Im having trouble losing this last 25 lbs and have been thinking of trying the 5:2 diet.

I know many of you have been using this diet as a tool. ive searched the forum and didnt get any hits. isnt there a support group for this topic? I cant find it anymore.

Questions:

Are you currently on this diet? (or have you been?)

What has your experience with it been like?

Any links you can recommend?

What do i need to know?

The first day is the hardest, then you will be just fine!

I had a successful day yesterday, as my first fast day. I came in at right around 600 calories. Since it was my first day back to work and I went to my monthly bariatric support group meeting, I was gone all day, making it much easier to accomplish. I plan to fast again on Thursday. Not sure how many calories to aim for on non-fast days. Any advice, anyone? I'm thinking 900-1100, and I'll do some research, but just wondered what others have found to be effective.

I know I'm going struggle on the weekend, so keeping it low through the week is probably in my best interest. I maintained for the last year or so by keeping calories low through the week to accommodate a little higher on weekends. However....I'm going to really make every effort to stay low on weekends, too, until I get down where I want to be. There - I just talked myself right into behaving

Okay, my lovelies ( in the words of Coop) today is the first day of a new season! Fast day #1 is going down today! If I can break my sugar addiction this week and get back to normal eating I will have accomplished a great deal!

And, hopefully, get on the losing track!

Good work, all those who have already had a good fast day this week.

I had a successful day yesterday, as my first fast day. I came in at right around 600 calories. Since it was my first day back to work and I went to my monthly bariatric support group meeting, I was gone all day, making it much easier to accomplish. I plan to fast again on Thursday. Not sure how many calories to aim for on non-fast days. Any advice, anyone? I'm thinking 900-1100, and I'll do some research, but just wondered what others have found to be effective.

I know I'm going struggle on the weekend, so keeping it low through the week is probably in my best interest. I maintained for the last year or so by keeping calories low through the week to accommodate a little higher on weekends. However....I'm going to really make every effort to stay low on weekends, too, until I get down where I want to be. There - I just talked myself right into behaving

Michiganchic, I've found for me to lose consistently on 5:2 I have to stay below NORMAL on my non-fast days too and eat VERY cleanly. Your range is probably a good one 900-1100. Just play with it a bit and see how it affects your loss.

Sheryl I think I'm going to shoot for 140 lbs too. I am so thankful for the good hearted people in this group. It helps and I really need the support too. Time to kick butt and get back on track...

My goal is/has been always 150 but boy, when I look at pics of me at 140-145 I look so much better since I tend to gain in my face and boobs (upper body) first. I'm going to get back to Goal and then shoot for 140s as overall goal and try to keep it long enough for a set point this time! I'm with you Sheryl and Dorrie!

Kim, I'm going for one bite at a time the first week.

I really like that process, Cathy! You go, Girl!

Alright ladies. It's a new year and a new us/me!!!

I just found out about 5:2 on this thread and have done it successfully a couple times and was elated with the results but then came the holidays and I fell off. I'm looking forward to getting back on the wagon with all of you inspirational fine women!

February will be my 3yr post op mark. Last year (2nd yr post op) I lived around 139-143lbs. Recently, after moving out west with my family, I have been hovering around 137-140 lbs and I'd like to live around 132-135lbs. My pre-surgery goal was 135 and i have been there a few times but haven't been successful at maintaining there. It sounds silly that it's so close but yet so far. I tell myself that it is so close so I don't really need to make any changes or do anything about it, but that is what keeps it so far!

My goals this 2015 are about making healthy choices. I see myself turning to food when I'm bored, lonely or overwhelmed and I see myself revisiting old habits (cleaning kids plates via my mouth, carb grazing, staring at cabinets, choosing processed Snacks over fresh fruits and vegees, emotional eating habits all are scaring me). I'm also considering plastics in the next year or two. I lost about 65 lbs so the skin isn't as much of a problem as the sagging and lack of muscle tone. I've been working out with a trainer for about 7 months now and though I see improvement in my overall strength and fitness, I see little to no improvement in my cellulite (legs/tummy) and my saggy girl parts ;( If anyone has a good resource for investigating post-bariatric plastics where I can peruse photos, I'd gladly appreciate any pointers.

Thank you ladies for your inspiration and your support, I love watching all of you and your success, it is contagious!!

Windycitymom - the best place to dream of plastics is realself.com. Tons of photos, people ask questions and plastic surgeons answer etc.

Michiganchic - the only way 5:2 works for me is if my "feast days" are also fairly disciplined; meaning still following the sleever rules. You know I don't count calories, but I can't let myself over indulge on the "5" days if I want to lose. Conversely, 5:2 helps me maintain if I do have a bit extra during the week like going out etc

I had my first fast day in ages yesterday. It was really hard but the scale rewarded me with a 2 pound Water weight loss which was encouraging. I am also buckling down today, not fasting, but eating well and drinking lots of water. I exercised on my bike, but wimped out on zumba and went to bed early. I needed the sleep because I slept in too!

I have 140 imprinted in my brain as i believe very strongly in visualization. I can see it now - I shall weigh 140 again sometime in 2015!

I am dedicated to getting down to 140 lbs now for sure. It has always been the # in my mind. So 140 lbs is right around the corner. Working on decluttering my house right now of all the junk. Now I have a team that I can work with and when I'm dedicated to others, I don't waver. So here is my official time in. Today I'm a little under 155 lbs. Tomorrow will be a 5:2 day of 600 calories. Let's see where this takes me.

Let's do this.

I love this team. We all are focusing on 140lb goal and when I'm working as a team, I am more successful.. So here's to a new year of 2015 and our goal is 140 lbs..... Yay we can do this.......

Okay, one down! Came in right at 500 calories. I want something else but I'm determined to hold it! ????

I'm having a hard time getting my first fast day in. I work from home so I tried to get out of the house today and then came back to a house full of kids an lost my control . Monday, i tried to fast but couldn't make it through mid afternoon and crumbled. Today, i tried again and once i hit dinner and fed the rest of my family all of the things that they wanted (cuz none eats the same things), I was too overwhelmed to make myself something separate and gave in. After I added everything up, I thought I'd be up a couple hundred over but instead I was up to 1200.

I usually hover around 1800 cal/day so I guess 1200 is not bad but I was feeling the best last time I was getting some momentum with the 5:2 when I stuck to 400-600 cal/day on fast days.

I do generally tend to have a lot more calories than most on my non strict days. I am also a week away from my TOM but I hate to make excuses.

I'm going to give it a break tomorrow and start up with 5:2 again on Thursday. I hope to have some more willpower then. Sorry to be the downer in the group but I did want to be honest about where I am at.

Had a pretty good day yesterday, and came in under 1000. It's been a long time since I did that, so I'm feeling in control! Such a good feeling after feeling out of control for the past couple of weeks. I dropped a couple more pounds of water, and I can still see plenty of water on me, so its really hard to know my true weight. I sure hope the calorie and carb restriction, along with the sub-zero temperature helps to get rid of all this post plastics swelling.

Have a great day ladies, wishing you all success!

Windycitymom - the best place to dream of plastics is realself.com. Tons of photos, people ask questions and plastic surgeons answer etc.

Michiganchic - the only way 5:2 works for me is if my "feast days" are also fairly disciplined; meaning still following the sleever rules. You know I don't count calories, but I can't let myself over indulge on the "5" days if I want to lose. Conversely, 5:2 helps me maintain if I do have a bit extra during the week like going out etc

I had my first fast day in ages yesterday. It was really hard but the scale rewarded me with a 2 pound water weight loss which was encouraging. I am also buckling down today, not fasting, but eating well and drinking lots of water. I exercised on my bike, but wimped out on zumba and went to bed early. I needed the sleep because I slept in too!

I have 140 imprinted in my brain as i believe very strongly in visualization. I can see it now - I shall weigh 140 again sometime in 2015!

Thanks Cowgirl!! Can't wait to snoop around realself.

I was told to really focus on protein before and after plastics. My hunger went through the roof while recovery but I had alot done at once. I agree that 5:2 can wait...

I am not successfully fasting right now, but this approach really works. Makes it so I can go out on Friday or Sat and not worry too much as the fast days balance things. I used 5:2 to work off a small regain, get well under goal and then maintain. I am back into the 150s again and need to restart 5:2 to get back to 140ish.

Yes, it's protein, protein, protein (and some vitamin C) for tissue healing. Also. it's an increase in calories. Somewhere around 500 additional calories/day, according to most medical schools of thought.

I'm so thankful to read both of these posts! I've had three foot surgeries since June, including major bone reconstruction and the installation of an external fixator. I was six month post-op VSG when the foot surgeries began, and felt so frustrated that I was starving all the time! I've had the fixator out now for two months, and have just recently been allowed to begin walking again, but my weight loss has been stalled since June. Up and down in the same three pound range for months. My bariatric surgeon and the nutritionist have been no help in this area. Bariatric surgeon got on to me for only losing three pounds between 6 months and 12 months post-op, which for a typical patient might be acceptable, but someone who went from being very active everyday to in a wheelchair full time might be extended a bit of grace. They also couldn't explain why (though I kept calories between 1000-1200 daily) I felt absolutely FAMISHED all the time. They never thought to connect the fact that my entire foot had been reconstructed, and I was growing new bone to fuse with the donor bone that had been installed.

It has been excruciatingly difficult not to be consumed by those old feelings of guilt and failure regarding my weight loss (or lack thereof) for the last few months, despite not eating when feeling truly hungry and being creative about burning calories by being creative about exercise. The information you both posted here helps me to extend that grace to myself and to realize that, despite the lack of real weight loss over the past few months, my foot is doing great -- even better than expected -- and that is far better for me in this moment than being a few pounds lighter.