Repeat of the Horizon exercise prog on BBC2 now
The research has shown that people following the 5:2 plan lose body fat, not lean mass.
i've just started 5:2 and have found the fasting days ok. i skip breakfast, have a cuppa soup lunch then something like beans on toast to make my evening meal up to 600cals. The problem i'm having is when the safety catch is off on the feast days it really is off and i eat it all back on. Anyone else find this?
Deepo, keep with it. As you get used to fasting, the feast days will become less desperate. The research shows that those who over eat on feast days do so by about 15%. That still gives a net loss for the week. As you start to reaslise that fast days are more doable than you thought, then you'll eat less on feast days.
Thanks Onzadog thats encouraging stuff.
If there's a sign up sheet - my names just gone on it.
Since new year, I've been using MFP to calorie count, trying to keep to 1600/day. I'm 6ft, and started off at 15st 3.
Barring a business trip to the states (I tried, honest, but American portions!) i've consistently been under my average per day on a weekly basis, ie some days i'm a bit over, some a bit under but over the course of a week the average is always there or slightly under.
Last weigh in I had lost about 10lbs, in 5 weeks - so above the target i programmed into MFP of 1.5lbs per week, but not massively so, and possibly attributable to the increased exercise I've been doing as well.
However - constant calorie counting is doing me in. MFP has been good up till now, not for the absolute numbers but for the 😯 moments when you realise exactly how much calorie content there is in a particular food (makes mental note that red meat is significantly higher than fish / chicken) - which will stand me in good stead in future for understanding better what my intake really is. And secondly - i do travel with work which means every now and then I need to go out for dinners which can be an issue.
Hence this 5:2 malarky looks like a better bet for me - along with the suggested health benefits, i can be extra careful 2 days a week when I'm not travelling, remain sensible for the rest, and if i have to travel I've got the safety net that it shouldn't make such an impact. Sounds easier to me than thinking 'I've got dinner out on Thursday, so for the rest of the week i have to stay under 1400 instead to compensate'.
Day 1 today. Porridge for breakfast, didn't have enough (my normal bowl is 20g dried with 150ml skimmed milk = 125cals; mental note, have a big bowl of porridge!) and the plan was to go until dinner on black coffee. I haven't got tyhe book yet, so to help me out today; is it important to fast right through to dinner as the Radio Times article plans all seem to propose - or can i have some carrots for lunch and keep the wolf from the door, as long as i knock the amount off my dinner allowance?
Sorry only just seen this - I guess as you posted this 10 hours ago you made a decision as to whether to eat the carrots for lunch or go through til dinner!
But as there's no concrete evidence as yet about whether you're better eating your daily calorie allowance all in one go or spread out through the day, the advice seems to be to do what works best for you!
When I started I skipped breakfast and had a little bit of lunch and a little bit of dinner, but increasingly I found that having a little bit of anything during the day made me want a little bit more, whereas if I don't eat anything all day it almost seems easier to totally switch off from food and just look forward to a normal, decent-sized dinner in the evening!
Michael Mosely splits his allowance between two meals - breakfast and dinner.
I prefer to wait as long as possible, and usually make it til 2pm. At the moment the routine is a packet of ham, then a natural yoghurt later in the afternoon, then a tin of soup for dinner. Lots of liquids to keep you full - I find peppermint tea really good.
I'm really enjoying it! Usually feel tip top the day after a fast.
Cheers all. I got through to dinner after all, had a 450 cal dinner which was good enough, didn't have hunger issues in the night as some say they get, now I'm on a trip in Holland enjoying a degree of freedom without going mad. This just might work for me (assuming it results in weight loss, of course)
