The FastDay Forum

I've would like to lose about 1 and a half stone and began 52ing on 28th February. Ive tried diet clubs in the past (most of them) and have never stuck to any diets but have ended up feeling guilty, missing classes etc. I watched the original programme but then did nothing about it until I borrowed DrM's book from a friend. It just made such sense and 4 weeks in I've lost 3lbs. Not a mega amount but I am sticking with it. this forum is fantastic as I can draw on everyone's experiences and not feel fed up if the scales don't show me what I expect! One of my goals is not to jump on the scales too often but old habits die hard!
Thanks to everyone who posts on here with such honesty. It is such a support!

I had yet another weight gain because of my thyroid and I had to reduce the calories' intake yet another time. I was desperate and a very dear friend of mine suggested trying 5:2.
It was like a huge coincidence since on that day I had consumed less than 500 calories (it was after a long weekend with lots of food and alcohol).
In reality, I had already started and didn't know it...

A chance comment to one of my colleagues who had lost weight led me here. When I researched 5:2 at the weekend and read about all the additional benefits to weight loss I decided to give it a go and did my first fast yesterday. So far so good, watch this space...

I have always been known in our family as the 'bigger' one out of my sister and I and I think I kind of let that dictate who I have become. When I look back now at photos of my teen years (when everyone was telling me I was fat) I think I look fantastic. Really healthy and fit. My sister looks pimply and scrawny

But anyway, I am tired of going to the family functions in the frumpy outfits and the baggy clothes. I am tired of always being the biggest person in the room, no matter where we are. I am tired of feeling like I have to sit on the sidelines while other mums are having fun with their kids and I am tired of missing out on life.

I have only just started (6th fast today), and I had a good loss the first week and not much since, but I am in it for the long haul and want to change my life.


I am 40 years old and I am determined that the next 40 years will be different

Good on you Kaz! The best of luck to you.

I have always had issues with my weight but put on a fair bit in the past year or two, and being in my 50s I am acutely aware of the effect excess weight can have on my health. I'd rather enjoy life without avoidable health challenges so I knew I had to do something. A UK friend of mine told me about 5:2 and this forum a couple of months ago and here I am, happy to have finally found a way of eating that feels right and is good for me too!

Love your post, Kaz!
Especially the part of looking healthy in the pix of your teenage years while other people thought you were fat. We give wrong role models to young people. We give them wrong impressions. I'm sure that as a mother you won't do that and you should be proud of yourself!

I was struggling with keeping calories low enough at weekends to stick to a calorie controlled diet, although I was losing weight. Someone at work started talking about the Horizon program, I was quite impressed by the logic, and the health benefits, so I googled it and started the diet. I've finally seen this program myself this weekend! I may even get round to round to reading the book one day ! But this forum is so full of info, its easy to do the diet just based on the posts here.

I found the horizon doc by chance, thank goodness. I haven't heard anyone else mention this woe in NZ so don't think it has been screened here yet. It makes so much sense to me, food and weight has always felt out of control, I have always been trying to do better but not really making any progress. It just was like a revelation for me. Something which makes sense, feels balanced, is something I can keep doing, and fit to my lifestyle.
Tbh it is a bit scary, as I guess I felt deep down that there would never be a solution, now it seems there really is and I am daring to believe . I'm so grateful for the Internet and this forum, and I really hope more people come to see and experience the benefits of this

Wow everyone has a story to tell and most of them not pretty and the thing is most of it is frightening. I found 5:2 luckily before I had ballooned up to a previous max weight, but after literally 45 years of yo-yoing I was frightened. Every time I tried to stop the weight rising I failed, going to the gym 3X a week, an active job, cutting carbs only to 2 weeks later eat like my throat had been cut!...and drink like a fish. All I could see for my future was getting heavier and heavier and quite frankly it was depressing. I saw a segment on TV about 'the new diet' and whilst I have never been so much a 'diet' person, more a healthy-bloody-boring-eating person I bought the book from the UK. When it arrived I read it quickly, started the next day, found the forum and have not only stayed motivated but find that it's a small price to pay (eating 2x500 cals a week)to have a life. Thank God for the Fast!

I read an article in the NY Times timed with the release of the book in the US. I started the diet once the book came.

Losing weight is sort of always on my mind, but as I get older, my old tricks don't seem as effective. I think I was sort of waiting for something new to come along. Something new that sounded pretty reasonable...

Kaz, I remember always feeling chubby as a teen even though I never weighed more than 115 lbs. at 5'4"! I didn't know how good I had it.

Fast forward to my 40's and 50's with job stress and hormones packing the pounds on. I think my heaviest was 188 lbs. I finally got own to the 170's. I still felt lethargic, and was finding my cholesterol and blood sugar higher than they should be. My grandparents, aunts and uncles on both sides of my family died in their 60's of heart disease. I didn't want that to be my future.

Then, zumba and walking all over Europe got me down to the 160's and then the 150's. My numbers still weren't where they should be and my weight after Christmas was creeping up to the high 150's. Yikes!

When I saw a little clip of Dr.Mosely on one of the morning news shows, I was intrigued, researched it on the internet and found this forum. I thought to myself that "I can do this," and I just jumped in mid-March. So far so good --down about 6.5 pounds and looking to some improvement in those vital blood numbers before too long (borderline high cholesterol and pre-diabetes blood sugar).

I'm enjoying the 5:2, and think I can do this for the rest of my life.

I started a "diet" in the New Year, I had gained weight steadily over a period, till the size 16 jeans I had reluctantly bought last summer were getting too tight. So starting on Jan 7th, I cut carbs, and stopped drinking alcohol during the week, I also increased my use of the Cross Trainer.
Somehow I had missed all the publicity about 5:2 till I was staying at my Mum's house while she recovered from a bout of ill health, and found a pull-out about 5:2 in the Radio Times, and researched it from there.
I am still being careful with calories on Feast days, and after 20 Fasts they have become a part of my life and I organise things around them.
I have lost 21 lbs, and need to lose another 10 lbs to get into the Normal BMI zone.
I love this Forum, I have learned so much on here, and tomorrow I am going to do my first parkrun, inspired by the posts of several Forum members.
My avatar pic is me 3 years and a size I want to be, without ballooning back up to 12st plus in my usual yo-yo way.

I was diagnosed with PCOS in mid-2012 and I had to lose weight. It took me months and months of low carbing to go from 71kg to 68kg. I hit a plateau at 68kg and it looked like I was starting to slightly gain.

I was frustrated as I felt deprived and I wasn't really making a loss. I can't remember exactly what I googled but it was something like "how do I kick start weight loss off a plateau" or something like that.

I found a forum about fasting but it was focused on long term fasting like 30 days etc. I knew the benefits of fasting having learned about it at college but there was no way I could take weeks off to fast. The extreme fasting forum had a link to another forum that spoke about 5:2. I googled 5:2 and spent about a week researching it. Once I had my head around how the way of life worked I jumped straight in promising myself I would give it at least six months to see how I go.

My first three fasts were really, really hard however, I am now 2.5 months into this way of life and I routinely get to about 4-5 pm on a fast day and I catch myself thinking... Have I done this right? Am I really so close to dinner time and I have survived it one one cup of coffee and lots of water? I mentally review my day and to-be-sure I have had nothing to eat and dinner is only a few hours away.

I am losing weight and even though I hit a two week plateau this month I was not discouraged as this is a) a way of life and God willing I still have a way to go and b) my cycle is already improving and the bloating that I used to get has reduced by at least 95%.

So what's not to love? Health benefits, weight loss and I generally find it easy. Oh and most importantly, no guilt - after all I can have it tomorrow (providing I stick to me TDEE).

I can echo many of these comments - skinny as a child, battling weight as I got older, diet/gain/diet/gain, then this year I started another 'diet' when I heard of 5 2 from a friend on the net.
I was converted! It has involved 'training' my body not to want 3 meals a day every day and My fitness pal has become my daily pal!
Although not on 5 2, hub is also following a more 'sensible' way of eating and has also lost 23lbs.
We love our new 'slim Jim' look and keep on saying we won't recognise each other when we both lose another 22lbs!

Oh, and my blood pressure has dropped, too!

Gave up smoking last October - for health and financial reasons. Then started eating everything I could see - especially biscuits/rubbish.

By March had put on half a stone. Shocked me and I didn't want it to continue and get really out of hand.

I am enjoying 5:2 - re-educating myself about healthy/sensible eating. Lost 6lb and back at weight I was at Xmas so seeing the results too.

I know I don't have the kind of challenges that others do but you know when you feel bloated and rubbish you still need to sort it out. I am really impressed by the feedback on this forum and good luck to you all.