By way of a bit of background info, I would never say I've struggled with my weight until now. My wardrobe has clothes that range from a 10 to a 16 and it's never been a problem. I have beefed up and slimmed down more times than a celeb with a fitness video because I love the wrong kinds of food. It may also surprise people to learn that I am an incredibly fussy eater. Most of the time when I'm trying out a new recipe I won't be eating it myself, it'll just be Rich or the rest of my family while I sit down with toast.
In the past I would have no trouble shedding the pounds in a very short space of time. If I had an event to go to I knew I could do my self-invented Lucozade diet and I'd be guaranteed to lose half a stone in 5 days. The Slimming World diet would guarantee a drop in dress size in a month. All that has changed since I started taking steroids for my kidney transplant. I put on THREE STONE in 4 months after the transplant due to the steroids and even though I stopped taking them in July, their legacy lives on. It's still soul-destroyingly difficult to lose even one pound a week so I'm willing to try anything.
The premise of the diet is this: fast on one day, feed on the next. The original diet is called the 5:2 diet because you fast on 2 alternating days eating less than 600 calories and eat whatever you want regardless of calories on the others. For the first 2 days of the diet I thought the feeding days had a limit of 1600 calories but I changed this on day three when I found out. I also decided to fast on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with a limit of 500 calories a day.
I weighed myself on Monday morning and saw I have 6.6lbs I want to lose as quickly as possible. Throughout the week I drink only water and Pepsi Max. I don't drink tea or coffee anyway so having to cut these out to save on calories from milk and sugar isn't an issue for me.
Monday - fasting
I skip breakfast and by lunchtime I'm not even remotely hungry. Surprisingly I don't get hungry until 5pm so I eat some Nutri-Grain breakfast biscuits at 189 calories. They fill me up and I'm fine until 8pm when I have a slice of dry toast at 100 calories. Total calories for the day 289 with no side effects or feeling ill.
Tuesday - feeding
Again, I'm not hungry at breakfast so I skip it. At work I feel fine, no problems at all. I have some breakfast biscuits for lunch at 189 calories. At 5pm I'm starving but Rich is at the cinema tonight so I'm not cooking any dinner and I'm too lazy to make something for just me. I have a packet of Wotsits, a plain wrap and a Rice Krispie square which comes in at under 450 calories. Only 2 hours later I'm ravenous so I raid the freezer to find something quick to cook and come up trumps with some Tesco potato animal shapes, hardly cordon bleu healthy cuisine but it'll do. I have them with some ketchup and it comes to 500 calories. Total for today 1,139 calories.
Wednesday - fasting
I realise I've been missing loads of nutrients so I decide from now on my fasting days will consist of breakfast biscuits, an apple and grape bag, a banana and a Babybel. This totals 380 calories giving me a 120 calorie buffer if I need it. I've come to the conclusion that I can miss breakfast without it upsetting me so today is no different. I do notice today that I'm incredibly scatty. I do the weekly food shop and buy the wrong crisps for Rich. I also keep leaving things around the house and forgetting what I was doing 2 seconds before. Putting the shopping away is frustrating because I kept misplacing things. I eat my biscuits, apple and grapes, banana and Babybel by 5pm but by 6pm I feel like I've not eaten at all. I have another Babybel and I'm fine after that. Total calories for today 450.
Thursday - feeding
I wake up at 5.45am to take Rich to the station for a business trip. By the time I get home I feel like I could eat a horse. I practically inhale 2 scotch pancakes, some breakfast biscuits and a class of milk. This comes in at a whopping 500 calories - more than I ate in the entire day yesterday. At work all I can think about is food and I start planning my lunch from 9.01am. I get home at 1pm and I cook 100 grams of pasta and add 3 tablespoons of tomato pasata and 15g of cheese. I also cook 2 pieces of garlic bread. Lunch is around 600 calories and I'm in physical pain after eating it. I lay on the sofa unable to move because I feel sick from eating so much in one go but all I can think about is something sweet so 30 minutes later I steal one of Rich's cake bars at 135 calories. I don't have any dinner but when I collect Rich from the station at 8pm he says he's hungry. We go to Burger King drive-thru as it's quick and easy. Despite stuffing my face all day long I order a Rodeo Burger for 585 calories and eat it all. I am horrified at how much food I've eaten today and feel disgusted with myself. I can't see how I'm going to lose any weight like this. I feel heavy, fat, depressed and bloated. Total calories for today 1,820.
Friday - fasting
I'm painting the meeting room at work today. I have no breakfast again but I feel great all morning, full of energy and able to climb up and down step ladders without any trouble. I go straight to the shopping centre after work to buy a book. As I walk past Boots I have to fight the the urge to throw-up because of the smell of cosmetics wafting out the door. I realise I should have eaten before going. I go to bed when I get home for a nap without eating. I don't get hungry at all today. I have some breakfast biscuits at 6pm. An hour later I have a Babybel and a banana. I have a shot of Malibu as well. Total calories for today is under 400.
Saturday and Sunday - feeding
I didn't really calorie count at the weekend. I just ate whenever I was hungry.
On Saturday I had some Philadelphia Light Garlic & Herbs with some crackers and 3 mini Twix bites (about 1 side of a normal Twix) at lunch time. For our dinner I want to use up some of the random bits and pieces in the fridge so I grill some sausages and cut them up really fine. I mix them with pasta, pasata and cheese. I also have a tiny chunk of garlic tear and share bread. Oh, and 2 slices of halloumi. Later on I have a caramel shortbread.
On Sunday I have a slice of white bread with a very thin spread of smooth peanut butter for breakfast. Between 10am and 6pm I have 2 Oreo cookies and an Oreo Truffle, nothing else. I then have more Philadelphia and crackers. I'm still hungry an hour later though so I have a plain wrap and a banana. I also have a (hefty) shot of Malibu.
THE WEIGH IN - EEK
I think about all the terrible food I've eaten this week. Chocolate, bread, peanut butter, a packet of Wotsits, a burger, cheese, pasta etc. I am appalled at how much junk I've eaten and I'm convinced I can't have lost any weight having had all that crap. I can imagine the renal dietician having a fit over the lack of fruit and vegetables and I cringe at the thought.
To my amazement when I step on the scales I've lost 2.6lbs - over a kilo. The fact I usually struggle to lose even 1lb a week makes this a small miracle.
I haven't felt dizzy once. I've kept a very close eye on my blood sugar levels and every time I've tested them they are well within the healthy recommendations of between 5 and 7. I've not experienced any headaches and aside from being a bit scatty and almost being sick outside Boots I've felt ok all week. On my fasting days I've cooked dinner for Rich and haven't once been tempted to snaffle a mouthful or steal a bit.
Overall, I've loved this diet but I think it encourages you to eat junk on your days off. There isn't a single vegetable on my entire weekly intake and that is simply not good enough. I don't especially like vegetables anyway but I can certainly make more of an effort to include them. Now that I've had a week on the diet I know what to expect so I can make adjustments accordingly.
I will continue with the diet for the planned 3 week period and I'm seriously considering keeping it up for the rest of the year.
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