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My weight loss on 5:2

by Franglaise on 10 Apr 2013, 07:14

A couple of members have asked what I did to lose weight, so I thought I'd put it on the blog. I'm now doing 6:1 with a second mini fast on Thursday which seems to be working so far. This was my way of doing the 5:2
1. I always did 24 hour fasts, so nothing to eat until the evening when I had my 500 calories (often homemade soup and fruit, and I always saved space for a couple of squares of chocolate.
2. I never drank alcohol on fast days, and only a couple of glasses of wine on other evenings (if I drank at all).
3. I exercised quite a lot anyway, so didn't increase what I was doing, but maybe that helped (running 5kms 3 times a week and walking an hour at least on other days).
4. I didn't eat too much on non fast days. If I went out for a meal (e.g. lunch)I would eat very lightly for the dinner. In fact I never eat a big meal with a lot of carbohydrates in the evening, it is usually quiche and salad or something like that.
5. I rarely eat desserts, except on a Sunday when we buy some from the boulangerie to eat with Sunday lunch (as a café gourmand, yummy). I eat fruit and chocolate instead.
6.I suppose it helps that I live in the middle of the French countryside with no access to take-aways or anything like that - and I never eat fast food or fizzy drinks because I don't like them.
7. I weighed myself every day. I know some people don't like doing that, but I found it more motivating to lose weight (if the scales showed an increase I would be more careful on non fast days).

Susan - now on 6:1-plus-skipping-lunch-occationally maintenance
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Comments

Re: My weight loss on 5:2
10 Apr 2013, 09:33
Hi,
Congratulations for your weight loss.
I am more interested in the maintenance phase, since the diet really seems to work to lose weight.
How long have you been on maintenance? From your chart, you seemed to have dropped below your target weight? Did that happen during maintenance, during 6:1 + mini fast?
Someone suggested elsewhere to spread the fasts farther until one fast day a fortnight. Do you plan to change your maintenance plan?

And what do you mean 'mini' fast? :)
Thanks,
e.
Re: My weight loss on 5:2
10 Apr 2013, 10:16
Hi
I dropped below my target weight the week after I reached my target (when I did a 6:1), but am now around 57kgs, so I'm trying to keep to that weight.
A mini fast is skipping lunch, or skipping lunch and or breakfast and eating normally (so not counting to 500 cals) in the evening. I do a full fast on Monday, and often a mini fast Thursday.
I'm not going to change my maintenance plan unless I start putting on weight and go back to 5:2, but I think I should be OK as I balance things out quite well now thanks to the discipline of 5:2.
Hope you get to your goal soon!
Re: My weight loss on 5:2
04 May 2013, 14:26
Sounds like your doing great.
Thanks for all the tips.
Re: My weight loss on 5:2
13 May 2013, 12:17
Hi Franglaise and congratulations! You did and obviously are still doing great!

One question: You wrote that you didn't eat too much on non-fast days. Can you estimate how many calories? You didn't count, did you? But can you make a rough estimate?

And thanks for sharing your experience!
Re: My weight loss on 5:2
16 May 2013, 17:25
Monkeypenny wrote: One question: You wrote that you didn't eat too much on non-fast days. Can you estimate how many calories? You didn't count, did you? But can you make a rough estimate?

Hi Monkeypenny
I run or walk 5kms every day and am quite active, but on non fast days ate quite normally, but I don't eat a lot of carbs especially in the evening so I think that helped. Probably around 1500 cals, but that's an average, I ate more at weekends and less in the week.
Good luck with your diet!
Re: My weight loss on 5:2
20 May 2013, 19:38
Thank you!
And what a coincidence! I actually started a running programm called "couch to 5k" last week, so perhaps, one day soon running 5 kms won't sound so terrifying to me any more. :)
Re: My weight loss on 5:2
21 May 2013, 20:05
Hi Monkeypenny, good luck with the couch to 5k! I think you will be surprised how easy it is to run 5k. You need to find your best time of day to run - for me it is always first thing in the morning at around 7am before breakfast. I find it harder to get motivated if it is later in the day. The endorphins you get from running are brilliant and much better than from walking, although it is harder on your knee joints.
I hope you end up enjoying running and make it out even in cold and wet weather. The endorphins are still the same even if you come back soaked to the skin;)
Re: My weight loss on 5:2
26 Jun 2013, 07:18
I was talking, to my tiny 50 something year old friend the other day, telling her about what I was doing.

She told me she could see how this diet would work, because it is naturally what she has always done.

So here's to your continued success.

X
Re: My weight loss on 5:2
03 Jul 2013, 07:46
Hi Hippy
Yes, I think a lot of 'thin' people have been doing this to keep the weight off. It is totally logical. I now have the mindset that to skip meals is no problem, so it is easy to do. And feeling hungry feels good!
Best of luck in reaching your target
Susan x
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