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!!

Oh I mean I swapped my class @sweetgingercat - stayed strong on the FD 💪🏻 kitchen closed on 564. How did you get on? X

Oh that’s cool well done! I got over my ravenous hunger and went on to close the kitchen on 588! Yay to both of us! Baked potato for lunch tomorrow! Good luck with your class!

FD yesterday and kitchen closed on 711 - bit more than I would have liked but everyone in my family was majorly pissing me off so I needed some chocolate.

Well done to the fasters. I was meant to fast yesterday but had an accidental mini on weds (just wasn’t hungry 😳) and didn’t want to make thurs any harder. So was going to do one today, but then DH suggested going out for dinner. Aiming now for tomorrow as third time lucky but worst case scenario will just start over on Monday.

In other news, am meeting someone at the gym next week to get a fitness plan sorted and start gyming on my lunch break, just not looking forward the BodiTrax assessment 😬

Happy Friday/weekend to all!

This week has been hopeless. Just one fast day. But it’s a long game….

Hi - can I join for some accountability?
DH & I have started the Fast 800 and are just coming to end of the end of week 1. He has lost 6lbs, I have lost 3. 😭
We are basically working our way through the F800 recipe book & it has mostly been ok…some days it has been closer to 1000 rather than 800, but as it is the 1st week & we are adjusting to eating significantly less, I am not feeling like I have failed.
Not sure how long I can do the 800 cals daily but aiming for 2 weeks then reassess.
Started at 13st 10 (5ft 8) and currently just aiming to not be overweight, so 11st 10.

Please could I ask for some advice from those more experienced? I'm planning on starting 5/2 and my first fast day is tomorrow. I'll be in the office. Can I ask if you think this plan would work?
A big spoonful of Greek yoghurt in the morning.
A flask of miso soup, a bag of salad and a tin of tuna throughout the day.
A boiled egg and lots of steamed veg in the evening.
Do you think that's a decent approach? I just don't even really know where to start but these are all foods that are really accessible to me (I don't eat meat).

Morning all, checking in for FD1 (and Saturday FD was a success, hurrah).

Welcome @TragicTess and @eekwhatnow . I think going for a mix of protein bulked out with lots of veg sounds good - that’s what I tend to do. You might find it easier to skip breakfast and divide the 500 cal just between lunch and dinner, so these meals feel a little more satisfying, but there will be a bit of trial and error while you figure out what works for you. Personally, I have an instant miso for lunch (just an itsu sachet), mainly for hydration and salt, and then save pretty much the whole 500 for dinner. Also lots of black coffee but not necessairly advocating that as a healthy choice 😁

Also, for meat-free meals on FD, I tend to go for eggs (often a frittata as can throw a load of veg in there too), salmon, or tofu, loads of veg, and avoid simple carbs. I tend to fry whatever protein I am having, which obvs requires oil and can eat into the 500 cals, so that’s partly the reason I just do one meal on FDs (the other reason is that once I start eating the hunger hormones seem to kick in, so I find it easier to just hold off eating on FDs)

Welcome @eekwhatnow @TragicTess - excellent advice from @aberjenagain with which I agree. Lots of vegetables is the way forward on a FD!

I am fasting today although have a PT session tonight so unsure how that will work. I've gone for a home made pasta salad with kidney beans, carrot, red pepper, red onion and a home made dressing which is c. 450 cals. More than I'd usually have on a FD but I wanted to be properly fuelled for PT. Fishcake for dinner which will be c. 250 so it's OK as a back to back. But if I find that b2b FD and PT is too hard I'll be switching to M/W fast days going forward...

Hello. Weigh-in this morning not too bad after all, and I’m on my first FD since last Monday. Good luck to all fasters…

Afternoon all, FD for me today.

Welcome @TragicTess and @eekwhatnow When fasting I try to avoid carbs completely. I usually have a boiled egg with soy sauce and miso soup for lunch and a salad for supper with a little bit of cheese that is lower in fat, half a small avocado, an apple and home made dressing. This is what works for me. My suggestion is to find something that works for you and keep eating it! Good luck!

Thanks @sweetgingercat @harriethoyle @aberjenagain. It's feeling a lot more possible than I thought it would this morning. Sipped miso soup at my desk all day, was starving by 1 and had lettuce and tuna. Hoping veg and egg will help me get through tonight. I think it's going to be a very early night!!

@eekwhatnow i quite often have a bath on FD to keep myself away from the kitchen after it’s closed!

All done bang on 500. Dinner was falafel with a massive salad 😊

Finished on 447. Took @harriethoyle's advice and had a lovely bath and I'm in bed with my kindle already. So proud of myself and feeling like it really might be possible to lose a bit of weight after all. Thanks for the tips!
Also quite excited about breakfast tomorrow!

Kitchen closing here on 928 which is too high for a proper FD but I genuinely do not think I could have got through my PT session on less food and I was RAVENOUS immediately afterwards 😬 going to have to see if I need to rejig FD during this training programme thing (lasts 3 months) to make sure I get proper fasts in…

Can’t quite tell exactly what my calories were today as when I got to the kitchen I found my DH had made my fast salad for both of us, hadn’t weighed anything and had def put more feta in! But I substituted most of the feta with apple so I think it was pretty much the same in the end. Didn’t like to say anything as it was kind of him!

Signing in for day 2 b2b. Am achy from last night's gym but not as bad as I thought I might be...!

Also back in for day 2 b2b. Good luck @harriethoyle and anyone else fasting today!

Morning all, good luck the b2b-ers and anyone else fasting today.

SV to report here - weighed in this morning at 190.4 lb, so that’s a stone off since 2 Jan, very chuffed with that 😊

That is FABULOUS @aberjenagain - well done!! So motivating too 😃

well done everyone.... I have been TERRIBLE this last week or so, not helped by an awful head cold and birthdays to celebrate, its one of those 'feeder' colds 😷 not going to attempt FD until I feel better, hopefully soon

Will check back in once I'm feeling human again🤒

Kitchen closed yesterday on 657 - tea and Bovril during the day, then chicken Katsu curry with rice, broccoli and peas. A couple of Party Rings may also have snuck in there

@aberjenagain that is SO inspiring! Well done! @lastditchattempt50 being ill ruins everything, focus on getting better.
I'm feeling so proud of managing to stay under 500 yesterday that it's made me eat really well today. Despite going for a run which normally makes me very munchy.