The FastDay Forum

Gutted. I have been on the 5:2 for almost a month and have put back on 2-3 of the 6lb lost. I am reading about people who are having pretty indulgent 'feed' days and still lose weight, and others who have achieved that 'switch' in their head that they no longer crave the bed stuff. These things are not the case for me!.... I CANNOT seem to stop snacking on feed days and only crave the bad stuff!! I really feel like I need to watch what I eat on the feed days as I seem to be consistently undoing all of the weight loss on my feed days.
I am not gorging, but I am certainly eating ' what I fancy'.

Hi Slimsam, I'm new to this WOE in the last week so by no means an expert. I'm planning on entering all my food intake into Myfitnesspal on feed days this week. Not so I can cap the calories I'm consuming but just so I have a realistic idea of what I am actually consuming. I'm terrible at picking at stuff, especially with kids around, popcorn, little bit of chocolate etc. I reckon it is this that has added up the calories and by facing the stark reality of the actual calories I consume may help me to make healthier choices in the future.

I used Myfitness pall for a good few months at the beginning of this 5:2 diet - as MThorn says, it gives you an idea of what you are truly eating on feast days. Slimsam - OK, so you've put on 2-3 lbs of the original 6 that you'd lost - but that still gives you a 3-4 lb loss over a month. That's more than OK, truly (IMO) - shedding weight slowly and gradually is so much better for you and you're far less likely to put it back on again long term. Slowly, slowly does it. Maybe try tracking what you are eating on feast days, if only for a short while, it may give you an idea of what your actual intake is - you may be surprised. Good luck, don't give up yet, persevere and if you 'only' lost 3lbs a month - that's over 2st a year - and your body will thank you for that - Good luck

[carorees]

How do you know that the 2-3 lb is real? It could be water, muscle, food still in the gut. The 6 lb might have been an anomaly. As the average weight loss with 5:2 is 1 lb per week, I'd say it is the 6 lb that was inaccurate. So you dieted for only 8 days and you lost 3-4 lb, why aren't you happy?

The snacking and craving will stop when you stop being so hard on yourself. Telling yourself you can't have something just makes you want it more. So change your internal dialogue. Instead of saying "I really want some chocolate but I mustn't, oh I have eaten it, how bad am I", say "I think I'd like some chocolate. I can have it if I want. Um do I really want it?" Then whatever the answer to "do I really want it?" is, be happy with that and don't feel guilty. As time goes on, the answer will more often be no than yes.

I've found that I don't really know what eating"normally" actually is, so try to watch what I eat on the days I can, in theory, eat what I like. But, you are actually doing really well. Don't give up or expect unrealistic weight loss.
Well done

I also had initial success and lost 9 lbs but I am now stuck on my present
weight but I will persevere and this will be the week I get back on track.Martin

There's a munchies phase, it passes. Why expect to lose weight quickly and linearly? That's not how it was put on and it's not how it comes off really and if it is coming off a pound at a time, you won't necessarily see it as weight fluctuates more than that.

Hi slimsam

Well done on losing 3 lbs on your first month!

I too am a snacker. I work from home and pick constantly. What has worked well for me in the past when Ive been on conventional diets is to keep snacking but only on healthy stuff. For example kidney beans, chickpeas, carrot sticks and rice cakes. This fills you up and lets you indulge in munching. The beans are high protein so very filling and good for you. I'm not saying this is the way to eat forever (as I always went back to high calorie snacks after a diet) but its a great way to lose weight if you are a grazer. Why not try that in between fast days for a few weeks and see how you get on?

My Fitness Pal is fantastic - I use that too. Good luck x

Thanks for all the comments and encouragement, I am undeterred and definitely sticking with it so will keep you posted!

I snack of fruit and i don't count how much im eating. I can go though 1kg of oranges in a morning though lol. But IMO calories from fruit are all healthy calories and a million times better than calories from junk food like crisps and biscuits ect. We all need to eat more plants in our diet and fruit is yummy and a good way to get your 5+ a day. I think the actual recommendation is 7 portions of fruit and veg a day but that's too unrealistic for a UK diet so they make it 5 and hope for the best.

This is what I'm finding frustrating 3 weeks in. The TV programme and the book really seem to be pushing eat what you like on 5 days and diet for 2 but most of the members here seem to be in touch with a reality where you have to be careful on the other 5 as well. Yes, we really do want chocolate! Well done for the 3 lb loss though, if you can do 3 lb every month that's certainly worth doing.

I echo the comments about MyFitnessPal, I use it and track everything I eat and drink, including the gallons of wine drunk at weekend. It doesn;t necessarily stop me indulging but it does make me think a bit more about it.
Stick with it