5:2 thread 103: life is short. Fasting makes it feel longer 🤣

[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, tel:850-1000 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!!

@eekwhatnow a large gin and slimline tonic is 104 calories. Absolutely nothing!

I’ve hit my lowest weight on the scales since 17 January 2014. Thrilled! Weight lifting has been a revelation to me. Am a total convert!

1/4 of a pound off this morning, which I will take! 😊

Well done @harriethoyle ! I have lifted weights all my life and it is incredible for women, especially as we get older. It’s very impressive that you have lost weight at the same time - your body composition must have changed significantly, with the percentage of muscle going up and fat going down, and it’s the gift that keeps on giving, because all that muscle burns calories far more efficiently than fat!

I’m doing a mini today, as I’m playing tennis later.

Lots of people looking like they're doing well.

I think I'm eating too much on my NFDs which is my historical problem. I'm loathe to "be careful" on them because they are what I think of when I do my FDs but I wonder if I'm too relaxed.

I'm halfway through week 4 and said I would trust the process and not weigh myself for the first four weeks.

So, two questions....

1. What are everyone else's tactics on NFDs?

1. Shall I weigh myself the morning after WK 4, 2nd FD (lightest point) or the morning before WK 5 FD1 which will be truer but heavier, I assume. I think the first for maximum impact (hopefully).

@harriethoyle thats amazing. Wonder if I can fit some weight lifting in. I’ve tried before but never stuck with it.
@CheshireSplat I weigh myself each week after my second FD. I need the positive motivation. Re NFDs, also often my downfall, but I do find having a rough plan of what I’m going to eat for each meal and how much that gives me left over for snacks helps me keep a bit better. I rarely get round to tracking.

I track @CheshireSplat - I’ve only been doing that since February when I started my PT sessions but they advised it to make sure you have accurate knowledge of what you’re eating and you can see where you can make tweaks to limit the damage. Don’t get me wrong - my tweaks are drinking gin not wine or not having crisps with pre dinner drinks because I’m having chips with my steak so it’s not as joyless as it might sound!

Similarly I weigh every day. Means whilst I sometimes get a shock I can deal with it straight away.

Kitchen closed on 633. Harder than it should’ve been. Weigh day tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed!

@harriethoyle someone was raving about weightlifiting at a hen do I was at years ago. I might give it a go. Im fitting in the gym once a week at the mo and trying to do one additional run. I’ll build in more
over time when I can.

@CheshireSplat i track what I eat on my NFDs too. Given it’s so limited on FDs it feels like loads on a NFD. For example, yesterday, I made sure I was careful during the day so that I could have pizza for dinner
with the kids.

I admire your ability not to weigh as like OP, I do it every morning. To be honest, I do it with my clothes on later in the day and before I go to bed! I like doing it before bed because it pleases me fo think that my weight going to bed is significantly lower than it used to be in the m

Oops … morning!
if you weigh yourself after a FD it
is your true weight as it doesn’t include a day’s food. I’ve seen mine be lower a day or two after a FD though. This is because the morning after the FD doesn’t necessarily include the weight loss. If that makes sense? The loss is not instantaneous. I am currently going with my weight from the morning after my last FD on Monday. I haven’t seen that weight on the scales since Tuesday AM but I am not far off it.

also in common with OP, I have been tracking my weight (one and off) on my fitness pal for many many years. My weight after my last FD was the lowest it’s been since November 2015. Tjafs given me quite a high. Obviously, you can’t do that but I recommend trying to find the positives. Tracking your NFDs will allow you to make better choices about what you eat and will help you work in treats better.

Also, that makes me sound quite obsessive but it’s more about being geeky, liking screeds of data and charts!!

Down nearly 2lbs this morning. So happy as honestly finding it trickier than usual at the moment. Makes it worth the struggle! Going away over half term and will feel better about myself too.

Well done @eekwhatnow ! Another 3/4 of a pound off this morning after a mini combined with energetic tennis yesterday (my doubles partner yesterday clearly doesn’t do running 🤣). Doing another mini today, as I’m trying to get into the elusive 9s before my holiday next week.

@CheshireSplat I also weigh every day, because as @harriethoyle says, it makes me correct the situation right away, or at least put the brakes on it. Also makes the whole weighing thing less of a big deal. I also track and record everything every day, because I like stats and I often look back and see what worked well and when. I use Carb Manager. Once you have set up your favourite foods, created recipes etc. it’s really quick and easy.

Hi all. FD2 of the week for me today. Always find the second one much easier than the first, maybe because I've only had 2 NFDs in between not 3.

Thank you all for the NFD advice. I think I do need to be a little less relaxed on them. Saying that, yesterday I completely forgot to eat anything until 12.10!

Really looking forward to weigh in tomorrow morning after 8 FDs. I think I'm slimmer, seem to have lost weight from tummy, chin and thighs. Will probably find out I've put on a pound and I'll give up!

@CheshireSplat I hope you’re pleasantly surprised!

I, on the other hand, am finding FD2 hard today. I opened a jar of gherkins to keep me going. I have also been drinking gallons of water. Anyone else do that?

I read this too quickly and thought you were drinking the gherkin water ...

Kitchen closed 503 💪

Kitchen closed 504! I don’t know how. I have been cooking and baking galore for a thing I promised to do tomorrow! I went to taste some cake and had to spit it out 😂

Two days of work conferences have decimated my scale low of Wednesday 😆 gym tonight and I’m going to offer to be the designated driver tomorrow to limit the booze!

Conferences are so hard, @harriethoyle I cannot resist free food.

I weighed in this morning and am delighted. Not sure what I started at exactly but I've lost 4 or 5 lbs after 8 FDs in 4 weeks.

I'm going to stay off the scales for another 4 weeks as I liked the endorphins. I find it quite hard, so losing 1/2 lb in a week might put me off a bit so I will continue to trust the process.

I've ducked down to this weight 3 or 4 times in the last 4 years (including after COVID once) but am generally higher, so I'm really pleased.

Another 5 and I'll be in the next stone zone and haven't been there since DD2 who's 10 was born.

BMI from 28.7 to 28. 😁

@CheshireSplat 💯 agree on the free food! And well done on your achievements!
@harriethoyle designated driver is wise for avoiding calories.

I have a fairly similar story, Cheshire, of dipping into the same weight for many years but never really
getting below it. I have now and it’s amazing. i am so happy and so encouraged to continue this WOE. I have just completed 7 weeks and my loss is around 8.5lbs. Good luck on your next 4 weeks.

BMI is an interesting one.
i haven’t checked that for a long time. Mine
is 27.9 and I was on the cusp of obesity at 30 a few years ago. I’m now in the middle of orange! The NHS website says your
waist ought to be half your height - OMG, that means I need to lose nearly 5 inches
off mine. I didn’t realise that. My back is tiny but I have a flabby belly!

I have noticed with this WOE that I am more conscious when I am full or not hungry and try not to eat more/eat for the sake of if. My DH got quite irate last night because I made him a simple dinner rather than the extravagant one he was hoping for. I really felt like I didn’t need dinner but I did want a little bit chocolate brownie with my evening coffee ;-). In the past, I have been very guilty of eating just because it’s time to or because I was brought up to clear my plate.

@SmellyMe i was also brought up to clear my plate and it’s fine if I can plate my own meal up but tricky when it’s someone else and they’re a generous server! It’s a really difficult habit to shake off.

Scales up AGAIN this morning so I’ve decided to make today a mini to stop the rot. Had chicken salad for lunch, cannelloni for tea should come in at 900 for the day.

Kitchen closing on 871 and no alcohol so very happy with that for a Saturday!

I haven’t eaten all day and don’t feel particularly hungry, so I’m going to make it either an FD or a mini today, depending on how I feel. Bonus!

Will have homemade burger for dinner. The Sainsbury’s lean mince is very fine and works really well.

Gearing up for a FD tomorrow and the start of week 8.

I posted on Friday about BMI etc and the fact your waist measurement should be half that of your height. When I posted this, I was bemoaning it being 5 inches for me to go, BUT that measurement was from a few weeks ago. I was telling the DH about the belly goals and it struck me that I hadn’t actually measured my middle for a while. Lo, it’s actually 2” smaller so only 3” to go!! Woop Woop.

Hey everyone, really enjoying reading this thread. Long time 5:2 on and off since the early days after the documentary but have been off for about a year now with life and everything. Been trying to get some fast in the last couple of weeks before our summer holiday at the end of July.

Going to try a b2b Tuesday/Wednesday this week because we've got a pretty full on couple of weeks. Aiming for 800 since I find doing them together harder.

Down 3lb in 2 weeks from getting back on it, quite encouraged. H is off getting croissants which I will enjoy very smugly knowing I'll get to knock them off again and more before we even get to Thursday

Happy fasting to everyone going for it today

I've been hiding while on my two-week birthday break from the 5:2, but braved the scales this morning to assess the damage. Astonishingly, only 1lb up. I think it’s because I’ve continued to avoid bread and sweet things (most days), and have kept moving. Probably won’t hold myself to fasting this week either as I have a tricky schedule including a work trip and 2 night shifts which can be very depleting but I am feeling very encouraged.