Detox and 5:2 progress after 4 months

I wanted to take the opportunity to share my success on this board since I have gone above and beyond my initial goals.

I started off at the beginning of the year at 185lbs, feeling very bloated, tired, exhausted. My trousers for work were size 36 but it was a struggle to get into them. In fact I could not fit into about 75% of my wardrobe – it was quite depressing and I had pretty much resigned myself to a life of being overweight. I was inspired by a work colleague who started the 5:2 diet 16 weeks before Christmas. Initially I poo pooed the idea as being another fad diet – that was until I saw him dramatically shrink.

So I kicked off the year with the 30 day Jane Scrivner detox which I do every year. The idea of this was to give myself and general clean up after the overindulgence at Christmas – at the end of it I felt amazing with so much energy. I generally do this every year and lose about half a stone and my trousers feel a bit looser but as soon as I go back onto a normal diet the weight gets piled on.

This time I broke with tradition and I completed the detox and started the 5:2 having 2 x 600 calorie fast days a week and eating normally the rest of the time. I devised a way to split the calories over the day to avoid grumpiness.

4 months later and I am delighted with the results. I have lost over 28lbs and have “overtaken” my wardrobe and now the majority of clothes don’t fit because they are too baggy. I am now into size 31 jeans, size small T shirts and feel so much better. In addition I have renewed interest in clothes shopping which is so much more fun when you are the size you want to be.

My next aim is to tone up. Unfortunately I have been put on a ban on lifting weights due to a shoulder injury however as soon as that is fixed I intend to start lifting again and upping my protein. Until then I am working on legs, lower back, abs. I have a sun holiday booked for August and ideally I would love to be able to get my kit off to sunbathe without that awful feeling of embarrassment I used to experience. My body is nowhere near beach ready and is still a bit flabby in places so it would be great to lose that.

The best thing about the 5:2 is that I find it sustainable. Having to watch my calories every single day for the rest of my life just to keep the weight off is far too much of a depressing thought. I want to be able to go out for dinner with friends and not feel guilty when I don’t order a salad. I want to be able to enjoy pizza and beer without guilt. This eating regime enables me to maintain my weight loss and still enjoy myself. I tend to have my two (non-consecutive) fast days during the week, eat up to my TDEE for the remainder of the week and then let myself go wild at the weekends.

I realise that there are lots of differing opinions about the 5:2. I know that when I started out I was looking for success stories particularly from men to try to get some sort of idea as to what results I can expect and how long it will take before I can see them. I hope that this article will help give an indication of what you can achieve.

PS. I’m having a car boot sale in Brighton this weekend if anyone wants to have a rummage through my fat clothes!! :happy: