The FastDay Forum

Help please

I am three weeks and have been sticking to the diet really well. Have bought the book and also work with many people, 7 of which are doing this so we check our calorie intake etc with each other to make sure we are not straying. I am unable to exercise, for a couple of reasons, shifts, sedentary job, bad ankles etc,
Have been feeling ok. Second week in had a bad migraine, but have been fine since.
I have lost one pound and that is all and i am very over weight. Please help

[Moogie]

Hi Sharpei & welcome.

Sorry to hear this hasn't been very successful for you so far. It can take a number of weeks for your body to adjust to the changes and often much of the initial 'larger' weight loss reported is purely water weight. Perhaps you've not lost water, but 1lb of fat gone is a good thing

Everyone's perception of overweight is different, could you please give us some indication as to how much weight you need to lose? Don't worry, we're not here to judge - just to help! We're all in the same boat (and are probably quite lucky it hasn't sunk )

How do you do your fasts? Do you do the original version or the 24 hour version as described by Mimi in the book? The latter was something of a mistake for them to even mention as it really doesn't seem to be effective due to the minimal calorie deficit it produces.

Before you started 5:2 were you on any other weight loss plan? Were you holding around the same weight or were you gaining?

If you were gaining, then you were probably over eating - so even 2 days of fasting, combined with your normal eating habits may not be enough to product much of a deficit. It may be that you are still overeating on your feed days. Have you calculated what your daily calorie needs are to maintain your weight and compared how you eat on your feed days with this figure?

I am a bit confused about how to fast?when you say 24 hour fast does that mean eating 500 cals for the day eg small breakfast snack and dinner or is it important to not eat anything at all until dinner
I tend o skip breakfast ,have an apple as a snack,late lunch of salad only and save most of my cals for dinner and late night snack.
I am new to this and have decided not to weigh for a few weeks .

I am a bit confused about how to fast?when you say 24 hour fast does that mean eating 500 cals for the day eg small breakfast snack and dinner or is it important to not eat anything at all until dinner
I tend o skip breakfast ,have an apple as a snack,late lunch of salad only and save most of my cals for dinner and late night snack.
I am new to this and have decided not to weigh for a few weeks .

Ignoring the 24h bit, the basic idea is to have a highly restricted calorie intake two days per week.

So on a "fast day" you eat 500 cals in total and your no breakfast etc regime above is fine. Some only have dinner, others have three meals on the fast day.

A "24 hour" option that retains the calorie deficit overall would be to have lunch on day 1 and then the next normal meal is dinner on day 2 (28 - 30 hrs later). The 500 cals would be used for dinner on day 1 and breakfast & lunch on day 2. This approach gives the calorie deficit for the week OK, but is a less severe restriction per calendar day and I believe is somewhat untested in its health benefits.