The FastDay Forum

Ha ha ha. I thought you meant all those over a certain age!!

[wildmissus]

It's my birthday next week, I'll be 46, does that make me an oldie - sometimes I do feel a lot older!

I've been 5:2ing since the beginning of the year and have lost 1st 7lb at best but 2lb on this morning taking me back to where I was 4 weeks ago. Yes, I'm fed up but look at what I've lost - that wouldn't have happened if I wasn't 5:2ing. I'll keep plodding on as I'm in it for the health benefits too.

When I started on the forum I remember quite a few frequent posters who seem to have disappeared now. It's a shame but I believe people have to realise this if a life long thing and not just something you start and stop to lose weight.

It is difficult to keep up with all the posts nowadays , but yesterday afternoon I enjoyed reading quite a few threads I'd missed.

I started this 5:2 mid jan and have been a member of the forum since then

I have lost 8kilos so far. I'm thrilled mostly by my waist measurements.
I have NEVER had a waist even when I was stick thin!

Love the flexibility of 5:2. I very seldom fast the same days each week. If I've been overindulgent one week I'll do 4:3.

I don't count calories, although I did for. Couple of weeks when my weight didn't move.

I'm in it for life, so I'll be an oldie for a very long time I hope!

I think I qualify on both counts too having started 5:2 on January 17th and being over 60!
I find it is a WOL now but the weight loss has been disappointing. I lost 7lbs in the first few weeks but have been stalled on 10st 3lbs for 3 months now! I don't overeat on my feast days and reckon it must just be harder to lose weight when you are older and at a healthy BMI. I am not really bothered about the weight thing as I have lost 3ins from my waist and an inch from my hips so all my clothes fit better.I'm also in this for the health benefits so am quite happy to carry on.
I don't post much but look in here every day and I too find the number of users on the site now quite amazing. I think we should be glad that so many people are finding this WOL works for them. Also it makes me feel like a bit of a pioneer although of course nothing like Moogie, Caroline, Dominic etc!

I started in mid Feb but I've only been here for about a month. I wanted to be sure I was going to stick with it before I joined. I was lurking though before then. I don't know how much I've lost as I don't care to weigh, it does my head in. However clothes that were getting too tight are now fine and I have been wearing the jeans that I couldn't zip up before I started. I reckon my muffin top has shrunk by about two thirds. Best of all I feel really well!
Oh and I'm 57 so an oldie on that count as well.

Hello I also qualify on both counts starting on 31st January & aged 65. I have lost 14 pounds since starting so I am one of the slow losers but had a blip in April for three weeks putting on 1lb for 2 weeks & then losing 2 lbs. I had previously after Christmas started dieting with Rosemary Conley online with low fat eating & calorie counting & in January before joining 5:2ing had lost 8 lbs but I felt that I couldn't tolerate in the longer term not being able to eat out & have flexibility with what I eat. I am still keeping an eye on my calorie intake on eating days but 5:2ing has allowed me to eat more on feeding days up to my TDEE. Thanks also to this forum & the nerdy types who contribute so much in information to us that I have been able to learn much more about 5:2ing & how our bodies operate when in "dieting" mode. I am in for the long term with another 4 stone to lose & then learning how to maintain the new slim me!
I am also here for the health benefits having had breast cancer & not wanting it to return & my Mother having had dementia as well as breast cancer although she was 85 when she died. So hopefully losing weight that will also bring health benefits even at the average loss of one pound a week will see me 5:2 ing at least for another year. So keep going us 5:2 oldies!

I'm another of the January joiners. It's great to see so many folk getting into this but I agree I can't follow it all, though I like reading the new posters threads. We need a kind of 'coffee group' to keep us together.

I'm very pleased with my weight loss even if it has now slowed down. My OH (age 60) is wearing 32 trousers again, first time since the 70's so he is pleased. Us ladies like to hang onto our fat a bit longer I think. We must both have lots of health benefits by now and will keep going, it's easy!

I think I may qualify for this thread as well; I started 5:2 in March and am of a mature age 54 in a couple of weeks. It has been amazing to see how big the forum is getting as word spreads about this WOE. I will be forever grateful to my UK friend who told me about this forum and thus got me onto 5:2; I have seen Michael Mosley's documentary (through a link here and again last month on TV here in Oz) but have not read the book - all the information I have needed I have found on this wonderful forum. I have had great success with 5:2 so far, in 9 weeks I have dropped 9.5 kg (nearly 21 pounds?) and I am feeling absolutely wonderful!

There seems to be quite a few breast cancer survivors on the forum, Isis.
Trying to prevent a recurrence was my main incentive to start 5:2. The weight loss for me is a huge added bonus.

Hi I'm 2 months along and enjoying being of a certain age. Good idea Ursula as this is definitely a long haul issue for some of us and it is good to collect our experiences over time under a specific thread.

With me menopause met motherhood and the smoking had to go so weight packed on and that 15kg clung on tight through a plethora of diets withs my always getting fatigued and getting the flu. So I would cave, where as on 5:2 I have good energy and am feeling great.
Am keen to see what others have adopted experiencing 5:2 et al over a longer period of time with the issues which ageing adds.

Hi, I started at the end of January and have some up and down blips lately, for no good reason I can think of, but overall have lost nearly a stone so far and am happy with that. The best thing is the re-education towards food on normal days, just not wanting to eat too much, or eat junk... and eating when actually hungry instead of mindlessly.

Heeellloooo... *waves*
I'm in on both counts too!
This is my first post since returning from my Madrid jaunt, one pound heavier than last Monday morning (but thankfully, only 1lb!!), though, as weigh in day is a Friday, I'm exactly the same weight as last week!

My hub seems to have lived on ready meals while I was away (AND, he lost weight!) and we have no fresh food in the house, so there will be a trip to Morrisons this afternoon for some proper food.

I ate chips twice in Madrid (yes, I did!) plus paella (not particularly good either). In fact, it was tourist junk food, but my friend is a plain, unadventurous eater and it suited her.
I'm craving some healthy salads, some tasty food and some proper fish.

Great thread!
I'll start my next fast Monday morning.

I think the OP was thinking of people who started in January, when the forum was in its infancy! I can't remember how many users there were when I joined, but I'm pretty sure it was low hundreds, and now look, thousands of people have joined.
I posted on several threads back then, but as it has grown, I have found it harder to keep up, although that is in no way a negative comment, I think it is wonderful that so many people are joining in. It is nice to have a thread for us old timers who can compare notes and weight loss from the perspective of it really being a WOL.
Who remembers "Do you have any clothes you want to fit into"? I posted on there about a ring I had been unable to get on for years - now the ring is starting to slip off when I wear it, so I have to be really careful.
I'm sure there are lots of other people who started in January who still look in to the forum, as I do,( every day) but post less as the forum has got bigger, but we are still here.
Oh, and I also qualify on age as well, I will be 60 in a few weeks time.

Hi, another January joiner still here. Tend to look out for and respond more to posts from the 'oldies' (older joiners that is) mainly to see how progress is going and compare notes.

I ain't lost that much but definitely feel a lot slimmer compared to the start of the year and that's what matters. I now view this as a long term project so if it takes me the rest of the year to get another 1/2 stone off then so be it.

Wildmissus - I turned 46 last month and it does not make you an oldie!!

Hi there.

I have been doing diet this for a year now.

I just found this forum and read these postings so decided to join up and join in. As an oldie and founder faster I think I qualify for this forum.

I saw the Horizon programme last year in May 2012 I think. As I am a senior weighing in at 16st (5'2") I was concerned about my weight at the time, so it was a no brainer to start on this diet and try to do some life extension. My partner was getting tubby and worried about her weight too.

So we went straight on the 5:2 diet when there were no books or advice on what to do. We counted our calories assiduously and stuck to it despite us being naughty reckless eaters and drinkers with a love of restaurants, food and booze and with a big eat out social life.

During the first few weeks we did get a bit starving on fast days, I even felt a bit light headed on occasion, but we were committed and had some fun staying hungry 2 days a week. We read all about calories and food and became fairly expert on knocking up low calorie food even though it got a bit samey.

Being a golfer was and still is a big help, and my dearest goes to the Gym twice a week, so we had something to do during the fast days rather than just thinking of food.

After a few weeks the fasting days became routine to us, and the now well known beneficial effects started to appear. We enjoyed our food immensely and became more critical of quality whilst losing interest in quantity. I think the fasting days must cause stomach shrinkage because now we feel bloated if we eat much. We also know much more about what is fattening and bad for you despite being allowed to 'eat normally'. What had been 'normal' was changing into 'unusual'.

I have never believed in traditional weight loss diet regimes and always adopted the view that 'what goes in goes on'. So I only went on this diet because I liked the beneficial effects that were supposed to come from fasting, but it has been a pleasant surprise to discover how much you can get control of weight by doing the 5:2 method.

My weight came down steadily from 16st to my first target of 14st 7lb by November 2012 despite going on a 2 week cruise in September. My partner had similar results.

Some of my friends complained I was looking a bit haggard and ill, so I stopped by eating more on non-fast days at 14st 7lb so that my body and my acquaintances could get used to me at this weight.

We have both had to buy complete new wardrobes and no doubt have to do the same again if we lose even more. My partner is so pleased she is now getting into a size 10 again.

The latest science says the longevity issues are still unproven, but getting down from being a fatty has got to help in it's own right even though the other benefits are unproven.

I read in the papers this week that BMI is not as good a guide to obesity as height and waist ratio (waist should be less than half height). I am now in that zone and my life span should increase accordingly.

We were the first people in my circle of acquaintances to start this diet and we feel trendsetters. Many friends poo pooed it to start with but now some of them have started on it too, and agree it's great way to get weight down.

Interestingly as I sit here writing this I realise that every day is now a fasting day. It's became a disciple that makes me think of what I am eating all the time. Before I eat I ask myself if it's a fasting day, and then if it isn't I allow myself to eat more if I want to. But I don't have the hunger too so much so I probably don't. I mostly allow myself more lunch on non-fast day, or an extra half slice of toast at breakfast. It's a way of life now and it's very pleasant to be so in control.

So that's my story, I hope it's of interest.

In summary I would say that it's a great way to get weight and health under control. The concept that you can eat normally five days a week inspires you to fast for 2 days because you can always eat tomorrow, It's like going to the gym, or walking the dog. A small amount of discipline yields great results. I now feel in control of my weight and my life.

My advice to anyone would be to set a target weight and stick to this diet for one month. They should weigh at the same time every day and track their weight in a notebook or on a chart. I used an app on my phone. The effects will be so dramatic they will build the 5:2 method in to their lives.

Hope this helps someone somewhere.