The 5:2 Diet

[Georgia 2,908]

The... I am not really losing this go around either. I am down 2 pounds in same timeframe my girlfriend has lost 14.

I was very active this weekend and have sore muscles. I hope the s c a l e is reflecting Water retained in tired muscles!

I recognize further changes to make.... but it feels like the further post sleeve I am, t h e harder this gets for me.

Sheryl, 14 pounds in same time frame?? Is this a "new" thing for her - dieting per se? Again, I just truly feel our metabolisms are truly altered. I know for me also, I'm not seeing the results I did first time around on 5:2 BUT I'm also not being very successful at eating as cleanly on NON-fast days either! I just cant seem to not want to snack all day! GRAZING!

Hello, new to the 5:2 thing. I am a year and half out and totally stuck at almost 80 pound loss. I have really ramped up my exercise for the past month and am noticing tightening and loss of inches but no weight loss. I am considering this as a jump start, I routinely stay at 1000-1200 mark on average days. Wondering what foods you DO eat on a fast day? How much water? Thanks

Glad to have you, Adargie! A bunch of us used 5:2 a year or so ago to lose/relose pounds as sleevers when we reached stalls or regains. As a whole, we found that around 500 calories a day worked best (sometimes up to 600) using a lower carb approach, lots of low carb veggies like my "go to" is chicken stirfry. I use the Birdseye Oriental frozen veggies (50 cals for a cup) and Tyson already cooked diced chicken (I believe 100 calories for 3 ounces) I cant even eat all of that on a fast day. That would be my dinner (at around 6-7pm) I try to wait until around 11 or so to EAT anything. This morning (my first fast day of week, I had a Butterball Turkey snack stick at about 10 (hungry!!) 20 calories and am "sipping" making it stretch a EAS Protein Shake with kcup of Caramel Drizzle coffee added and iced! (Feedmyeye gave me this option) 110 calories. I will sometimes eat thin sliced Oscar Mayer Turkey rolled up with 2% slice of cheese (3 pieces each of turkey to 1/2 slice of cheese for two roll ups) That's a total of 100 calories for a good healthy lunch or dinner option. I recommend you go to the 5:2 thread that gives all the "how tos" also. I will also sometimes have a boiled egg or apple if I get really hungry mid day (50 calories apple, 70 egg) Homemade veggie Soup is a great option also. Hope that helps some. Good luck.

Fast yesterday up around 640... not TOO bad... but lunged at a treat at work without ANY little voice telling me to stop now!

At week three+ of fasts.... with feast days at my 1200 baseline... a little more with exercise. So at a little over three weeks, I have TADA!!!! Stayed the same! (Not to the oz, but with little bounces...). I just started using my fitbit again and hope that helps me stay on track with exercise too. Here is my 30 day weight record. You can see pretty clearly at the beginning a loss.. this was when I started getting a handle on my uncontrolled eating.. about a week after that I was in the swing of things again. I will not give up! 179.9 is still better than 183.4, and only 7-10 pound to my goal range.

Kim, I'm with you! I can do great during the week on fast days and have lost 3-4 pounds in the last 3 weeks but invariably, I will "lose it" on one of the wknd off days. Yesterday was a true disaster! LOL I laid on the couch all day and kept stuffing myself with Snacks. Healthy, good ones but snacks and the calories were out the roof! HA! I know, as before, the only way this is going to work is to eat much more cleanly non-fast days! I'm not giving up either! I want this 12 pounds gone!!

[MichiganChic 3,262]

Yep, weekends are so tough for me, too. I have to take a break from fasting because I have to have another surgery tomorrow. I have a couple of seromas, and they have be cut out....so that means a few weeks of extra calories for healing. Sigh. I am still swollen and no amount of fasting was helping...so maybe by the time I'm ready to start fasting again my swelling will be gone and I'll be able to lose a couple of pounds. I'm always hopeful!

[Georgia 2,908]

Yep, weekends are so tough for me, too. I have to take a break from fasting because I have to have another surgery tomorrow. I have a couple of seromas, and they have be cut out....so that means a few weeks of extra calories for healing. Sigh. I am still swollen and no amount of fasting was helping...so maybe by the time I'm ready to start fasting again my swelling will be gone and I'll be able to lose a couple of pounds. I'm always hopeful!

What is a seroma? duh

[MichiganChic 3,262]

What is a seroma? duh

Nope, not "duh" at all. It is a collection of serous (watery) Fluid in the tissues that sometimes happens after surgeries. I read that it can occur as frequently as 35% in surgeries like I had. Usually you can just drain it with a needle, but in my case, that hasn't been effective. I have a fairly large one in my left leg near the knee from a thigh lift, and a smaller one in the right leg. Not a very big deal, but it's another thing to go through, and now more downtime for healing. In general, I've not had the greatest luck with surgeries! I had a post op infection from my sleeve, then I had a few open wounds that took 4 months to heal from my lower body lift, and now this. In the grand scheme of things, things could be so much worse, and these things are minor blips on the radar. Still...not looking forward to tomorrow morning!

[Georgia 2,908]

MichiganChic, well, now I know. Doesn't sound too fun, I agree! Hopefully, this will be easily dealt with and you will be up and at 'em quickly. Best to you!

[VSG AJH 499]

I'm still hanging in there with the 5:2, though another week at it and I've still lost nothing, really. I'm still bouncing up and down in the same 3 pound range. I'm EXCELLENT at maintaining, evidently, but I'd LOVE to actually get to my goal weight first. :/ I opted to move this week's Monday fast day to today as my husband wanted to meet for a lunch date while our littlest kiddos were at their once-a-week sitter. I haven't been very successful eating out and staying around 500 calories, so this week is Tu/Th. I'm at 520 calories for today, and while I feel fine physically, I'm a little wrecked emotionally fighting this body of mine. I swear, if someone told me right this minute that bariatric surgery is "the easy way out," I'd probably get arrested for assault. Part of me keeps toying with the idea of another two-week Liquid Protein fast like I did pre-op. I keep thinking maybe it would shock my body into losing again. But then I think of how incredibly challenging that was, and imagining how I may actually lose my everloving mind if I go through that nightmare again and STILL don't lose. Anyway, hanging in there right now. Going to sip on some Decaf and binge watch some House of Cards while trying really hard not to feel sorry for myself.

[MichiganChic 3,262]

@@VSG AJH yep, I'm good at maintaining, and I've never made it to goal either. It's highly frustrating. I am just having a hard time accepting that I can't get this last 10 pounds off, but I find myself thinking that maybe that maybe this is it for me. Seriously, I had12 pounds cut off, and I weigh the exact same as before plastics. That only adds to the frustration. I am hoping for a miracle - that it's all swelling and I'll magically wake up at goal one day

[MichiganChic 3,262]

MichiganChic, well, now I know. Doesn't sound too fun, I agree! Hopefully, this will be easily dealt with and you will be up and at 'em quickly. Best to you!

Thanks, Georgia. I have to say it was totally not fun. At all. I don't numb very easily, so I could feel the cutting at times, and they had to keep shooting me with lidocaine. Now I'm sore like right after surgery again, and I have to go to work tomorrow. Not sure how that's going to go. Anyway, I also hope this is the end of it. Thanks for the well wishes

How's your 5:2 going?

[Georgia 2,908]

Thanks, Georgia. I have to say it was totally not fun. At all. I don't numb very easily, so I could feel the cutting at times, and they had to keep shooting me with lidocaine. Now I'm sore like right after surgery again, and I have to go to work tomorrow. Not sure how that's going to go. Anyway, I also hope this is the end of it. Thanks for the well wishes

How's your 5:2 going?

Yuck! that you could feel ANY kinda makes me nauseous. ????

Well, one fast day done (Tuesday) and I did much better. Ended up about 590 and got 6 miles in on my recumbent bike and 5000 steps so was able to hang on and not over snack!

Was rewarded this morning with a break below the pounds I've been gaining and losing so I'm hoping end of the week I'll have a solid extra loss of 1-2 pounds which would put me at about 5 lost over last four weeks or so (can't remember exactly but know it was after New Years). My key is going to be getting more movement/exercise in and eating more cleanly on off days. Plus I started taking my Omeprazole (Prilosec generic) today and going to for a while to see if it makes a difference with seeming to be hungry constantly or feeling the need to Graze!

Anyway, hope all are faring well. Happy Hump Day!!

[Georgia 2,908]

Well, it's Friday. Managed to end up about 630 cals yesterday. I soooo wanted to eat nuts until I ate the whole can but stopped with a small hand full of almonds and few peanuts and that's why my cals were over but I'm claiming victory since I did Stop myself. ????.

Finally the fourth pound I can count as solid loss and another 1/2, but dear lord, that's 4 1/2 pounds in four weeks! Certainly not the best but I'll take it and keep going.

I lost really well last round but I was also much more actively pursuing too.

Leaving to go fast walk with a friend so that will help today. Got to be more active!

Happy wknd, Gang!

[MichiganChic 3,262]

Georgia, 4 1/2 pounds is great! I wish I could say the same, but I'm just going up and down the same 3 or 4 pounds all the time. I love nuts too - I buy the cashews at costco. Love those! I had to measure them out into one ounce bags to prevent myself from eating too many. So, yep, it's the weekend. My struggle always goes up a notch or two. I have to try to not undo all the hard work from the week. Have a great weekend!

[feedyoureye 3,087]

I am having the same experience Michigan, and as far as my fast on Ths... it lasted around 2 hours, then all hell broke loose.... I came in around the same as a regular feast day(1200 cals). Did exercise though.... gained 1 1/2 pound (within that same bounce I have been doing for a month now...)

Edited January 31, 2015 by feedyoureye

[MichiganChic 3,262]

FYE, I feel your pain. One that occurs to me when I'm eating so little and bouncing/maintaining is that if I didn't have those fast days, I'd be gaining! I also think that sometimes our bodies do not behave predictably.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Why can't the rest of the world just go on a diet with us so that we aren't constantly being forced to watch people eat cake, Cookies, candy, chips, french fries, and my personal worse downfall, ice cream.

[coops 1,790]

Hey! Sorry I haven't been updating regularly... tried to catch up on this fast moving thread... well done to all those of you who are rocking the 5:2 - regardless of weightloss... just remember the health benefits too!

Just a wuick update from me... I have had a tough month - lots of personal issues going on and stress with work...

I have managed to see a loss of 3lb for the month, had some really food fast days and some not so good feast days. So I have to be happy with the loss. To get back to my bounce range I am 3lbs away from the top end and 8lbs away from my lowest. I think this is going to be along haul, and I am trying to get prepared for it mentally but I still get frustrated!

So, as ever ... I am gonna keep on keeping on. Notch up the good times and learn from the bad times.