The FastDay Forum

It depends on many things some of us have a pressing need to bring our weight into a healthier range and we might have been struggling to do that for 20 or more years and now we know how to do that we are keen to get on with it. for my example I hardly think losing 1.5kg in the past month is rushing things. I have found my particular groove with 5:2+ 16:8 and weekends free.

Again we are all adults and there is much people do not wish to air on a public forum as to their motivation and this you wont find written as often kept private. Do what works for you, tweak if you must, live and let live

your always good for a reality check kencc! well said

So is it a "FAST DIET" or a "FAST DIET" first FAST referring to speedy, and the second about fasting or not eating or is that part of the hype and a deliberate play on words. ?

And i do notice that extra exercise or changing one's activity levels seems to be completely disregarded by the official marketing or almost completely so

probably should be more like

consume 500/600 or 25% of TDEE on fsat days and TDEE or normal on other AND ensure there is some additional exercise introduced into your lifestyle even if it is very gentle walking at least 2 or 3 days a week.

I guess thats one reason why im achieving less than 1/2 the so called average 1 pound a week. I have not changed my activity levels apart from 1 day a week and that was for reasons outside of this new lifestyle plan.

Blimey kencc I'm far too tired/busy to walk 2 miles a week!

Kencc you have just described me. I am not a fan of exercise (aka quite lazy), work full time and enjoy food and occasionally acohol. I originally started this WOE hoping that it would be 'fast'. Alas, for the reasons you have stated, it is not. But, it is sustainable, mostly stress free (compared to slimming clubs, calorie counting) and I am losing weight.
I weigh every day(another debate I know) and it fluctuates hugely but the trend line is downward.
I think I've found a way of eating that allows me to have the life I want with my weight edging slowly downwards instead of up.
I enjoy reading all the views on this forum. Lets keep debating and sharing views, tips etc.

It's the first time I diet and I mean ever so I won't compare with the other ones in the "market" but I am not naive enough to think it's a miracle diet. It's a bit easy to judge people because they do it their way, if it works for them, good for them !

This "diet" is about health benefits first and foremost and that the weight loss is one of the benefits not the sole purpose.

I did a "normal" diet at the beginning, between february and may and I was bored out of my mind.... I was eating steamed chicken and steamed vegetables and, of course I lost quickly but I wouldn't have been abble to do it for the rest of my life, there was too much frustration

So if you goal is to lose weight quickly, this is not for you
If you want to feel better because you have more energy, more strenght, feel more confident, go for it but don't expect miracles, they don't exist.

Just FYI, I lose an average 1kg every other week (sometimes more) so around 2 pounds and I didn't change my activity level. Maybe it's because I didn't yoyo for years or maybe I found MY rignt way of eating...

And sometimes saying "sweetie" is far more an insult that saying "stupid"....

And sometimes saying "sweetie" is far more an insult that saying "stupid"....

I think, for Brits on a diet, "sweetie" is a stupid thing to say.

Mmmmmm haribo...

When I read this word I swear I can see my sister looking at me with a smirk. You know that, deep inside, she is talking to you like if you were a child who can't understand she is insulting you....

Anyway, to reply to the initial post...


Secondly, as Miffy said, not all of us is fortunate enough to lose with just 5:2. We need something extra

back to topic

I wonder if some people are tyring to "rush" 5:2 in its simpler form without the "extras" and the "variations" and the "tweaking" and running it in conjunction with other eating methods. .i.e. they see the average 1 pound a week loss often cited and think something is wrong with the base diet for them because they are not achieving such results. (mine is half the average, for instance)

I hear these thoughts often on the forum here and i dont go to any other forum

"Ive started the plan, but its just not working for me"
"I wish i can move off this plateau ive been on for weeks"
"Am I doing something wrong.. has anyone got a suggestion for me"
"I'm different.. it just doesnt suit me"
"I'm getting fed up and this is doing my head in"
"Why dont I lose weight faster" per this thread. 5-2-diet-chat-f6/topic6600.html


Without regurgitating the comment on that cited thread above,

are we just all too impatient for results? - hence why we are tweaking and changing things around so much.

maybe just maybe if we gave it all more time the variations would be less important. after all a lot of us here have only given it 2 or 3 months and 10 months at most ... and thats not a long time when many have been carrying excess weight for years, if not decades.

More time may just mean giving it 2, 3, 6 months or even a year in some cases.

just my opinion.. i'm totally comfortable that people vary it up. humans think more than any other in the animal kingdom and that makes us all the more interesting creatures.

but.. is it just that many of us cant wait for our bodies to react quickly enough? and then think 5:2 is not really working? - are we just too impatient and it would happen without the fuss eventually

not that its wrong to speed things up or anything.
btw this is non judgemental and without prejudice.

And what if they want to speed things up? What is wrong with that?

But, this is not the case here. Most people who altered the original plan weren't losing. I know I wasn't I know why, because of my thyroid. Let's face it, most overweight people have some -known to them or underlying- condition. It can be anything... underactive thyroid, lazy bowel, water retention, starvation mode, taking medication, or some more serious conditions and psychological problems.

Unless we are talking about a healthy and fairly active person, who might lose that pound per week, anybody else will lose about half of that. And that is reaaaaaally slooooooooow.

Enter, variations. Which aren't a bad thing and the people who discovered them certainly aren't stupid or "sweeties" (indeed, also an insulting word if said ironically) because they managed to find a way to lose weight after all!

I think it is a shame this topic included KISS in its title as rather than just 'What is the true 5:2 eating plan?' as some people are focusing on the interpretation of KISS.

I think there is no one way that will suit everyone but to use the information as a guide. I am following 5:2 for the health benefits and as a bonus have lost weight and kept it off. I still do the two fast days a week because I want to see the effect after six months on my blood tests.

I started power walking 3- 5 times a week for the first 5 weeks and then noticed I wasn't losing any weight even though I kept within the recommended calorie limits, so I stopped the exercise and the weight dropped off over a matter of weeks. Now I walk to the supermarket (approx 20 mins) and go for a stroll in the evening most days and weight remains within 3lbs of my last weigh-in record.

God almighty! what more can I say!

Anyway, to reply to the initial post...


Secondly, as Miffy said, not all of us is fortunate enough to lose with just 5:2. We need something extra

back to topic

I wonder if some people are tyring to "rush" 5:2 in its simpler form without the "extras" and the "variations" and the "tweaking" and running it in conjunction with other eating methods. .i.e. they see the average 1 pound a week loss often cited and think something is wrong with the base diet for them because they are not achieving such results. (mine is half the average, for instance)

I hear these thoughts often on the forum here and i dont go to any other forum

"Ive started the plan, but its just not working for me"
"I wish i can move off this plateau ive been on for weeks"
"Am I doing something wrong.. has anyone got a suggestion for me"
"I'm different.. it just doesnt suit me"
"I'm getting fed up and this is doing my head in"
"Why dont I lose weight faster" per this thread. 5-2-diet-chat-f6/topic6600.html


Without regurgitating the comment on that cited thread above,

are we just all too impatient for results? - hence why we are tweaking and changing things around so much.

maybe just maybe if we gave it all more time the variations would be less important. after all a lot of us here have only given it 2 or 3 months and 10 months at most ... and thats not a long time when many have been carrying excess weight for years, if not decades.

More time may just mean giving it 2, 3, 6 months or even a year in some cases.

just my opinion.. i'm totally comfortable that people vary it up. humans think more than any other in the animal kingdom and that makes us all the more interesting creatures.

but.. is it just that many of us cant wait for our bodies to react quickly enough? and then think 5:2 is not really working? - are we just too impatient and it would happen without the fuss eventually

not that its wrong to speed things up or anything.
btw this is non judgemental and without prejudice.

And what if they want to speed things up? What is wrong with that?

But, this is not the case here. Most people who altered the original plan weren't losing. I know I wasn't I know why, because of my thyroid. Let's face it, most overweight people have some -known to them or underlying- condition. It can be anything... underactive thyroid, lazy bowel, water retention, starvation mode, taking medication, or some more serious conditions and psychological problems.

Unless we are talking about a healthy and fairly active person, who might lose that pound per week, anybody else will lose about half of that. And that is reaaaaaally slooooooooow.

Enter, variations. Which aren't a bad thing and the people who discovered them certainly aren't stupid or "sweeties" (indeed, also an insulting word if said ironically) because they managed to find a way to lose weight after all!

But that's what i said

- it doesn't matter that people want to vary . good on them. whataver works and makes you feel good doing it, keep donig it.

- variations. yep. if it makes people feel good even if its pointless keep doing it. its a bit of the Placebo effect that creeps in sometimes, even in dieting behaviour.

I still think Kencc has a point about needing to add some evaluation of one's activity levels to the picture as the best, and maybe healthiest way to "speed it up"

Acually if one does some calculations, even at 1kg every month, or 2 pounds a month, its not SLLLLLLLLLOOOOW at all. do the math. 1kg every month is 12kg a year. Keep this lifestyle up for 3 years and i guess most poeple agree this is a sustainable one, thats a whopping 36kg. Assuming you arent already 100kg or more, i dont think most. people even want to lose anywhere near that.

Maybe after the first year of loss the 2nd and subsequent years are much slower but i guess even then, 20kg in 3 years is probably achievable for those that need to lose that much.

Thus.. just doing the simple 5:2 (or 4:3 plan) and no underlying health conditions, then we should be all be up to 20kg to 36k lighter in 3 years and can stay on maintenance after that. It's not that slow really when most of the weight has probably been there for more than 3 years or even decades for us more mature ladies and gentleman.

ps. feel free to question my math

Not all of us can exercise...

And why are the variations pointless? Or did I not get this right?

Not all of us can exercise...

And why are the variations pointless? Or did I not get this right?

sorry i meant that if we can keep this weight loss slow and steady, we dont need to speed it up and thus no need to worry about introducing variations if you dont have to. I think it's the rush mentality as 1kg a month loss or even 1/2 a kg (1 pound) every month may just be all we need in are bid for better health. It would be surprising for people undertaking 5:2 seriously not losing at least 6kg (13 pounds)in a year. (assuming no health issue that in some underlying way stops them losing weight)

m just guessing of course and basing it on what the progress tracker reports suggest.

I disagree with that. 1/2 a month is 3 kilos in 6 months. I gain that in one week in London!!!

As Ballerina posted earlier Dr MM’s programme was a mixture of all sorts and in the book Fast Diet, it was not initially about losing weight,

“... at the beginning of 2012, I was (asked) by Aidan Laverty, editor of the BBC Science series Horizon, ... if I would like to ... explore the science behind life extension”. (p7)

“There are no complicated rules to follow: the strategy is flexible, comprehensible and user-friendly. ...

Weight loss is only one benefit ... The real dividend is the potential long term health gains, ...” (p12)

But it was the weight losing side of things that grabbed the headlines, it was the media and some disciples that started the frenzy.

To me it’s strange that no-one took much notice of his criticism of vegetables, it being an accepted belief that fruit and veg, because they are chock full of antioxidants are good, for you,

“The levels of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables are far too low ... (giving) them to us in concentrated form, ... have been unconvincing when tested in long term trials.” (p17)

After he tried the Fast Diet, his wife Clare, also a Doctor was mighty pleased to find he’d stopped snoring as well as all the indicators that he had been in dangerous territory with his heart, were much reduced.

“One of the main reasons I decided to try fasting, ... was that tests had suggested I was heading for serious problems with my cardiovascular system.” (Radio Times article, undated)

So take your pick from his research as to what works for you. So far there’s been no long term study of its effect on humans, so nothing is proven.

Furthermore, the way each of our bodies work, differ from each other so what suits one person may not suit another - a close friend of ours was told because of their problems they should have a high fibre diet. Unfortunately, because they already had a ‘diet’ that was high in fibre it was the worst possible adivce. Fortunately they’re OK now. Standard medical advice was wrong for them.

Equally, there’s plenty of medical treatment that takes time to have an effect - years ago I was given a tablet a day and was told it would be six months before I’d notice any difference. I think most 'health' style treatments are the same.

There’s no prescribed path to Nirvana, each of us must do what suits us, the different ideas and practices mentioned on this Forum all help to achieve that.