This weekend (1st February) I am celebrating being on the 5:2 for a year; not with a big cream cake and a bottle of wine but with oven chips and whisky. How times have changed.
I was incredibly lucky in that I stumbled across this forum with weeks of starting 5:2 and it has been a continual source of inspiration and information which is something that continues to this very day.
I have learnt a ridiculous amount about myself and how good I was at ignoring the obvious about how I managed to put the weight on in the first place. I guess, like most people on here, I had a moment when I decided that enough was enough and I had to do something about my gradually increasing waistline. 15st became the norm, then 15.5st and eventually I crept over the 16st mark. That for me was it, the moment, the time when something had to change. My BP was slowly climbing, my fitness levels were slowly decreasing and it was time to do something about it.
The previous Easter I had got back down to 15st in order to do a parachute jump but since then my weight had imperceptibly crept back upwards. My clothes were tighter and my training was getting increasingly difficult which, of course, I put down to my age (51) but that was just me making excuses again.
I had seen the Horizon programme and remembered that I had said that if I was going to diet then that, for me, would be the ideal way to do it. The maths don’t lie and I wouldn’t have to obsessively calorie count, buy specific foods or decline offers to go out as I would be able to adapt that diet to my lifestyle. And so it has proven to be.
12 months later and my weight is exactly where I want it to be (give or take a few pounds), I have complete control, my BP has dropped to the extent that I no longer have to take medication and I love my running again. My aches, pains and injuries have disappeared and I am incredibly grateful.
I just wanted to say to people starting out that it isn’t easy but, if you follow the few guidelines, then it will work for you. There will be ups and downs and timey wimey weight fluctuations but if you stick with it then you will be successful.
Even now my weight can swing rapidly within a 5 pound margin so do not get demotivated, or stressed, if the scales are defying the logic of the weekly calorie deficit you have created. It will happen but it is a very slow process.
Just for the record, my way of fasting is to have one meal in the evening(two slices of toast, two poached eggs and a tin of beans) and drink black coffee and lots of water. I am sure this wouldn’t work for everyone but what I am trying to get across is that there are millions of ways to 5:2, just experiment and find out which one is the easiest for you.
I fully appreciate that this diet is tailor-made for me and I hope that you all find a way that works as well for you.
The one thing I would stress though is the importance of the amazing feedback and support that is available on this forum.
Stick with it; it works.
I was incredibly lucky in that I stumbled across this forum with weeks of starting 5:2 and it has been a continual source of inspiration and information which is something that continues to this very day.
I have learnt a ridiculous amount about myself and how good I was at ignoring the obvious about how I managed to put the weight on in the first place. I guess, like most people on here, I had a moment when I decided that enough was enough and I had to do something about my gradually increasing waistline. 15st became the norm, then 15.5st and eventually I crept over the 16st mark. That for me was it, the moment, the time when something had to change. My BP was slowly climbing, my fitness levels were slowly decreasing and it was time to do something about it.
The previous Easter I had got back down to 15st in order to do a parachute jump but since then my weight had imperceptibly crept back upwards. My clothes were tighter and my training was getting increasingly difficult which, of course, I put down to my age (51) but that was just me making excuses again.
I had seen the Horizon programme and remembered that I had said that if I was going to diet then that, for me, would be the ideal way to do it. The maths don’t lie and I wouldn’t have to obsessively calorie count, buy specific foods or decline offers to go out as I would be able to adapt that diet to my lifestyle. And so it has proven to be.
12 months later and my weight is exactly where I want it to be (give or take a few pounds), I have complete control, my BP has dropped to the extent that I no longer have to take medication and I love my running again. My aches, pains and injuries have disappeared and I am incredibly grateful.
I just wanted to say to people starting out that it isn’t easy but, if you follow the few guidelines, then it will work for you. There will be ups and downs and timey wimey weight fluctuations but if you stick with it then you will be successful.
Even now my weight can swing rapidly within a 5 pound margin so do not get demotivated, or stressed, if the scales are defying the logic of the weekly calorie deficit you have created. It will happen but it is a very slow process.
Just for the record, my way of fasting is to have one meal in the evening(two slices of toast, two poached eggs and a tin of beans) and drink black coffee and lots of water. I am sure this wouldn’t work for everyone but what I am trying to get across is that there are millions of ways to 5:2, just experiment and find out which one is the easiest for you.
I fully appreciate that this diet is tailor-made for me and I hope that you all find a way that works as well for you.
The one thing I would stress though is the importance of the amazing feedback and support that is available on this forum.
Stick with it; it works.
Happy Fastiversary to you @Simon Egan On a job done very well indeed and do enjoy your chips as you now know you're allowed to such delights 
Well done for sticking with it and for a very realistic summing up of the 5:2 'journey'. Are you intending to carry on and lose more weight or join the Maintaineers? Whichever - enjoy your celebration!
Happy Fastiversary! 
