^^^Lololol.
Today is my first fast day. I’m hungry! Had scrambled eggs and loads of coffee. Looking forward to going home for my egg white omelet dinner and a pot of tea. Can’t wait for tomorrow -when I can eat!
@VaBluebird – how about “weight loss for dummies”, which does in fact focus on serious weight loss efforts?
This first fast day was tough. Can’t wait to go to bed (still hungry after salad and chicken breast)! But I can do anything for a day, and it is simple. Hopefully it will give me good results.
how about “weight loss for dummies”, which does in fact focus on serious weight loss efforts? >>>>>
Yes, I do post there. Hate the name of it.
Why are we so obsessed with dieting/the how tos/and what is better? We are all getting older and closer to the finish line. Look around at the old people…70 plus. Not a lot of fat people. And before anyone says anything nasty…I am in a holding pattern for 4 major diseases…all of which can kill me. So, 5-2 diet, weight loss for dummies…whatever works.
I think the key to finding a sustainable plan is to figure out what combinations of food fill you up. I think that’s different for everyone. I was surprised to learn how few calories a woman my age needs to maintain weight, but once I found out I started experimenting with different meals and attempted to keep my daily calorie intake within 100-200 calories of my target. So far, I’ve lost 25 lbs and I’m never overly hungry. Some of my meals and snacks have become a habit, which is a huge help on busy days. I wouldn’t be able to do a fasting day or two, though, because I’d end up overeating the next day. And I’d be miserable on the days I was fasting.
I haven’t read through all of the posts, but I did want to comment on this topic. I am doing a variation of this diet and I have lost 5 pounds already. Previously, I was doing a 1200 calorie a day diet and the scale did not budge at all! I do believe the theory that your body adjusts to the low calories and tries to “save” them. With the alternate day type of dieting your body does not have as much opportunity to plateau. The funny thing is that I still consume the same number of calories in total for the week. So 1200 x 7 = 8400 calories. The variation of the 5:2 Diet I am doing is the 1200/600/1800 diet. I alternate my days with these calorie counts. The 600 day is hard to push through, but I know that I can eat 1800 calories the next day so I can make it! For the 600 calorie day I typically cycle around these items: String cheese 80, very small oatmeal with skim milk 75, 4 egg whites 70, 2 cups of broth 20, lots of veggies, hot coffee 0. I will also add in a couple of 150 calorie items. I like to spread my calories throughout the day. The author of the alternate day diet said that she suggests one large meal for the “fast” day because people often don’t do an accurate calorie count over the day and end up eating too much, but theoretically you can spread out your calories. She also pointed out that you can skip breakfast - she said that most of the studies that show that breakfast is the “most important meal of the day” were funded by cereal companies! I personally do need some food to get me going in the morning. So this is the first diet that I have had any success with recently. My weight loss has been 2 pounds one week and 3 the next, slow but heading in the right direction. Also - as far as “fasting” which is really just a calorie reduction for this diet, studies have shown that it actually has health benefits. Hope this helps someone!
Good luck suzyQ7. Hope it works for you.
LOL!!! I assume you live in Beverly Hills! I live in NYC and in one of the 'thinner" neighborhoods. There are a lot of over weight people 70+. So, out of curiosity, I googled. See page 10 of this. It’s a bit out of date, but I doubt things have improved much. http://www.prb.org/pdf11/aging-in-america.pdf
I decided I wanted to try the approach of eating normally (my normal) but only within an eight hour window per day. So for me that means skipping breakfast, eating lunch, snack and dinner. Nothing after 7pm which is when I typically get the munchies. I think this will be a bit easier for me than fasting two days. Physiologically it helps me to think I can eat what I normally would during the day and dinner. I don’t feel bad about giving up breakfast, it was not a important meal for me. I ate it mainly due to all the press about it being important to start your day right.
There is some fascinating research about fasting two days prior to chemotherapy. It seems to protect healthy cells while leaving the tumor cells less resistant to the drug. Some research further suggests it revs your immune system into high gear.
A little hunger may not be a bad thing for your body. 
That’s fascinating about cells and chemo, @artrell. Best of luck with treatment.
About 1/3 of adults over the age of 65 are considered obese (and a little over 1/4 of those over 75).
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db106.htm#x2013;2010
I see a lot of obese seniors… but I don’t live in a ritzy neighborhood 
I do the 12 to 16 hour fast nearly every day. I have never been a breakfast person, so most often the first meal of my day is at noon and we usually eat dinner at 7 p.m. Maybe this is helping my current dieting endeavor, who knows. Since I’ve always had this pattern I’m thinking it doesn’t really affect me the same way. It’s just normal for me.
I also am not a breakfast eater. Have to have my coffee but I usually suffice with a handful of nuts and a small portion of strawberries or blueberries.
Yes, my mom lost 90lbs on it in a little over a year. She’s doing the ADF (Alternate Day Fast) diet now. She loves it! Good Luck! 
Glad to hear of some success stories with this approach. Congrats to all who have been able to take off some pounds.
In cooking class at William Sonoma, the instructor suggested that having a bit of fat from nuts or peanut butter or SOMETHING helps you feel full, even on fewer calories, which might be a help for folks trying to cutback without having hunger pangs. I find eating nuts and fruit is pretty filling and satisfying. H and I have taken to sharing a salad and then sharing a main course if we are dining out and don’t want leftovers. It works VERY well!
*I have deleted all the posts that referenced back to the one about “Do we really need this thread”, which I also deleted. Hopefully the thread has enough traffic at 50+ posts to have people now quit asking that question.
I don’t know, but it seems obvious to me someone would want a separate thread about a very specific diet as opposed to having it get lost in the thousands of posts in a far more general one. I cannot think of a thing wrong with that. It would be like having a thread titled “University of Illinois” and everything about that school was talked about in that one thread, and then telling a person they shouldn’t start a new thread specifically about the engineering school there. Or an even better analogy is that there is a thread about the engineering department, but we would never tell anyone they cannot start a thread focusing on biomedical engineering, and another about chemical engineering, etc.*
I like post #46 and think that is the best way to lose weight and maintain the weight you would like to be.
I try to keep my calorie count to 2,000 a day. When I am able to do that I drop weight until I am at my proper weight.
I can maintain my weight at about 2,400-2,500 calories even more on weeks when I workout hard. Those hard workout days are spread out more though.
I always eat breakfast. Almost always some type of oatmeal with protein powder or flax seed. My problem is I eat at night especially when I am under stress. If I could stop eating by 7 or 8 weight would never be a problem.
My daily diet is great- well balanced, good food that I like. Nothing processed mostly fruits and vegetables with nuts, beans and eggs as protein sources. I usually get my 2,000 calories in about 10 foods.