5:2 thread 102: Faster than a speeding bullet!

[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!!

Morning all!! Come and check in...

Happy Saturday! 😀

Who is HH whizzing down the ski slopes?

It was me on my ski holiday @Sorenlorrenson 🤣🙈

Great. Can I join you please?

Hi all, thanks @harriethoyle for the new thread.

I'm pleased to report that I survived FD number 3 yesterday, on 536 calories. My next one will be on Tuesday so just have to try not to go too crazy between now and then!

Morning all

Checking in on the new thread!

Welcome @caffelattetogo ! The more, the merrier.

Hello, can I join? I’ve just weighed in at my heaviest ever. 😭😭😭

planning to start with a fast day tomorrow, another on Thursday and then I’m on holiday for a week. I didn’t want to wait until I was back though so see this coming week as a learning opportunity and then I’ll be able to hit the ground running post holiday.

Welcome @NoAprilFool 👋 and well done for braving the scales and finding the motivation ahead of your holiday. Good luck with the FD tomorrow

Hi all

I plan to start tomorrow.

My plan is to have a protein shake in the morning whenever I get hungry... and then my evening meal. No snacking and plenty of water.

Will see how I go with that.

Hi, can I join please? Did my first fast day last Thursday. Was about 650 calories. Will have to work down to 500! Really bad weekend with friend's birthday yesterday. Will do another fast day tomorrow. My issue is social/work events in between - I feel like the fast days might help stop me getting any fatter but can't see that I will actually lose anything if I then have a big day afterwards (although admittedly this should not be every week)

Forgot to say that I'm planning a week of this and then will start to add in fast days.

@badkitty I know what you mean and I feel the same but I think stomach shrinks a bit from the fast days you complete so that has a little contribution to overall calorie intake over the week. And the more you keep at it, the better you will get at sticking to TDEE on NFD's.

Newbie here! I 5:2'd several years back successfully but fell off the wagon and never got back on 🤦 but it's time! I'm planning a 'Mediterranean diet' base with a '5:2'/'16:8' combo, maybe with one weekly 'feast' meal for practicality fitting into my life and to reduce the risk of tumbling off that wagon again! No shakes etc cos my brain needs training to eat properly, my hunger signals and are weak and my snacking skills are strong 😅

Thanks @anxiousaboutlettinggo - good point about stomach shrinking. I definitely need that! I am very nervous about going without food for any length of time. I hope the fast days do get easier after a few weeks. Glad I found this thread for moral support!!

Beginner here too. Isn’t there a version that allows 800 cals on fasting days, or did I dream that?

Tinybigtanya
Yes, I think it was proven that eating 500 or 800 didn't make any difference.
I ate 800 on my FDs the last time I 5:2'd and lost weight.

Yes there is the fast 800, the late Michael Mosley wrote a book. I think it's based on low carb though.

Checking in because I want this for me. Ending 2024 on a high is my goal!

I think the Fast 800 does, but it’s every day. I’m not sure I could cope with that but might give it a go for a couple of weeks once I get into the swing.

my plan today is
cup of tea with splash of milk
Lunch: Greek yogurt, peanut butter and raspberries
dinner: chickpeas, broccoli and a teaspoon of olive oil.
its 500 cal on the nose which I find irrationally satisfying 😂

Morning all

Firstily welcome to the newbies / returners @inneedofaglowup @anxiousaboutlettinggo @MonkeyTennis34 @Tinybigtanya @badkitty and anyone else I've missed!

Weigh day for me today, and weighed in at 101.2kg, meaning a loss of 1.1kg this week and a total of 13.6kg in the approx 4 months since I restarted 5:2.
Feeling so much better in myself and its being noticed by people now too which is always a boost!

Monday FD for me today and have a chicken caesar salad planned for my dinner, its so warm here today I may have a small one for lunch too so I don't need to think too much
anyone else joining in today?

Hello, I'm on a fast day today. Weighed myself this am, 10 st 4 - so not lost anything since last Monday from my one fast day and couple of days of calorie counting. Probably a bit optimistic to expect any change from that. Really hope to see some loss if I manage 2 FDs this week.

Tea with splash of milk this morning.
Just had lunch: salad, I boiled egg, small serving wafer thin ham
Dinner will be an M&S calorie counted meal - 304 cals I think.

Overall should be below 550, if I can stick it out! This morning has been fine actually.

I was supposed to be fasting today but we had to help Ddog over the rainbow bridge this afternoon so my diet has consisted of wine and tears since we got home. 😭

Back on Wednesday all being well.

Kitchen closed on 482 today helped along by it being too hot to want anything substantial... So an easy one and plenty of water / hardly any carbs .. fingers crossed it's the start of a good week!

@harriethoyle sorry to hear about your dog 😭 completely agree on abandoning the FD!

@badkitty how did it go?

Surprisingly ok so far! Will have dinner shortly. Can't believe I have managed all the way through from lunch, maybe the heat is helping though. I am usually a terrible snacker. This is probably the least I have eaten in a day ever so I'm amazed that I am not gnawing my arm off by now.

Sorry to hear about your dog @harriethoyle, hope you are ok

Right, I've had 3 NF days in a row with each one being progressively more out of control than the next! I have a FD planned for tomorrow, and will go back to calorie counting on my NF days this week.

@harriethoyle very sorry to hear about your dog, must be heartbreaking 😔