5:2 does it work?

Ive been calorie counting for past 4 weeks and lost 7lbs which is good but not as good as I want

What is the typical weight loss per week for people doing this?

Is it sustainable? Meaning has anyone lost a considerable amount of weight on it?

And I know you need to eat 500 cals for 2 days but do you need to stick to a certain about of cals the other 5?

Look forward to responses.

I don't think its as simple as just doing 500 cals for 2 days, but what you are doing is clearly working. If you have lost 7lb in a month, just by doing a 2 day 500 cal diet each week then that's really very good!

The 500 cals needs to be mostly veg or salad based with a bit of protein thrown in. Its not a good idea to eat anything sugary or carbohydrate based on those days for instance. As for the other days, you need to eat sensibly and don't use up calories on sugary carby food. Aim for around 1500 cals a day but with good food. That's easier said than done of course, because your body craves those type of foods and in many ways its easy too, just to grab a sandwich or a burger. But listen, don't let me put you off, you are doing really well, better than you think probably. I can see you had 1 week where you didn't lose, well that happens to everyone, its just one of those things and sometimes you need to let up a little for a day or 2. You are doing great.

Hey thanks for your reply. I didn't really explain properly. I've been just calorie counting for the 4 weeks meaning eating no more than 1400 per day (with a few unintentional wipe out days eg nights out, hangover days, feeling poorly).

7lbs doesn't feel a lot to me. When I've done ww or slimming world in the past I lost 7lbs in the first week! Just a little disheartened on how long this is going to take.

Was just wanting to shake it up a little and was wondering if the 5:2 fasting diet was the way to go from people how have done it. I haven't seen anyone talking about fantastic lasting results.

5:2 does work, but it's not necessarily easier than simple CC 7 days per week. The average losses for 5:2 often seem very skewed for 2 reasons, the weight loss in the first 4 weeks is good and then tails off, secondly people give up and so theres very little long term data on it because of reason 1!

If you have a long way to go then you need to consider your options and your lifestyle, 7lbs is a great start and like you say yourself you've had a few days off plan and still managed to get the 1.5-2lbs per week that we know we can safely lose without losing lean body mass. I lost over 11 stones CC'ing but I never went out or had a drink for about 6 months ( more possibly) so in that regard it wasn't ideal as it wasn't going to work long term lifestyle wise.

There are lots of way to approach intermittent fasting 5:2 is only one of them and could give you a good start, you are right 2 days eat 500 cals ( of anything you like it makes absolutely no difference if you want to eat 500 cals of chocolate!) and on your non fasting days ( you will hear these called feast days elsewhere but I prefer not to use that term as it encourages over eating!) you eat within your normal maintenance allowance, generally taken to be 2000 cals although you should have a look at the JUDDD website calculator for a more accurate calculation for your UD's.

The most important thing to consider is that intermittent fasting or (IF for short) isn't a quick way to lose weight, it's a slow and steady approach to better health and weight loss is more of a side effect than anything else. Just for reference I normally to 4:3 ( 4 normal days and 3 fasting days) and lost 12lbs in my first 6 weeks, so av 2lbs per week.

Hope this helps xxxx