The FastDay Forum

Hi all, new here and just starting the 5:2 plan. I am from the US, Atlanta to be exact. I heard about the plan on a commercial for one of the news shows here, but it hasn't aired yet. I googled it and like what I saw, so here I am. Hopefully I can keep up, the whole stones and Kg thing kind of throws me-lol....maybe I will finally pick up on the metric system after all these years!

So here is my story, I am 43 and have struggled with my weight my whole life. I was able to lose 48lbs (hope thats okay that I use pounds) about 6 years ago and kept it off for nearly 4 years. I started to slowly gain it back 2 yrs ago then had a big spike last summmer when my mother died suddenly. In fact I jumped 10lbs in one week and another 10lbs over the next month. In the past I lost the weight doing weight watchers. I do still think that is a good plan but right now I just don't feel like I have the energy to count anything other than calories. I had also tried recently a diet that has been making the rounds here in the US called the military diet. Basically it is a calorie restriction for 3 days consecutively. I did it a few times but usually gave up on the 3rd day (too much to close together I think), however I would lose close to 3lbs in 2 days. That being said, this concept makes sense to me as the calorie intake is about the same as the military diet but being non consecutive there isn't that much of a strain on both body and will power!

So my plan for the 5:2 is this. I did my calculations and it suggests my calorie intake on days off be about 1450 (thats actually more than I normally eat!) I have been doing just that for 3 days and I have lost 1.4lbs. Tomorrow is my first fast day. My plan is 3 small meals, low fat greek yogurt for breakfast (100 calories) and two packaged meals for lunch and dinner (170 calories and 190 calories). I also picked up some sugar free jello just in case I need a snack at 5 calories a piece. My fast days are supposed to be around 470 so thats fits into the plan. Going forward I may do less packaged foods but for now I want to keep it as simple as possible.

A few questions if anyone would like to respond:

1. Is it possible to bounce between the 5:2 and 4:3 plans? I will be doing some traveling and would rather not fast when visiting if at all possible.

2. Thoughts on adding flavor to water? I am planning on using it at least in the beginning.

3. Allowed as much coffee and tea as I want? I can see drinking 4-5 cups a day.

4. Spenda or equal? I can go without milk but would like a little sweetner in my drinks.

Thanks! I look forward to getting to know you all!!!

Hi and welcome

To answer your questions

1 yes I do, actually doing three fasts this week (normally do two)
2 I add either sliced lemon, cucumber, or no added sugar- orange squash to my water
3 yes I drink loads of both
4 I use Splenda in my tea and coffee

Good luck, there is loads of support on here

Welcome to the forum. I am an ex weight watchers too originally losing over 5 stone. I am still about 10lbs over my comfortable weight but as I am a UK size 10 not too worried! I started 5:2 partly to at least maintain my weight but also for the added health benefits. I started with here small meals but for the first time this week starved all day and used my 500 for an evening meal. I found it better, less temptation. I drink coffee black and sugarless so do not know about artificial sugars. I am on a campaign to remove chemicals from my diet so do not have any diet foods. There is a thread about fast and feast days, it would be of value to read through what others eat.
1. Some do bounce between 5:2 and 4:3 I guess it is a case of what suits you. The beauty of this is if it is not a good day to fast you can try another day.
2. Personally I prefer natural water but if it is calorie free I would not have thought it a problem.
3. Again be careful of calorie content with tea and coffee. I drink 4 or 5 mugs of coffee a day.
4. Artificial sweeteners......watch calorie content

Hope you get on with this and look forward to hearing from you.

Hello and welcome from me,
I have lived in UK all my life and use pounds!
Lots of luck with this plan - I'm a newcomer really, just finishing second fast of second week, but I love it! Haven't had a problem with hunger at all.

[carorees]

Hi there and welcome!

Just to add to what the others have said, I should question whether your daily calorie requirement to maintain your weight is as low as 1450 cals? Are you tiny and sedentary? Remember you are not meant to be dieting on the non-fast days!

Thanks everyone! I can't wait until tomorrow for my first fast!

Carorees, I am 5'2" and about 155lbs. I did the calculation from the book I purchased and that is what I got for my age (43). I did use the sedentary setting which I did question because it does vary quite a bit however, when I am more active I generally give myself another 50-100 calories or so. I will say though that in the past using a calorie counting only concept, I would start around 1200 a day and the further along I went I would need to go down to around 1000 a day to have losses around 1.5 lbs a week.

Also, question, you say that off fast days you arent to diet...is there a problem with having small losses on those days?

Doodle, glad to hear I can talk pounds with you!

Bobshouse, I realized that I used a modified version of this while I was maintaining on WW, but somewhere I got lost-lol. Hopefully this will straighten me back out!

Tigs- thanks, glad to know I can do these little things to get me through the day!

[carorees]

Some people (including me) have found that weight loss is slower if you under eat on feed days, it seems to be important to have a big difference in calorie intake between fast and feed days. I plugged your numbers into this site: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm and it came out at 1570 for little or no exercise. I would start at that figure and see how you go.

[janeg]

Might want to watch your caffeine intake if you are drinking more coffee and tea than you usually do

Hi and welcome. I will only add that it's good to experiment to find a way that fits you. I have found that one meal in the evening plus some fruit before bedtime is good for me. I also have a few cups of tea with skimmed milk.
Good luck x

Hi and welcome, I want to add about only eating 1450 cals on your feed days. If you restrict the human body on a daily basis to just enough or less calories than it needs to stay alive on a daily basis your metabolism will slow down to compensate. With the 5:2 diet if you eat normally around 2000 calories on your eating days and only 500 calories on your fats days you are tricking the body into thinking it has plenty to eat all the time and your metabolism stays high so on your fast days your body is burning calories from your fats stores in order to get the necessary amount of calories it needs just to stay alive. As for only needing 1450 cals on a feed day I'm not so sure. I have calculated my BMR so if I lay on the floor and don't move a muscle all day my body still burns calories just to stay alive and for me this comes out at 1347 cals just to survive. Maybe do some more research or read up here.
Hope this helps and sorry for the long windedness. Take care

[carorees]

Louinda, the OP is only 5'2" so her TDEE is not as high as 2000, the calculator I used gave 1570, with exercise it could be 1750 but not 2000.

Thanks ladies, I am going to play around with the numbers and see what works best. For now though I will probably start at 1450 and see. I have a crazy metabolism, sometimes I can lose easily and sometimes it is extra hard. Last summer (my last serious attempt at losing) was very difficult. I know at around 1600 calories I would gain. In all honesty that is an accurate count of my calories. Like I said I literally had to eat between 1000-1200 calories while doing about 45min to an hour of cardio a day(6 days a week) to lose at a rate of about 1.5lbs a week. My most recent weight gain started about a year after I had my gallbladder was removed and I really feel that has something to do with it as it is harder for your liver to regulate how your food digests on its own. Anyway, long story short, I will keep tweaking things until I hit on a magic number!

I appreciate all the support, looks like this is going to be a great board!