Hi again,

I have been doing the 5:2 diet for a month now and i have to say, its not as hard to stick to as i thought. The fast days take a couple of weeks to get used to, but even still, not that bad at all!

Im glad with my progress so far as i have lost weight and still managed to eat the foods i love. I should be incorporating exercise but its been pretty effortless to be honest. The fasting comes easy now that my body has adapted to it. So basically I fast 2 days a week, taking in only 500 calories on fast days and the rest of the week i don’t have to count calories or watch what i eat.

I no longer feel guilt pangs after a chocolate fix or piece of cake. Yippee! Now thats not to say i can eat cake and chocolate all day every other day, but as far as diets go its pretty lenient! Did you know there are only 165 calories in a mini Magnum? I was positively jumping for joy when i read that. What a great treat to give yourself on a non fast day. Who would have known that would be within a diet allowance? As long as you don’t over-do it now!

So as i explained in my previous post which you may have read, you have an allowance of how many calories your daily intake can be and its based on your weight, height, gender and activity level. You can check it online and its called your body mass index, BMI. You can find a calculator online and check. The absolute best part of the diet is you can relax and not worry about having some treats. Once you stick to your 2 fast days a week you will lose weight and become healthier. You do need to make sure you are still getting your nutrition so you will have to incorporate fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds as well as legumes. I take a multi vitamin on top of that which i recommend and also Omega 3 which is also essential for the body.

OK, so yesterday was my fast day and heres what i had:

Breakfast – 4 strawberries (8cals) chopped, and 5 blueberries (5cals) with low fat yoghurt (70cals) and a cup of tea with milk (20cals) = 82cals

Lunch – A banana (131cals) and a handful of almonds (54cals) = 185cals

Dinner – Oven baked chicken breast (133cals) in foil with ratatouille (100cals) = 233

500 Calories

So that wasn’t too bad really. Its hardly starving but it is quite restrictive and the urge to snack can be distracting but i try and just drink a couple of glasses of water quickly and that fills me up. The hunger wears off soon enough anyway so it kinda comes in waves.

I will have another fast day on Friday. Today i made a healthy banana bread with coconut oil and honey which is low cal and tastes divine! So nice for a treat after fast day. But i wasn’t starving for breakfast this morning even, in fact i had similar to yesterdays with a bit of muesli and layered it in a parfait. Yummy. So I’ll add the banana bread recipe later on. I have a whole range of recipes for fast days too and you will be surprised to see its not all boring food, but tasty and low-fat.

Stay tuned and please comment at the end to let me know how its going for you if you are joining me. This diet is a lifestyle and i intend to stick with it so i’d love some input and I’m always interested in your feedback and any suggestions. Thanks a mil.

Ciara xxx