5:2 diet newbie - suppport wanted please!!!

milliecat

Hi

Now that my holiday is out of the way, thought it was about time I decided to shift some weight before Christmas. A colleague told me about the 5:2 diet and thought i'd give it a try. If anyone has any recipes they wish to share, i would be grateful as I only have couple at the moment and I would be happy to hear how anybody else is coping on this diet too.

Thanks

amylouize2012

Hi,

I'm new too, on my day 5, please add me for motivation and support :flowerforyou: x

jazzypom

I've been doing well with 5:2 actually. I lost about eight pounds with it in quick succession. But due to hormones and *that time* I'm plateauing (just ten pounds to go!), so I'm just going to eat normally (not crazy) for ten days, take a break and go back on it again.

I don't really have any recipes. On my fast day it goes like this:

Breakfast: egg and unsweetened mint tea

Lunch: 1 oz almonds, as much water as I can drink

Dinner: My recipes tend to be veggie - like chickpea fajitas, or soups

On fast days I do try and go to bed early.

milliecat

Thanks Jazzypom for the advice - I think I too will have early nights on my fasting days.

My first day is tomorrow - not sure yet what to do for breakfast - i'll probably start with a green tea and maybe a poached egg. One of my colleagues has porridge (oats so simple) but made with water - I don't think I could do that!!!

Eddie274

You can all add me if you like, and educate me as to what this 5:2 diet is about. I'll support you anyway, even if we're on different diets. We're all trying to lose weight.

Smuterella

I'm thinking of starting this tomorrow. :-)

CaseyAllyssa

I've never heard of the 5:2 diet before. What is it?

joymelanson

Thanks Jazzypom for the advice - I think I too will have early nights on my fasting days.

My first day is tomorrow - not sure yet what to do for breakfast - i'll probably start with a green tea and maybe a poached egg. One of my colleagues has porridge (oats so simple) but made with water - I don't think I could do that!!!

What do you normally eat? check the calories on it and if it's under 400 you should eat it. The more normally you can eat the easier it is. I find I am eating fairly normally but I eat less of what I used to eat and cut out potato chips and chocolate bars. I still have treats, just not every day! I either have 2pcs of ww toast and tbsp of peanut butter, a western sandwich or some other egg dish for breakfast everyday.

Tdaughtersmom

What is 5:2?

kvachon

What kind of diet is this? Would love some info

tlmitchell70

Never heard if 5:2

ruperthumphrey

Oats with water is very good. If you are allowed, you may want to put a sprinkle of cinnamon on it. Not sure if you are allowed fruit, but that is another option...cut up an apple and throw it in before you put it in the microwave. I love having porridge because it really does give me sustenance for the day!

for2day

For those asking what the diet is - this is how wikipedia describes it - hope this helps!!

The 5:2 diet, also written as 5/2 diet, is a diet which involves severe calorie restriction for two days a week and normal eating the other five days.

The diet involves very low calorie restriction for two days a week and allows normal eating for the other five days. Although the amount of calories consumed on the two days a week is restricted it is up to the particular dieter how they divide it throughout the day, men can consume 600 calories and women 500 calories. A typical fasting day may be a breakfast of 300 calories such as two scrambled eggs with ham, water, green tea or black coffee and a lunch or dinner of grilled fish or meat with vegetables amounting to 300 calories. The Daily Mail said of the diet, "Gorging yourself on as many burgers, chips and cakes as you like one day then eating fewer calories than you find in a cheese sandwich the next might sound like a worrying eating disorder. But this regime of chomping away to your heart’s content one day, and virtually starving yourself the next is the latest diet craze. It’s known as ‘intermittent fasting’ or ‘alternate-day dieting’,and devotees insist the pounds just drop off."

ruperthumphrey

For those wanting to know what the 5/2 diet is.....go to Wiki!

slrose

o thats the only way i eat oatmeal!
with a little bit of cinnimon

ruperthumphrey

I think I am going to do this diet, they do indicate that for those that want to lose weight to be sensible about what they eat on their feast days!

Lindsayrob

I've got my second fast day tomorrow - I actually enjoyed my first on Monday - feel free to add me, but as I only log my food now on two days a week it might take me a while to get back to you! I found a great soup recipe here:
http://www.tinnedtomatoes.com/2012/08/52-diet.html#.UHUaQ03onZZ
which kept the hunger at bay, and there are some good groups on facebook for support. There are other good recipes on BBC Good Food - search under healthy and on advanced search, look for the calorie count you want. The daily allowance for fast days is 500 for women and 600 for men. The joy is knowing you can eat what you like tomorrow!
For anyone who wants to know more about the diet, watch the Horizon programme "Eat, Fast and Live longer" which is on Youtube in four parts - the healthy benefits are the main reasons for the diet but weight loss does seem to be a major side effect! I'd love to know how you all get on!
Lindsay

sallyquilford

I did my second fast day yesterday and so far I'm getting on really well on this diet, though as I need to lose a lot of weight I'm doing it as a 4:3 diet, with 3 days a week of fasting. I tend to have one large meal at around teatime rather than splitting the food up. Different things work for different people.

I think the Daily Mail (as always) has missed the point. You don't gorge yourself on burgers etc on non-fasting days. You still have to eat relatively sensibly and under 2000 calories (or whatever myfitnesspal says your metabolic rate is). Because it would be ridiculous to have 500 calories on one day then 3000 on the next! But if you want burgers, pizzas or cream cakes within your normal daily calorie allowance then you can have them. What I tend to do on non-fasting days (bearing in mind it's very early days for me yet so I haven't got into a proper routine) is have one treat thing, then try and have low calorie nutritious food the rest of the day. So on Monday we went out and had a full English breakfast, but then I made veggie stew for tea.

Unlike many diets where you feel you have to count calories all the time, with this you only have a couple of days a week when you're eating very little. The rest of the time you eat normal sized meals.

milliecat

Thanks Lindsayrob for the recipe, I must admit i'm in need of some good tasty recipes because if it all get too bland I may well give up!!!

My first fasting day was yesterday and I must admit it wasn't too bad, although im sure some days will be worse than others. I definately can't do it at the weekend as that is when i will allow myself treats!!

ruperthumphrey

I did my first day yesterday, no problems, lots of broccoli, oatmeal and chicken soup! Tomorrow will be second day.

Smuterella

First fast day yesterday - it was pretty easy actually, I even squeezed a bedtime beer in there. Have magically lost 2lbs too, though I know that its water weight.

I feel clear headed and energetic. :-)

ruperthumphrey

I did my second day today, I feel great!

Smuterella

Third day today but have been rather naughty on the in between days due to a very social week. I am struggling with the fast days a little, I'm OK until I have my evening meal and then once I've eaten I'm starving all night. I'll have to try having my main meal later in the evening.

TheBattleAxe

I'm on week 3 of the diet, and it's going quite well. I fast Friday and Saturday so I can enjoy at least one day of eating with my family. I'm trying to use fast days as a detox as well so I aim to eat mainly raw fruit and vegetables. Generally miss breakfast then have some salad fairly plain (lettuce,cucumber and tomatoes with a splash of lemon juice on). When hunger strikes I'll have some fruit (pear, apple or grapefruit). Then later on I'll have a small bowl of home made veg soup. All washed down with herbal teas and water. I exercise on fast days but don't push myself to hard, long walk with my dog or a slow jog.
I too have tended to head for bed quite early.
Don't own scales so I go by the clothes test, not much to report yet, but I'm sure it will kick in soon.
1 pack of beetroot
2 apples
Blended together is quite nice
OR
1 beetroot grated
1 carrot grated
1apple grated
Gently warmed in a pan is also tasty

bumpkin_7

Last year I lost a fair amount of weight by using MFP to track food and exercise, but since last autumn/winter due to injury I've not been able to exercise enough to balance out my food intake. However, with this 5/2 approach, I'm on my 5th fast day in 3 weeks, and finding it the easiest diet I've ever done, because there's no real calorie- or points-counting, I just eat 'normal' food but less of it!

With only 2 fast days in a week, there's no need for planning or buying particular foods - just look in your fridge/cupboard and see what's there. I'm not stressing about keeping to exactly 500 cals, but using 500-600 as a guide. I am also still exercising but more like only 1500 cals/week rather than the 3500 I used to be burning through running.

Examples of what I've done:

1. Breakfast - delay until lunchtime - I'm more motivated to 'be good' in the morning, especially on a Monday. Instead I drink black coffee and lots of water to keep me feeling full.
Lunch - sachet of low cal cupasoup and half a pitta bread
Dinner - one-egg omelette, without oil, with fresh steamed carrot & broccoli
Snacks - apple, satsuma, banana

2. Breakfast delayed until lunch as above
Lunch - 40g porridge oats, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, made with water (I don't like the creaminess of milk)
Dinner - massive vegetable stir fry made fresh with 75g quorn pieces, thinly sliced ginger, a bit of soy sauce, garlic - all cooked in a tbsp or two of water rather than oil
Snacks - fruit as above

Other evening meals I've had:
a. 1 tin of low cal tomato soup, with a tsp of harissa to give it a bit of spice, and 30g chickpeas for protein & bulk
b. 2 x Quorn fillets, with steamed broccoli & carrots, with a homemade 'quick tomato sauce' (2 tbsp tomato puree, garlic, dried herbs)

I think the best thing about this is that you really can fit it around 'normal life' - I'm just picking the best days in the week as I go along according to work and social commitments.

Hope that helps.

SEG22

Hi,

I don;t know if anyone is interested but I have started doing this diet (last week) and to try and commit properly I have started blogging. I'm hoping this will help me on the days I struggle!

Please check it out on www.eatfastblog.wordpress.com

Jenlando

Am trying this myself and currently on second day of fasting. I've made a v low calorie spinach soup, which looks slightly radioactive, but is surprisingly tasty. It's literally just frozen spinach, onion, veg stock and sautéed onions, pepper and salt. Apparently has only about 50 calories per cup and it seems to be keeping me going today. I do suffer from hyperglycemia so I need to eat little and often to stop myself getting very light headed, so being able to have a cup of soup every few hours is helping! (Oh the girl sitting across from me is currently eating, i kid you not, Chicken Kiev, Onion Rings, Chips, beans and coleslaw! I also had a meeting this morning filled with Pret Bakery goods.....Willpower required indeed!!!)

sijomial

I've been doing the 5:2 regime since August and it's working for me.
Diaries are open (Mon & Thurs are fast days) and there's a link to the BBC Horizon program in my profile if anyone is interested.

I'm probably doing it slightly differently:
- I work on 600 net calories on the two fast days (i.e. eat back exercise calories)
- I'm eating/exercising to a calorie deficit on the 5 "normal" days.

Feel free to add as a friend.

NJSunshine13

Does this really work??? How much has everyone lost the first few weeks. I'm game to try anything if I'll drop the weight.

babsb121

There seems to be plenty of info flowing, but for those who'd like to read more, see my blog dated yesterday & entitled "Horizon: Eat, Fast & Live Longer xxx

tashaa1992

5:2 fasting does work, if you do it properly, you have to educate yourself and do your research first. I quickly lost 6lbs in the first two weeks, but then started binging so now I have a 18/6 eating window instead, I eat around the same amount of calories a day and the binges are starting to decrease too. I have lost 3lbs in the last two weeks, I'm fairly small anyway so this is good enough for me:) Do what works for you, we're all different what works for someone else may not work for you. I personally I couldn't see myself doing 5:2 for life, it's not sustainable for my lifestyle.