5:2 diet - looking for a group to join me

[yoyo24]

I live in the UK and the 5:2 diet is getting a lot of good rep and I was wondering - has anyone tried it or are thinking of doing so? 

I'm starting this diet and would love to have a couple of fitbitters join me to chat and support each other so if you're interested in trying it out, it would be great.

Happy holidays everone and get them steps in!

[NigelK]

Hi yoyo

I did the fast diat (5:2) earlier this year and i had two goals one to lose weight and the second to maintain good level of health. With regards to loosing weight i noticed a differance very quickly and soon lost the 4kg i wanted and the best thing was on the 5 i did not fast i eat the food i liked with no cal counting. 

On the fast days i wont lie sometimes it was tought but slecting the right food to eat at the right times was very important and after 10 weeks i had to switch to fasting on one day a week only becuae i clound not stop loosing weight.

For the last couple of months i have stop the fast days completly but the change to my eating habits during the 5:2 diet along with monitoring and maintaining a good level of activity I have stayed at my target weight.

I hope this information help and good luck with you venture into the world of 5:2

nigel

[asics]

I tried the 5:2 in September. I did lose a little weight. I actually found if you pick the right days for the fast they were actually fairly easy and I felt really good. My challenge was not being silly on my non fast days! I stopped because of a few challenges that cropped up and it became, wrongly, less of a priority. However in the New Year I am planning to do it again and would love to do it with others. Having loved my fitbit flex, I had a fitbit scales for Christmas ... Now there is no hiding place!! Let me know if you would like to keep in touch and when you plan to start.

[yoyo24]

Hi asics, 

Very excited to start - I'm planning on a two week detox to start on january 1st since I'm away in the mountains and am starting the 5:2 when I'm back, on the 13 of January. 

I'd love to keep in touch and maybe start a little 5:2 group with mini challanges or something. 

When are you thinking of starting?

[yoyo24]

Hi NigelK, 

congrats on a job well done!

thanks for all the advice - very excited to jump on the 5:2 wagon. 

[Jacque]

I haven't heard much about the 5:2.  Is there a good place to get information on it?

[NigelK]

Hi Jacque

there is a good book called "The Fast Diet" by Dr Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer which explains very well how this can help you lose weight but also how this type of diet can also make you healther in both body and mind

[asics]

Hello Yoyo24! I will start with you. Monday 13th January it is! To start us off I will fast on Monday and Friday of that week. Great to set some mini challenges. I tend to have an all or nothing approach so also tend to yoyo. This year I am going to ditch the 'quick fix' 'all or nothing' and look for a sustainable way of eating and exercising. I think if I set small weight loss goals and achieve them I may have more success, rather than 'I will lose a stone in 6 weeks', then lose motivation when I miss a mini target or 2. Do you know how to 'invite friends' if we are friends we can see each others average steps. Nigel K how do you do that??!!

[yoyo24]

Great! My fast days are Mondays and Thursdays (or Wednesdays) so that I get two fast days under my belt before friday weigh in. I tried to friend you but for some reason couldn't find the friend request button next to your name... I didn't seem to have this problem with other users- maybe there's something in your privacy settings? You can add me by clicking on my username and then sending a friend request. 

[yoyo24]

The book that NigelK was talking about is great - I got it on my kindle and some of the things really clicked with me. Long story short, the aproach is alternating "feast" days with two "fast" days per week. On fast days you eat very little (under 500cal for men and under 400cal for women) while on the "feast" days you eat the regular amount. There's a lot of science behind it that the book explains pretty well and the results seem very good, not only in terms of weight loss but also health wise (insulin levels, blood pressure etc). It works well with a foodie mentality (which I most certainly tend towards) since you don't really have to abstain from anything on feast days (within reason). 

[NigelK]

Glad you found the book helpful and as you say it's not just about weight loss it also about a healthier you.

Just a note on friending people when you click on the user name in a community group after you click on the user name you then have to click on go to user profile to find the friend invite tab

[asics]

This is the book I read too. I actually loved the fact I was 'giving my body a break'. I actually really enjoy giving it as much of a break as possible. Sometimes I would go 24 hours with just water and herbal tea and felt really positive about it rather than deprived. It really felt like i was being kind to my body. I also found that on most non fast days I ate not only healthier but also smaller amounts. But at certain points in the month I would go a bit crazy on non fast days. Thanks for the friend request I have accepted. Thanks too for guidance NigelK.

[asics]

Also yoyo24, I normally weigh in on a Saturday morning as my weekly record, so we can share our successes on the scales too.

[lyd]

Im interested to looking into this diet what is the best website to do my research?  I live just outside boston very cold and I need a little motavation to get going.

Lyd

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@yoyo24 wrote:

I live in the UK and the 5:2 diet is getting a lot of good rep and I was wondering - has anyone tried it or are thinking of doing so? 

I'm starting this diet and would love to have a couple of fitbitters join me to chat and support each other so if you're interested in trying it out, it would be great.

Happy holidays everone and get them steps in!

---

[yoyo24]

Saturdsy sounds great. Yes, me too - it feels great to be kind to your body by giving it some time off. I've been doing unstructured fast days before I knew about the diet (every now and then, definitely not every week). I usually stick to liquids on fast days - miso soup, nice herbal teas, coconut water, veggie juices. I don't know if you live in the uk but if i feel the need for something solid I grab an innocent veg pot, which i find very tasty (especially the daal. yumm!)

[asics]

Lyd, try www.thefastdiet.co.uk

[asics]

Not sure if this posted or not?! So apologies if appears twice! Yes I do live in the UK but haven't tried the innocent veg pots, but I will now!

[yoyo24]

Hi Lyd, 

here are a couple of websites - the first is the diet website with loads of tips and details. The second link is an article where I found out about the diet in the first place - a lot of the eating habbits appela to me since i'm a bit of a foodie. I live in London so I feel you about the weather - dieting on cold, wet, dark days is really bleah. But, hey, what are supportive forums for?

Hope the links help.

http://thefastdiet.co.uk

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jan/18/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall-fast-diet

[lyd]

i will deff look into this diet today...ps i am orginally from birmingham uk.

[asics]

Think I will re-read it too, get me in the mood for 13th! X