The FastDay Forum

Hi lovelies. So after a couple of months away trying god-awful diets (total restriction, calorie counting, Slimming World, Dukan.. debating a very low calorie diet like Cambridge) and not even lasting a few weeks on either of them, I have decided to come back to my dieting roots here at 5:2!

I did 5:2 about a year ago and lost around a stone, the most weight I have ever lost.. I felt amazing! Then life got in the way (as it does, but shouldn't be an excuse!) and I put it all back on, and then some. Attempted to restart a few months ago here but wanted a really quick weight loss and tried ADF. It just wasn't for me, I just kept binging and then not being very good on fast days, so got obviously disappointing results and thought F it! But I know that this is the only diet for me, and I do really like it. So here we go!

Attempting to do 500 calorie days on Mondays and Thursdays like most people, as these are normal working days. On non-fast days I am going to still calorie count, as I have a problem with binging.. I tend to take 'eat whatever you want' as 'eat everything chocolatey and sweet in sight'!! So trying to stick to around 1200 calories on non-fast days, but will go up to 1400 if needed. I'm also planning to run 3 times a week, plus some light exercise additionally.

Fasting tomorrow (Wednesday) and Saturday this week I think, as I already missed Monday. Wish me luck, and good luck in all your journeys!!

Good luck and welcome back.

There you are Britney. Welcome back, again. Has your life settled down yet? Lately I have found eating some protein at noon and 6p on fast days have kept me on track. It has kept me from being consumed with the thoughts of food(usually the no no stuff). Hope this helps.

[janeg]

Welcome back britney. Have you put your stats into the tracker? That'll give you your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure ie calories allowed a day). If you choose sedentary it'll be a bit stricter as it seems that most people over estimate their activity :O
Calorie counting on the non fast days is a good idea to give yourself the basics of what is 'normal'.
Don't deny yourself though- this is a way of life, not a penance. I deal out the wet fish punishment for that. Please don't deny me my pleasure
You've done it before successfully and you can do it again.
Use the forum for support, get measuring and do let us know how you get on.

Hi @britney Welcome back now you've learned the hard way and returned to the best WOL going no more "forbidden" foods because come tomorrow you can have anything again presuming by then the urge is still with you.
Good luck and yes stick with it as its only 2 days per week.

Hi and welcome back! Good luck on yr journey..youve lost on it once,you will do so again! X

Everyone on here is sooooo supportive and I honestly can't thank you lovely people enough. I'm really ready to get going this time and value every single comment! I calorie counted my day today.. and oops, 2500 calories! No wonder I wasn't loosing weight last time! Really didn't realise how much I was actually eating. Shocker! So tomorrow I'm going to attempt to do a liquid fast with 0 calories. I'm hoping to do one of these a week. Never done one before so pretty nervous. But just got to keep remembering that hunger will come, but it comes in waves and it will go! I might have to post on here a bit more often than usual in these initial stages.. so sorry in advance! Bring on the fast tomorrow!

First fasting day... went well!! I was planning to have a liquid zero calorie fast, but didn't for a number of reasons. Firstly, my fast today made me feel quite weak; something I have never felt before when fasting. Usually I feel so energised! I didn't end up going to the gym because I felt so tired and weak. I'm not sure if it's because its my first day back, works been non-stop lately or if it's because of the zero calories. So around 6pm I decided to have something to eat. If I'm being honest I wasn't even overly hungry. But I had a headache (have drank plenty of water today so it couldn't be that) and felt it was the right thing to do. I think doing the zero calorie fast was something to prove to myself - and I have proven that I could do it.. in fact, I think I could do it easily! But knowing that 5:2 is going to be my WOE for life, I thought best to stick to what I know and still enjoy it!

So, I hadn't eaten all day then around 6.30pm I had a lovely salad with lettuce, cherry tomatoes, celery, red pepper, sweetcorn and some tuna steak. Squeeze of BBQ sauce (my vice!) and it was really lovely. I do love salads. Then later in the night I had an apple and a options hot chocolate. My calories came to around 400 so pleased with that!

Looking forward to my non-fast day tomorrow, and to complete the run I had planned for today. Hope everyone had a brilliant day!

Well done on your fast day. No way could I manage a full liquid fast, I soooo look forward to my evening meal. Don't over restrict on your nonfast days, 1200 calories is just like a normal diet. As Janeg said best to work out your tdee.

I agree, Britney. Keep it simple. Do what's manageable and stick to it. Be strict on Fast days to stay under 500. I don't count calories on non-fast days, but I do have a pretty healthy diet. So well done yesterday. Keep coming back!

Well done Britney. I agree about not over-restricting on non-fast days. I found that the first couple of weeks I needed to monitor what I ate and drank (wine is my vice) on these days but after about three weeks I seem to be just eating less in general, smaller portions but of what I fancy and so I am no longer obsessing about food. On fast days I have 160 calories ate lunchtime to get me through the day at work and the rest for supper. Occasionally I think about food and just tell myself well you can have that tomorrow. My stomach is flat for the first time in over 10 years!!
Keep going xx

Thank you guys! My TDEE is around 1800 but I somehow think that's waaaaaayy too much for me. I think I'll try and have the things I want but still calorie count, just to see where I'm at. I need to get a hold of my binge eating as well, that's my downfall on this WOE. I'm just really happy to have found this site and that there are so many supportive people out there

Hi. Do you think 1800 is way too many calories for you because you are used to only 1200 or so when you are dieting? Remember this way of eating isn't a deprivation diet just a sensible way to reduce calories and still eat well and hopefully gain health benefits. If you have entered your details correctly then go with the overall number of cals it says you need - you could have more one day and cut back another if you over indulge and you still have your repair days. Silly as it sounds eating too few calories regularly is one of the ways to stall your weightloss. Good luck with your journey. You can do it.

PS I'd love a TDEE of 1800 but I'm a short a**se and even with running a few times a week mine is 1500.