The FastDay Forum

So, lets face the facts. I am grossly overweight, 35, and need to make some major changes. I was with a client today. She is older than I, she is larger than I, and we were discussing her starting the Paleo 28 something or other. Something I know I had absolutely no desire to try, but it got me thinking. If I didn't get my stuff together, in 20 some years this could be me. She has a lot of pain, joint inflammation, constant back issues... I think it is great that she is making positive changes for herself, and I will encourage her any way I can. Perhaps she found her weight loss aid, but what about me? So I googled easiest diets to follow. Scrolling and scrolling, I thought to myself, "Meh, none of these are for me." I like what I like, and cutting out this or that all together will lead me to overeating, excuses, and all the other ruts I have fallen in over the years. Then I read about 5:2. It FEELS doable. So here I am. Ready to do this! Time for me to make some positive changes in my life!

Welcome to the forum, @PopeFriday. You sound like a person after my own heart! Five years ago I was looking for a way to lose weigh which didn't require constant calorie counting, giving up the things I love to eat or having to eat things that I loathed. I also wanted/needed a way of eating which would finally allow me to keep off the weight that I have lost and gained annually for the last forty-five years.

I discovered 5:2 in January 2013 and it has worked! Not perfectly because I am still the person whose eating habits led to the extra weight but it is the' best fit' solution for me. As you will see from my tracker, it has been a rather up and down journey for me. I have never returned to the weight that I was five years ago, although I have been alarmingly close sometimes, and I have done this while eating 'proper' food. Right from the start I resolved that there would be no diet foods, no excluding food groups, no eating of food items that I wouldn't normally eat and definitely no calorie counting. I lost weight steadily and, by and large, have kept it off. I didn't have much to lose, 22 pounds I think, but it came off, mainly stayed off, and I am delighted.

There is a wealth of information and inspiring stories on this forum. Not so many people posting as there were in its heyday but it is still a valuable source for anyone starting off on this way of life. Good luck to you and, if you want any help, just come back and ask! I'm sure that someone will come along with advice eventually!