Wow what a wonderful response! I'm going to make the group private after a certain amount of members, otherwise it becomes a little difficult to track and I'd rather we were a tight knit group than an anonymous bunch of numbers. But, if anyone has a friend that they think would benefit from the group just send me a message with their MFP name and I'll add them

All I ask is that you take a little time each week to check in, log your progress and share the experience. The more you log in the more likely you are to succeed as it will be at the forefront of your mind.

If you are having a bad week then don't give up. They key thing about this diet is that you need to fast 1 day a week to maintain. Once you have reached your goal weight 1 fast day a week will keep you there. If you go back to your old habits your will put it back on, so this really is a lifestyle change and not a diet. So, if you're finding that it just isn't working for you due to a bad week etc, then just take one day (maybe one that you can have a lie in on...sleep through the fast ) and stick to 500 cals and try again the next week.

Some weeks you won't lose, and some weeks you will lose a lot so stick with it And let us know if you are struggling!!
I'm feeling really positive for this challenge. And what a lovely bunch of people! If you have any suggestions for challenges etc just let me know!

Hello I'm Andie and I've been doing 5:2 for the last three weeks (with a week break for holiday travelling!). So far I've lost around 10lbs and I'm looking forward losing another 20lbs more.. For me, it's much easier to accomplish this way because I can fit social eatings on my diet and I get to see my friends in a normal way and not exactly on "diet".

Also, I never manage to count calories correctly if I do it every single day, so to focus on counting two (or three) days a week and then normalish the rest works...

I do work out (six or seven days a week!) and have frappuchinos on rest days .

Until september, I will be doing 4:3 since I want to lose the most before a trip I have to Morocco mid September.. So wish me luck and good to see you here!

Best of luck with 4:3! I have great success when I do it, but I find it hard to stick with it so I keep that for special occasions or after I've had a bad week. I'm sure you'll have fantastic results though let us know how you get on

Hello Everyone,

My name is Crystal and today is my first fast day! I think that next week I will start making them Mondays and Thursdays but I just found out about this diet and I wanted to jump on the bandwagon as soon as possible. I'm still a little unsure about this whole fasting thing (I hate being hungry) but I figured that it was worth a try. Anyway my goal is to lose at least 10 pounds, though I secretly hope for 17. I'm curious as to whether most people work out on fast days? At the moment I feel like just hanging in will be hard enough on those days. Also do you “load up” the day before?
I think I will continue to count on my regular days and leave my weekends as “free” days, this is mostly because I don’t want to lose the habit of healthy eating I’ve worked so hard into forming and also because I’m not sure if this diet will stick (I know that sounds extremely negative on my first day but maybe after today my attitude will change).

Okay wish me luck!

Hi Crystal! Great that you've jumped on the bandwagon. the fasting doesn't really feel like fasting and if you eat lots of veg you don't feel hungry. Also after time you'll find your energy levels up and you'll actually look forward to fast days. No need to load up before exercise or a fast day. Just eat normally 5 days a week. The idea is to net around 1200 calories per day throughout the week. Eat too little on non-fast days and you're body will go into starvation and you won't be able to lose anything. Eat too much and the scale won't move Best of luck x