Dear @raggy
I have just read through all your posts to give me an idea of your situation and experience.
It seems like you have found fast days difficult a lot of the time. If you are still finding them difficult, may I suggest that you consider just doing one fast a week until you feel comfortable with fasting. And maybe have 600-700 cals, gradually reducing this amount over time. Are you eating lots of veggies as part of your fast day cals? Soups and stir fries can be very filling, with some chicken and fish for protein. The low calorie noodles also help you feel full.
On the non-fast days, try to be governed by your body's hunger signals on when and how much to eat. Assuming you have read all the posts in this thread, you will have read about the Amanda Sainsbury-Salis approach. I really do recommend that you read the books and give her approach a go.
It's great that you are exercising - regular moderate exercise should help with the weight loss.
Definitely get the tape measure happening, as Hazelnut suggested. It certainly sounds like you are losing inches! And perhaps consider not weighing yourself more than once a fortnight.
Weight management is about finding the approach that works for you long term. Those who have had success with 5:2 or other intermittent fasting approaches (or any diet for that matter) are often very keen to promote the strategy that worked for them. But this does not mean it will work for everyone.
I am certainly not trying to put you off fasting - there is good evidence and good science that show it is a strategy that can work. But it seems that not everyone is able to sustain it. If that is the case, we need to try and identify why that is so, and see if we can address those issues.
I lost weight very easily with 5:2 - this approach suited my personality (all or nothing!!!
). But I have had some trouble maintaining, because I was still letting myself eat too much or eating when not hungry, and then having to fast twice a week or more to lose what I gained. I didn't feel that this was healthy, nor do I like feeling hungry on fast days, so am trying Amanda's approach of getting in tune with my body (surely a good thing to do whatever your weight situation!).
Many in this forum find that going without breakfast works well for them, and that's great. But there are others who do like/need breakfast. I found that I feel much better for having breakfast, rather than putting off eating for as late as I could on non-fast days. I usually have scrambled eggs followed by porridge. Although, yes, once I start eating I do think it would be nice to keep eating, now that I am listening to my body I seem to be able to work out whether that is unsatisfied hunger, or just greed! If I am hungry, then I do eat more (usually fruit or protein), but generally don't need to eat until lunchtime.
Again, it is about finding what works for you. There are many different approaches, and certainly give them a go if they appeal. Maybe an eating window would work better for you? But I would suggest not chopping and changing too much. Make sure you give whatever strategy you decide on a reasonable amount of time for you to be able to evaluate how it is working for you, before trying something else. And don't try to do too much at once - ie eating windows, and fast days and cutting out certain types of food all at the same time. If you want to do all these, ease yourself into it. (Though, having said that, some people find it works to "jump in the deep end" - you need to determine if this is likely to work for you.)
And if it is all getting a bit much, take a break from trying to lose weight and concentrate on maintaining. It is very useful to know what you need to do to maintain, because it can help you identify areas where you can make changes that should help with weight loss. In fact, Amanda suggests taking a break on a regular basis (often the body does it for you, when your weight plateaus...!).
Very best wishes and good luck for finding what is sustainable and helps you be happy and healthy.
I have just read through all your posts to give me an idea of your situation and experience.
It seems like you have found fast days difficult a lot of the time. If you are still finding them difficult, may I suggest that you consider just doing one fast a week until you feel comfortable with fasting. And maybe have 600-700 cals, gradually reducing this amount over time. Are you eating lots of veggies as part of your fast day cals? Soups and stir fries can be very filling, with some chicken and fish for protein. The low calorie noodles also help you feel full.
On the non-fast days, try to be governed by your body's hunger signals on when and how much to eat. Assuming you have read all the posts in this thread, you will have read about the Amanda Sainsbury-Salis approach. I really do recommend that you read the books and give her approach a go.
It's great that you are exercising - regular moderate exercise should help with the weight loss.
Definitely get the tape measure happening, as Hazelnut suggested. It certainly sounds like you are losing inches! And perhaps consider not weighing yourself more than once a fortnight.
Weight management is about finding the approach that works for you long term. Those who have had success with 5:2 or other intermittent fasting approaches (or any diet for that matter) are often very keen to promote the strategy that worked for them. But this does not mean it will work for everyone.
I am certainly not trying to put you off fasting - there is good evidence and good science that show it is a strategy that can work. But it seems that not everyone is able to sustain it. If that is the case, we need to try and identify why that is so, and see if we can address those issues.
I lost weight very easily with 5:2 - this approach suited my personality (all or nothing!!!
). But I have had some trouble maintaining, because I was still letting myself eat too much or eating when not hungry, and then having to fast twice a week or more to lose what I gained. I didn't feel that this was healthy, nor do I like feeling hungry on fast days, so am trying Amanda's approach of getting in tune with my body (surely a good thing to do whatever your weight situation!).Many in this forum find that going without breakfast works well for them, and that's great. But there are others who do like/need breakfast. I found that I feel much better for having breakfast, rather than putting off eating for as late as I could on non-fast days. I usually have scrambled eggs followed by porridge. Although, yes, once I start eating I do think it would be nice to keep eating, now that I am listening to my body I seem to be able to work out whether that is unsatisfied hunger, or just greed! If I am hungry, then I do eat more (usually fruit or protein), but generally don't need to eat until lunchtime.
Again, it is about finding what works for you. There are many different approaches, and certainly give them a go if they appeal. Maybe an eating window would work better for you? But I would suggest not chopping and changing too much. Make sure you give whatever strategy you decide on a reasonable amount of time for you to be able to evaluate how it is working for you, before trying something else. And don't try to do too much at once - ie eating windows, and fast days and cutting out certain types of food all at the same time. If you want to do all these, ease yourself into it. (Though, having said that, some people find it works to "jump in the deep end" - you need to determine if this is likely to work for you.)
And if it is all getting a bit much, take a break from trying to lose weight and concentrate on maintaining. It is very useful to know what you need to do to maintain, because it can help you identify areas where you can make changes that should help with weight loss. In fact, Amanda suggests taking a break on a regular basis (often the body does it for you, when your weight plateaus...!).
Very best wishes and good luck for finding what is sustainable and helps you be happy and healthy.
Goal reached December 2013, weight loss strategy 5:2, weight management strategy is eating a wide range of (mainly) whole foods but am back to following 5:2 for a while. Main eating challenge is the evening munchies! 
)
.... so less movement and more crap foods..... not good as I'm only 4'11.
And there is absolutely no need to apologise for sharing what you are going through - that's one of the many things this forum offers, a place where we can offload what is happening and how we are feeling.
. Here's hoping.
