Anyone doing 5:2? Advice on starting please!

Kate_UK · October 2015

I'm looking to start the 5:2 diet this week after bumping into a friend who's done incredibly well with it, does anyone have any tips? Which days work best for you for fasting?

Jagerin · October 2015

While not currently doing it (pregnant), I did 5:2 for months. I started in December 2014 at 285lbs and ended at 250lbs by the time I started getting morning sickness in March (confirmed pregnancy in April). That's close to 2-3lbs a week, but I had more to lose than most. It would have slowed down the longer I did it and the less I had to lose. That whoosh of water weightloss at the beginning was a large chunk of it.

I did not rely on the 5:2 alone for weightloss and I did not follow it strictly.

I walked 3 miles a day, except on my fasting days, I did Pilates twice a week, and I counted calories on my 5 days to make sure I was getting everything I needed.

It is sustainable, if you're willing to work at it. It can be a healthy plan, if you're willing to work at it. Like anything else, you can't just do it and expect it to work on it's own. It's still up to you.

I would do my two fasting days on my days off from work. I didn't do heavy excising on those days. I didn't stick to just 500 calories on those days, I just focused on staying under 1000 calories for that day. To keep myself occupied, cause I'm a boredom eater, I would focus on a room in my house and do a deep clean on it. Ceiling to floor. Clean it all. My house never looked better. I made sure to eat very high nutrients foods on those days. No empty calories or wasted calories (small foods with large calorie counts). I also took a daily vitamin.

On my non-fasting days, I made sure to never under eat my calorie goal (which was about 1800). I might go a few calories over, but never under.

I also didn't do it every week. Twice a month a group of friends and I meet up. Usually starts around 8pm and doesn't end till about 4am. It was hard to do fasting those weeks, so I just did my regular 1800 calorie counting that whole week. I still lost weight, just not as much (1lbs instead of 2lbs).

The first few fasting days were the hardest, cause I was still stumbling to find my groove and what worked best for me. Once I found it, I found it a very simple plan to follow. I'm a preplanner, so I had my weekly meals already in my MFP diary by Sunday nights.

Losing weight seems to be hard for me. I tried a lot of things before getting to the point where something worked and didn't feel hard to maintain for me. This was what worked for me. Does not mean it will work for you or anyone else.

tl;dr It worked for me. Doesn't mean it will work for you. Weight your options carefully. It can be a good, sustainable, healthy plan if you're willing to put the work into it.

saladcrunchy · October 2015

Hello Kate,

I did the 2/5 with fantastic results.

I was so impressed that I would recommended it to anyone that has failed with conventional diets. It absolutely got the hunger pangs under control, it was the first diet that didn't leave me feeling hungry all the time. It was effortless and none of the hassle with constant calorie counting, restored my blood sugar levels to normal and I felt great on it.

The first stone fell off me without even feeling as if I was on a diet and then, after about 6 weeks, I stopped losing weight and had to start calorie restricting on a daily basis. However, six weeks of 2/5 had restored the hunger hormones to normal levels and they didn't return, even when I began conventional dieting. Once I reach my target weight, I shall go back to the 2/5 for maintenance and because fasting can be very good for you as explained in the links below.

Tips:
You don't have to do two days back to back as long as you do two days and you don't have to do the same thing every week although I found it easier to have a routine and my body adjusted better when I did the same.

Day one is harder than day two and so I had a preference for doing the two days consecutively and to get them out of the way.

Choose meals that are filling in terms of bulk, that will digest slowly and won't give you a sugar hit because the fall off will be harder to tolerate. Once I found what filled me up and kept me going for longer I had the same two meals on fast days. maybe you want variety, but I wanted convenience and the calorie counting was taken care of, I knew exactly what each meal was, didn't have to think about it every time and didn't have to fuss over shopping.

You are aiming to have the longest possible gap between the two meals (breakfast and supper) and so pick times that are realistic and try to stick to them. Not sure why this is but it is always easier to sustain something if it is a regular habit and you are not chopping and changing all the time

Drink a lot. the whole point is to fast and so this is a no cheating regime, you cheat, even a bit, even a teensy bit, you haven't fasted and so that leaves you with water, enjoy it, drink it slow so as not to expand your stomach and leave you feeling empty.

Did I cheat? well yes, but not usually and only if I felt a bit weak and had a task that needed concentration. My cheat was to put the juice of half a lime or lemon into the water or have six raisins. It's surprising how little you need to get past a wobble but they rarely happened. This really is the way to bust cravings and by the sixth week, I was free from them - well the memory is a terrible tease isn't it, but physically, I had no pangs and didn't suffer at all.

Good luck

The 5/2 diet
https://youtube.com/watch?v=VWtaLLjJzn4

Horizon – BBC - Eat, fast, live longer,
bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01lxyzc/horizon-20122013-3-eat-fast-and-live-longer

or watch and download from Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/103656060

Kate_UK · October 2015

Thanks all,

@saladcrunchy , I'd be interested in what two meals that you used, as a starting point.

sijomial · October 2015

My main tip would be actually follow the plan including, importantly, eating at maintenance levels on your non-fasting days.

Put a lot of thought into your fast day meals, make the meals an "event" (a proper meal) and not a snack. High volume, high taste, high nutrition worked best for me. Also experiment with how your distribute your meals on a fast day. Lunch and dinner worked for me, breakfast and dinner worked for my wife, some people like just one evening meal - there's no wrong or right way.

Never did my fast days consecutively, tended to be Monday & Thursday as that fitted well but flexible over the days to fit the diet into my lifestyle and not the other way round.

The thought "it's only for one day" really helps get you through the first few fasts, it does become far easier over time. Exercise on fast days also gets easier over time, build up slowly or just take fast days as rest days if that suits you.

Get some 5:2 recipes from either online or books - it's amazing what you can do with few calories if you put your mind to it. Lean protein (fish & shellfish particularly good) and veggies are your friends.

Beware your weight will fluctuate like mad so don't be a slave to the bathroom scales, think long term.

saladcrunchy · October 2015

I keep it very plain

Breakfast: scrambled eggs and ham with one chopped baby plumb tomato
Supper: simmer the white fish portion that had been defrosting in milk with a bay leaf and dill, add tsp cornflour and tsp butter to thicken and serve with a huge pile of fine green beans, black pepper and another baby plumb tomato

For me, the more tasty, the more tempting and I tired to keep the protein high and the carbs low for the same reason, carbs stimulate my appetite too much on fast days but if you don't have a problem with that then see the link;
52recipes.co.uk/

Samantha21784 · October 2015

I did 5:2 for about 5 months. I lost 15 pounds but very slowly. At first, I was losing about 1 pound a week but then I plateaued and then I yo-yo'ed for a while and eventually started losing again and then plateaued again. All in all, it averaged to 0.5 pounds a week of weight loss. It was super hard for me at first as I was used to eating breakfast daily. I got headaches for the first week or 2 but that passed. You have to be sure to drink plenty of water. I never fasted back to back. I found it easiest to skip breakfast and have a small snack for lunch if necessary. But I really tried to save my calories for dinner, which was usually soup and salad or chicken with veggies. I found it easier to fast during work days because work kept me too busy to think about food. I never experienced this loss of hunger or loss of cravings for bad foods, lol.

Ultimately, I caved due to diet fatigue and I quit fasting. I restricted calories and exercised and ate protein to gain muscle instead. Recently I have been trying to do 6:1 so I can experience some benefits of fasting still. Much easier than doing it twice a week for me.

saladcrunchy · October 2015

Samantha21784 wrote: »

. I never experienced this loss of hunger or loss of cravings for bad foods, lol. quote]

You make a good point; it's trial and error isn't it to find what works - different bodies, different lifestyles, different food combo's etc. And what you eat when on the fast may have more significance than is ever stated re: cravings, headaches; e.g. I cant fast and drink coffee without headache. It pretty much says you can have what you want so long as you observe the calorie limit but suspect that whether is works well, may depend upon what as well as how much.

Would be interested to know if you had high carbs while on the 2:5? it was much easier when I kept it low. (the Atkins principle)

Kate_UK · November 2015

I thought I'd check back in on this old thread to say that I'm absolutely LOVING 5:2. 4 weeks in, 8 fast days and 7.4lbs lost.
Not only that but I have loads of energy and my eczema is far better than it's been in ages. I can't believe that I actually look forward to my fast days rather than dread them.

Anyone doing 5:2? Advice on starting please!

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