Got through first fast day!

JAT74

So I re-started 5:2 on Monday after initially trying it for a couple of months two years ago. When I did it then, I felt like I was losing and gaining the same 2-3lbs and I think it was because I was eating too much on my non-fast days as I didn't always think about what I was eating and ate exactly what I wanted.

This time around, I've done more maths and used a calculator one of the other members posted up to calculate how much I should be eating overall and how much I can eat on my fast days to still be able to lose weight.

Yesterday was my first fast day and I got through it without any problems. I was a little over my 500 calories, but only by 50 and as it was my first day I wasn't concerned about that.

Today I did my usual morning DVD workout with weights and it was a little more difficult than usual but I managed to finish it, and this afternoon I went for a short walk. I'm trying to reach 10,000 steps most day on top of my workouts, but so far I'm quite far away from my goal today so I want to use the gym machines to do some cardio in a few minutes.

I have eaten most of my food allowance for today, and I've pre-logged the other food I'll eat and in total it comes to 1500 calories. I am a bit worried about this number though because it seems really really high to me. I don't want to have the same problems as before on 5:2 as I want to get all the benefits of eating in this way, though technically on 5:2 I should be able to eat up to 1750 on my feast days and still be able to lose 1lb per week.

I'm eating less mainly because that figure really scares me and also because I want to lose a bit faster, but on the other hand, 1500 also seems really high as I've been counting calories and losing weight for the last 6 weeks on an average of about 1350 maximum 7 days a week.

What do others think? Were you able to lose weight consistently eating more on your feast days? I don't want to have the same problem I had last time around but I also don't want to go too low on my feast days either. Do most of you see a loss on the scale week by week or do the numbers fluctuate a lot more on 5:2 and take longer to show any actual weight loss?

shoegal_81

Well done on getting through your first fast day.
I've only been doing this four weeks and have lost each week. I try to only weigh myself once a week (at the same time). I do know that there are people on here that weigh themselves more & take an average.
I will admit that I found the weight loss slower than other diets but it's so flexible and fits in with my life style that I can see being able to stick with this way of eating.
I'm not sure if eating less on your fast days means you will loose quicker or not.
It did seem weird at first being able to eat so much on a normal day and still being able to loose weight. I guess having spent so much time on calorie restricted diets has brain washed me!
This is more like a way of life than a diet.

Foamroller

Congrats in returning! Some times we need that headspace to get committed. You sound very resolved now. Don't worry about the numbers. Even though Orlcam's calc is the best (!) it's still an estimate. You can re-estimate your true TDEE after some weeks of real losses and tracking. If you're scared at 1750, start at 1500. If you feel very tired, up your intake slightly.

I think it's best to create a contrast between FD and non FD for health reasons argumented by Mosley. But do whatever suits YOUR body and goal best.

Edit: grammar

JAT74

Thanks for the encouragement! I ended up at around 1580 in total today and I'm going to have my second fast day tomorrow. I'll try and stay away from the scales until at least Monday and by then hopefully the scales will show my actual weight.

flumi_f

JA - with two fast days, you achieve a deficit of 20-25% over a weeks time. Thus you can eat your TDEE. Do as Foamroller says. Start lower, if you feel full or the numbers scare you. That may be because of the daily restriction you have done before starting 5:2. I think, that messes with our heads sometimes. After a while eating normally on non fast days might feel normal again.

Oh and weigh day - Mondays are my highest weight, due to the weekend (more grain carbs, more exercise, sometimes more cals = water retention). I take Saturday as my weekly weigh day. That gives me one normal day between my Thursday fast and my weekly weigh in. I weigh daily, but follow a weekly trend line.

JAT74

No I know this. I've used the calculator and worked out how much I can eat to be able to lose just under 1.5lbs per week which is what I want to be able to do, as I've been losing 1lb per week up until now by calorie counting. I still have 25 more lbs to lose.

If I want to keep losing 1lb per week I can eat up to 1750 on my feast days, but as I'd like to lose more I should be eating around 1500.

Those figures were based on burning off 400 cals per day from workouts (if I remember correctly) so if I burn off more - like today - I burnt off over 700 calories I know I should in theory be able to eat a bit more and still reach my weight loss goal of 1.5lbs per week.

The trouble is I am nervous it won't happen, but I'll keep an eye on the figures and the scale and adjust things as necessary.

Foamroller

Just be very cautious about the "burns" various calcs give you, including mfp. Especially as you lose weight and depending type of training. Underestimating the food tracking is also very common. I've certainly done both in the past. Small things like choosing the lowest kcal entry or highest burn If you're unlucky with these variables, it can easily eat up your deficit. Don't obsess either, lol. For mental peace of mind. So aim for "good enough, but not perfect"

Re 25 more lbs to lose. I wouldn't obsess over a certain number to lose either, if I were you. 5:2 is for many a bumpy ride. Big loss one week, small the next. I recommend to track your averages, so you don't go insane with the fluctuations.

jknight001

Give yourself time to see what works with your body. As everyone has said, 5:2 is not meant to be a quick weight loss plan, it is actually meant to be a lifestyle. There are physical health benefits to this way of life above and beyond the weight loss. As @flumi_f said, 1500 feels like a lot simply because you are used to doing calorie restrictions 24/7. This plan is a deeper calorie cut on 2 days so you actually need a higher calorie amount (your normal calories if you were not dieting) for the remaining 5 days to keep your metabolism going.

Seems everyone needs to tweak their plan after they get started to suit their style. So taking the time to see what works for you is important. So is looking for weight loss trends. As long as the numbers overall are going down you are doing 5:2 well. If after a month on the plan you don't see any downward trend and you know you are not eating over the TDEE non-fast and 500 on fast days then you may want to consider lowering your TDEE amount.

If you want to see a certain number loss each week, this plan may not be for you. I have averaged .5 lbs per week. But some weeks I have actually gained weight and about once a month I lose a whole pound. I am not losing in a speedy fashion, but it has been seriously consistent downward trend, no plateaus for me. I know with time I will get to my goal.

If you still want to give 5:2 a try, give yourself the gift of time to figure out how to adapt 5:2 to who you are. It will be well worth it to have a smaller weight loss if you can keep losing for a longer time.

JAT74

I suppose there are two reasons I want to do 5:2 and the health benefits is definitely one of them. I suppose I'm approaching it a bit different to others though ie. wanting to lose a significant amount of weight too, by increasing my calorie deficit from what it was already ie. enough to lose 1lb per week to enough to lose 1.5lbs per week. In this way, I'm only really having to increase my calories by 100-150 per day on top of what I was eating while eating in a deficit for 7 days. I know it's not much to some, but for me it really seems like a lot of food and I agree it will take some getting used to.

I know I'm not overestimating my calorie burns through exercise because I use a Fitbit, and when I log separate workouts they have been calculated initially using a HRM and then I have decreased some of those calories to take into account any overestimation. In addition I am very careful with food logging too, and weigh and measure everything carefully so it's doubtful I am underestimating and even if I am the weight loss I've seen so far has been spot on what it should be.

I am definitely going to stick with 5:2 as it will hopefully help me in the long-run to be able to eat a little more 5 days a week (when I reach goal) and I like the idea of giving my body a break 2 days a week too. I was really encouraged by the results seen by Michael Moseley especially concerning his decrease in body fat and blood test results.

orlcam

One thing to remember, others have said it, but I want to repeat it...find a like time each week to weigh yourself. My official weigh-in is at the end of my final fast of the week no matter how long it is. It is the most "similar" time on a week to week basis. My food/salt/fluid consumption varies too much on non-fast days to use them and my 1st fast is basically working to get rid of what I put back on over the weekend. This also gives me the absolute lowest # I have reached each week. Just realize this won't be your living weight or average...it is your extreme low. I have seen huge swings in one week, from my highest to my lowest. I just weigh at various times of the week for knowledge and experimentation, not for satisfaction. From Sunday night (my heaviest after 2.5 days of eating normal) to my weigh in on Friday afternoon (after my 40+ hour 2nd fast) I have seen swings as high as 17 lbs. That is more than I can lose in a month (from lowest weight to lowest weight). I can usually get on average 10 lbs a month, but remember that I am larger than large and that percentage is small, so detecting changes is much easier for me...1% of my body weight is ~5 lbs, 1% of yours is ~1.5 lbs...that's just a 24 oz bottle of water, a good sweat, or a couple of trips to the bathroom for you. I'm the perfect 5:2 lab rat .

Just another note: I have also lost as much as 9 lbs from Wednesday night (after final meal, before Thursday's fast) to Friday's weigh-in.

Congrats by the way.

JAT74

I was thinking about when would be the best time to weigh. I generally weigh myself daily and have been recording the results in an App (Happy scale) which maps the trends so maybe I should keep doing that, I don't know. My boyfriend said he prefers to weigh on a Monday morning so it's the start of a new week but I really don't know what time of the week is going to show me my 'true' weight loss. It was hard enough when I was losing 1lb per week because that was just an average I worked out based on a month's loss. From week to week the scale would go up and down so I could lose something, then appear to gain a lb back and then lose again below the initial loss 10 days later etc.

Before starting the fast diet last week my lowest weight recorded was 140.5lbs but then it went up to 141. This morning after my first fast day (Tuesday) followed by a day of eating normally I was 140lbs and today is my 2nd fast day and I think that generally the fasts will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays due to my routine and the fact it will be difficult on other days due to the workouts I'm doing, having to do food shopping on a Friday, going out with friends at the weekend and not wanting to have consecutive fast days.

Don't you think that Monday would be a good day after 3 days of 'normal' eating or is it better to weight after the 2nd weekly fast?

Foamroller

Re Fitbit and logging. Sounds like you got your setup pretty good

Re when to weigh-in. I think we all have our own system. I weigh daily and track my trends in a spreadsheet. Easier to see correlation food intake and fluctuation. Don't overthink it, just pick a day that suits you. If you feel it's better to do Mondays, do that. If you want after the 2 fasts, do that instead. You can always change your mind

JAT74

Thanks all for the advice about when to weigh. I think I might do as flumi suggested and pick Saturday, or even Sunday as that will give me 1-2 normal days after my 2 fast days each week. I know that by Monday my weight will be at my highest and that might just depress me!

I've made it past lunchtime on my 2nd fast day now! I'm going to make a soup for dinner so I'm looking forward to that because it's something I have normally for dinner some nights because I usually have a larger lunch than dinner anyway.

kaytee232013

Hello!

Just wanted to say hi and well done for almost getting through your 2nd fast day...I got through mine yesterday and it was surprisingly easier than my first on Sunday.

I too had the same doubts about the amount of calories to eat on 'feasting' days and am still calorie counting and logging all foods on my non-fast days too as I need to make sure I don't go over 1,620 per day in order to lse 1lb a week. I need to exercise at least 5 times a week too! I also use a HRM and can't believe the difference that MFP gives in comparison to what I actually burn!

Good luck for your weigh in!

Kate

lulu1066

Well done all those who have completed first fast days - I do think it gets easier as the weeks go on... x

JAT74

Thanks Kaytee, I had a faulty Polar HRM so I've sent it off to Polar to be fixed and then I'll hopefully have a more accurate idea of calorie burns during workouts. I am basing my current burn figures on old HRM statistics from 2 years ago (though workouts were the same anyway) but I don't know if anything has changed between then and now.

Glad to hear you made it through your first 2 fasts, I'm about to have my lovely homemade Spinach soup with a dash of bacon and blue cheese!

It will be nice to eat a bit more tomorrow and over the weekend but I am going to be really careful. I spoke to my mum a few minutes ago and she reminded me that she was able to lose 10lbs in a month on 5:2 when she did it 2 years ago, but she didn't do that much exercise at the time so she was eating stupidly low amounts on her feast days (900-1000 calories maximum). I told her off as I know she wants to do it again or at least restrict calories but she's now 71 and is scared of putting on weight especially as she has high cholesterol and high blood pressure so she won't eat that much in general. She now has a dog and walks a lot more than she used to so she can probably afford to eat a bit more too.

How long have you been doing 5:2 Lulu? I'm hoping it will get easier but I think it will also depend on my other half and whether he can also stick with it because it certainly helps when you don't have to cook a different meal on fast days for someone who's eating a lot more!

mwhite61451

I agree with you lulu1066. The hardest part is getting back in the routine, when you have done it and gone away from it.

lulu1066

I'm a relative newbie - only six weeks. but I am real fan as this is the first diet I have ever done, where you can go for a lovely three course meal with your family midweek and not be torn up with self-loathing! fast day today so just sipping cupasoup and reliving memories of last night's goat cheese starter, then snapper with veg and then apple pie and icecream. yumma. apologies to anyone who has just read that menu and is on a fast today!!!!

kaytee232013

lulu1066 wrote: »

Well done all those who have completed first fast days - I do think it gets easier as the weeks go on... x

This is encouraging to hear.

SofaKween

Well done to all the newcomers and your successful FDs. I started 30 December last year, so am in my second month; it definitely does get easier because your brain accepts that the worst that can happen on a FD is that at various times throughout the day you may feel a little hungry. No big deal - some FDs were easy, a few a little more testing like today when I went to a friend's house for coffee and she produced snacks and cake; fortunately there was a group of us so no one noticed that I wasn't eating!

Been a stressful few weeks for me, but discovering I can manage the self-control of FDs whilst still being able to enjoy my food (and the occasional glass of wine) on NFDs has helped me through, as has the confidence of 6kg weight loss.

JAT74

It should be a bit easier for me as I work from home so most FDs there are no temptations if I pre-log and it's just a case of preparing and eating what I set out to.

Had a bit of a strange day today, a feast day after a fast day and my macros have gone out the window but I managed to stay within the calories I wanted to. I had planned to have a couple of treats but went food shopping and bought too much chocolate and a couple of pastries!

I couldn't finish my lunch though (due to the pastry before lunch!) and now I feel absolutely stuffed so I can't eat another thing for the rest of the evening. Just as well really as I would have been way over my calories for the day though I am very low on protein today.

Well tomorrow's another day and I know I can technically eat whatever food I want as long as it's no more than 1500-1600 calories but I feel I should me making more of an effort to eat more healthily and try and reach my protein targets more often.