Julie’s story

In January this year where I work was starting up a slimming club. Although I didn’t want to join it, I knew I needed to weigh myself, as I knew I was at my biggest and in denial. None of my clothes fitted me & I was just slobbing about in men’s XXL jogging bottoms & T-shirts.
When I weighed in I burst into tears, I was over 2.5 stone heavier that what I expected to be and the last weight I was  (17st 8 & 3/4 lb). My doctor had advised me to lose weight at 15st citing that I was morbidly obese, borderline type 2 diabetes & my BMI was far too high along with my blood pressure.

I’d had problems with my weight since I was a teenager & had tried numerous diets, slimming pills,  groups etc, but because the weight loss was slow I used to give up. I’d even been referred to a Get Active programme through my doctor to get me doing more exercise. However, through back & leg injuries from a car accident I found exercising painful and I didn’t have the willpower to eat healthy all of the time.

I posted on Facebook about how disgusted I was in myself and I was going to do something about it. I continued to log my progress, purely to stop me relapsing into my food’o’holic habits.  I was looking online for quick loss diets & saw the 5:2 website. I thought “that’s one I hadn’t heard of”, so I read up all I could find, downloaded Michael Mosley’s book and after researching all I could find I thought I’d give it a go.

I wanted to be slim & not grade 3 obese. I just thought I should see what I could or might lose in a year. My weight fluctuates from a loss & gain of 4lbs a week, but seemed to level out at 1-2lb a week loss, but there have been weeks when I haven’t lost anything and that was usually down to me overindulging.

After a few false starts I finally found how to plan my fasts, I drink teas during the day and don’t eat until as late as I can. I only allow myself soup, salad, fruit & jelly or the occasional Low Low meal. I seem to be able to manage the fasts, but I struggle to control my eating the other 5 days.

I am now only classed as overweight and if I can I’d like to lose another 2 stone. I’ve lost 5 already!

Colleagues at work started to notice my loss when I was swamped in my uniform. Once I renewed my uniform customers also started to ask if I’d been losing weight, and how I had done it.
I class myself as a work in progress and 5:2 will be a lifelong commitment for me.

If I had to offer advice to a new faster, I’d tell them this:
Research – know what you are doing. Weigh your food – use an app like My Fitness Pal. Don’t give up – the weight loss might not show at first, but the loss in inches does!

I still can’t believe I’ve lost so much weight on 5:2, once you get your head around what to eat, plan & weigh your food it’s not difficult. You won’t melt into the floor or pass out with lack of food! 5:2 to me has rewired my mind in how and what to eat as well as only to eat when I’m genuinely hungry. I’ve become a bit of an expert in how many calories are in foods in having smaller portions, though I still call myself a recovering food’o’holic!

Mary Ann’s story

My Background

At the age of 14, weighing a slightly heavy, but athletic 130lbs, I stopped eating. This lasted a year, after which I weighed 75lbs (I was probably 5’3”-5’4” at the time). At some point it hit me how scary it was being so underweight (Karen Carpenter’s death was a shocking eye-opener for me), and I started eating again. I ended up at ~150lbs (at 5’5” by now, this was just about within the healthy range), and stayed that way for many years. I still did a lot of sports, and ate reasonably healthily. I didn’t even put on the Freshman 10!

I was busy with university and grad school and didn’t really think about dieting much. Until… towards the end of grad school a friend of mine, who like me was probably on the heavier side of healthy, lost some weight and she looked and felt so great, I decided to try it too. Wow, was I a champion dieter. I wasn’t weighing myself (because of my weighing obsession when I was anorexic, I didn’t keep scales in the house), but I’m guessing I was down to ~120lbs. But then one day at a party (funny how I remember this so well), I decided to take a day off of dieting, and I enjoyed the food so much, that was the end of the diet. Or even maintaining. So I put all the weight back on. Then during thesis writing, I was so stressed out, I lost a lot again. Thus began the yo-yo’ing. My next big weight drop came during a period when I was stressed and had really bad insomnia. I completely lost my appetite. I lost a lot without even trying.

Though when I snapped out of it finally, I gradually put it back on. This happened another time or two during my early 30s–losing weight without even trying. Then something happened. Aging I guess. I was in my late 30s by this point. Suddenly my body became mushy. Weight loss wasn’t easy. It was gradually going up and I didn’t like it. I tried an Atkins-like diet, and again: champion dieter. Off the weight came. I was so happy. But again. I didn’t keep it off. And whenever I tried the diet again, it didn’t work as well.

I should say that during these times I lost weight, I never got dangerously low again. But somehow my year of anorexia was always in the back of my mind. It was worrying how easy dieting was for me. It was worrying how addictive it could be. Yet, never too much of a worry because I never did manage to maintain that discipline for very long (perhaps luckily!)

By now, in my 40s, my weight was really creeping up. Once I moved to Japan, I was getting regular health checks, and none of the numbers (cholesterol, fasting glucose, etc.) were bad… except my weight. I had gone from being a PhD student and post-doc and being on my feet all day in the lab to being a lab head, which involved a lot more sitting, a lot less NEAT. In terms of intentional exercise, I was still very active (cycling to work, jogging, 10K “races”), but I couldn’t get the weight off. By this time, I weighed a shocking 87.6kg (193lbs!).

Discovering Fasting

Then, shortly after my 48th birthday, I read the article about 5:2 in the NY Times (March 2013). I bought the book and started immediately. I thought the idea was quite logical scientifically, and honestly was pretty desperate to give anything a try!

My Goals

My goal weight was ~140lbs (~63kg). This put me within the healthy BMI range. It was somewhat random, though. I really planned to see how I looked and felt as I went. I had no time goals. I was definitely motivated to take some weight off my knees so that I could keep running.

Starting Out

Not quite believing that it would work, and not being a very patient person, I decided to start with 4:3. I had a race coming up and wanted to drop some weight before it to make my poor knees happier. I thought I would switch to 5:2 afterward, but I had gotten used to the rhythm of 4:3 by then and just stuck with it. I joined the forum after a couple of fasts because I was struggling. Afternoon would hit and I was so hungry. I got the tip in the forum to have a miso soup, which I still do almost every fast day!

My Fasting Journey

The pounds just melted away. I was ticking off one intermediate goal after the next: no longer obese, 1 stone gone, 2 stones gone, reaching a healthy BMI. My weight loss was fairly steady for about 6 months.

I don’t love fasting; I find it hard to concentrate for more intellectually demanding work that I sometimes do. After a crazy weekend, however, I do look forward to a fast and after the first month, I didn’t find fasting particularly difficult. I think it is sustainable for me because my memory of the suffering is short; since I can eat what I want (within reason) on non-fast days, I don’t feel deprived. I toyed with being more restrictive (low carb, etc.) at times when the weight loss slowed, but in the end I never really did that (though see below about 16:8).

People at work and friends started noticing the change pretty quickly. Japanese ladies have no qualms about coming up to me and running their hands along my sides to demonstrate how slim they think I’ve become (which anywhere else in the world would not go over so well!)

My Success

By December, almost exactly 9 months after starting, I had reached my goal weight of 63kg (139lbs). I was ecstatic! I was at a weight I hadn’t seen in many, many years. My knees were happy. My race times plummeted. I started running half-marathons. My self-esteem went up. [Unfortunately a couple of months before, I was told that my contract wasn’t being renewed and I would have to find a new job. That put a damper on things.]

My Fasting Future

Sometime before reaching my goal, I made and posted a maintenance plan. This diet was working so well, I was worried I would slip into bad habits and just keep going. It seemed important to state some boundaries publicly. I’m worried I jinxed myself. Maintenance has not been so easy. I tend to gain weight on every holiday, when I take a break from fasting, and even with 4:3 the rest of the time, I haven’t managed to get back to my goal weight and stay there. BUT, having said that, I’ve never gone back to as high as 70kg (154lbs), and have stayed at least 20% below my starting weight. So, I’m going to get back to goal (!), but, in the meantime, I am trying to be happy that I haven’t let things get crazily out of control again and that I have maintained a reasonably healthy weight. By National Weight Control Registry standards, I am a maintainer!

I’m not entirely sure why I’m struggling so much with maintenance when losing weight in the first place was relatively easy. Given my history of rapid regain after weight loss, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. It hasn’t helped that I’m going through a rough time at work, which leads to emotional eating (I have a bad sweet tooth). I’m trying to keep it in perspective. I keep faithfully fasting, almost always 3 times a week.

My Top Tips

Vegetables are your friends. Keep moving—exercise is a good distraction. Coffee coffee coffee.

Other notes

• I started out not weighing, then weighing once a week at the health clinic at work, then buying scales and weighing daily or every other day. I measured weekly until I broke my arm in August!
• I’m a pear, so my waist got into the healthy range long before my weight did.
• I ate 400-500cals on fast days, and didn’t count calories on non-fast days, but kept a food diary. When I started to lose more slowly/plateau near my goal weight, I started counting calories on non-fast days because my TDEE was quite a bit lower. I didn’t use it to restrict—some days I went over my TDEE. I just wanted to get a better feel for the calories in the things I commonly eat.
• On non-fast days these days, I do a modified 16:8, where I allow myself a small breakfast of a soft-boiled egg outside the eating window.
• I exercise about 4-5 days a week. This involves running (up to 20k when I am training for half-marathons), weights/strength training, HIIT on the elliptical, etc. Other than long runs, I don’t usually mind exercise on a fast day. It’s a good distraction. Usually it works as an appetite suppressant for me.
• My favourite fast day meal: the Mexican pizza from the fast diet book
• The fast day meal that still most amazes me: a 300-400cal vegetable stir fry. It’s a massive bowl of food!
• Last but not least, the forum has been an awesome source of support, information, and inspiration!

Cheryl’s Story

As a child I was heavyset and growing up we had big portions and was taught to eat everything on our plate, even at school!! I was bullied through infant & junior school and this continued into high school whereby I turned to chocolate as a form of comfort, eating 2-3 bars at a time.

At the age of 21 I set about eating healthy and exercising and I lost weight but then in 2003 I met my partner and we fell into the contentment trap, eating takeaways 2-3 times a week, drinking and dining out.  Two years later I fell pregnant and luckily I only put on a stone but being on maternity leave in the winter and no means of transport I fell into the trap of drinking gallons of coffee and eating chocolate biscuits resulting in weight gain.  Throughout the years I have tried Slimming World and Weight Watchers even ‘At Home’ hypnotherapy but I just couldn’t get my head around them and didn’t have great results with these programmes.

In 2010 I set about eating healthier and exercising on at home, which resulted in a weight loss of just over 2 stones and I felt fab!! Unfortunately a year later I was diagnosed with depression and work related stress and I put it all back on. It took me over two years to fight the depression but I came through it feeling stronger.

Then in July 2013 a very good friend was telling me about 5:2, which I thought sounded like a great way of losing weight but still allowed you to eat what you wanted as nothing was forbidden. So I bought the book, took the time to read it and then embarked on my 5:2 journey!

I won’t lie it was a struggle at first so I aimed to eat 650 to 700 cals on my Fast days to give my mind and body chance to adjust. Back then I worked two 11 hour shifts on a Tuesday and Thursday so I chose these days to do my fasting as I only had one break. A typical fast day would be a small skinny latte for breakfast,  homemade soup or salmon with rice or salad for lunch, then a prawn stir fry or soup for dinner. With an options hot chocolate before bed as this curbed my sweet tooth.  Now I am used to fasting, my fast day usually consists of a large skinny latte around late morning then dinner is usually salmon or chicken cordon bleu with new pots and veg, ostrich with greens or sometimes a ready meal if I’m short on time. Plus I make infused water the night before and drink this throughout the day. Through the week on my non fast days I eat sensibly and under my TDEE, although as a treat I always have a croissant for breakfast with a large skinny latte, whether it’s chocolate, almond or butter. I make a lot of the Hairy Dieters recipes as they are very filling but low calorie and the family love them!! Also my slow cooker gets used a lot, especially at this time of year, so I make things like corned beef hash & dumplings or sausage casserole.  At the weekends it’s pretty much anything goes, so Saturday night is generally a take away with wine and then Sundays is a roast. The one thing I have noticed throughout my journey is the loss of my sweet tooth!! Which I know is good but I do miss that. Dessert used to be the first thing I looked at on a menu when eating out.

My weight loss appeared to come off slowly at first but then I began to notice my clothes were feeling loose and I could take my jeans off without unbuttoning them!! Some weeks I didn’t lose weight but had in inches, so I would recommend you keep a record of your measurements. I haven’t particularly done much in the form of exercise really, started the 30 day shred but by day 16 I’d grown bored of it. I do need to start doing something though as I want to start toning up.

15 months later I have gone from 15st 13lbs to 12st 11lbs – a loss of 3 stone 2lbs (44lbs). I’ve lost 36 1/2 inches overall and have gone from a size 22/24 to a size 18 on top and from a size 20 to a size 16 on the bottom. My BMI has gone from 37.80 to 29.80 taking me from Obese to Overweight.

For me the biggest challenge was altering my mind-set as in my head I was still a size 20 and when shopping for clothes I would automatically pick up the larger size. I remember going into a well known high street shop and picking up a pair of size 16 skinny jeans thinking no way these will fit….. But they did!!! That feeling was the best feeling ever!!! Being able to go into ‘normal’ high street shops and buy clothes is such a sense of achievement. Before 5:2 I wore a lot of black baggy clothes and these days I choose bright fitted clothes.  Also the amount of compliments I receive is such a boost and a few months back I went on a night out with a few friends and family who hadn’t seen me in a while and their reaction was amazing!!! They didn’t even recognise me – even my own Mother lol!!

My 5:2 journey still continues as I want to lose at least another stone but I have no time frame in how long this will take. I just know that 5:2 is a way of life for me and it has taught me to really appreciate food. It has changed my life for the better resulting in me being a happier, confident and slimmer lady!

Top Tip – On your 5:2 journey take each day as it comes and don’t be overly hard on yourself if you haven’t had a successful ‘fast’ day – there’s always tomorrow.  Remember 5:2 is a way of life and not a quick fix.

I met my Husband 4 years ago and ours is the usual story full of contentment, fancy dinners, takeaways and wine. Not to mention that he’s a very good cook so I felt obliged to sample everything; in large quantities! Around the same time I left my employer in London and started to work from home so the commute became mere seconds. Whilst I didn’t miss the rat race it would seem that my body needed the daily 40 minute walk from the train station to the office and back. Over the course of 2 years I slowly added 3 stone to my 5″5′ frame and reached 13st 4Ibs, nudging towards a size 16 which is by fair the biggest I’ve ever been. It made me feel unhappy, unfit and quite frankly undesirable. But it’s hindsight that has made me realise how big I’d got; at the time I knew that my weight had peaked but thought I hid it pretty well. Viewing the photo’s now tells me that I didn’t!

Having followed Weight Watchers many years ago, I knew their diet could work again but really didn’t fancy the struggle of counting points every day and being so restricted.  The problem is that I like food. A lot! So cutting down on portion sizes, long term, just wouldn’t cut it for me. Then my Husband read an article about how Dom Joly had lost weight on the 5:2 diet so that got us interested and we decided to take action. The idea of fasting for just 2 days a week, and otherwise eating as we wished, seemed ideal of course!

I wanted to reach 9st13Ibs before our wedding in August this year so the goal was set with a little less than a year in which to do it. No pressure! But, to be honest, I’ve found it pretty easy. Honestly! Working from home means that there are lots of temptations but the desire to lose weight and improve fitness was stronger than the urge to overeat on fast days.  Knowing I can eat what I want tomorrow gets me through a tough fast day. And having your partner fast on the same days has definitely made life easier (not to mention cheaper!).

I tend to skip breakfast, nibble on a couple of slices of ham throughout the day (some are as little as 8cals per slice) and the reward is a large dinner such as mushroom stroganoff or chicken stir fry with a black bean sauce – it’s amazing how much you can eat if you’re sensible with ingredients. And drink lots of water as that can really fill your tummy for a while and ease cravings. Some 5:2ers also avoid carb’s on a fast day which seems to reduce bloating for a lot of us. Incidentally, a typical feast day during the week would be poached egg on toast with butter and ketchup for breakfast. Lunch is often leftover bubble and squeak, pasta with pesto or baked beans on toast with cheese. And one of Hubby’s legendary meals for dinner; mushroom risotto, sausages and mash with lashings of onion gravy, a hearty roast or homemade chicken kebab with chips. At weekends you can throw in a takeaway, pub lunch and at least 3 bottles of wine!

The weight seemed to take a while to come off at first but once you start getting compliments from friends/family you know it’s working! Some weeks I didn’t lose any physical weight but the mirror, and my ever-baggier clothes, told a different story and other weeks I’d lose 4Ib on the scales. With hindsight I’d have measured myself to monitor the inches that were coming off.

Despite being able to eat as you wish for 5 days per week your eating habits definitely change. You go to bed on a fast day dreaming of the huge breakfast you’ll scoff the next morning but quite often you just don’t fancy it when you wake up. We’ve not been so strict since the wedding and are both starting to feel quite bloated and sick of food so plan to get back on track again immediately.

Today I’m a size 10 and have lost around 3 stone. I wore a fitted dress on our wedding day which I couldn’t have dreamed of doing just a few months beforehand and I feel happy with the way I look; well, as happy as us women can be with our figures!  But I’m now more confident, and slimmer, than I have been in over 8 years!

I’d still like to lose another few Ibs to get to that mystical 9st-something mark but I don’t care how long it takes. So for now 5:2 remains but I’ve heard a wonderful rumour that 6:1 is enough to maintain things once you’re at goal weight so I look forward to reaching that stage! I posted a before/after pic onto a 5:2 group on Facebook which received over 1,350 likes and more than 170 complimentary comments – that’s enough motivation to keep me going!

Top Tip: Cauliflower rice was a revelation for me; there’s a whole host of low calorie recipes based around cauliflower so I’ll be trying those soon. And it’s not worth even attempting a fast with a hangover as the craving for food is just way too high!

In a nutshell, 5:2 has changed my life and my new Husband has a happy, healthy wife. Between us we’ve lost more than 6 stone in less than a year!

My 5:2 Journey

When I got married at the young age of 20 I was a skinny size 8, I could eat anything and everything and I had a very active job. I changed my career when I got to 24 and that’s when things went downhill, lol. I very slowly started to put on weight and by the time I was 30 I was a size 14, I tried Weight Watchers and also Slimming World but it just didn’t work for me, I knew what I had to do but either I didn’t have the motivation or the inclination to follow it 7 days a week.

 
We moved to France 10 years ago when I was aged 38 and a hefty size 18 and weighing a tad over 15st, by this time I knew I was carrying an unhealthy amount of weight but still did nothing about it, my self confidence was in a downwards spiral.

 
Last year we were invited to a friends wedding back in the UK, I tried several outfits as I wanted to look my best and settled on a size 20 Maxi dress from Principles, the whole time I was there I felt uncomfortable and was easily the biggest person there. A few weeks later our newly married friends brought us a framed photograph over…….OMG I looked as bad as I thought I did !!!! Still I did nothing about it but be unhappy.

 
Last November 2 friends that live here in France asked me to go swimming with them, I agreed to go as could never exercise on my own as couldn’t find the motivation so thought it would be good for me as well as a social thing. My first visit I managed an exhausting 5 lengths in 1 hour !! I slowly, and I mean slowly, built up my stamina and beginning of January 1 could do 20 lengths and felt better about myself.

 
My one swimming buddy Annie then suggested we all try this new diet she’d heard of called 5:2 intermittent fasting, never heard of it I said but Googled it and read up as much as I could. This appealed hugely to me because I was able to tell myself I’m only dieting for 2 days a week. I really didn’t want to be “Fat & 50” so thought I had better start doing something now at 47. The 3 of us decided to give it a go and PM each other on Facebook to motivate and help each other, we became “The Clanship”.

 
6th January 2014 is a date I will never forget……The Clanships 1st weekly weigh in !! I weighed in at 15st 13lbs or 102kgs my BMI was 35.2, I was officially OBESE. Telling my buddies was such a huge deal for me, not even my husband knew my weight and now I felt I’d committed myself to doing something about it.

 
To begin with I wanted to lose 4st or 25kgs then re-access the situation, I knew I had much more to lose than that but needed a realistic milestone. I did a simple weigh in spread sheet with date, weight, weight loss and weight needing to lose and filled it in religiously each Friday after our weigh in.

 
The weight fell off me to begin with, I decided to do 4:3 from the beginning because I felt I would lose weight more quickly and for the first 5 months I was “careful” with what I ate on my non-fast days as well as my fast days. I swam 3-4 times a week building up to 60 lengths in an hour. My fast days consisted of no breakfast, homemade vegetable soup for late lunch and Fish or Chicken or Turkey and lots of Veg for Dinner around 8pm. I found if I ate breakfast I would feel hungry throughout the day, I find it much easier to save my Calories until as late as possible as once I eat I want to eat more, even if I was stuffed from dinner. An Oxo cube in hot water is always good for keeping the hunger at bay. I always drink plenty fast days or not, usually herbal teas or hot water with a slice of lemon. My parents arrived on the 2nd of June to find their daughter 4st lighter, I’d hit my first target.

 
Since then I have lost a further 1st 5lbs and have been much easier on myself which is far more sustainable, I still fast 3 days a week but pretty much eat what I want on my non-fast days although my choices are much healthier now and I have smaller portions. I see this a lifetime choice not only because of the weight loss but the health benefits have been incredible. Since starting this I have only had 1 episode with my Colitis and I have not needed any steroid injections for my Rheumatoid Arthritis and rarely take medication now either. I now run too, which is something I thought I would never do !!

My one regret with this journey is that I didn’t measure myself, I would highly recommend it.

 
I am looking forward to reaching my maintaining goal weight but will still fast 1-2 times a week because of the health benefits. I guess it will be trial and error for a few weeks. My BMI is now 23.5 and my weight is 10st 8lbs and I have just bought my first pair of size 8 jeans (they are very stretchy) in almost 30 years.

 
The best advice I could give is to do this with a buddy or two and to plan your fast day meals in advance, making batches of meals and freezing them if possible. The right frame of mind certainly helps but this is defiantly a do-able way of life. If I can do it anyone can. If you are thinking of trying this, do it, you have nothing to lose but weight and ailments. Good luck xxx

Your Background

I have always struggled with my weight, it has gone up and down most of my life usually being kept in check with sport, so when my sporting life has slowed down my weight creeps up.

This all came to a head around four years ago when I could no longer run or play football though a mixture a age and bad knees, I went to my doctor who told me after a six week wait to see her about my bad knees and my weight gain “what do you expect your a 1962 baby” so after tipping the scales at 15st 5 lbs I felt I had to do something about it.

Discovering Fasting

I heard about the 5-2 diet on the Talk Sport Hawksbee and Jacbobs show who were interviewing a sports dietician, she was waxing lyrical about this way of eating and how she encourages a lot of her sports people to use it to lose weight. I liked the idea of not having to count calories on a daily basis just worry about it for two days a week. So I did some more research about it on the internet and I found a video called the “5-2 diet can’t be bothered to read the book video” catchy title I know that what drew me to it. It was fabulous, it talked you thought the science of the plan and all it benefits as well as weight loss. It talked me through the typical fasting day, how to plan them how not to be too rigid or to beat your self up if your didn’t keep rigidly to 500 cal on the day, and not to expect to lose any more than a 1lb a week

Your Goals

I started on 4th August 2013 weighing in at 15st 5 lbs 17.1/2in neck and a 38in waist. always been my troublesome areas my face, neck and waist, arms and legs are like pins making me look like Mr potato head .

The first goal I set myself was to loose a stone, no real time scale, just thought I would see how I would get on with the fasting really

Starting Out

I started out fasting on a Monday and a Thursday, although I lost around 4lb in the first two weeks I found fasting on a Monday really hard so I switched to a Tuesday and a Thursday. I found that this combination suited me best, losing an average of a 1lb a week, which was what I was hoping for.

Your Fasting Journey

I’m a creature of habit, so if I find something that I enjoy and works I stick to it. I am a breakfast man, can’t leave the house without something, so I decided to split my 600cals so breakfast would consist of 2 Weetabix and a drizzle of semi skimmed milk about 180 cals I switched to shredded wheat after a bit as this felt like I was eating more for my cals. I then fast for 12 hours with nothing but water and the odd cup of tea. My evening meal for many months was a stir-fry pack of veg a poached chicken breast with a drizzle of a ginger sauce around 400cals (I told you I was a creature of habit) I have now advanced on to fish with my veg every now and again.

After I lost around 10lb people started to notice, which really does spur you on I lost the stone in 16 weeks and felt great so I just kept going, I found my two fasting days really cathartic and started looking forward to them especially the Thursday one as I would weigh myself on the Friday morning that feeling when your another pound lighter.

When I fist started this plan it was interesting to see all of the health benefits that come along with it but is this just the weight loss or the whole package I’m not sure but after a fasting day I do feel great with loads of energy.

Your Success

Goals came and went but at the back of my mind I wanted to be under 13st. Booked a holiday to Egypt in the January for July so I that then became my target. I got to 12st 12lb, in June but as the holiday was all inclusive I thought I would give myself a bit of leeway. By the time of my hols I was 12st 7lb. First time for many a year I taken my shirt of on holiday. It felt great.

After my holiday where I did not fast, I came back to a 6lb increase in weight, but the upside I could not wait to fast to feel normal again, this 6lb came off in two weeks, plus another couple of pound so exactly a year to the day when I started, I had lost 3st

It does feel great, I got all my old suits out and even bought some new ones. 32In waist trousers there is no better feeling.

Your Fasting Future

This is now the hard part, since August I have only been fasting for one day a week. But the weight is still coming off, which is now annoying my other half, who is complaining i’m looking too thin. As I feel so good after a fasting day I really do not want to stop, so I’m upping my cals on my normal days to try to stabilize my weight.

Your Top Tip!

My top tips are do not be afraid to be flexible until you find what suits you best. And my Fasting day friend is a bottle of Sparkling water, I drink that at lunch time keeps you going

Fasting in a Nutshell

Our bodies are built to fast and feast. 5-2 is not a diet or a fad, it is a way of life!

Jane’s story

I’ve been somewhat overweight nearly all my adult life. But I gained only gradually, and it was just a couple of years ago that I got to the point where my BMI crossed into the overweight category. By then I knew I wasn’t looking good, and I certainly wasn’t feeling good, but what I didn’t know was how to change. I’ve always been opposed to traditional diets (ditto for untraditional, eat-nothing-but-x diets), and in the past, my approach to weight loss has been either to just try to limit “the bad stuff” (doesn’t work) or to write down everything I ate in an effort to hold myself accountable (works better, but is, in my opinion, exhausting and time-consuming and obsessive).

In early March of 2013, I read an article in the New York Times about Dr. Michael Mosley and 5:2. It felt like an epiphany – the approach made so much sense to me that I knew that it would work. I fasted for the first time a couple of days later. But – and here is one way in which my story is different from many of the others – I didn’t weigh myself first or take measurements or even note the date. I just took a deep breath and jumped into the water, so to speak.

Even after I started I was afraid to weigh myself – what if I wasn’t losing, or just losing at a snail’s pace? So the first time I weighed myself, it was the end of June. I had lost 11 pounds (approximately – I have used as my start weight my all time high of a few months earlier, when my BMI was over 25) and was halfway to my goal. I had guessed I was doing well given the fact that my clothes no longer fit, but what a thrill it was to see the number on the scale!

I have never been one to talk about my weight, and I didn’t mention what I was doing to a soul. So it wasn’t till about then – months after I started 5:2 – that anyone even commented that I was thinner. First my husband noticed, then a few others. I think that when you start out only moderately overweight as I did, some people are afraid to compliment you, maybe because the implication is that you had been fat. Well, go ahead and hand out those compliments. They sure felt good to me.

I originally had a small lunch and a small dinner on fast days, but like many fasters, soon found that it was easier to eat just one meal at dinnertime. Ever since I started fasting, I have been amazed at how easy it is to eat very little one day, knowing that the next day will be “normal”. I counted calories on fast days for a while, but soon realized that I am aware enough of foods’ caloric value that I don’t need to count as I have a sense of what 350 – 500 calories “looks” like.

I reached my goal weight in early 2014, about 10 months after I started. I have settled on 6:1 for maintenance. On Mondays, I don’t eat until my small dinner. I have resolved to do this for life, and am totally confident that I can. I have also resolved to weigh myself weekly for life. In the past, after succeeding at losing some weight, not weighing (also known as sticking my head in the sand) has been my downfall. Probably I could maintain without fasting at all.  However, I am hoping that I will benefit in other ways from fasting. In particular, I hope to decrease my chances of developing a dementia, which runs in my family, and I hope to improve my cholesterol numbers, which are better than before I started fasting, but still not very good. These potential fasting benefits are not proven, but there is strong evidence to suggest they are real.

My current challenge is to get fit. I’ve never been a couch potato, but really being fit is a whole different story. However, my excuses are all gone. I no longer have fat that jiggles uncomfortably when I run. I can no longer be afraid of failure, because I have shown myself how well I can succeed.

Intermittent fasting is straightforward, flexible, forgiving, and gratifying. What’s not to like?