How quickly should I be seeing results on the 5:2?

[clevername]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this dieting thing and I realise my question is probably stupid and a bit irritating but I started doing the 5:2 thing on Monday and I'm feeling a bit demotivated by the fact that I haven't lost anything yet. In fact I put on a lb half way through the week!

I'm trying to lose about a stone - I'm 9st 2, 5ft 2, have a small frame and am the wobbliest I've ever been.

I'm doing the old school thing of eating 500 calories on two days (did Monday and Thursday as fast days) and eating normally on the others. I'm not being ridiculous on the normal days (I eat fairly healthily, although I like wine and the odd bit of chocolate), but I'm also not denying myself much either. Which is what i like about the idea of 5:2 - I'm not good with the thought of denying myself the things I enjoy... I can cope with 2 days of denial if the rest of the time I don't have to!!

I'm not exercising as much as I should (did one HIIT session this week when I promised myself I'd do at least 3 ).

I was hoping for something tangible results-wise to keep me going. Am I fooling myself or doing something wrong?

You might need to start logging what you eat on the other 5 days, on a site like MFP - it's really easy to underestimate the amount you're eating! I've found it really helpful so far 😊

Thank you. Yes, I'll do that... Thing is, I'm not eating any differently on my normal days to how I was before I started and I wasn't putting on weight, I was staying the same (I've been the same weight, give or take a pound or two) for the last couple of years. So I figured the fasting days would make a more immediate difference.

I guess I'm just being impatient and unrealistic in my expectations.

If you want rapid results maybe team your non fast days with an extended night fast, ie stop eating at 18:30 and then don't have breakfast until 10:30 next morning, then lunch at 14:30 . That kick starts the body in my experience. Can have black tea or black coffee within the non eating parts of morning and evening .
It's explained in Michael Moselys books

Thank you... I prob should have said I've been doing that too... I don't eat breakfast so my first meal is lunch at about 1ish (I've been doing that for ages, it worked to get back in shape after my first DD 6 years ago).

Think I'm going to be a bit more strict with myself (ie keep an eye on my calories a bit) on the normal days and see if that helps.

Hi I’ve just joined Mumsnet & looking for weight loss inspiration...what is DD?

Its going to take a long while - unles you're starving yourself everyday which is utterly dangerous, if you watch a ton of those YouTube weightloss "how I did it" vids, I can take months and months and years to safely lose stones of weight on diet change alone, couple in the right exercise and it'll typically be a faster process. But weightloss won't happen magically in just a few days.

Thing is, as you're small and a healthy weight you don't need many calories to maintain your weight. Maybe 1700 a day? So if you're eating 1700 calories 5x weekly, then 500 calories 2xweekly, your calorie deficit is only 2400 calories. Which is about 2 third of a pound of fat. So it will be slow, and even slower if you're eating slightly over on non fast days. If you were tall and very overweight like me you'd see initial results much faster.

As you're a healthy weight already maybe look at recomposition instead? Which is about decreasing fat and increasing muscle so you look better.

I did lose a stone on 5:2 a few years ago at a rate of 1-2lb a week. I am taller than you though so I had a larger deficit. If your maintenance calories are 1700 then you will be looking at 1lb loss every couple of weeks. If you want to lose faster you could try 4:3 instead. When I stopped 5:2 for health reasons all the weight plus extra came back on.

Don't despair my DH had great results week 1 I think I lost 1lbs but I then started to catch up for whatever reason I lost slower than my DH to start but caught him up and overtook him in the last few weeks (we did the 800 plan for 6 weeks). I liked it and would stick at it - exercise definitely helped me lose as well.

Thanks everyone.

I thought I was being unrealistic and ridiculous... I guess my motivation is very fragile and I was hoping to feel like I was getting somewhere as recompense for my deprivation!!! I clearly need to a) be more patient b) get used to this dieting thing.

I came on my period last week which hasn't helped with the motivation to exercise etc (lame, I know but I've been feeling all heavy and sluggish) so I'll try and push myself to be more active/proactive this week. I think I'll also track my calories on all of the days more thoroughly so I have a clearer picture of what I'm really eating.

Thanks again.

I’d also suggest logging what you’re eating for an odd day just to check you’re not eating too much. You’re a similar height and weight to me, I burn 1700 cals a day but that’s with some jogging and 10,000 steps a day minimum. I have done 5:2 but not for long as I find 500 cals hard. I usually calorie count and find I can’t eat more than 1200 a day to lose. So make sure you’re not eating too much on those days. They say you should weigh after second fast

I've just downloaded My Fitness Pal which recommends 1200 calories a day to lose one lb a week... So I think I'm going to try and stick to that on most of my non fast days, and still do 2 500 calorie days a week too... Hopefully that'll get things moving.

And I WILL DO SOME EXERCISE. (tomorrow)