5:2 fasting diet long term ?

BuSaho12

I have been on the 5:2 diet since the 3rd jan and have lost 10 lbs Is there anyone who has sustained this long term. I am finding it the best diet in a long time. I have never stuck to any diet for this long and feel quite proud of myself. I have got another 12 lbs to go to my goal weight.

sahead710

What is the 5:2 diet?

obscuremusicreference

There's a group for it, I'm not sure what you mean by "long term" but there are certainly enough people on here who follow that.

hannydeee

I think most people do 5:2 until they reach their desired weight, then switch to 6:1 for maintenance (but to keep the health benefits of fasting). As others have said, there's a group on here dedicated to it - have a search!

Christine_72

I've been doing alternate day fasting for 4mths. I plan to go back to 5:2 or 6:1 to maintain long term. 4kgs (8lbs) to go.

amusedmonkey

sahead710 wrote: »

What is the 5:2 diet?

It's eating at maintenance calories 5 days a week, and 500 calories 2 nonconsecutive days a week.

I don't exactly do 5:2, but I usually do a "rebound" day of 500 calories if I happen to have a high calorie day. It seems to be working well for me both for weight loss and for maintenance.

BuSaho12

sahead710 wrote: »

What is the 5:2 diet?

You eat your normal calorie goal (mine 1200 per day) for five days. On two days you fast and eat only 500 cal It has worked for me. I do a fast on Monday and Wednesday.

obscuremusicreference

BuSaho12 wrote: »

sahead710 wrote: »

What is the 5:2 diet?

You eat your normal calorie goal (mine 1200 per day) for five days. On two days you fast and eat only 500 cal It has worked for me. I do a fast on Monday and Wednesday.

Oh no, no no no

See Amused Monkey's reply for how you should be doing it

JAT74

I think it depends on the person. I've done 5:2 before and initially I lost 3lbs but then I gained and lost the same 3lbs after that by eating my maintenance calories on my non-fast days. I then switched to working out a weekly total number of calories I should be eating to create enough of a deficit to lose weight, subtracting 1000 to account for my 2 fast days, and then working out what was left and dividing that between the 5 days and it worked much better. Before doing that I was eating around 1600 on non-fast days (and exercising daily) but after doing that it was more like 1300 per day maximum.

I have been losing weight this time round by working out daily, once or twice a day and eating 1300 calories per day more or less, though my weight loss has been fairly slow.

I have now decided to add in one fast day of around 600 calories to speed things up a little and give my body a rest. I may add another fast day once I get back into the swing of it but I don't want to have to cut back on the training so I'm going to see how it goes.

BuSaho12

I am hoping to keep on my version of 5:2 as I have lost 10 lbs already and want to keep going. I will search for the other threads for more info. Thanks JAT74 for your info. Maybe we just have to work out what is best for our bodies. I am enjoying this diet and I have never been able to say that before. Here's to losing the other twelve pounds thanks all

N0EXCUSE

I'm starting the 5-2 on Monday feel free to add me for mutual support

cjtrigg

First ever post to say, I've been doing 5:2 for a bit over a year now as a normal way of life. I make exceptions, so for example I didn't bother when we were on holiday, or over Christmas, and for a reasonable amount of last year I wasn't exactly following it so much as just doing 2 fast days a week and not making much of an effort on the other 5 days.

Now I'm working to my own plan of 2 fast days and counting cals for the other 5 days, with a varying limit per day so that I still end up with a weekly deficit.

I find it very easy to follow, I feel much healthier for fasting (the real benefits of 5:2 aren't so much about weight-loss as about things like blood sugar, the immune system and the like), and when I have stopped for special occasions I find that after a few days my body almost wants to fast to have a break. When I wasn't paying attention to the rest of the week but still fasting, I found that although I did gain a bit of weight, it wasn't significant and therefore a really good way to maintain for me. Now I am combining it, I have lost a slightly shocking 11lb in 5 weeks which I can't quite believe!

I think however you want to lose weight is very much down to the individual and 5:2 absolutely does not work for everyone, but it's ideal for me. Just don't get sucked into thinking that two days of fasting means you can eat whatever you like the rest of the week!

tequilastuntman

I have been on a similar fasting diet (to gain muscle) for almost 4 months now.

It's the most natural way of eating for me and feel very energetic

I think it's the reason I stayed lean, too.

thesnackmonster

I have been following 5:2 since 3rd Jan and have lost 6lbs. However, I found it hard to lose in the first couple of weeks as I was eating too many calories on the "normal" days. I found that if I stuck to 1400 per day for 3 days (which is where my target is set for losing 0.5 pounds per week) and then relaxed a bit at the weekend I could lose between 1 and 2 pounds per week. This plan works well for me as I can have a few treats and still loose weight