5:2 thread 100: Slow and steady wins the Fast race! (Slender hat tip to Onehappymam 😁)

[harriethoyle]

Welcome to the continuing thread for those following 5:2 or other forms of IF (Intermittent Fasting) such as 4:3, ADF, etc.

Basically it is 2 very low cal days ("fasts") per week - which need not be consecutive - and eat "normally" to maintain on the other 5 days.

For those who have dieted or maybe overeaten for years, eating "normally"
means roughly the number of calories your body needs to maintain - NOT reduce - its weight (see TDEE calculator below).

IMPORTANT
If you have had past diagnosed Eating Disorders or serious MH problems you should NOT do 5:2 or any other kind of fasting

JARGON alert

16:8 is a different type of fasting, which can be combined with 5:2.
Daily zero-cal fast for 16 hours and eat within an 8 hour window. To lose weight, this needs a weekly calorie deficit as well

b2b (optional) back-to-back / consecutive fast days, each with an increased allowance of 650 calories instead of 500

BMI (Body Mass Index) healthy range is 18.5 - 24.9 for Caucasians. Upper limit may be 22 for some of Asian origin.

FD = single Fast Day: aim for 500 calories (600 for men or 25% TDEE whichever is higher) or 1000 cals for BF
No alcohol or junk on FDs
Even if you exercise strenuously, do NOT increase FD cals to allow for exercise

MFP = My Fitness Pal, a useful App or website to track food & drink calories

miniFD = MiniFD, 850-1000 calories, no alcohol or junk

NFD = Non-Fast Day, averages around TDEE

NSV / LSV = Non Scale Victory / LifeStyle (change) Victory, e.g. compliment, smaller waist, clothes size

SV = Scale Victory

TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure, the average number of calories you burn in a day, is calculated from your current weight, height, age, activity level.
Aim to average about this for NFDs.

WOE / WOL = Way Of Eating / Way Of Life. We say this instead of "diet", to emphasise that we must make a permanent change in how we eat, to maintain our new healthy weight long term.

Jump in and say hello!

I'm jumping on.

I successfully did the 5:2 previously but I now need to really stick to it again as I've lost my way due to work / life etc so the weight has crept on.

I've been doing well the last few days actually but I need to be more accountable on a constant supportive flowing thread which this one seems to be.

I don't mind the hunger pangs it's just that I forget myself and before I know it I've eaten too much unnecessarily.

I'm 5'6 and size 18 creeping up to 20.

Today so far I've eaten wholemeal toast with 2 fried eggs, coffee and tea with milk

Eggs seem to fill me up well and I forget about being hungry for quite a few hours after

Oh well done everyone!!! Some lovely fasts being done. Agrees about the eggs - very filling and savoury, a real staple here too!

It's a family birthday here so today will be a sugary mess, but I was mindful yesterday (didn't calorie count but didn't eat crap) and I am going to stay fasted until the feasting begins around 2, so that will be 18 hours. I'm a bit 😬as I know I will get a jittery headache from the sugar but will drink loads of water and hope for the best!

Then will fast tomorrow and Wednesday and have mindful days Tuesday and Thursday, then weigh in Thursday.

Accountability is exactly correct @HappiDaze !! That's why I'm here too, and why I like to post my fasting intentions in advance!

Yesterday was good for me. I went for a walk

Lunch was stir fry courgette, broccoli with rice

Dinner was gyoza 🥟 , couple of slices of bread and fresh pineapple

I drank a couple of Pepsi max no caffeine

My calories came to 1142 so I have to work out where to cut calories on fast days.

I wasn't hungry so that was good but 800 could have been achievable with out bread or rice. So it really is the carbs. But it's the carbs currently stopping my hunger getting out of control so I need to balance that

Good morning everyone, who's fasting today?
I am planning a B2B, will see how it goes.

Probably unlikely but does anyone else here suffer from IBD (crohns or colitis) or any other chronic health conditions? I am fairly recently diagnosed and seem to be going into a flare, just wondering if anyone had fasted successfully with underlying health issues?

@EatYourFive Me! I'm here. And sounds like @PersisFord too :)

Managed to lose half a kilo last week, so motivated for another week.

@Badlifeday I read the 8-week Blood Sugar Diet when it came out, which also talks about things related to 5:2

Thanks @Trickedbyadoughnut and @MistySkiesAreGone
Ive reminded myself I downloaded the Obesity code ages ago and have never read it

I'm aiming for a fast day.

I finished at 924 yesterday which I'm pleased with which I now see is a MFD, so that's encouraging. I had to exert great willpower for a short time last night then rode it through.

I'm sure I can aim for 500 or if not at least another MFD.

So far I've eaten leftover gammon on toast with cucumber and mustard and coffee and tea which is 243

I'll fit in a walk later too. I want to try out my new period pants to see if they work for what my GP has told me is actually incontinence and not me being extra sweaty from being overweight which is what I thought the dampness was. Sorry TMI. I've just started HRT which is how that conversation came about.

Good morning @EatYourFive and everyone - I might be fasting today but I am on course tomorrow and it depends whether I have dinner with a friend or have salad in my room - which will depend on their attendance! I am sticking to usual FD principles in case dinner falls through.

At the course tomorrow but deliberately didn't book breakfast with my room and so I will aim to lunch as lightly as possible (salad if on offer) and then eggs on toast or something when I get home. Proper FD on Weds and then I have Thursday as insurance in case today and tomorrow go tits up. Why does life always get in the way?!

Fist bump to @EatYourFive @Trickedbyadoughnut @HappiDaze and possibly @harriethoyle , course depending. Fast day here, so far so good with just coffee and water. I've downloaded a fast counter app which times my fasts in an attempt to stop myself snacking in the evening on NFD. Will see how it goes.

I'll update later with my calories for the day. It's absolutely boiling in my office which is helping!!

@PersisFord I've made it! Kitchen closing on 630. Going for rough b2b tomorrow, course food dependant... I'll stick to black coffee pre-noon so at least I'm doing an IF.

Chipping in after lurking. Really struggling with 5:2. I find it easy to not eat at all until the evening but then when I start it goes downhill. Just heard about eat stop eat where you fast completely for 24 hours so say 8pm to 8pm twice a week. Just 0 calorie drinks. Has anyone tried this?

@Stressybetty I'm like that. My new timer is helping - I've just set it off again after dinner (will power highest just after eating!!).

Kitchen closed on 483, surprisingly nice except the protein pudding which was bleak!

Good work @harriethoyle !!!

Thanks @PersisFord 😁

Have you tried really upping your evening protein @Stressybetty ? If I am too carb heavy, I really notice my evening hunger being more pronounced.

I got through my fast yesterday, did really well all day but then ruined it by snacking when I got home from work so had no room for dinner. No idea of the calories but should be around 500.

Anyone fasting today? I am.doing day 2 B2B.

Doing day 1 of a B2B today - struggling a bit at the moment with too much snacking, especially in the evening. As others have said I'm OK until I start to eat and then it just all goes to pot. Crisps are my downfall so I'm going to stop buying the big share (ha!) packs and buying a multipack of smaller bags instead - psychologically I would find it difficult to open and eat two smaller bags but have no problem getting through one big one... I also need to bite the bullet, put new batteries in the scale and actually weigh myself so I know what I'm dealing with.

Bit of a fail yesterday through lack of preparation - forgot there was a big meeting at work and the bar had run out of the healthier options so had to get a pork dish and came in at 932 calories. I guess it was a mini at least. Was going to try to compensate with a FD today but didn't have time to prepare so am going for tomorrow and Thursday when I will actually have time to do a packed lunch for work!

Good luck fasters

I've gone for the healthiest course lunch choice of chicken and rice, and avoided pudding... Probably will be a mini by the time I get home but I'll just have something light like scrambled eggs I think. Definitely under 1000 cals.

@SydneyCarton I am exactly the same! Yesterday I didn't have anything all day, just some coffee and sparkling water, and as soon as I got home from work I starterd snacking and then couldn't have anything for dinner because of it.
Today saved most calories for dinner and closing at around 1,200 over two days.

Well done @EatYourFive 👍

A strong nfd for me today and fasting tomorrow. I'll do a morning check in!

Kitchen closed on 644, pretty pleased with that. I’ve been trying to pay attention to how my body is feeling during the fast and what I usually think is hunger really seems to be more of a tightness or pressure in my throat, which is really weird. If I focus on my stomach, there’s no real feeling of emptiness or hunger there.
I’m not sure if the feeling in my throat is thirst or something else, but hopefully if I can keep being mindful of the physical sensations it might be easier to get through the FDs 🤔

How interesting @SydneyCarton - are you good at keeping hydrated on fast days? (I'm dreadful).

Kitchen closed today at 931

Managed to cut out some carbs which kept it down

Not feeling hunger pangs so that's something.

Yesterday I finished on 793 but i probably forgot to add something to MFP

I'm enjoying my stir fry's and so is DD so that's something esp as they're on whole just veggies but DD gets noodles with hers. I've added chopped up leftover gammon a couple of times too.

No one else at home is happy with just a veggie stir fry but that's their problem

@harriethoyle I definitely don’t drink as much water as I should on FDs and NFDs but I am making a conscious effort to drink more, and not just rely on tea to hydrate me! Drinking slightly relieves the throat pressure thing so I assume it’s thirst related in some way. It’s odd because I always assumed that this sensation meant I was hungry, but when I stopped and analysed how my stomach actually felt, there were no real hunger pangs. Need to keep being mindful of this!