5:2 diet help me I'm starving!!! : So I've... - Thyroid UK

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5:2 diet help me I'm starving!!!

TTLady profile image
19 Replies

So I've decided to try this diet after hearing all the positive stories of weight loss & renewed energy etc.

Today was my first fast day. I've consumed 516 calls (already a fail) but I'm completely ravenous I could happily start eating the sofa.

I had scrambled eggs for lunch a tuna salad followed by some melon & grapes for my tea and I've had some celery and an Apple in between.

Can anyone offer any more filling alternatives? Trouble is I don't think I couldnt survive on one meal so I need to split my cals.

Is it something you adjust to?

Also, I've recorded my day on my fitness pal which says I've burnt 200 cals than I've eaten, should I do less exercise on my fast days?

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TTLady profile image
TTLady
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19 Replies
nobodysdriving profile image
nobodysdriving

Hi, it is normal (so I have heard from many who are doing this diet) for the 'fast days' to be quite hard in the first week, but I have heard it does get easier for most people, so do your best to 'stick' with it.

have you ever tried the 'zero calorie' noodles made from 'konjak' (not sure of spelling), here is an example:

hollandandbarrett.com/pages...

they take some 'getting used to' I have heard, are quite 'tasteless' unless you put something with it, so maybe some freshly squeezed lemon if used in a salad or some low calorie sauce? (ie tomato based???) with them?

do a google search for low calorie recipes with 'zero calorie noodles' I am sure you will find something xx

also, no you do not have to stop your exercise on 'fast days', many people still exercise as usual.

RedApple profile image
RedAppleAdministrator

If anyone is buying these books through Amazon, please use the affiliate links below which will allow Thyroid UK to receive a small commission from Amazon at no cost to you.

Link for the recipe book:

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And the book about the diet:

The Fast Diet: The Secret of Intermittent Fasting - Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, Live Longer [Paperback]

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TTLady profile image
TTLady

Thanks guys I'm determined not to give up but I can't believe how difficult I found yesterday, like you say all I could think about was food all day

I completely forgot about bananas and I love them so they will definitely be on my list for Saturday, thanks guys :-)

nobodysdriving profile image
nobodysdriving in reply to TTLady

keep going, it will get easier and when on fast days it gets 'tough' think that tomorrow you can eat whatever you like :) :D

pamommylove profile image
pamommylove in reply to TTLady

Banana's are awesome. I eat them all the time.

Throid profile image
Throid

Stick with it, this is an amazing diet and wonderful for people with lousy metabolisms, I've been doing it for ages now and it works for me where nothing else does. Once you see the results being hungry for just 24 hours will be so much easier.

TTLady profile image
TTLady in reply to Throid

I guess that's the thing throid, I need the results to kick in I'm sure right that once I start losing (God I hope I do) that feeling hungry will be worth it

Throid profile image
Throid in reply to TTLady

Stick with it, it really does work, if you feel yourself weakening watch Micheal Mosely's Horizon programme, I have the worst metabolism but this really works, being hungry for 24 hours is a small price to pay. I do alternate day fasting proper due to my awful metabolism so I eat one day and fast the next, sometimes you just have to accept it's harsh and normal metabolisms can cope with the easier version - mine sucks - drives me mad! But, this really works for me and it becomes a way of life once you adjust to it, Benefits really do outweigh any negatives for me. Really hope it's as successful for you

mitchell66 profile image
mitchell66

I have done this for 5 weeks. A good tip (for me anyway) is skip breakfast. If I eat porridge or anything in the morning I'm starving all day. I wait till I feel hungrey usually around 12, which means I have less time to suffer lol. Another tip is that you can fast from 8pm till 12 pm the next day and it still counts! So most of your fasting time your are alseep. Although not tried this yet.

lynx profile image
lynx in reply to mitchell66

Like the sound of that - as i have never tried this as i cant be asked to starve. But if i could start at any time and just go 48 hrs - eating when i need to - i just might be able to do it. Looks like you have included a bit of 6 weeks to omg. Better go shopping for some turkey,eggs and brazils. Now off for afternoon tea with the girls. 'Tomorrow is another day' LOL.

Margo profile image
Margo in reply to mitchell66

I like the sound of the fast from 8pm to 12 pm next day mitchell66, trouble is, it sounds too good to be true. Do you know anybody that has done it that way please?

Hypo32 profile image
Hypo32

I find crispbreads (around 19 calories) and Laughing Cow Extra light (20 calories per triangle) are quick and easy and fairly filling. Rich Tea Light biscuits (36 calories) feel like a treat mid afternoon. Like some of the others I don't have breakfast as such but wait until I am really hungry (around 11am) and have a banana or something. I am also a massive fan of Sweet Chilli Snack a Jacks and at 91 calories I can have them - I snack a lot rather than having 2 'meals'. I also discovered one day when I due to do a shop and had hardly any food in that the tins of beans and spaghetti hoops I keep in for the kids are actually very low - put them with a slice of weight watchers bread and it doesn't feel like a diet.

Angel_of_the_North profile image
Angel_of_the_North

I'm not the best person to advise as I rarely have a problem with not eating. However, two friends of mine who have done 5:2 successfully reckon that not eating at all for as long as possible in the day works best - ie start eating at tea time if you can and miss breakfast and lunch. Eating dinner makes it easier to sleep. Drink water at the times you would usually eat and keep busy.

If you have to eat more often, make a huge bowl of salad - just cut up raw veg and don't dress it (lemon is OK or crushed tomatoes). You can eat almost unlimited amounts without consuming many calories. Personally, I find that the less you eat, the less you want to eat.

TTLady profile image
TTLady

It's my second fast day, hoping it's easier :-/

penny profile image
penny

I didn't up the exercise on my fast days, or did any on any days as a matter of fact. I did, however, lose 23lbs and reached my target. I will then do fast days a couple of times a month to keep up the health benefits.

I dislike the expression but...whatever works for you. (Not quite on a par with that howler "for free".) I had three meals a day on the 5:2 diet and although I was a bit hungry, cold and bad tempered at the end of the day it wasn't too bad, particularly as I could think about what I would eat on the following day. I really need a breakfast so I had one; a light lunch and my main meal at 7 p.m. - say 4oz steak with mushrooms and spinach, then half a banana or some strawberris. (Tip...if you cut a banana in half through the skin the remaining half will keep for ages.)

Keep at it.

RubyTuesday profile image
RubyTuesday

I tried fasting from 2pm one day to 2pm the next day, but it didn't feel as effective, so I went back on the original way of doing it, i.e. eating as usual one day, then waking up to a fast day and not eating anything until 6.30 pm. I just have a fresh soup from Waitrose, or wherever I happen to shop, choosing a low calorie one; my favourite is Leek & Potato. I am not a foodie, so I don't need to make it varied, or interesting. I am loving the inch loss, weight is no so obvious, though friends insist I have lost loads of weight. I just drink lots and often find it's 7pm before I get round to having my soup - the hunger pangs suddenly disappear at some point!

Hansaplatz profile image
Hansaplatz

Not heard of the diet, though I think I do know someone who is doing it with you mentioning the fast days. How many calories are you allowed on a fast day?

Drink more to feel full? Rice cakes? A measure amount of peanut butter spread thinly on the celery? Eat something with a little fat as that helps you feel fuller for longer? Eating the fruit might be making you feel worse if it is causing a sugar high and then crash maybe?

Mrsmoon profile image
Mrsmoon

fastday.com/fasting/intermi...

Check out this link. VERY interesting for thyroid 5:2ers

MrsClanger profile image
MrsClanger

I have just posted a post with my diet, including all my meals as I am looking for more meal ideas. Have you tried slim pasta/ noodles ? My main dinner I have most days is under 300 cals, so might help you. My diet plan is a less harsh version of the 5 / 2 diet which averages out at 1200 a day over a week.

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