The FastDay Forum

Hi

I have been on the 5:2 diet for 3 weeks. On a fast day, I keep to it pretty strictly and each fast day I lose just under 1lb (I know I should not weigh myself every day but I find it keeps me motivated). The problem is that I regain the weight over the course of the non-fast days. I am not by any means 'pigging' out on those days. This weekend for example, I was at my mother in law's and she made a traditional roast dinner which I ate and at a birthday party so had 4 small sugary things. But that is just normal for me, and I would not usually put on weight. Other than that, I eat pretty healthily. So it almost feels like my body is panicking about the fast days and accumulating more fat on the non-fast days.

I should add that I do not have much weight to lose - my BMI is 20.6. I would like to lose about 7lb - I carry a fair bit of fat around my belly since having my kids - but I am not overweight as such. My main motivations are that heart disease, cancer and Alzheimers all run in my family and so the fast diet appeals for its health benefits.

Any advice please?

Thanks

Wow, are you my twin? I started 5:2 about five weeks ago. I weigh daily. Until a few days ago, i was struggling with a plateau after a great start. My BMI is in the 19 range, and I am looking to shed 6-8 lbs. I am doing this more for health benefits, like you.

It has only been three weeks. Lower BMI means slower weight loss. My advice is not to give up!

[Moogie]

Hi babymother5050 & welcome!

I intend to blog about weighing at some point, but meanwhile maybe this will be useful:
http://www.the52dietplan.com/why-have-i ... -5-2-diet/

Please bear in mind that you are likely to lose weight more slowly as you only have relatively little to lose compared with many of us and are already in the low healthy BMI range.

Your weight can fluctuate naturally from day to day depending on all kinds of things - time of the month, water retention, what you've eaten recently, exercise (when you exercise your muscles tear & retain water while they repair), food which hasn't -er- passed through yet etc. Please don't put stock in what the scales say on a day to day basis but keep track of it over the longer term. I weigh most days but I don't really care what it says until the day after my 2nd fast which is the day I use for comparison. As you can see from my graph, the trend is downward - with a few bumps along the way!

I think it is too early to tell if 5/2 is working for you or not. You are NOT doing anything wrong and the health benefits are worth it, no doubt about it!

[Betsysgr8]

First off, Welcome to the forum babymother5050! Doesn't sound like you are doing anything wrong, but with only a small bit to lose some find the loss much slower. Have you taken measurements? Sometimes the body loses a bit of fat but it doesn't show on the scale right away. Also, during the first month the body is balancing fluids and you may still be in an adjusting period. Have you input your data in the progress tracker? If you put your info in you'll be given a TDEE (the amount of calories you should have on normal days), you might try calorie counting for a week or so to see if you are consistantly going a bit over on your normal days. You might also want to read up on kencc's post about #NEAT, it's not formal exercise just uping your daily movements. Good luck and keep us posted of your progress.

That's great - many thanks everyone for your support. I will try and be more patient and take physical measurements, rather than rely just on weight. I wish I knew a way of measuring the health benefits but because I do not have a health problem at the moment e.g. blood pressure, I doubt my doctor would take me seriously if I wanted to have the full set of blood tests so that I could do a 'before' and 'after'.

Whilst I am on ... could anyone clear up something for me. For years, we have been told that 'yo-yo' dieting is bad for us. But, is that not what the Fast Diet is though, really, albeit a healthier version. Thanks everyone!

[Moogie]

Yo-yo dieting is more the habit of losing a load of weight through dieting, then regaining it all by going back to old habits - and repeat.

The Fast Diet/5:2 method is so much easier to stick with in the long term than most other 'diets' (I use the term lightly with reference to 5:2, as it is a way of eating rather than a diet as such) and therefore reducing the chance of yo-yoing.

Welcome and totally agree with all above, give it a little longer to give it time to kick-in and measure deffo I only took 2 measurements and that's my only regret but as I've loads to lose it's so working for me and I have now taken all measurements. Good Luck Sue

Two things:
1. The less you've got to lose the slower you will lose it, you need to be patient or add a little something to the equation (4:3, a couple of carb free days, 16:8, whatever might work for you).
2. You are thin, so you probably have a very low TDEE. Are you sure that you are eating within it?

Oh, and a third one: have you calculated your true weight? Sometimes we want to lose more weight than it's feasible. Have a go here: http://www.dukandiet.com/calculate-your-true-weight