The FastDay Forum

My experience of 5.2 has been largely positive, I have lost over 2 stones since I began 6 months ago and my bmi, bodyfat and measurements have all gone down to much lower levels. My diabetes test has also improved and I am no longer hurtling towards "diabesity". I love good food, am rather greedy with it, and I had despaired at finding the willpower needed to cut back on calories every day. Along came 5.2 and I discovered I could still enjoy generous amounts of my beloved olive oil and buttery sauces, delicious little treats and red wine, but only on 5 days (only!!) and eat sparingly on 2.
The psychology of this way of eating cannot be underestimated - it gives a freedom and ease around food which I truly believe can not be found on any other diet.
I have found the worst side effect on me (I am post-menopause) is a feeling of being alert and unable to sleep so well at the end of a fast day.
I suspect it is linked to the fasting, but I don't have conclusive proof. However, I prefer the problem of not always getting a good nights sleep to the path I was going down, gaining more and more weight, and blood pressure sky high (it is now normal), and staring diabetes in the face.
I welcome more studies being done on 5.2 and hope to see a balanced and thoughtful article by you. Tell your mum to join us on the forum - she will be made very welcome, and benefit enormously from the knowledge and advice shared on here!

I am available if you have questions for your article. I am 49, in the pre-menopausal phase on the diet by slightly over 3 months. The summary of my experience is that I had no ill effects whatsoever, actually the only noticeable effect has been the disappearance of night hot flashes. It might be that while other people reported feeling cold, I feel fine now, when before I was always complaining of feeling hot. My moods swings seems to be better, too.
Send me a PM if you want to know more details.

Caro, I think you should be writing this article rather than Chloe Lambert, quite honestly

This will be my 3rd week of fasting and as at yet only had minor headaches, where I think is due to reducing the caffiene intake with my tea/coffee. I have resorted to drinking green tea and black coffee and an occassional cup of tea(fast days). I also had the shakes but not severely.
This forum is a positive support group where I receive great tips and advice from other members.
In fact I look forward to my fast days which is Tuesdays/Thursdays and knowing that your body is repairing itself is fantastic.

'side' effects from me are:
blood pressure back in the normal range within one week (I was mildly hypertensive)
Don't need as much sleep. Sometimes this is annoying, but I'm not tired during the day
I'm post menopausal - sorry, not in the range you are looking for

I've been on 5:2 for almost six months.

I'm 42 years old with a history of endometriosis. This has meant painful ovulation and periods as well as migraines twice a month for as long as I can remember.

Almost immediately after starting this WOL my periods have changed completely. My cycle has definitely been disrupted. It's shorter and my period is longer but all of my endo symptoms have dissapeared. No more pain and no more migraines. I would, and gladly do, accept the latter situation to the former any day.

My only side effects are feeling cold and being hungry. In regards to periods the two I have had since starting this WOE have been much easier barely noticeable as opposed to the strong cramps I was suffering before.

Thanks to everyone here for your interesting responses. It sounds like any side effects tend to be short lived and I will include this in my article.

what a good idea- an article in the paper about 5:2!! We should all contact our local papers who are always keen to report about "local" events and tell them about our "good news", success stories with the 5:2. First of all people like to read good news no matter what the big tabloids like to tell us and we may inspire somebody in our own community to join us in thie fantastic WOL. How about it people? Let me know what you think!!!

You're very trusty ujs, I'll wait and see the headline before getting too excited. If the article highlights how much money the NHS could save, instead funding patients on Weight Watchers, I'll be all in favour. Also, in favour if it shares all our success stories.

Please note, the OP hasn't responded to my request on the Daily Mail campaign on MMR.

I'm too old also for your story being in my 60s and well past menopause. However, like the others I am keen to promote the positive side effects of this "diet" or way of eating as most of us prefer to call it.

The only negative effects are hunger and cold. For the first you learn to live with it and that's a good thing - the way it should be. Without hunger we don't appreciate food. For the second I either exercise or put on something warmer. So, two very simple solutions to two very minor side effects. I usually sleep well, but have had the occasional poor night's sleep (dreaming of food) and I can't be sure if this is just a random occurrence or not as I often have trouble sleeping.

The positives far outweigh the negatives. I'm now smaller than I have been in decades and I feel very energised. The "fasting" days are sometimes uncomfortable, but generally I can work them into my lifestyle. If I keep busy I hardly notice. It gives me more freedom than any other way of eating to lose weight. I haven't had blood pressure, cholesterol and other medical checks yet, but won't be surprised if they are all better than they were before.

Psychologically I think the 5:2 plan is very rewarding. You feel good the day after a "fasting" day (which I must emphasise, is not really fasting - you just eat very little, for me it's around 450 calories on those days) - and so you are rewarded for successfully completing a day with very little food. It's a bit of a challenge but you soon learn it's not too difficult, and it gets easier over time. So there's a real sense of accomplishment in just completing a "fasting" day. Food tastes better, but you don't seem to need as much of it, so you pick and choose. When I'm fasting, if I open the fridge and see something yummy to eat I tell myself that I can have it tomorrow. When tomorrow comes I've often forgotten about it.

Another positive is that you save money on food - about 2 days worth in fact. You're not paying someone to put you on a diet plan, or buying any fancy diet products. And the support on forums like this is free and probably better and more honest than any you might pay for.

I might have been a bit grumpy on my first few fasting days, but I think that's over now I'm in the swing of it. The difficulty is when other people around you are eating and you are hungry and smelling the food, but usually you can avoid being in those situations. The other day I went to the movies with my granddaughter and, being a children's show, I sat and endured the smell of hot popcorn for a couple of hours without putting anything in my mouth. My reward for that? A great sense of accomplishment. It's a bit like the feeling a marathon runner gets after finishing the race.

The biggest reward for me is that since I started on this 5:2 way of eating I've lost about 6 kg, and I've been "dieting" for years without losing anything like that amount. As you scroll through these forums you'll hear the same story over and over again. This works whereas other diets we've all tried don't. There's nothing dangerous or extreme about it, and it's free.

I'm a Sydney-sider and if you quote me in your article could you please send a donation to the Cancer Council which is sponsoring the Seven Bridges Walk - an annual event. My fundraising page can be found here: https://sevenbridgeswalk2013.everydayhe ... u/philippa