I have to come out of the lurker corner and introduce myself to you people who have kept me motivated and informed throughout the past 9 months, since I discovered 5:2. I especially want to say to those who have doubts and who don't lose much, or regain: don't give up!! Stick with it, it does work! (Says coming off a 7-month plateau... )
First of all, I am so happy! I have no earth-shattering news to share, and certainly have not lost that much, but my BMI has recently been mostly on the green side of 25, and my waist/height ratio has been going down from 58 to 51%! - all that whilst I have gone through holidays, Christmas, Easter, and now summer holidays, and although fast days are not always easy (mostly they are not...) I have never ever in my life been so consistently on one diet (9 months now and its not a chore!) and either lost weight or not regained it (and more).
I started with a higher weight than on the tracker, I don't know if anybody recognises this but my lack of friendship with the scales meant I only faced the numbers after I was sure I had lost a little bit, so my starting weight would have been 2-3 kg higher. Again, I haven't lost so much in weight, but I have definitely lost 2 dress sizes (and a half, and hoping!) and I am just feeling "in control" - rather than have middle-age happening to me with no hope of recovery.
I am an emotional eater. I like "reward food", or drink. I like milk chocolate, Nutella on toast, I like my red wine in the evening, I like bubbly to celebrate just life, I like baguette, and I like cakes. Oh and I don't like sports. Never have. Up until I was 30, never a problem, but also because (as I now realise) I was a student for most of that decade and lived like one, i.e. no regular meals and long stretches of no meals, so some sort of fasting. Then work started and later on family life and the weight piled on, periodically brought under control by will-power-intensive stretches of following the diet du jour or slimming clubs. Needless to say in this forum but I will add for completion: of course it always came back, and in force.
Worse once the 40's started.... and then last summer I first read about a diet that you do 2 out of 5 days, but consecutive days, and with many more rules, and I thought of starting it but I looked at it like "a diet" - something unlikeable you have to do for a period of time to get the spread under some sort of control during which you have no social life, suffer throughout the day, and can't wait til it is over, one way or another. By coincidence I then found a reference to Dr. Mosleys book, read it - and instinctively liked the approach! I could see myself do it - and not suffer through it.
I started in September 2013, at probably 71 kgs (I am not very tall) , and was impressed at how easy it was! I lost 6 kgs within 2 months, but then realised that it was due to me not putting the scales on even fllooring (doh!), which I then corrected, so the actual loss was probably more like 3-4 kgs. But the motivation was hugh! Then I hit a plateau..... These are not funny. But I kept going, not least because of such inspirational stories such as #Ballerina, and recently also #Juliana.Rivers, who told of slow loss and plateaus - and most of all because I liked that despite sometimes eating all the "wrong" but delicious foods 5 days a week, I still did not put weight on - which is also a precious gift for us middle-aged people.
Now, 9 months on, I have lost 6 kgs, for good, and I have lost them despite holidays and festivities and social life and eating what I like - most of the time. That is the most amazing thing! I am a huge fan of 5:2, and will stay with it.
I have learnt so much on the forum, big thanks to #carorees whose articles the nerd in me really appreciates, and I can't name you all but you have kept me going throughout the plateau, always hoping the loss would start again. And then thanks to the Fast Beach diet book , from which I only took one line of advise really but was worth buying the book , I shock-started my system last months with 4:3, and it worked! Last week my waistline measurement was at 51% , a big relief and achievement for me apple-shaped bunny.
There also was somebody - forgive me couldnt find the name again - who mentioned that she doesnt tell people too much about the diet, as those who really want can find the info for themselves. That was another eye-opener, as I was kind of evangelising people around me and surprised as to why they did not all start 5:2 immediately - but it is true, it has to click with the person, and everybody has to find what works for them. I am no longer evangelising people, unless specifically asked.
And I love the rediscovery of "feeling hungry", distinctively. Also some other forum member said how they left home in the morning not worried about food to take with them, something unheard of before, and I felt the same: I love the fact that I can leave home with no food arrangement planned ahead, knowing that if I feel hungry I can just drink water or coffee - and I will survive. Whereas before I would have always had a small sandwich or muesli bar stuck in my bag, it's now a water bottle.
Well, I hope you do get the picture: I just love 5:2 and the changes it has brought about in my life. Thank you all for sharing your stories, and thank you #moogie for orchestrating and facilitating it all!
First of all, I am so happy! I have no earth-shattering news to share, and certainly have not lost that much, but my BMI has recently been mostly on the green side of 25, and my waist/height ratio has been going down from 58 to 51%! - all that whilst I have gone through holidays, Christmas, Easter, and now summer holidays, and although fast days are not always easy (mostly they are not...) I have never ever in my life been so consistently on one diet (9 months now and its not a chore!) and either lost weight or not regained it (and more).
I started with a higher weight than on the tracker, I don't know if anybody recognises this but my lack of friendship with the scales meant I only faced the numbers after I was sure I had lost a little bit, so my starting weight would have been 2-3 kg higher. Again, I haven't lost so much in weight, but I have definitely lost 2 dress sizes (and a half, and hoping!) and I am just feeling "in control" - rather than have middle-age happening to me with no hope of recovery.
I am an emotional eater. I like "reward food", or drink. I like milk chocolate, Nutella on toast, I like my red wine in the evening, I like bubbly to celebrate just life, I like baguette, and I like cakes. Oh and I don't like sports. Never have. Up until I was 30, never a problem, but also because (as I now realise) I was a student for most of that decade and lived like one, i.e. no regular meals and long stretches of no meals, so some sort of fasting. Then work started and later on family life and the weight piled on, periodically brought under control by will-power-intensive stretches of following the diet du jour or slimming clubs. Needless to say in this forum but I will add for completion: of course it always came back, and in force.
Worse once the 40's started.... and then last summer I first read about a diet that you do 2 out of 5 days, but consecutive days, and with many more rules, and I thought of starting it but I looked at it like "a diet" - something unlikeable you have to do for a period of time to get the spread under some sort of control during which you have no social life, suffer throughout the day, and can't wait til it is over, one way or another. By coincidence I then found a reference to Dr. Mosleys book, read it - and instinctively liked the approach! I could see myself do it - and not suffer through it.
I started in September 2013, at probably 71 kgs (I am not very tall) , and was impressed at how easy it was! I lost 6 kgs within 2 months, but then realised that it was due to me not putting the scales on even fllooring (doh!), which I then corrected, so the actual loss was probably more like 3-4 kgs. But the motivation was hugh! Then I hit a plateau..... These are not funny. But I kept going, not least because of such inspirational stories such as #Ballerina, and recently also #Juliana.Rivers, who told of slow loss and plateaus - and most of all because I liked that despite sometimes eating all the "wrong" but delicious foods 5 days a week, I still did not put weight on - which is also a precious gift for us middle-aged people.
Now, 9 months on, I have lost 6 kgs, for good, and I have lost them despite holidays and festivities and social life and eating what I like - most of the time. That is the most amazing thing! I am a huge fan of 5:2, and will stay with it.
I have learnt so much on the forum, big thanks to #carorees whose articles the nerd in me really appreciates, and I can't name you all but you have kept me going throughout the plateau, always hoping the loss would start again. And then thanks to the Fast Beach diet book , from which I only took one line of advise really but was worth buying the book , I shock-started my system last months with 4:3, and it worked! Last week my waistline measurement was at 51% , a big relief and achievement for me apple-shaped bunny.
There also was somebody - forgive me couldnt find the name again - who mentioned that she doesnt tell people too much about the diet, as those who really want can find the info for themselves. That was another eye-opener, as I was kind of evangelising people around me and surprised as to why they did not all start 5:2 immediately - but it is true, it has to click with the person, and everybody has to find what works for them. I am no longer evangelising people, unless specifically asked.
And I love the rediscovery of "feeling hungry", distinctively. Also some other forum member said how they left home in the morning not worried about food to take with them, something unheard of before, and I felt the same: I love the fact that I can leave home with no food arrangement planned ahead, knowing that if I feel hungry I can just drink water or coffee - and I will survive. Whereas before I would have always had a small sandwich or muesli bar stuck in my bag, it's now a water bottle.
Well, I hope you do get the picture: I just love 5:2 and the changes it has brought about in my life. Thank you all for sharing your stories, and thank you #moogie for orchestrating and facilitating it all!
x
