Changes to My 5:2 Intermittent Fasting Plan
I am now almost at the end of week three of my 5:2 intermittent fasting plan. I’m pleased with my progress, but I’ve decided to make a couple of changes. These alterations to my course have been inspired by reading about the experiences of other people on this diet.
Fasting for 24 Hours
Up until now I’ve been having my 600 calories around noon on the fast day, and then eating again early the next morning. This means that I’m only ever fasting for a maximum of sixteen hours on each side of my light meal. I’ve read in a couple of places that to maximize the effectiveness of this diet it is best to have 24 hours without food. This makes sense so for the last couple of fasting days I have not eating anything for 24 hours after consuming my 600 calorie meal.
Eating Earlier on Fasting Days
I made my first attempt of going 24 hours without food on Tuesday. I had my last meal at noon and did not eat anything again until noon the next day. When I woke up on Wednesday morning I did not feel one bit hungry, but by 10 am I felt starving. I managed to hold off any food until noon, but I felt grumpy and found it hard to concentrate on anything. I had my second fasting day of the week yesterday, and this time I ate my one meal of the day at 10 am. This has worked out much better. I felt fine this morning, and I’m due to eat in another 10 minutes.
My Body Weight is Falling Steadily
In my last post I mentioned my disappointment after noticing a tiny increase in weight after one of the fast days. This now seems like an insignificant blip because overall my weight is falling steadily. I weighed myself this morning and it came up as 78.2 kg – this means that I’ve lost 2 kg (4.4 pounds) in less than three weeks.
My Other Posts on 5:2 Intermittent Fasting
Ten weeks of 5:2 Intermittent Fasting
Second Week of 5:2 Fasting Diet
Week Three of the 5:2 Intermittent Fasting Diet
Intermittent Fasting as a Spiritual Exercise
5:2 Fasting Diet Update Week 6
my still drink beer 10+ kilometer on the eliptical trainer and 3 kilo gone in 4 weeks.
off my ass more does it
It sounds like you’re getting great results Tom.
Sorry to bring bad news, but changes in the liver produced growth hormone begin AFTER 24 hours. Similarly fat burning will increase AFTER 24 hours, because the liver is capable of maintaining the body for 24 hours without resorting to fats.
For 24 hours your body is used to being in ‘grow, divide, store’ mode. After 24 hours it switches to cell repair mode (which is what resulted in the increased life spans of people with restricted diets such as the ‘winter hunger’ folk, or the Great Depression era – which is what the video opened with) It makes logical sense also, as the body will try to maintain what it has when deprived of constant food, and try to divide/grow/replace/store when it has enough.
I dropped from 82 KG to 76/77 in 3 weeks. But once or twice a week I will go a solid 42 hours with nothing more than an apple.
You may well be right Phra Pandit. I’m not ready for 42 hour fasts at this stage in my life, but maybe it is something I’ll try in the future.
Hi Paul not sure of the ins and outs but Mosley got his results by eating 600 from getting up in the morning and going to bed at night.Back in the day I’ve done I’m not going to eat today which is not that difficult if you sip water and that gets you close to a 4o odd hour fast..whether it’s necessary I cant say.Good for meditation tho and who knows Angels might visit you..so a customer told me..call me old fashioned:)
Hi Leo, I might try to extend the length of the fast at a later date. I suppose that once I get used to the idea of not eating for 24 hours it becomes easier to extend this time.
Your self-motivation is to be applauded but I don’t think I could experiment with such a fasting plan. I try to have a healthy breakfast and a decent lunch and no dinner. But, on the days when I have archery night practice, I find it impossible to muster the power to shoot after 8 hours at work without some extra food.
Hi Mihnea,I wound imagine that this fasting regime would be difficult for anyone who is active as you are.