The FastDay Forum

Thanks so much for posting this Caroline. Really struck a chord with me today as I seem to have been up and down by a few pounds these last few weeks. I've probably overdone it a bit on feast days, ahem, sorry. 'Eating normally' days! Probably gone a bit overboard on salt intake too. Plus I've stepped up with the exercise quite a bit.

Have been thinking I might step away from the scales for a while and just go with how I look and feel

Last 4 weeks I've also plateaued, wonder if Mothers' Day chocs on feast days have anything to do with it , although I think I look slimmer & clothes feel slacker. The weeks when I haven't lost any weight I haven't struggled with being hungry on fast days, but today I've been physically active & I'm feeling hungry so hoping this is a good sign. I'm sticking with it as it's taken years to pile on the pounds & I've lost over half a stone which I'd be dismayed if I'd put on over half a stone on in the same time period which isn't that long.

Fast day tomorrow and I do look forward to them some how. It's almost like you have to fool your body about how much it's going to get each day e.g. 1680 calories on Tuesday and Thursday, 420 cals on Monday and Friday, 1000 cals on Wednesday and eat whatever you fancy at the weekend. Well that's my week anyway! The scales still show me lurking around the bottom of 75kgs but there's an inch off my waist this month so it's all still working away. I'm less light-headed when I have de-caffeinated black coffee on fast days, and drinking water is becoming a good habit, especially in the evening.
Take care of yourselves everyone, whatever your weight and diet method, you are important to the world.

Update: After 4 weeks of plateau I've lost a further 1.5lbs. This seems to correlate with feeling hungry on my fast days. The last 4 weeks of plateau, even though I stuck to the 500 cals, I wasn't hungry on my fast days, but this last week I was hungry. I'm feeling pleased to have lost 10lb overall & it's winter when your body really wants stew & dumplings

UMMMB, I'm sorry but I just have to say this. Michael Mosley's book was very well researched, and he did not make up the 5:2 fasting plan out of the blue. Actually, he credits Michelle Harvie, who has had great results with breast cancer patients using a very similar concept. If you read his book, you can read about all the research.

But you've lost 11 pounds in 9 weeks! That is awesome!

Like the others, my appetite has shrunk somewhat on feed days. If this eating plan is too hard for you, maybe it's not for you? Lately, I've been having a very positive attitude to many things in life, a big change from my past negativity, and I am very positive about 5:2. Even if there are weeks I don't lose, I'll never stop this plan! I feel it is really healthy and the last resort for me, as far as diets go!

The best to you. Can't wait until I lose 11 lbs.!

In addition to the scale, which varies according to all the things mentioned in the article, it is helpful to look at how your clothes are fitting and how you look in the mirror. Many times, the scale has not budged, but my clothes are looser; I feel lighter, and people comment on how much slimmer I look.

Hormones... PMS for sure! I just finished my 4th week and have been losing nicely until today. But today I posted a 4 pound weight gain in my progress tracker. It is PMS! I feel like a bloated ??? However, I know my body and I know that this is simply water retention. I've been craving salty foods and have given in on my feed days this past week. I'm confident that when I weigh myself next Friday that I'll be back down. This has motivated me to try and stay away from those salty foods that I crave so much during that time of month!

Thank you Caroline this is very helpful information. I am sure when I returned from Egypt my body was in fluid deficit & my scales showed I had lost 6 ounces which I was very surprised about considering how little I had eaten throughout the previous fortnight. After a couple of days of eating & drinking normally I had lost 5 lbs & three days later a further one pound. My body must have been retaining fluid to help compensate for more fluid loss than usual in taking care of itself.

Besides all the stuff in the article it is also important to note the body stores solids and fluids, these will affect weight.

I mean: Bladder, bowel, stomach, gall bladder etc.

I am losing weight at an average of 250 gm per week appx 1/2 lb.

So weight will fluctuate based on these as well.

I entered into this diet as a long term project. In 6 months I have lost about 10 kg's

Hope that helps,
Peter

Good point Peter and welcome to the forum! Great to have another experienced faster on board!

Horror and shock My scales this morning keep saying 0-LD...cleaned the thing, played with the batteries and still telling me 0-LD. Checked on the instructions and it means Weight exceeds maximum capacity!!!Yesterday I was 67.7kg, uh how much weight did I put on during the night?! lol

I was so relieved to find this topic on the forum! I have been on the diet for nearly two weeks, after glowing reports from a friend. The first week was thrilling as over two fasts I lost five pounds -- but then seemed to put three back on. Third fast saw no reduction at all, and the next two 'normal' days saw two more pounds go back on -- so now I am pretty much back where I started. Very frustrating, and I wonder if I am doing anything wrong? I emphasise that I am scrupulously careful on the fast days, and my normal eating varies on the 'feast' days, from light meals to heavier ones, depending on the day. So, definitely normal for me. I get heaps of exercise, and drink plenty of water. So, for me it's not the not-losing that's the problem -- I'm actually gaining it all back. I know it's early days, but I'm pretty puzzled. I've read all the posts, and I do feel encouraged to carry on -- but most people are just not-losing, rather than gaining, so I wonder if my issue is different? Can anyone offer any insight on this?

I think at two weeks in it's still too early to know. You would expect to gain on normal eating days because you're refilling your gut with food. That plus water changes would hide the 2 lb expected loss from 2 weeks. Just keep on for another two weeks but also measure your waist! Let's reassess in another couple of weeks time.

Thanks for that. Just needed to know whether some gain was 'normal'. As am new to this, I really cannot gauge what to expect!

Yes, I agree it is too early to know if you lost weight.
A full bladder and a full bowel, but not enough to send you to the lavatory could account for 4lbs.
I would also note that the body stores energy for use in the liver and cells so that it doesn't need to use already stored fat. This will account for rapid weight loss and gain at the start of the diet.
I am a fan of chucking out the scales, because they only lead to disappointments - you may give up.
I have concentrated on body shape and can report wonders. I knew I would have to wait longer to see results.
Best of luck,
Peter