5:2 dieters--what are your experiences?

[38carrots]

I just finished my first week. I was surprised how well I functioned on 500 calories, and that after initial hunger (more of a habit?) I was feeling great. I'm also surprised that I seem to be eating less on "normal" days as well.

 

Do you keep your fasting days at 500 calories or lower? What are your go-to fasting days meals? What do you like about the fasting days? Do they remain rather easy? Do you count calories on "normal" days as well, or you just try to eat healthy?

 

I haven't stepped on the scale yet (will in a couple of weeks). How much weight are you losing a week on average?

 

Do you have any tips?

[Anne]

What did you eat on your 500 cal days?  I'm still toying with this plan...

 

Anne

[Laura Corin]

I was on the 5:2 diet for two years.  I used to have a cup of tea for breakfast and lunch, a small snack when I got home and a small supper of lean protein and lots of veg.  I lost 13 pounds and kept them off.  It didn't have the promised effect on my cholesterol levels.

 

I am now attempting to eat when hungry.  It's not as easy as 5:2 but I got tired of the restrictions in the end.

Edited February 26, 2016 by Laura Corin

[38carrots]

What did you eat on your 500 cal days?  I'm still toying with this plan...

 

Anne

 

I ate 2 soft boiled eggs in the late morning / lunch-ish and then a large salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper, celery, sour crout, sunflower seeds at dinner / supper time. I added lots of sour crout because I love it, and it barely has any calories. I also drank lots of green tea. My guess is that I was maybe closer to 600, but I still consider this pretty good for a beginner. I was feeling kinda empty in the evening, like "maybe I need to eat something or much on something" (lol) but I just had more tea and then the feeling passed and I felt great.

 

On the first fasting day I also had 1/4 cup of yogurt. Otherwise I ate the same on both days, because I love soft boiled eggs and crazy salads! lol

 

I think I tried the same next week, because it worked so well.

 

There are plenty of recipes floating around, I might try those as well.

 

Today is my "normal" day and I think I'm at about 1000 calories (evening time now), but am not hungry at all. I even made myself some plain yogurt with fruits, but figured that if I'm not hungry, why should I eat? I used to eay much more a day, that's for sure. So this is a really interesting experiment. It is like my body needed this, or something.

[38carrots]

I was on the 5:2 diet for two years.  I used to have a cup of tea for breakfast and lunch, a small snack when I got home and a small supper of lean protein and lots of veg.  I lost 13 pounds and kept them off.  It didn't have the promised effect on my cholesterol levels.

 

I am now attempting to eat when hungry.  It's not as easy as 5:2 but I got tired of the restrictions in the end.

 

Ha, that's nothing! *I* am attempting not to eat when not hungry. 

 

 

:w00t:

[nd293]

What did you eat on your 500 cal days? I'm still toying with this plan...

 

Anne

I actually laid out food for a 500 cal day yesterday just to test it. This is what I prepared:

 

Breakfast:

25g oats

70g low cal plain yoghurt

50g cherries

 

Lunch (soup):

50g onion

50g celery

1/2 tin tomato

250ml chicken stock

 

Dinner:

100g cabbage

50g fresh paprika

50g broccoli

165g chicken breast (raw weight)

 

100ml milk for coffee

 

I was supposed to try it today but I already forgot and used 200ml of milk in my iced coffee...

[nd293]

double post

Edited February 27, 2016 by nd293

[zoobie]

There are oodles of meal ideas on lowcarbfriends in one of the subforums. JUDDD or something with a bunch of letters. :)

[38carrots]

I'm off it while we're moving house - too stressful. 

 

But when I'm on it, I find it easiest to delay eating for as long as possible. 

 

Around 4pm I might have a few grapes or a carrot stick or something, but for me it works best to 'save' my calories up for dinner. 

 

Once I start eating, I'm done. Cannot stick to it. 

 

This makes sense. I haver really late "breakfasts" and it helps. Or rather I have lunch right away.

[rebbyribs]

Looking up nutrition info, it seems that 38 carrots would have almost 1,000 calories.  You're going to have to stick with 19 carrots on your fasting days.  :-)

[OnMyOwn]

I tried it, but going that low with calories gives me a horrible headache.

[JennyD]

 

I was on the 5:2 diet for about a year. I lost 10 pounds and then regained 5.  I am now limiting my carbs and have lost 3 of those 5.  

 

The diet was effective, but I always found the fasting days to be extremely difficult.  What worked best for me was to have a cup of coffee for breakfast, a hard-boiled egg for lunch, and then a light dinner. Fasting did not seem to affect my appetite on non-fasting days one way or the other.  

 

I am very active and work out hard almost every morning, but I tried to schedule my fasting days to go along with lighter workout days.  

[nd293]

I tried it, but going that low with calories gives me a horrible headache.

That's what's stopped me trying so far. I think fasting makes sense from an evolutionary perspective (what our bodies are designed for, feast and famine, I mean) but even when I move to a lower calorie (eg 1200 per day) diet I get terrible headaches the first few days as my body adjusts. I imagine if I 'yo-yo' the calories I'll get a headache each time I go to a 500 cal day.

[38carrots]

Looking up nutrition info, it seems that 38 carrots would have almost 1,000 calories.  You're going to have to stick with 19 carrots on your fasting days.  :-)

 

Hm, I meticulously entered absolutely everything and it was just over 500. Where does 1000 come from?

 

[zoobie]

Hm, I meticulously entered absolutely everything and it was just over 500. Where does 1000 come from?

 

USDA has carrot, 3 oz as 31 calories

My fitness pal app has 1 medium carrot as 25 calories

Either 1178 or 950 calories

 

But you'd OD on Vitamin A and your jaws would fall off!

[kitten18]

There are oodles of meal ideas on lowcarbfriends in one of the subforums. JUDDD or something with a bunch of letters. :)

Yes, I was going to say the same thing. It's the JUDDD sub-forum.

 

Actually, there might be another D in there.

[38carrots]

Looking up nutrition info, it seems that 38 carrots would have almost 1,000 calories.  You're going to have to stick with 19 carrots on your fasting days.  :-)

 

Okay, so what am I missing?

 

meal 1:

 

2 eggs: 156

smoothie: 1/3 cup of frozen blueberries: 24

spinach, 10 leaves: 23

plain low fat yougurt 1/3c: 46

 

Meal 2:

 

1 tomato: 26

1/2 cucumber: 20

olive oil, 1.5 teaspoon: 60

sunflower seeds, 1tbs: 74

celery 2 stalks: 20

garlic, 3 clove: 13

sourcrout, 1c: 20

half a pepper: 20

 

total: 508

 

[38carrots]

USDA has carrot, 3 oz as 31 calories

My fitness pal app has 1 medium carrot as 25 calories

Either 1178 or 950 calories

 

But you'd OD on Vitamin A and your jaws would fall off!

 

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Okay, got it! I was slow to get it. I thought the the poster said that by what I said about my fasting food intake, it was closer to 1000 calories, and I should stick to carrots lol. So I got worried that I miscalculated my fasting day calories (and that would be the answer why I wasn't hungry) :smilielol5:

 

Carry on. 38Carrots is slow today. (Maybe needs more calories) :smilielol5:

[kitten18]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Okay, got it! I was slow to get it. I thought the the poster said that by what I said about my fasting food intake, it was closer to 1000 calories, and I should stick to carrots lol. So I got worried that I miscalculated my fasting day calories (and that would be the answer why I wasn't hungry) :smilielol5:

 

Carry on. 38Carrots is slow today. (Maybe needs more calories) :smilielol5:

I was slow to get it too. I went back and scrutinized your posted menu and then I finally got it. Lol

[rebbyribs]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Okay, got it! I was slow to get it. I thought the the poster said that by what I said about my fasting food intake, it was closer to 1000 calories, and I should stick to carrots lol. So I got worried that I miscalculated my fasting day calories (and that would be the answer why I wasn't hungry) :smilielol5:

 

Carry on. 38Carrots is slow today. (Maybe needs more calories) :smilielol5:

 

Yeah, I was just being silly because your username sounds kind of like a fad diet.  :-)

[Deb in NZ]

I've followed this WoE (way of eating) for almost 3 years.  In the first year I lost over 45 pounds & have kept it off since then.  I tend to do more of a 4:3 / ADF rotation, with breaks of eating normally, but not overboard when we're traveling away from home.  My go-to fast day routine is lots & lots of water or lemon& hot water all day, saving all my calories for my huge dinner salad.  This salad contains lettuce, grated carrot, yellow capsicum (bell pepper), red onion, tomatoes, & red grapes.  I add a couple hard-boiled or poached eggs on top, along with some lean meat & a sprinkle of cheese.  I feel that the protein is essential for me feeling satisfied.  I avoid carbs on my fast days as I find that carbs & sugar makes me hungry faster.  

 

I struggled with headaches the first week or so eating this way.  This was during the time that I was going through sugar/carb withdrawal as I was used to filling up on tons of carbs & Coca-Cola was my drink of choice.  It does get better.  Make sure you drink plenty of water.  Sometimes a cup-a-soup helps if you get a head-ache as you may be needing salt.  

[38carrots]

I've followed this WoE (way of eating) for almost 3 years.  In the first year I lost over 45 pounds & have kept it off since then.  I tend to do more of a 4:3 / ADF rotation, with breaks of eating normally, but not overboard when we're traveling away from home.  My go-to fast day routine is lots & lots of water or lemon& hot water all day, saving all my calories for my huge dinner salad.  This salad contains lettuce, grated carrot, yellow capsicum (bell pepper), red onion, tomatoes, & red grapes.  I add a couple hard-boiled or poached eggs on top, along with some lean meat & a sprinkle of cheese.  I feel that the protein is essential for me feeling satisfied.  I avoid carbs on my fast days as I find that carbs & sugar makes me hungry faster.  

 

I struggled with headaches the first week or so eating this way.  This was during the time that I was going through sugar/carb withdrawal as I was used to filling up on tons of carbs & Coca-Cola was my drink of choice.  It does get better.  Make sure you drink plenty of water.  Sometimes a cup-a-soup helps if you get a head-ache as you may be needing salt.  

 

Thank you for sharing. Congratulations on your weight loss!

 

What is a 4:3 / ADF rotation?

 

I am normally a low carb eater, but decided not to worry about carbs / proteins on my fasting days. I was surprised I didn't have any definitive cravings.

 

I like the idea of saving most of the calories (if not all) towards the last meal. I'll try that.

 

[Jane Elliot]

I started 5:2 at the beginning of January because I had gained weight over the holidays. I've  lost 10 pounds which is more than I had gained and that puts me back into a healthy bmi range.

 

I had a lot of trouble with headaches the first few fast days and almost gave up, but I started making sure to drink tons of water. The headaches are gone now. I've stuck with the diet consistently for almost two months, but I'll stop for our spring break vacation next week.

 

On fast days, I use myfitnesspal (free online) to calculate calories. I'm religious with this, weighing everything on a scale and never going over 500 calories. I do spread the food out over the course of the day because that's what I can deal with. On non-fast days I don't think about what I'm eating at all, but I never feel like eating more than I normally would. 

 

A typical fast day looks like this --

 

Late breakfast -- two eggs scrambled with spinach or cabbage (with cooking spray)

 

Snack -- baby carrots, orange

 

Dinner -- elk patty, steamed green beans

 

 

Edited February 27, 2016 by Jane Elliot

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I tried the diet with success while doing and may try again. For breakfast I had an omelet with 1 egg and 3 servings of egg white mixed with a tablespoon of lite shredded cheese and a few slices of canadian bacon cooked on non-stick pan with olive oil spray. For dinner I had a salmon patty and tons of steamed broccoli or other green veg. Sometimes large salad instead.

[38carrots]

I tried the diet with success while doing and may try again. For breakfast I had an omelet with 1 egg and 3 servings of egg white mixed with a tablespoon of lite shredded cheese and a few slices of canadian bacon cooked on non-stick pan with olive oil spray. For dinner I had a salmon patty and tons of steamed broccoli or other green veg. Sometimes large salad instead.

 

I love this option, thanks!

 

[Deb in NZ]

Thank you for sharing. Congratulations on your weight loss!

 

What is a 4:3 / ADF rotation?

 

I am normally a low carb eater, but decided not to worry about carbs / proteins on my fasting days. I was surprised I didn't have any definitive cravings.

 

I like the idea of saving most of the calories (if not all) towards the last meal. I'll try that.

 

 

4:3 is when you have three fast days each week (i.e. Monday, Wednesday, Friday).  ADF is when you alternate fast days & normal days.  I've found that either of these approaches are easier for me, rather than just the two fast days each week in 5:2.  I never have two fast days in a row & seldom have more than two non-fast days in a row.  YMMV

[38carrots]

I just wanted to update that I lost 15lb on a 4:3 in 6 weeks or so, and it totally changed how I view food consumption. I'm loving this way of eating!

[Soror]

Congrats on your weight loss.

[OnMyOwn]

I may have to try this, headache or not. I spent most of February and March eating 1200 calories a day and lost one lousy pound. And I lost that only after having a stomach virus that kept me from eating for 24 hours.