So I've decided to have a stab at this 5:2 intermittent fasting thing. Not without a fair bit of trepidation, it must be said. I don't know if it's sustainable for me, as I've never been the type to skip meals or forget about eating. I'm also worried it might lead me into a cycle of restriction/bingeing, which I know I'm prone to. But I've not had success so far, and since I do want to keep eating out and having a life, this does have its appeal. I've also read that some people find it helps them become more intuitive eaters - that holy grail - so it's worth a try. I'm still going to stick to 1500ish calories on the non-fast days, which is not technically how you're supposed to do it, but I want to see some results quickly, and with various holidays and meals out I have planned I don't think eating in maintenance mode for the rest of the time will cut it.
On Monday I dipped my toe into the fasting waters by eating 745 calories - you're supposed to only eat 500 according to the diet. I also ate three meals during day, which is not the recommended way to eat on your fast days (although it is supposed to be flexible in this regard). It was hard, let me tell you! And to be honest, back on 1500 today, I didn't find it that much easier - it still felt like I was hungry a fair bit of the day. So I may be way too optimistic in thinking I can manage 500 on Thursday. But I may as well give it a go.
I think I'll need to experiment with how to space my calories out on the fasting days. Ideal is apparently breakfast and dinner, or just dinner. But some people still do 3 meals a day, or lunch and dinner. I'm starting off with breakfast and dinner. The plan is to have 2 boiled eggs and tea in the morning, then a Bill Granger asian chicken salad for dinner.
Saturday I'm off to a champagne brunch so I'm not going to bother trying to count calories for that, and just do some exercise and eat lightly the rest of the day to compensate. Monday will be my next fast day, and then I'm off to visit a friend on Wednesday. I'm not sure whether to try to fast Wednesday - the morning at least will be occupied by travel - or just not to bother fasting until I come home Monday. I guess I'll see how it goes and play it by ear. Hopefully the good thing about this little experiment is that if I'm eating 1500 most days anyway, it doesn't matter if I slip up in the fasting department - as long as too much restriction doesn't drive me batty and send me headlong into a family size block of cadbury's. I do want to try to avoid that, while being mindful of the fact that when I have a lot of social activities on, there are plenty of non-restricted days too. Tomorrow my rough plan amounts to 1650, which I think is not unreasonable. Then Thursday, it's full steam ahead with the fasting.
On Monday I dipped my toe into the fasting waters by eating 745 calories - you're supposed to only eat 500 according to the diet. I also ate three meals during day, which is not the recommended way to eat on your fast days (although it is supposed to be flexible in this regard). It was hard, let me tell you! And to be honest, back on 1500 today, I didn't find it that much easier - it still felt like I was hungry a fair bit of the day. So I may be way too optimistic in thinking I can manage 500 on Thursday. But I may as well give it a go.
I think I'll need to experiment with how to space my calories out on the fasting days. Ideal is apparently breakfast and dinner, or just dinner. But some people still do 3 meals a day, or lunch and dinner. I'm starting off with breakfast and dinner. The plan is to have 2 boiled eggs and tea in the morning, then a Bill Granger asian chicken salad for dinner.
Saturday I'm off to a champagne brunch so I'm not going to bother trying to count calories for that, and just do some exercise and eat lightly the rest of the day to compensate. Monday will be my next fast day, and then I'm off to visit a friend on Wednesday. I'm not sure whether to try to fast Wednesday - the morning at least will be occupied by travel - or just not to bother fasting until I come home Monday. I guess I'll see how it goes and play it by ear. Hopefully the good thing about this little experiment is that if I'm eating 1500 most days anyway, it doesn't matter if I slip up in the fasting department - as long as too much restriction doesn't drive me batty and send me headlong into a family size block of cadbury's. I do want to try to avoid that, while being mindful of the fact that when I have a lot of social activities on, there are plenty of non-restricted days too. Tomorrow my rough plan amounts to 1650, which I think is not unreasonable. Then Thursday, it's full steam ahead with the fasting.
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