The 5:2 Diet

[MichiganChic 3,262]

@@VSG AJH I am one who has to eat 900 calories to lose. It's pretty absurd, but it's true. It was quite a revelation when I discovered that. I did eat too much to get so obese, but that sure explains why diets never worked. It also explains how I was able manage my weight in high school and college - I hardly ate!

I don't buy into the starvation mode theory. I ate 800-900 calories the first year and lost most of my weight during that time. I started maintaining at 1000-1100. So, I am hoping to get off a few more pounds quickly with 5:2, utilizing around 900 calories on "feast" days. Not much of a feast, lol. I think you already know you are not losing on 1200. Many programs keep their patients on 800 calories, so maybe you want to try? I quickly realized Im not one those people who can listen to their body,either. My body is useless in telling me to stop eating. I've made peace with it. For now, I like being thin better than I dislike calorie counting. Once in a while I get tired and take a break. It's my new way of life.

[Strangefruit 179]

I think I'm gonna try this... I'm worried that I won't last or it won't work, or that I'll feel ill (light headed or shaky) at work and punk out and eat... But I'm gonna try.

[Oregondaisy 2,019]

I'm not doing well getting a fast in. I start the day out with good intentions.

I haven't gained any more weight but 143 is not where I want to be. I want to be in the 130's but I can't seem to make it through the day without eating some sort of sweets that throw me completely off. I ordered the FAST diet book. I ordered a used copy through Amazon so maybe that will help get my head in gear once I start reading that.

[VSG AJH 499]

@@VSG AJH I am one who has to eat 900 calories to lose. It's pretty absurd, but it's true. It was quite a revelation when I discovered that. I did eat too much to get so obese, but that sure explains why diets never worked. It also explains how I was able manage my weight in high school and college - I hardly ate!

I don't buy into the starvation mode theory. I ate 800-900 calories the first year and lost most of my weight during that time. I started maintaining at 1000-1100. So, I am hoping to get off a few more pounds quickly with 5:2, utilizing around 900 calories on "feast" days. Not much of a feast, lol. I think you already know you are not losing on 1200. Many programs keep their patients on 800 calories, so maybe you want to try? I quickly realized Im not one those people who can listen to their body,either. My body is useless in telling me to stop eating. I've made peace with it. For now, I like being thin better than I dislike calorie counting. Once in a while I get tired and take a break. It's my new way of life.

Boo. That's not what I *wanted* to hear, but probably what I needed to hear. Thank you for your honesty. I couldn't lose much weight pre-op on a 1200-1500 calorie diet, but I thought there were other metabolic things wrong with me that surgery corrected. Clearly, I've been fooling myself. I've adjusted MFP to allow 900 calories here on my "feast" days, and I guess I'll spend some time reviewing very low calorie recipe options for the long term. I'd really like to be very close to my overall goal weight by my 18 month post-op appointment in mid-June, maybe giving myself a bit of grace for a few pre-plastics pounds. Maybe dropping down to that 900 calorie daily range while doing 5:2 will be the thing to get me there.

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I never get "shaky" anymore - that was a presleeve issue. I get "wanting to eat" which is a whole different deal.

Well, I am continuing to do well!
I went out to dinner last night and still showed a loss...woo hoo.

I am "relosing" weight so it is hard to get excited, there is that feeling that I should have to lose the weight twice...lol. Anyway, this really does work and for me the key is to eat less OVERALL and the fast days seem to help me do that.

[VSG AJH 499]

What is everyone eating on fastdays and also regular days that is helping to keep your carbs so low. The recipes I find seem to be for things my family and I won't eat and have crazy ingredients.

Here are some things I've been eating:

3 Egg whites with picante sauce: 105 calories (3 carbs for picante sauce)

2oz. Roasted Turkey Breast topped with 1/4c. 2% Daisy Cottage cheese, and 1T. Smokey Chipotle Salsa: 114 calories (3 total carbs for cottage cheese and salsa)

3oz. Baked chicken Breast with 1t. Hot Mustard: 100 calories (1 carb for the mustard)

tuna salad made with 1 pouch Low Sodium Tuna, 1/2T. sweet relish, 1 egg white (+ sea salt, cracked pepper, and celery flakes): 95 calories (2 carbs for relish)

chicken salad made with 2oz. canned chicken breast, 1/4c. Daisy 2% Cottage Cheese, and 1T. dry Ranch Dressing powder (+ cracked pepper): 108 calories (3 carbs for cottage cheese and ranch powder)

As for accommodating my family: I do my own thing through the day. We have six kids, so most weekday mornings, everyone picks their own Breakfast, and I don't necessarily eat with them. I always have boiled eggs on hand, so I may have one of those, some leftover Protein from a prior meal, or a Protein shake with my coffee after everyone heads out the door. At lunchtime, I'm home with the three youngest, so I make their lunch, then make something different (protein-heavy) for me. They don't necessarily notice that I'm eating that something different unless they want to eat it off my plate (a real problem). I always keep things on hand to make my days easy -- pouches or cans of tuna, cans of chicken breast, pouches of lump crab meat, vacuum packs of smoked salmon, frozen Morningstar burgers, Mahi Mahi burgers from Trader Joes, etc. One day a week (often Sundays), I'll also have my husband throw some extra Protein on the grill for me. So, we may grill chicken legs for the whole family, so we'll grill extra chicken legs, but also a few chicken breasts and some lean pork chops to keep in the fridge for weekday lunches. It takes just a few extra minutes to prepare, but saves so much time and so many calories throughout the week.

For dinners, I rarely make casseroles and pasta-based dishes anymore. I can't really eat them, and I don't really want my kids to be in the habit of eating them (working on developing their long-term tastes and habits). I will make Pasta for them every once in a while, but it is honestly not more than once a month or so. They haven't really missed it. I make Soups, stews, curries, chicken adobo, roasts, grain-free meatloafs, etc. in the crockpot. Other than that, I bake, roast, or grill many different types of Proteins. I often serve the protein with a variety of roasted, steamed, or raw veggies, and sometimes fresh or roasted sliced/diced fruit. I rarely make Pasta, but I maybe once a week, I'll throw some organic Jasmine rice into our rice cooker, and the kids will eat that either mixed with their meal (if it's an ethnic dish that calls for rice) or they'll mix it with butter and salt and have it as a side dish.

I've found allrecipes.com to be an excellent resource. It allows me to hunt for recipes searching by the ingredients I have on hand. I'm regularly adding new dishes to the menu, and keeping things interesting has kept the kids from missing carby things at home. I'm also not very accommodating at dinner time. I've said more than once that I'm not a short-order cook. They have options at Breakfast and in their packed lunches, but at dinnertime, we eat one meal together. They can eat that or not, but they can't eat other things. Their school caters pizza on Mondays and another restaurant meal on Fridays, and we eat out on Saturday nights after church. They have total control during those times, but when we sit down together, they get to try new things and practice graciousness and gratefulness for the way they've been served.

[Queen of Crop 1,103]

Wow everyone has been so GREAT about checking in! I had my second 5:2 day yesterday and I am here to tell you it was PERFECT!!!!!! (And I am rarely perfect at anything!). I feel very proud of myself and if I am honest, I can say it really wasn't that hard; the key for me is to stay busy and do things outside of my house as my office is right by the kitchen. I was due for a new blog entry so I wrote MY PERFECT 5:2 FAST DAY as my entry....complete with photos of what I ate. So if you want to see what a perfect day looks like just go to my blog and it's the latest entry. And I did lose another lb so I am on my way back to 133....it's so close.

http://www.queenofcrop.com/weeklyupdates/my-perfect-52-fast-day/

Thanks to everyone here who has kept me encouraged...I would not have done this without you. And I do write in there that many of us don't process calories or carbs or food like other people and we need to stop beating ourselves up. We are all here because we are navigating this road the best we can. FAST ON LADIES!!!

[windycitymom 60]

Thank you QOC and VSG for breaking it down and making it simple for us to see what you eat. Sometimes the idea of making it to 500 cal on a fast day seems daunting so your details of what you eat on fast days is very informative and honestly inspirational.

Thank you!!! and congrats on your successes!!!

Keep up the great work ladies, this is very motivating to see.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

After three fast days without any loss, I changed my aproach a bit, lower carbs on fast day (around 60- being a vegetarian makes it a little harder to keep it low), more raw and nothing before dinner... and lost a pound.... VERY happy to see this. lowering the carbs really helped the Water weight to come off. Still there, and fasting tomorrow... so hope this is a sign the stall is over and I'm heading south again!

Good job ladies! Stick with it!

[MichiganChic 3,262]

@@VSG AJH I know what you mean - my reality wasn't what I wanted to hear either. It really brings the words "it's a tool" (in reference to our sleeves) into crystal clear focus. No magic going on here, just hard work. But so worth it to me! However, at least the work pays off, now. This is WAY easier that with no sleeve. Also, as @@CowgirlJane mentioned, no shaking from hunger. I had that my whole life and I LOVE that it's gone. I pray it never comes back.

So my weight is sort hanging where it's been since last summer. I got lots of the bloat off, but still have lots of Fluid in my legs and a little in my back. Low calorie and low carb is really helping to keep Fluid retention down. I look thinner through the torso than I ever have, so I guess I'm losing some of the swelling from my August surgery. That didn't take long at all, lol. Who knows, maybe I'm actually 15 pounds lighter without the Water weight??? JK, but it does kind of drive me crazy.

So I came in under 1000 calories yesterday, and it was more difficult than usual. It's been very stressful at work, and I'm a stress eater! I can't believe that after all this time, it's my first response to think to eat. While I didn't give in, I was a little shocked about how much that felt like real, physical hunger. Today is a fast day. Wish me luck - I have a stressful job and there is no reason to think today will be any easier. I'll let you know how it goes.

Keep up the good work, ladies. I love to come to this thread and see how you are all doing! You help keep me motivated.

Edited January 15, 2015 by MichiganChic

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I am disappointed that I didn't go work out yesterday. I love working out but have not found the complete groove for 2015 yet.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

I sometimes struggle to get to dance class... but once Im there, I always love it so!

[Queen of Crop 1,103]

HI Michiganchic! Thanks for the update....I have a question. Is 3+ months of bloating, swelling and Water retention normal after plastics? How long does it usually last?

And if I can do a FAST day, anyone can! And I did it Monday and I am on it today too....shocking for me. So I'm pulling for you.

QofC

[Georgia 2,908]

Well, 3:00 on second fast day and I'm sitting at 160 calories so that's good but, boy, I really can't get over how much I want to eat! Didn't seem to have that problem earlier but I'm thinking it's because I ate so much sugar prior to starting during the last couple months.

At least, that's what I'm hoping. I don't get shaky either usually. I can get shaky, though, on a regular day if I have a blood sugar drop which occurs with me now and then.

[Strangefruit 179]

This is the end of Day 1 of my fast for the 5:2 plan...It is going really well... I really haven't been that hungry, except for head hunger... I had planned to have Protein Shakes for all 3 meals with some tweaks- am, vanilla with frozen fruit, lunch - chocolate with added powdered instant coffee and powdered unsweetened cocoa (cuts some of the shake sweetness), and I have planned another vanilla shake for dinner... when it occurred to me - I could have a Green Giant steamers broccoli and cheese sauce...the entire box is less than the Protein Shake, and it's way more filling, physically and psychologically... I am stoked! That sets me in for the day at 494 calories! And, I did my yoga tape today, so I feel really good...