The FastDay Forum

I've been doing the 5:2 since I read about it in March in the New York Times and instantly knew it was the answer. Steady average 2/3 lb weight loss/week for five months, stuck for last 3 weeks, but not worried. Fully comfortable fasting and will do it for life (though hopefully 6:1 for most of life). Between this site and the "official" one, I'm having fun learning British. Like "Jack it in" apparently means give up. And I've learned to multiply by 14 in my head too... Harder to convert kg to lb in my head though. I wonder why 5:2 is all the rage in Britain, but almost unknown here in the US. For example, my local Barnes and Noble didn't have a copy of the book or the recipe book.

You may think of the British as being staid and stiff upper lip. But, its really a well made facade to hide the fact that most of us are completely nuts.
Which is why we are so open to new ides, especially ones that push all the right instinctive buttons.

Hi Wendyjane,

It is probably because it started out on a BBC programme and yes, it does indeed seem to have caught on here. Glad to have you on board and hearing about your success. You don't say where in the US you hail from so, give us a clue? The cultural differences are a constant source of joy, education and amusement so, fill your boots girl

Ballerina x

Hi WendyJane,
I think 5.2 is so popular in Britain because of Dr Michael Moseley's Horizon documentary that started all of this. I believe Dr M is liked and respected and has been doing medical documentaries over there for 30 years. Imagine if Dr Phil or Dr Oz presented the same documentary? There would be many more American people 5.2 ing. Just a theory. Best wishes.

Hi Wendyjane and Welcome yes I think its because maybe as the cowrightersare British and aired in UK But I have to say the "'F'' word doesn't sit well with absolutely loads of people, so for me I don't use it I say calorie control ( which it is sort of ) or recently I've said 2 day diet, glad you're learning the ''lingo'' for us we have similar problems converting our stones to lbs & kilograms & centimeters, I'm getting a bit to old for this to all sink in. Well done on the progress you have made with this WOL. Good Luck. Sue

Is "fill your boots" British slang too? Speaking of boots, I live in the Rocky Mountains (but I don't wear cowboy boots). The cultural differences can be huge even within one country. Many years ago I was doing fieldwork in rural Louisiana. The oil men all thought I was deaf, because whatever they said, I responded "what?" or "excuse me?" They were speaking English (I think ) but I had no idea what they were saying. And they were utterly confused by me - small young woman working out in their turf.

Hi Sue.Q and Wendyjane, we are Having a party over on the 'cannot sleep' thread so why don't you join us, lots of calorie free food and wine flowing there so, get yourselves off to the party. Julie, Candice, Silverdarling and myself are getting a little tiddly there, so, come on over

Ballerina x

Good luck learning British Wendyjane. Once you have mastered that you can try Australian (pronounced Ooorrrrrstraylan)

Good luck learning British Wendyjane. Once you have mastered that you can try Australian (pronounced Ooorrrrrstraylan)

I really think that "l" is superfluous! Should be Ooorrrrrstrayan.

As a fellow Yank, I agree that "hearing" Britons and Australians using in real time, so to speak, the language I've been reading lo these many years in both fiction and non-fiction is great fun.

More and more of us North Americans are finding out about 5:2. Dr. Mosley's book has 4.5 stars and 760+ reviews on Amazon

Welcome to the forum. Beware--it's addictive.

Well, I might be as American as apple pie but I'm right chuffed to be learning the 5:2 with these jolly ole Britts! Whatever is said that I don't understand, I usually just make it up as I go along. It's more fun that way.

Someone was moaning about the forum language a few days ago. So thank you for your post.

It's like me learning about American cooking measurements, worth the effort. (-;

Ayup mi duck, I can rattle ya cage even more.

It's lucky that we Brits don't write the way we speak in our local dialects.(Posh people excluded of course) Nottinghamese is like a foreign language to anyone outside the East Midlands area. I have lived in a few places over the years and when we lived in London we had to make an effort and speak correctly so we could be understood. It can get us in bother sometimes too because our lazy way with words can sound offensive to the unknown like the way we say 'couldn't' for example. It would come out as
" A c**t duh that fa life on me" (meaning: I could not do that).

There are books written about Nottinghamshire dialect called Ay up mi duck (hello my dear).

Anyone not understanding words or phrases on this forum need only to ask and a reply will be forth coming pronto.

I use an on-line converter for the different weights/measurements its easier than working it out

Chris x

Your post made me laugh, Chris. I wonder if there is the same innate prejudice against certain accents in Britain as I think we have in America. For example, when I hear a strong Southern accent, my instinctive response is that the person must not be very bright. When it's a politician on TV, I might be right , but a Southerner with a PhD in Physics, for example, probably is plenty smart. I try to remember that...

Also, Julieathome, I've thought some of the British completely nuts ever since my youth spent watching Monty Python and Faulty Towers.