Need to lose 15kg using 5:2 diet. Advice please?

jcmlilley
jcmlilley Posts: 1
in Introduce Yourself
Hi

My name is Chris and i have gradually become more overweight as the years have passed. I am 6'3" but have a BMI of 30. I am determined to get to a BMI of approaching 25 for my Birthday in May. I have just purchased a Cross trainer (it comes tomorrow) and have been recommended the 5:2 diet. There are two problems with this, 1. I have no real understanding of the calories of meals and 2. I do not have time to create fancy recipes with Advocado's and the tears of little orphans ha ha. I need something that is easy to find in the shops and quick (very quick) to prepare. I would really appreciate any advice going.

Thanks for your time reading this.

Chris

Replies

  • marinebiologist_girl
    marinebiologist_girl Posts: 300
    If you're in the UK, try Weightwatchers. Quick at the shop, good sizes for meals/calorie intake. They have microwave meals and I eat them quite a lot, good variety, too. Maybe there's a US equivalent.

    I personally would not recommend the 5:2 diet to start off...

    1. If you try BBC Goodfoods it gives you some healthy, tasty recipes and lists the calorie counts. You can also make recipes with this site that just require you to input all the ingredients in your meals and it outputs the calories. You should be eating NOT TOO MUCH under your BMR - the site can calculate that here: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator
  • Guisma
    Guisma Posts: 215
    1-First of all buy a scale to the kitchen .
    2- Almost every food u buy comes with the calorie portion of 100gr
    3- If you choose to buy pre prepared meals or easy to do meals check for calories in the package and write them down in myfitness pall. It will make the counts for you.
    4- Instead of a big portion of rice , pasta , potatos, serve only half and the other half substitute it for vegetables.
    5-I have no ideia whats 5:2 diet
  • babyblake11
    babyblake11 Posts: 1,107 Member
    fruits, vegetables, meat, nuts, protein powder, natural peanut butter, rolled oats. all easy things.

    google overnight oats.
    grilled meat and veg for lunches and dinner.
    fruits, veggies, nuts, peanut butter for snacks.
    protein powders.

    once you feel you can get more technical make your own healthy protein bars/balls etc
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,472 Member
    I have a book which recommends using a meal replacement drink for the first couple of weeks of 5:2. I'm not a big fan of meal replacement, but it did make it easier when I knew that was ALL I could eat. I had one slim fast drink through the day and then a very small portion the family meal in the evening. Those Slimfast drinks are sugary and taste like melted ice-cream and I didn't really enjoy wasting my calorie allowance on them! But if you're looking for an easy way to get started with 5:2 that's one possibility.

    Protein is meant to be good for satiety, so looking for easy, high protein snacks might be good. Ready cooked meat is really easy, and a whole packet usually doesn't have as much as you'd think in the way of calories. If you're really short of time, you could just buy it in a shop and eat it out of the packet. If you're feeling adventurous, add some salad veg (I like peppers), olives, pickles, a small spoonful of coleslaw, etc. to make a small meal. If you like eggs, they can be handy (boil and cool them) and portion control is easy.

    I'm not a big fan of having a lot of fruit on 5:2 as it's relatively high calorie, so if I'm having some I'll go for small fruits (little tangerines, a couple of grapes, etc.) rather than bigger fruits like apples and bananas. I don't get 5 a day when I've tried 5:2, but if you're trying to make sure you do, vegetables are generally easier to fit into the calorie allowance than fruits.

    If you don't mind "junk" food and are in the UK (don't know if they do them anywhere else), Matteson's Fridge Raiders are handy. They are 115 calories for the usual packets and 70 calories for the mini bags (depending on flavour), and are mainly just chicken. Again, you can make them into a salad meal with a couple of additions.
  • Emmadsc
    Emmadsc Posts: 12 Member
    I've been on the 5:2 for the last 4 weeks & have so far lost 9lbs with that & at least 30mins exercise a day. I bought the book "The Fast Diet", very interesting & informative & it gives you some good recipes for your fast days and also a guide of calories in most everyday foods.

    I use the Vega One shake on my fast days, it's about 146 calories per drink & contains 50% of your daily nutrients so you wont miss anything you need, it fills you for at least 4-6 hours & because it's plant based it's one hell of a lot better for you than whey/soy or similar shakes. Then I normally just have a cooked chicken breast with a load of veg for dinner. On the other days I stick to my daily calories for normal weight, mainly omelettes with 1 egg & 2 egg whites for breakfast, ham or low fat cheese salad for lunch & chicken & veg for dinner. But don't forget the exercise as that will help you lose the most weight.

    If you need a couple of easy recipes for this then let me know & I'll send you what I've got.
  • babyblake11
    babyblake11 Posts: 1,107 Member
    by the way. just count calories when youre just starting. you dont want to start a specific diet unless you will be willing to follow for the rest of your life.
  • suziorr1981
    suziorr1981 Posts: 11 Member
    Hi there, I'm on my fourth week of 5:2 now and after 3 weeks have lost 12.8 lbs. I've experimented with what I eat on fast days which are on a Sunday and Monday if you can see my food diary. I've tried 3 meals a day and reduced to 2 meals now. For ease I normally make a sugar free jelly sachet with diced apple in it (78 calories for 1 pint) and I snack on that through out the day if the herbal teas and water stop fighting off any hunger pangs. For dinner I tend to go for a low calorie soup or a reduced calorie ready meal. I find quorn is a good replacement for meats on fast days as its much lower in fat and calories. I avoid carbohydrates such as breads etc as they use too many calories. I also take multivitamins on fast days to make sure my body is getting the nutrients it needs. Good luck with the 5:2 it's definitely changing my way of thinking about food for the better. :)

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