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!!

Great to read all the updates! I wish I could sleep 10 hours, @harriethoyle. I seem to wake up around 6am everyday and it’s so annoying!

I’ve lost track of what week I’m on. 10 or 11. Anyway, I did it. Before every fast day, I’m like “oh no, can’t do this” then I get to 3pm ish and I feel more like, “no long to go, this means weight loss and you’re nearly done.”

I have discovered that M&S mini Jaffa cakes are only 22 calories so I really enjoyed 2 of those with my coffee last night!

roll on the weekend :-)

@SmellyMe , I agree. It works because it's only for a short time. Much easier than reducing by 500 cals every day.

I still don't understand how I can be so hungry in an evening and then not as hungry 10 hours later when I walk up.

It's crazy isn't it, once you realise it's true though you can't go back to every day calorie reduction

10st 0.6lb this morning, lost about 4lb in 4 weeks of being back at 5:2 despite being away for big events/holidays literally every single weekend and eating freely on those days and not having a great deal to lose to start with.

great news @midnights92 that’s good going!

Well done everyone. I’ve just weighed myself and I’m another pound down (even though yesterday was an exercise-NF day!), so 10.00 1/2. I’ve now lost 7 pounds in 6 months, which I know is slow going, but I don’t have a lot to lose, and the last bit is always the worst. I’m now aiming for 9.10, and feeling very motivated. I can really notice the difference on my waist, it’s much trimmer!

My next FD will be Sunday.

Well done @midnights92and @TeaRose29!
Checking in for FD1 today.

Morning all - checking in for my first proper FD in a wee while. Have rejigged gym things to make sure I have a couple of rest days which I can use as FD if required. Already starving 😂

Morning all and good luck to those on FDs today. It’s week 11 for me. I only registered a 100g loss last week so I’d better behave on my non FDs this week! I’m off to the shops to get a salad bag to make my brunch. A whole pack of waitrose #1 smoked salmon, 25g finely sliced red onion, 1 tsp capers, juice of half a lemon, 60g salad leaves. This is around 200 cals 👌

I find being ultra prepared for FDs - planning meals and counting calories ahead- as well as eating delicious things makes them bearable.

Morning all. Lots of people nearly at the 9 stone mark. That's exciting.

I'm joining the FD gang today. Stomach really rumbling already!

This is the last week of my second 4 week block (I'm weighing every 4 weeks atm) so I'm quite excited about weighing on Thursday as I am feeling slimmer and haven't had any pig outs since last FD in Thursday last week.

I hope you get a pleasant surprise @CheshireSplat :)

im starving.

found chocolate in my drawer at work.

so far resisting.

Tough FD!

I'm also ravenous @SmellyMe - I think I caught a tapeworm over the weekend!! 😂

Kitchen already closed here 🙈 on 636 (I had two courgettes-worth of courgetti, went crazy!) . Taking the pup out now for a wander and then done trashy tv, piano practice and an early night…

Kitchen closing on 555. Was about to eat more but looked at diary and realised that next week likely to be a tricky one and I’d better make hay whilst the sun was shining!

Checking in for FD2. I’ve counted that I have 10 FDs left before my holiday so, to keep me on track, I am viewing all FDs as dwindling opportunities to feel my best when I'm there.
I wore shorts and a vest yesterday and was thinking I actually didn’t feel too bad in them so I’m grateful for the few pounds I’ve lost since I started this.

After a few NFDs (I’ve been unwell so no fasts) my weight is back at 10.1 1/2, where it seems to like to be. I’m going to go for a mini today, as I have PT later.

I am definitely not going to manage a proper fast day today - absolutely ravenous and have already had breakfast and early lunch 😂i was talking to my PT yesterday about fasting the day after a training day and he said he tends to be hungrier on a recovery day, I guess because your muscles are developing etc so maybe that's why... Going to hang in for a mini.

Good luck @eekwhatnow and @TeaRose29 ! My little weight lost chart ha turned into a squiggly scrawl. It still has a downwards direction though. NFD today. I don’t get how I manage FDs but struggle not to eat on NFDs. I think it’s having a boring-needs-to-be-done task at work that I’m trying to avoid rather than face!

Gave up today’s mini. I haven’t eaten properly for a few days due to having a bug, and just felt that I needed something substantial before my weights session. I’m going to have chilli for dinner.

I’ll try again tomorrow, which will be a rest day.

Kitchen closed here on 1047. Still starving but stoically resisting the lure of chilled wine in the sun!

Oh poosquits. Have just weighed in on my 4 weekly weigh in and I've put on 1.5 lbs in the last 4 weeks.

I have struggled this week, Monday's FD was 684 and yesterday's 731. I need to plan better as for tea I ended up having sweet potato with cottage cheese, and I usually try to avoid cottage cheese on a FD as it has so many calories. I also ate the whole tub. At least I'm eating healthy food though, lunch was a salad with 1/2 tin tuna and a hard boiled egg.

Aagh, 8 weeks in, and I've lost about 2 1/2 lbs in total for 15 FDs.

This would be my normal giving up moment but I'll hang on in there. Off to Google some before and after stories.... 😭😥

@CheshireSplat have you been tracking nfd? If not try tracking EVERYTHING for a week and then weigh again. I bet you’ll lose…

I second tracking your NFDs; that’s the hard part of this WOE. The recommendation is to “eat normally” on NFDs but if you have a bottomless pit appetite or like high calorie foods, it undoes all of the FD achievements.

I weigh myself all the time and it yo-ups up and down. I don’t actually record my weight unless I see a loss. I might see a lower weight and then not see it again for 4-7 days. Perhaps if you weighed yourself more often you would be more likely to adjust what you’re eating in between?

i certainly would be feeling like giving up, too, at this point as FDs can seem like such a challenge/forfeit/penance/endurance test. I don’t think we’re meant to use the diet word, but think of it as being a 7 day rather than a two-day diet. In contrast to other ones, you get lots more calories to play with on NFDs.

I hope this isn’t patronising!

I agree re weighing @SmellyMe I find the more frequent it is the less I stress about gains because I can tackle them straight away...

Thank you everyone. Hi @harriethoyle and @SmellyMe , thank you both so much for replying.

I do need a mind set change. And I am definitely a bottomless pit type of person who constantly needs something in her mouth, eg a 10 cup of tea a day kind of person.

It's my birthday today, so I'm going to forget about it today and read your wise words tomorrow.