The FastDay Forum

Okay so I have been doing 5:2 for 9 weeks now, with a total of 6 pounds lost. I am now the same weight I was four weeks ago and I feel that something has gone wrong. I am not enjoying my fast days, although they aren't bad, but I completely lose control on other days.

So here's the plan, I am going to take two weeks off (trying to eat sensibly) as I have vacation, and then when I return I am going to try out another version of IF for 8 weeks. I will do the 16:8 plan, eating only between 12 and 8pm daily, with weekends off (eating whatever I like after 12pm Saturday until 8 pm on Sunday evening). I want to see if daily mini-fasts and only 8 hours of eating will help keep me at a more reasonable caloric intake throughout the week.

After 8 weeks on 16:8 I will compare the results with my 9 weeks of 5:2 and decide which works best for me and is most sustainable. For now, I'm going to go enjoy my coffee with vanilla creamer.

Never hurts to switch it up if you feel its not working for you. there are lots of IF strategy you can try...Fast 5, Eat-Stop-Eat, 16:8, etc. Everyone is different and what works for someone may not work for everyone.

I have mostly been on 5:2 but some weeks have done 4:3, or 6:1 with a couple of lower calorie days. I even took 3 consecutive weeks off in March just to see how my body would react (I didn't gain or lose weight during those 3 weeks).

Let us know how you progress.

Hi BluDiamond, I have just done something similar to you. I have been on 5:2 for over a month and even though I was slowly losing weight I was finding the fasts a little hard. I started thinking that due to the slight difficulty of fasting for me this WOE may not be sustainable for me. Then I read on the forum about 8:16 ( eight hour eating window) and thought that may be better for me.
So here I am now trialling 8:16. So far so good. I haven't found it to be too hard at all. The telling will be when I weigh myself on Friday. I will be interested to hear how you go.
Good luck and enjoy your holiday.

[janeg]

Sounds like a plan Blu, enjoy your holiday, don't stress about eating and let us know how the modifications go. That's the joy of this WOE- there are so many ways of doing it. I'm sure you'll find a way that suits you.
Off anywhere nice?

It seems the weight loss plateaus for some people for a few weeks and then they see another large jump. For women, our cycle also influences our weight due to water retention. It might be worth looking at this thread http://52fastdiet.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1006 as to why this may be happening before deciding that it is no longer working for you. But, you do need to find out what is sustainable for you and what works, so good luck.

Have a good holiday BluDiamond - your plan sounds like a good one. Re-group with us after and keep us uptodate with what's going on with your fasting. Look forward to hearing about it - in the meantime enjoy a bit of freedom!

I've been on the diet for 9 weeks too, On my non fast days I'm not going mad but I've lost only 4 pounds in all that time and haven't lost anything for about 4 weeks. My wifes having a similar experience, I'm just wondering if some people find it just stops working.

[Betsysgr8]

Welcome to the forum Dave and Mrs Swan! It maybe because you are making up the fast day calorie deficit by over compensating on normal days. It may be worth a little effort to keep tabs on calorie intake from foods, snacks and drinks, sips and nibbles to see where the extra is sneaking in (I use My Fitness Pal to track). You can input your info in the progress tracker here on the forum and it'll will provide you with a TDEE number. Those are the amount of calories you should be having in a normal day. It's possible too that you've decreased your NEAT (non-exercise activities). You might want to take a look at kencc's thread "Get off your butt! NEAT!" viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5055 or click here for reference's #NEAT. Others will have some ideas for you and yours to try, I'm sure. Good luck

Betsygr8 is right on.

5:2 does not 'stop working'. As long as a person is eating fewer calories than they need to maintain their weight, they will lose weight (I define weight as fat/muscle loss, not water loss).

As 5:2 is a slow weight loss method (as opposed to full time fasting, or perhaps Atkins Induction), water retention and dehydration each can impact the perception of whether it is 'working', and how well or not.

The more you eat, the less you will lose, and vice versa. If you are sticking to your fasting calorie limits and averaging eating your TDEE weekly, 5:2 will work, and keep working.

Thats the thing, we aren't over eating on the non fast days, were counting the calories and I know some people lie about this kind of thing but were genuinely non plussed. We both work from home so don't get as much exercise as we should, I do an exercise bike for 20 mins but generally were stuck infront of computers, maybe thats it?.

[Betsysgr8]

Thats the thing, we aren't over eating on the non fast days, were counting the calories and I know some people lie about this kind of thing but were genuinely non plussed. We both work from home so don't get as much exercise as we should, I do an exercise bike for 20 mins but generally were stuck infront of computers, maybe thats it?.

Dave, check out the link I posted above about NEAT .. here I'll post it again http://52fastdiet.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5055, this specifically addresses the problems of sitting at a computer AND what you can do about it. It can be little changes and they will make a HUGE difference! I find that by standing to watch TV 1-1/2 to 3 hours a day and getting up frequently from the computer, I started losing again. Also take a short walk after every meal, it helps your body adjust blood sugar levels and avoid a post-meal lethargy.

You use an exercise bike, check out the threads regarding #HIIT, I know there is a thread started by carorees that explains it. This is something that you can do with your bike that might be easy to add to your day.

Some people here are able to lose by just doing 5:2 and eating sensibly most days and then there are those that need to do the above with some small changes. Good luck and keep us posted of your progress.