even though you'd think the body would have more sense. by ignoring that craving and carrying on i seem to have allowed my digestion to recover and reboot.

for now happy continuing fasting and just having liquids and when i do eat i'm going to try and eat lightly and avoid foods i know start this cycle off again.

remembering that THIS is what i liked about doing this WOE previously - that it was experiential and self exploratory iyswim. it creates a space to feel one's own body and to take a break from autopilot cycles itms.

i still don't understand my reluctance to face that cannot eat certain foods - it's pretty stubborn and illogical and makes me wonder why i don't value taking care of myself more. it may just be that i'm so accustomed to my body/digestion/etc working at this level that it doesn't seem a problem and the motivation for it to work better, feel better just isn't there.

sorry for long waffle.

how are you doing now aargh ?

I succumbed and had a cuppa soup (97cals)

I will not have anything else now until dinner (300cal steak and veg) and then an early night so I don't have to think about food!

I'm doing quite well considering by now I would have already eaten my lunch, plus other unhealthy snacks :)

You are doing so well, Honey! How long to go before you can eat?

well done aargh - first one is hard especially if you've been used to eating lots of carbs ime.

i don't know argh. i've just popped a couple of jacket potatoes in the oven so they'll be cooked and there when i want them.

i fancy eggs but we're out so i need to go to the shop to get them. just cooking some spaghetti for my son at the moment who is having a ravenous day as usual.

keep going - you're doing great.

ok just broke my fast with a little slice of edam cheese. it was DELICIOUS

i've also gotten some pork loin steaks out of the freezer for tomorrow in anticipation of cooking a nice proper meal.

kind of wishing i had lots of protein in the house as i dare say ending a long fast like this with a protein only day would extend the fat burning time. think i'll try that another time.

You have done really well, Honey. I'd have tucked into the baked potatoes long ago - probably while they were still raw :)

....mmmmmm cheese....

I had 4 pieces of sushi for lunch (the friend I was lunching with got herself a chicken biryani and I could not sit there with nothing!)...that is 100cal.

so thats around 200cal I've had so far. A 300cal steak and veggies for dinner, and I've just about kept within the 500cal limit.

you're doing great argh. just herbal teas or black coffee and water to keep you feeling warm and hydrated now till teatime then it'll be nearly bed. you will have fast 1 under your belt and know you can do it

Honey thank you for the words of encouragement. It really does help me and gives me the boost I so need to keep going with it. Much appreciated

your welcome - helps me too.

the one egg i found and put on to boil has just exploded in my face. i'd let it boil dry so stuck it and the pan under the cold tap and it went off like a bomb. the potatoes are overcooked and i'm nursing a small burn.

maybe i'm not meant to eat? considering just having some soup

oh my god! Attacked by a boiled egg! Sabotaged by overcooked potatoes!

Maybe it is a sign