The FastDay Forum

Hi all, this my first day of the 5;2 diet and i already feel guilty for having a slice or two of cake.

My first fast day will be tomorrow and i wondered how everyone found their first day...how did you cope and what advice/tips can you offer?

I am more interested in the health benefits of the 5:2 rather than weight loss but if i get to a my dream weight then that will be a bonus.

What health benefits have you all noticed by doing this diet.

thanks

Welcome It's my first week on 5:2 and although I wouldn't miss a few pounds I'm also in it for the health benefits. Good luck x

Hello

I found the first fast pretty hard (its my second today). Im finding that just having a 400 cal meal at the end of the day, easier than 2 x 250 cal meals. I recommend miso soup, lots of fizzy water and keeping busy!

Hello ggg & welcome.
I found that not eating until evening to be the best fasting way for me. I find that as soon as I eat it activates hunger & I have to be in eating mode then throughout the day. I drink black coffee & water in the morning, have a hot Bovril for lunch, mid afternoon a treat of white coffee & then about 400 calories for dinner saving some calories for a bedtime drink. On my initial fasts I had difficulty getting to sleep so I took Caroline's recommendation of having a hot drink & I have had no further trouble sleeping. It is important to keep hydrated with frequent drinks but try & stay away from diet drinks as they are usually full of artificial ingredients that can affect insulin levels.
Good luck & keeping busy helps & from different posts many people also find exercising is fine & surprisingly by not eating you shouldn't feel hungry only a little rumbly!

First day wasn't easy. I kept thinking about what I would eat tomorrow and didn't sleep well at night either. But it gets better. Tomorrow will be my 8th day and I'm looking forward. I eat 100 cal in the morning with coffee ( need that before my morning workout) and another 100 for lunch ( instant oatmeal) and save about 300 for dinner which I eat around 5:30. I excercize 6-7 times a week for about 40 min. ( elliptical, jogging and twice a week weight training)

hello gorgeous (sorry that sounds like a chat up line)! for the 1 st day I would have plenty of liquids - water, tea coffee. plan what you are going to eat and try to avoid anything sugary or high GI. if you can leave off eating until later in the day is often easier because paradoxically eating often makes us hungrier, and leaving off the food until later gives you some calories in reserve which is nice to have.

the big health benefits that we hope for from 5:2 won't be apparent for many years, but search out the link to the original Horizon programme in the short answers faq if you want to learn more.
see you around! I

thank you for all your replies x i do drink lots of water naturally anyway and have caffine free tea. i was going to have a good breakfast then banana for lunch and a nice dinner. i do a lot of exercise when at work but do struggle for motivation when on school hols but ill get there. does it matter if you eat less than 500 calories?

thanks

My first day was really hard, the others haven't been too bad. It can be really helpful to plan in advance what you are going to eat...

Raspberries are very low calorie and can be a good snack if you feel the need to nibble.

I do a variation of the mexican pizza he suggested in the book - although my version is about 280 cals as I like to eat 2-4 times a day even on a fast day. I have also experimented with salad, half a piece of mackerel or a couple of pieces of ham or some stir fried turkey and perhaps a bit of philadelphia light for flavour...

I am slightly addicted to chocolate so sometimes I have a curly wurly even on a fast day...

Welcome! My first fast day went pretty easy, but I do lunch and dinner (I know many people just do dinner). 200 cal for lunch - a couple of eggs and some veggies, or veg soup and an apple - and 300 cal for dinner - fish or chicken and lots of veg. Done 3 weeks so far, it seems to be working ok. Also, checking out this forum helps if hunger strikes.

My first day was the only easy one but I didn't know I was fasting then.

Let me explain: after a long weekend of eating and drinking, when Tuesday came I decided to eat only oatmeal for both lunch and dinner (that was around 350 calories including my morning coffee and cracker).

At the end of the day, I was told about this new WOL and realised that I had already started without knowing it, I considered it a sign and went on from there.
Ever since, I find fasts difficult but -to be honest- not as difficult as they sound to a newbie. Things will get easier as you go on, I promise!!!