The FastDay Forum

I started 5:2 on the 5th February and whilst the loss was very small in comparison to some others on the Facebook groups it was OK. About a pound a week and a decrease in inches. I started at 168 lbs and am a post menopausal 5' 7" woman and got to about 164/165 lbs.

On the 25th February I quit smoking and from that day on my weight loss has stalled. I went back up to my original weight of 168 lbs like it was some kind of "set point" I have tried everything I can think of to kick start my weight loss back again. I do not want to count calories and am not an excessive binge eater anyway. I eat what I consider to be a normal amount most days and am eating the same as I did before 5:2 except of course 2 days I eat only 500 calories and drink no alcohol. About 3 weeks ago I lost all heart and packed the 5:2 in only to put on 3 lbs. I have tried iodine and progestorone cream to do something about my metabolism (all on Google) I don't know if these things are placebos but anyway nothing happened. For the past few weeks I have been cutting carbs, no bread, no rice, no pasta, no potatoes. Nothing. So I decided last weekend I would go up to 2000 cals as people had said that might work, I did that and put a pound on.

So now I have a situation where it has been 12 weeks and I weigh 171 lbs and yes I have quit smoking and am sure I am much healthier (and richer) but does anybody have any idea of how long this is going to take to pick up again as it is incredibly demotivating and difficult to fast when there are no results on the scales, sure the health benefits are marvellous but still..............anybody?

Oh and I agree entirely with UmmmB who said the book did not say "fast for 2 days and count calories for 5," if so I would not even have bought it as I have done every other diet known to man, woman and beast.

Hi Barb,

I sense your frustration and I'm probably not going to help much! There really is no magic about 5:2, it relies on you eating what the book calls 'normally' for 5 days and then 'fasting' for 2, the idea is that the 'normal' eating is the amount that maintains your body weight.

The fact that you put on weight after stopping 5:2 strongly suggests to me that it was working for you, but because you were overeating on the feed days the effect was only that your weight didn't increase.

You have just quit smoking and this lowers your metabolism and your energy requirement. As you know this is good for your health but it does mean you have to eat less!

I think your energy needs are somewhat lower than you think and unless you either boost your energy burn (by exercise - not by starting smoking again ) or reduce your intake, one way or another you are going to put on weight.

You don't need to count calories on the feed days but you do need to alter your idea of 'normal' eating, sorry.

Oh and I agree entirely with UmmmB who said the book did not say "fast for 2 days and count calories for 5," if so I would not even have bought it as I have done every other diet known to man, woman and beast.

Of course the book didn't say that; no one would have bought it. Dr MM needs to be more explicit with the "eat normally for 5 days" recommendation.

Thanks Dominic, no of course it's not what I want to hear but yes you are right, I am either going to have to eat less or exercise more it's not what I wanted and am now wishing I hadn't given up smoking until AFTER I had lost the weight, but hey ho, after 2 months I am not buying another packet of cigs though God knows I have been tempted in my frustration!!

BTW just for the record I did post on Brad Pilon's Facebook page (Eat, Stop, Eat guy)

Me: Hello, I have been fasting 2 days per week for 11 weeks now with a 1 week lay off when I lost heart. The first 3 weeks I was losing a little bit albeit very slowly. At the end of week 3 I quit smoking and have now not had a cigarette for 55 days which is great for my health, however I have not lost any pounds or inches since. The good thing is I didn't put on any pounds which would be the norm, have you any experience of how the metabolism is affected by quitting smoking?

Brad Pilon: My understanding is that most people gain 15-20 pounds 1-2 months after quitting smoking - you gained 0, I'd say you've done exceptionally well.

OK Barb you go from zero to hero! I hadn't heard that statistic but Brad Pilon is pretty sound so you definitely deserve some

Hi BarbW

You might find whyquit.com and the wonderful associated Freedom (from nicotine) forum helpful with regards to quitting smoking and weight gain: essentially there are all sorts of reasons that it happens but it's not hard to mitigate against them if you're aware of what's going on!

I stopped smoking about eight weeks ago and (re)started 5:2 on the 1st of May - doing great with the non-smoking and no so bad with the 5:2, so keep with it (especially the non-smoking) they're both life-saving WoLs.

Hi Barb, and Fat dog, well done for going the whole hog as it were. It's very hard to do either of those things (quit smoking or lose weight) so hat's off! I put on a stone plus when I gave up (a long time ago now) but I wish I had been more mindful and thought about my weight. Good luck, it can be done, I think most people put on weight afterwards because they just substitute one bad habit for another, not because it is inevitable!

Hi Barb, I have promised myself that I will quit as soon as I reach my goal weight. I didn't have a lot to lose so its been slow (which I anticipated)- I am planning to stay on 5 2 for maintenance to try and counteract weight gain (which I have always had in the past when I stopped) I am very curious, did you find it more difficult quitting and doing the 5/2? I have to be honest, smoking has definitely been a crutch on fast days. I think the fact that you were doing both of these at the same time very inspirational. I am also curious to see if you will start losing again once your body has adjusted. Do you think you are eating more on your feed days to compensate for the smoking, or do you think it really has slowed your metabolism?

Congrats Barb and Fatdog! You guys deserve a giant medal! Don't despair about the weight--to have put on only a few or no pounds is amazing.

I think your lowered metabolism is only temporary, and is more due to the oral fixation than to anything else. I've never been convinced of the "magical slimming powers" of smoking or else there would not be so many heavy smokers.

Hang in there!

I've never been convinced of the "magical slimming powers" of smoking or else there would not be so many heavy smokers

Not sure if you meant the pun, but it's surely one of the best!!!

The fear of gaining weight is, quite simply, a rotten excuse for not quitting smoking (please see whyquit.com for evidence - 'tis free) and one that I've indulged in before now to the monster detriment of my health.

Though I'm a mere eight weeks quit of nicotine, I'm committed to never taking another puff, AND, thanks to 5:2, I won't be putting any weight on!

So, PLEASE, stay with it! xxx