Intermittent Fasting 5:2

I was sceptical - always been overweight even as a young child and the only diet that *really* ever worked for me was when I was a guinea pig for Rosemary Conley's flat stomach plan. Unfortunately, I now take regular medication and it appears that it's causing a constant battle with my weight - a struggle just to maintain. I've tried all sorts, weight loss clinics, diet chef, even resorting back to the diet that actually worked for me with little or no success. Before I get the "eat less, exercise more" comments, I was working out at the gym for 30 minutes a day, an intensive zumba workout 4 times a week and using the Wii Fit at home until I was told it was accelerating my bipolar highs and to stop completely (advice from a GP). The only time I managed to lose weight simply was to stop taking my medication and within 2 weeks I'd easily lost 7lbs. At an annual medical, the nurse actually agreed that my medication was probably playing a part but of all the weight loss tips and tricks, the only one she mentioned that I hadn't tried was the 5:2 - nothing to lose so I thought I'd give it a go.
3 weeks on and I've lost over half a stone, and inches from my measurements.
On an 8 mile round trip walk with my son (I walk a lot) and a 5:2 conversation, he actually compared it to a lot of animal's normal diet - quite frequently, animals in the wild will eat their kill, then eat very little until the next available food on tap.
While it's working, I'm going to stick to it....

Tubbs216 wrote: »

phanmale13 wrote: »

... I was a guinea pig for Rosemary Conley's flat stomach plan.

Is she still around? I think I still have a copy of her Hip & Thigh Diet on my shelf somewhere!! LOW FAT was the name of the game then, wasn't it. Never heard of the flat stomach plan though.

Glad to hear you're having success with 5:2. I keep thinking about it, more from the health perspective than for weight loss though.

It was 1994 and I had my success printed in the book when it came out! I had to do follow a diet sheet that hadn't been published at the time and give feedback after 4, 8 and 12 weeks. I lost 4 dress sizes and was the slimmest I'd been in years (before and since).

Think her stuff is mainly based online now and she still follows the 5% fat rule although she does have a version of the 5:2 although the calorie deficit isn't as low as the 500 for women/600 for men.

As I said, I was sceptical about the 5:2, but got a copy of the book cheap during a supermarket shop, watched the "eat fast, live longer" documentary and thought I'd give it a go! There is a lot of information available on the internet and it isn't a costly diet unlike slimming groups or diet foods that you can buy. I'm not saying they don't work, just that they didn't work for me. It's been a constant struggle to keep my weight stable and not gain any more weight, but personally, so far at least, have found the 5:2 concept easy to follow and it's working!