Merged Intermittent Fasting -- Good Idea or Not?

I'm still tweaking the system to my own needs and quirks.
The weight is slowly coming off- a kilo every three weeks.

Not brilliant, but there you are. One thing I notice is that I'm spending rather less on food yet at the same time buying better, tastier food stuffs.

Prometheus, that sounds like an eminently sensible plan, yours does.
All the best with it!
 
Update: I was able to maintain my planned regimen for 6 weeks, and lost 12 pounds. I then plateaued and remained constant for 10 weeks. I've now given up on the intermittent fasting and am doing straight calorie counting using a smartphone app to log everything I eat, and I just stop eating for the day when it tells me to. I've since lost an additional 14 pounds in 10 weeks.
 
Well done Prometheus.

Mrs Don and I restarted the 5:2 a couple of weeks ago. It's too difficult to fast 2 days a week during the summer when there's so much socialising to do.

My weight had drifted back up to 13st 3lbs (185 lbs) which a little heavier than ideal given that I'm not able to run any more (crocked knee) so I've lost some muscle mass. After a couple of weeks, I'm back under 180 lbs and the plan is to get back under 170 lbs before the Christmas excesses.

I've come to the conclusion that there's nothing magic about the 5:2 diet, it's just that your intake is reduced by about 20-25% which means that if you can stand it then it'll work.

In the past we've found that calorie counting also works (nearly 15 years ago I went from 225lbs to 175lbs calorie counting) but it requires more discipline and attention.
 
The Don said:
...I've come to the conclusion that there's nothing magic about the 5:2 diet,
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This.
...calorie counting also works ... but it requires more discipline and attention.
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And this.

I actually took on the diet for the potential health benefits and treat the weight loss as a mere by-product, so don't obsess about it too much, it is just a handy indicator. That said, I've shed 7kg in 10 weeks.
 
I haven't had time to read this whole thread yet but to add to the anecdotes. Having read Mosley's book and seen the prog, after realising my waist to height ratio (which is far better indicator of potential ill health than BMI) was getting on the unhealthy side I went on a 5.2 regime last summer (2013) for about 2 to 3 months .
Normally consistently at 11 stone (154lbs) the weird thing was, I lost only a couple of pounds, if that, but also lost 2 to 3 inches from my waist (36in to 33/34) which was the intention of the diet. I've kept it off so far while eating "normally".
 
Update on my results so far: Started at 185 lbs (5'10") September of last year, and have been fairly consistent with ADF, barring a few months at the end of last year and a couple this summer. I'm down nearly thirty pounds to 156. Had a number of plateaus along the way -- turns out I was eating much more on my feed days than I needed to. After adjusting, I'm losing ~ 1 lb/week, a good, safe rate. I feel great on my fast days, so I think this is going to be something I stick with even after I've reached my goal (which is coming up soon). The fasting doesn't seem to be affecting my workouts, and I suspect that one of the reasons I'm losing slowly is because I'm building a bit of muscle along the way. After a year of this, I'm sold.
 
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Prometheus said:
Update: I was able to maintain my planned regimen for 6 weeks, and lost 12 pounds. I then plateaued and remained constant for 10 weeks. I've now given up on the intermittent fasting and am doing straight calorie counting using a smartphone app to log everything I eat, and I just stop eating for the day when it tells me to. I've since lost an additional 14 pounds in 10 weeks.
Click to expand...


9 more pounds since. Calorie counting with my telephone is definitely the easiest diet scheme I've ever tried. I like having objective data to counteract my hidden biases, and I find that by deliberately manipulating macronutrient ratios I can maintain a calorie deficit without feeling hungry all the time.

Thanksgiving was a slight bump in the road; this week I only lost half a pound (despite TWO 5000+ calorie binge days!) instead of the full pound I've been averaging.
 
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