Well, I've reached my goal.
I started 5:2 just over a year ago with a modest hope: to stop putting on any more weight. And not to develop diabetes and spend my last decade in a wheelchair like my father. I'd watched my weight creep up a pound or two or three a year and really felt powerless to stop it. Then I heard someone talking about the Horizon programme, found it on i-player and thought I'd give it a go. Somehow it just clicked the "I can do this" switch in my brain.
I cut a few corners to get 5:2 to a shape I felt I could do forever. This meant 2 days a week, not actually fasting but just eating as little as I could which turned out to be about 600-700 calories, and absolutely no restrictions on the other 5 days. After some months I noticed clothes getting looser and so stepped on the scales, to receive a pleasant surprise. A few more months and while my weight was still slowly reducing, sticking to my lean days was beginning to be a bit of a struggle. So I googled for inspiration and found this site, which has been a huge support ever since, thank you everyone!
I then tracked my progress for a while before thinking about a goal weight. I never would have thought 9 stone was achievable, but once I could see it in view, I thought it would be nice to be just below it, so I set a goal of 8 stone 13. I've reached this at exactly the same time as my waist more or less got to 50% (I say more or less because I have to give the tape measure a bit of a squeeze to get it to that at my navel, but I'm a couple of inches below the 50% at my narrowest middle). So I take that as a sign that 8 stone 13 is a good weight for me as well as being a nice number.
The last pound has taken me 7 weeks! Which shows that my version of 5:2 is, just about, balancing calories in and out. So that means I will be doing it forever.
This does seem a little daunting. It would be nice to say, right, goal reached, let's try 6:1. But I think I have watered down 5:2 already to the point that this is what I will have to do for the rest of my life.
So here I make my commitment: this WOE(or some equally effective variation) is what I will be doing for the rest of my life. For the rest of my life. For the rest of my long, healthy, active, slim, attractive, stylish-clothes-wearing, happy, size-10-to-12, active, slim (did I mention that already?), energetic, cheerful-clothes-shopping, confident, sleek, lightly-stepping, svelte, slender, oh-all-right-I-admit-it smug, long healthy active life!!
And furthermore, I am going to post here once every month what the scales say, so there will be no slipping back.
Thank you!
kl
I started 5:2 just over a year ago with a modest hope: to stop putting on any more weight. And not to develop diabetes and spend my last decade in a wheelchair like my father. I'd watched my weight creep up a pound or two or three a year and really felt powerless to stop it. Then I heard someone talking about the Horizon programme, found it on i-player and thought I'd give it a go. Somehow it just clicked the "I can do this" switch in my brain.
I cut a few corners to get 5:2 to a shape I felt I could do forever. This meant 2 days a week, not actually fasting but just eating as little as I could which turned out to be about 600-700 calories, and absolutely no restrictions on the other 5 days. After some months I noticed clothes getting looser and so stepped on the scales, to receive a pleasant surprise. A few more months and while my weight was still slowly reducing, sticking to my lean days was beginning to be a bit of a struggle. So I googled for inspiration and found this site, which has been a huge support ever since, thank you everyone!
I then tracked my progress for a while before thinking about a goal weight. I never would have thought 9 stone was achievable, but once I could see it in view, I thought it would be nice to be just below it, so I set a goal of 8 stone 13. I've reached this at exactly the same time as my waist more or less got to 50% (I say more or less because I have to give the tape measure a bit of a squeeze to get it to that at my navel, but I'm a couple of inches below the 50% at my narrowest middle). So I take that as a sign that 8 stone 13 is a good weight for me as well as being a nice number.
The last pound has taken me 7 weeks! Which shows that my version of 5:2 is, just about, balancing calories in and out. So that means I will be doing it forever.
This does seem a little daunting. It would be nice to say, right, goal reached, let's try 6:1. But I think I have watered down 5:2 already to the point that this is what I will have to do for the rest of my life.
So here I make my commitment: this WOE(or some equally effective variation) is what I will be doing for the rest of my life. For the rest of my life. For the rest of my long, healthy, active, slim, attractive, stylish-clothes-wearing, happy, size-10-to-12, active, slim (did I mention that already?), energetic, cheerful-clothes-shopping, confident, sleek, lightly-stepping, svelte, slender, oh-all-right-I-admit-it smug, long healthy active life!!
And furthermore, I am going to post here once every month what the scales say, so there will be no slipping back.
Thank you!
kl
