The FastDay Forum

i also do watch what i eat on feed days but if we have a weekend away as this one i eat what i like , i do have a lot to lose and sometimes feel quite down the night before a fast knowing that i have so long between eating as we have a small lunch at 3pm and then dont eat again until 1am as we work nights i am up about 12.30is and start work at 5pm until 5am , long days and 4 hours of that quite manual work . but i have found if i ate what i wanted there is no way i would lose weight . and thats when i get really down knowing that i have to be quite strict with myself , i sometimes find it hard what to eat at 3 to last me until next eating as i try to find the lowest calorie content so i can have sometthing about 8.30 tokeep me going . any ideas anyone have got books but sometimes just want quick .

Ellyclive, you have lost a lot so far and this is great. I really like having fiber one original cereal in the mid day. It is very filling for a low caloric price due to its gigh fiber content. A portion of 30 grams is 60 calories, so I aeat 45 g for 90 calorie and it fills me up until the evening.

I can't face 2 full fast days a week now - one is fine but I just prefer to skip lunch on a couple of other days. I'm not eating a lot at all at the moment due to a few problems so maintaining hasn't been a problem over the last couple of weeks. In fact I could probably do with putting on a couple of kgs now so I might not do a 24 hour fast next week.

Nanou said it for me - this WOE has the potential for effectively changing your relationship with food. You need a reasonable understanding of the nutritional (and calorific) value of the food you eat on non-fast days and then aim for a decent balance between healthy eating and enjoyment of your food (including the occasional indulgence) without suffering guilt trips. But I think that strict calorie counting on non-fast days is likely to be counter productive in the long run. What is likely to happen when you reach your target weight? Very few people would want to continue counting calories (even at increased maintenance levels) every day for the rest of their lives. And to enjoy the full health benefits of 5:2 it has to be for life and not regarded as just another short term weight loss diet.

But I think that strict calorie counting on non-fast days is likely to be counter productive in the long run. What is likely to happen when you reach your target weight? Very few people would want to continue counting calories (even at increased maintenance levels) every day for the rest of their lives. And to enjoy the full health benefits of 5:2 it has to be for life and not regarded as just another short term weight loss diet.

5:2 cannot be a weight loss plan AND a weight maintenance plan at the same time. For me, now, 5:2 is my baseline and calorie restriction on feed days is my "diet". Once I reach my goal weight, I have every intention of no longer counting calories on feed days and I will simply rely on 5:2 for maintenance. 5:2 alone right now would not allow me to LOSE weight. At least not at any appreciable pace. 5:2 is the long-term WOE I plan to stick with for life. Calorie restriction on feed days is the temporary "diet" that is allowing me to actually lose weight.

[carorees]

Yes, 5:2 could be a weight loss plan and a weight-maintenance plan! I am currently losing 1lb per week just doing 5:2 with no (conscious) calorie restriction during the feed days. I was losing around 2lb per week at first, so it will surely gradually decrease until I reach equilibrium, which hopefully, will be around my target weight, in which case continuing with 5:2 will result in maintenance. If I go below my target weight I can simply continue with my 22-24 hour fasts but eat a bigger meal at the end of it in order to maintain.

Caroline, what will you do if you "reach equilibrium" before you reach your target weight?

I counted calories every day for the first 4 weeks I did 5:2 and now I only check calorie levels on new foods. My TDEE is under 1300 cals for feast days and just over 320 cals on fast days according to the website. Weight has remained steady for the past week or so, so I think I have reached the calories in = calories out level and shall continue using these figures until I next weigh myself in July. I enjoy the various treats, just cut back on other food items!

I don't actually count calorie on feast days but I pretty much know how many calories I a eating having dieted all my life.
I am almost at the weight I want to be and 5.2 is not enough to lose weight.i lose about 200g on a fast and put it back on if ti eat normally. Which means I should be restricting on feast days too
So yes, until I reach goal I will fast two or three times a week an watch what I eat on the other days.i don't really crave junk food anyway just a bit of dark choc which I do allow so I am not feeling deprived just frustrated that its still really hard for me to lose with
I thought this was going to be easy,just fat twice a week and relax the rest of the time
But for me it's another diet if I want to lose those last few kilos.

Caroline, I think I'm similar to you. I'm losing slowly with 5:2, and am pretty confident that I will just gradually slow down to maintenance as I hit my goal weight. Fasting 2 days a week is my new normal, I doubt I'll ever lose too much doing it once I've hit a good weight for me.

And yes, I could hurry it up by doing 4:3 or counting calories on non fast days, but for me, cruising along not having to think about it is a much better option.

I was on my way to doing a hybrid of 5:2 plus 16:8 when life happened. My sisters and I spent about 15 hours each day visiting my brother in the hospital. Meals were very irregular; a couple of fasting days happened without any effort on my part. I experienced some hunger, but not extreme. It was very liberating to not be desperate to eat! When I did eat, I just naturally chose healthy foods in reasonable portions. I do not count calories (although I have a fairly decent idea of the relative calorie count of things).

My family complimented me on how well I looked, and when we were discussing healthy eating, one of my sisters commented that I seemed to have it figured out, always choosing a combination of salad/vegetables and protein in sensible portions. I said, kind of apologetically, that it was what I liked. And the strange thing is that it's absolutely true! 5:2 has changed my relationship with food. I drank some wine, shared a dessert here and there. It worked, and I like it!

[carorees]

Caroline, what will you do if you "reach equilibrium" before you reach your target weight?

In that situation, I know that to increase weightloss I will have to make further, permanent, changes to my lifestyle. I will need to consider whether I can sustain such changes long-term. If the answer is no, then I think I will have to be happy maintaining at whatever weight I have reached. After all, I have done so well already having lost 22% of my body weight that whatever point I reach equilibrium it will have had a significant effect on my health. I do not want to lose more than I can sustain as we know that yoyoing one's weight is very bad for health.

Well that's my logical brain talking. Whether it works in practice is another matter!

Perhaps I shouldn't comment being a "newbie" but...

I am guilty of eating less than 1300 calories on 3 of my 5 "feed" days. But, the reason I'm doing that is that I like to indulge (more like over indulge) on the weekends. I am used to eating around 1100 calories 5 days a week and then over 2000 calories on weekends (after losing around 40 lbs. in 2 years, my weight stalled and then started creeping up). So I decided to try the 5:2 (or a variation of it). Instead of cutting back on the weekends (which I live for), I have decided to restrict my calories on 3 days a week to 1300 calories or less, 2 days a week to 500 calories or less, and 2 days a week with no calorie counting (though I do keep a rough estimate in my head). I don't know yet how successful I will be as I am still somewhat chained to the "old" way of thinking. It's going to take a while to change my mindset to stop counting calories but I am hopeful to be free of this maddening cycle! So until I can trust that this is working, I will continue to keep my calories in check both on fast and non-fast days. It's all about finding the right balance.

Thank you for listening and good luck to all!

Terry

[Betsysgr8]

Welcome to the forum Terry, and I think you hit it right on the head "It's all about finding the right balance" Yes, and that balance can be so very different from person to person. Good luck to you and keep us posted of your progress.

I will be interested to see how you go ,Terry.this week I have fasted twice and had three days of eating less ,not counting cals but skipped breakfast,had a light lunch of salad and small dinner.hve lost quite nicely this week.will see what the weekend brings.planning to eat and enjoy if I am feel like it.