So you have been getting on the scales and starting to feel disheartened as the numbers are not going down. Well try not to.

When you say that you want to loose weight, don’t you really mean that you want to loose fat. Fat cannot be easily measured on a set of bathroom scales. If getting on the scales is an obsession and is making you upset, then you really need to STOP. Don’t get on them if your mood is determined by the number you see in the morning on the scales. You will benefit from either weighing monthly or even not at all.

At the end of the day don’t you really want to look and feel better in your clothes, improve your overall health and be able to exercise longer.

If you gain weight on the bathroom scales, it does not mean that your clothes will not feel looser. Here is an example I found of one of Jason Ferruggia clients that show even though you weigh more, that your body can look better.

You can see that she looks more lean and fit with a bit of exercise and weight gain.

The scales are really no longer a useful tool if they upset you especially once you get within 5-10kg of your goal, so please do not let those numbers define your view of 5:2.

Quick Fix & Long Term
Do NOT go hand in hand

Let your choice for becoming a healthier person make you feel proud of yourself as it takes a person with a positive attitude to stick to anything long term. If your looking for a quick fix when it comes to a thinner you that is also maintainable long term I would love to hear of it. At the end of the day it is your own personal journey and you need to stay positive and believe in yourself for success to occur.

I love looking at numbers and statistics so weighing for me is an enjoyable experience. Even when it goes up I like to look at the statistics to see if I can see any patterns an graph them. They never make me sad or angry, however if they upset you just stay away.

Measure yourself

I cannot highly recommend this enough. I hear so many people getting disheartened by not losing weight, but if you take measurement you will see that even though you may not be losing kg’s you are actually losing cm’s. And really isn’t this what us girls want, to fit into that smaller outfit.

Stick to 5:2 life style and just believe that you are doing wonders for your insides to live longer and healthier. You clothes and comments from other people will be your guide.

I was inspired by the documentary over 2 years ago with this new way of life. I thought it would be a good idea to share this with all my loyal subscribers.

It is such a great way to see all of the research that went into this, not for weigh loss, but it was all about “fasting to live longer” – weigh loss it just an extra side effect of fasting.

Michael Mosley discovers the powerful new science behind the ancient idea of fasting, and he thinks he’s found a way of doing it that still allows him to enjoy his food. Michael tests out the science of fasting on himself – with life-changing results. Beautiful documentary.

After watching Michael Mosley’s inspirational documentary Eat, Fast and Live Longer way back in 2012, it sat in the back of my mind as something that I would consider attempting. I loved the fact that it was all based around scientific research and there was mounting evidence of its health benefits. I also saw it as something that I thought could be able to sustain long-term.

Now over 2 years later and a bit of a push from my husband as he wanted to lose weight, I decided that this year was the year. So I began my fasting lifestyle on the 5th Jan 2015. I had not planned to start, I just decided on the Sunday night and began on the Monday morning.

Here are a few things I hope will help you with starting this new way of life.

Keep It Simple

Try not to get too bogged down in the numbers on your non fast days. Just count your fast days calories and keep them under 500 for women or 600 for men.

Only start counting non fast days if you find that you are not losing weight and check it against your TDEE. I found that I counted at the start because I was not sure exactly what 2000 calories in a day looked like, so just for my own curiosity.

The easier you make it on yourself the more likely you are going to be to succeed and it will be sustainable. You can always make adjustments and change things later. The best thing you can do for yourself is just start.

I am not losing weight

Don’t stress if you are not losing weight, everyone is different. Some people lose it quickly and some people don’t. That does not mean that because the numbers on the scales are not showing results that inside your body in not getting healthier.

Do not mistake fat loss with weight loss. These are 2 totally different things. When losing fat you may not see it on the scales due to many different reasons such as water retention (very common), bowel movements and hormones.

Measure yourself

I cannot highly recommend this enough. I hear so many people getting disheartened by not losing weight, but if you take measurement you will see that even though you may not be losing kg’s you are actually losing cm’s. And really isn’t this what us girls want, to fit into that smaller outfit.

In the past on earlier diets I have gone 3 weeks and not lost weight, but to my surprise I had lost many cm’s. So do not let the scales decide how happy you are.

Get a calorie counting app.

The most commonly used one I found that people are using is My Fitness Pal (MFP). It’s not always completely accurate though so to begin with you may want to cross check some things with other calorie counters. It’s also important to be aware that these apps often give you a suggested calorie target that is below your TDEE as they are designed for traditional diets where you restrict your calories every day. If you want it to display the correct calorie target for 5:2, make sure you select ‘maintain current weight’ as your goal when setting up your profile.

How often should you eat on fast days?

This is a totally personal choice. You will not know exactly how 5:2 works for you until you have a few fast days under your belt. Every single faster is different.

I like to have just water and coffee all day and then something small around 3pm to get me through till dinner time. My husband seems to be able to last all day on a coffee and water and saves up all his calories for a filling dinner. Michael Mosley like to have eggs and salmon for breakfast, then nothing except coffee through the day until her has dinner that evening. So don’t compare yourself to others.

The best advise I can give you it to see each fasting day as only a practice for the first month until you finally find your groove. You will learn to understand your body and what it wants.

Don’t be scared on hunger

My first 2 fasts were quite hard, as my mind was telling me “OMG your hungry – you must eat.” So I was looking for anything I could to get to my 500 calories. Then I would try to go to sleep so I could wake up for breakfast.

After a couple of fasts I noticed that the hunger was not that bad and if I just waited about 15mins it would pass. Hunger never stays with you all day, it comes in waves and you just have to ride it out.

Forget about the word DIET

It is a very hard task to try to forget about all the old diet ways that we have been brought up on over all these years. The way we think of dieting is to calorie restrict everyday of the week or you are not going to succeed. So many people struggle with letting this notion go. But 5:2 is supposed to be easy, and not stressful. Just count calories 2 days a week and the other days will just get better with food choices and amounts without you even realising it.

Don’t rush it, this is not a race to the finish line. It is a slow and steady change in our own mindset. Try to focus just on those 2 days, and trust that you are doing good things for your body.

In no time at all you will be an expert in fasting and be able to spread the word about how wonderful it is and convince others people that this is a fantastic way of life.

TDEE is an acronym for Total Daily Energy Expenditure which is the number of calories your body burns over a 24 hour period. Your TDEE is calculated based on your sex, height, weight and weekly physical exercise. Unless you are very active, it is recommended you select ‘sedentary’ as it is very easy to overestimate your level of activity and the parameters used on the calculator are very broad. Most women have an average TDEE of 1800 – 2000 calories or thereabouts (2400 for men). If you are older or on the shorter side, your TDEE may be a bit lower.

What is my TDEE?

You can calculate your own TDEE via an online TDEE calculator. Just remember to go back every couple of weeks when you have lost weight or cm’s and recalculate your TDEE, as it will change when you start losing weight.

Do I have to eat my TDEE?

No you do not have to eat all the way up to your TDEE. If you are happy eating 1600 calories then just eat that amount. There really is no need to count your calories if you are eating under your TDEE without even trying.

Should I count calories on my non-fasting days?

I found that at the start as I was unsure how many calories I was eating I was counting calories on my non-fast days just to see if I needed to watch what I eat on those days. It was also curiosity on my behalf as I had no idea if I was eating too much. I usually hate counting calories as the old-fashioned calorie restriction diets require you to count everyday and you always feel deprived and hungry.

I found though from counting on my non-fasting days without calorie restricting was not too bad at all. I realised that I was not actually over eating which was a nice surprise. But I was eating close to me TDEE on some days and other days I was well under. So I decided that after 2 weeks there was no need to worry about counting anymore on my non-fast days. And this also took the pressure off, which I just love.

What I use to count calories.

The best and easiest thing I have found is to use an app called My Fitness Pal. It is not always accurate as so it can be a good idea to check against other calorie counting products. I do however find that it is very helpful and quick to use as it had a barcode scanner and also a massive list of australian foods in the database for quick searching.

I also use this tool when creating my recipes for you, so I can put the complete recipe description up with a breakdown of the calories.

5:2 intermittent fasting is not a diet – 5:2 is a new way of life.
There is no time like the present to make a change for better health

5:2 intermittent fasting is based around the scientific research conducted by Michael Mosley for a documentary back in 2012.

The basic idea around 5:2 is that you eat normal balanced diet (TDEE) 5 days a week and then 2 days a week you restrict your food intake to a quarter of your normal daily intake (TDEE). This usually equates to approx 2000/500 for women and 2400/600 for men.

You spread your calories out however suits you. Everyone is different. 1, 2 or 3 meals a day, it’s up to you. It will take a few weeks for you to find your groove. The first few weeks is just practice to find what works for you.

Your meals on non fast days will change automatically without trying, just focus on the 2 fast days, and the rest will follow.

You can work out your exact TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) if you want an exact number as it will change as you lose weight. The best way to work out your TDEE is to use the online TDEE calculator.

There is no time like the present to start on your journey of the 5:2 Fast Diet way of life.