I have been on the 5:2 for 9 weeks now. I have been strict with it and in the past 3-4 weeks i’ve hit a plateau. I started going to the gym doing several high intensity interval training classes per week, it seems to be making me gain “weight” but i look smaller. I’ve started drinking a lot more water but i don’t know why my weight is jumping up and down so much (fluctuates about 4-8kg). I don’t count calories on my non-fast days but i never binge and rarely snack.

HinShyvarn. I’m not an exert so these are only suggestions. Your weight gains could be down to the literal increase in food you eat on 5 days as opposed to 2 days where the weight of the food will be much less. Also associated, your water retention will change from day to day depending on what you have eaten.
Have you tried taking an average of your weight over a period of a month or so?
Your average weight will probably be lower than your weight a month ago, despite the upward blips. Although we don’t turn into muscle-bound adonis’s with exercise, your ‘looking smaller’ is explained by your muscles being more toned and therefore you look better. You can lose inches this way without ever losing a pound on the scales but its still a good thing.
I think for most people, weight is bound to fluctuate on the 5:2 because, by its very nature, it is a less consistent plan. But I would encourage you to look at your weight across the period to look for evidence of a downward trend as I am sure it will be there and that should give you further encouragement.
Keep going and keep remembering why it was important for you to do this, and keep using these forums. Come back and tell us about your downward trend, we’d love to hear about it as many of us will switch to the 5:2 at some stage.

Hi Shyvarn
I think your gain might be partly due to muscle tone – muscle weighs more than fat – and the looking smaller is as a result of being toned. Have you thought of trying 16:8 fasting for a period? This means you don’t take in any calories for 16 hours from mid-afternoon overnight to early morning and only eat during the 8 remaining hours during the day. Might be worth trying to see if you can kick start things again. Or alternatively, lower your carb intake and see if that helps.

Just suggestions, hope you manage to find something that works for you. Keep us posted …. good luck!

I have thought about the muscle increase, i also have been drinking more water since joining a gym, i also went from a fairly active job to a more sedentary, hence the gym membership. I just don’t like my weight jumping all over the place – when i first started it was jumping around just below 60kg and is now stuck at 60-61. I will keep track of it in a diary and see if it is going down overall. I haven’t tried the 16:8 fasting period but that does sound like it would be worth giving a shot.

Michael Mosley talks a lot about quitting sugar too? Do you suggest doing that also or maybe trying to do the Mediterranean diet? I don’t eat gluten and minimal dairy because my body hates it so i’m not huge on strict diets where i have to cut things out further but i will give it a go if that’s what i’m doing wrong. I also eat a lot of artificial sweeteners and am trying to switch to stevia if that is also an issue haha.

Thanks 🙂

Hi shyvam
Yes definitely quit sugar, this will not be helping. Even on the Med diet, sugar is best avoided and only used occasionally – i.e. not daily. Similarly, starches are an issue, so best to cut down on things like root veg (inc. potatoes), pasta, rice, bread, cakes etc. It’s not just about the calories consumed, but where those calories are sourced that matter. I know you have been doing the 5:2 diet, where normal eating happens for five days, but by tweaking what you eat, you will probably increase your success at losing weight.

Hi shyvarn
although there are loads of non diabetes sufferers doing this plan, the diet was originally aimed at diabetics, and in particular lowering blood sugars as well as losing weight.
Taken in that context you can see why Michael recommends cutting sugar out, it’s poisonous to us.
I’m no nutrition expert so I don’t really know what would work best for you, perhaps try cutting it out altogether and then increase it by a little if you start feeling weak or light headed ?
Whatever your reasons, best of luck, hope it works well for you.

Hi Shyvarn you need to remember that muscle weighs heavier than fat and if you are toning your muscles that is likely where the extra weigh is coming from. If everything else is smaller i.e inches and looking smaller then youre on the right path keep it up.

I’m sorry to contradict but I keep seeing the same untruth being written again and again. Muscle does not weigh more than fat – a pound of anything is still a pound. It is a question of volume. Muscle does not weigh more than fat, it takes up less volume than fat. The effect of this is that a pound of muscle is smaller in volume than a pound of fat but they are both still one pound. The effect in human terms is that the pound of muscle makes us look more toned and smaller, even if the scales have not changed The pound of fat makes us look bigger and more wobbly.

Sorry Janet1973, I was one of the guilty parties there. It was lazy language and you put it so much more succinctly than the rest of us.

I do apologise, I don’t want to be a smarta**e. Its just the ex WW leader in me. I can’t tell you how many times I set up that demo of all the packs of butter or lard and said ‘this is your weight loss’. These days I would be saying ‘right, now tuck in!’

Diabeties is in my blood line, I’m still fairly young so i still don’t know if it will appear later in my life which attracted me to this diet but also I love the weight loss side it’s great 😄 Just worried that it’s stopped is all.

I will try to quit sugar, I just am not sure how much detail I should take, cut out completely? or is it ok to have things like almond milk as an alternative to all the other milks? Also in stir fry sauces and fruits? Or should I just cut out the obvious ones?

I do understand that muscle takes up less space than fat but given the low calories and exercise I just don’t see how my actual weight could go up?

Most people in the bsd are either aiming for 50 grams of carbs a day (which includes sugars from all sources) or for maximum weight loss results, 20 grams per day.

Hi shyvarn,
Getting rid of sugar and artificial sweeteners is good not just for weight loss but for overall health and if there is diabetes in your family, a good investment in your future.

An Israeli study last year found that artificial sweeteners as well as table sugar changed the composition of gut biota and in addition and alarmingly created insulin resistance in LESS THAN A WEEK in fit and healthy study participants.

The results shocked everyone. The study is easy to find if you search for it. I may have the detail incorrect but that is the gist of it.

The study on Stevia is not in yet as far as I know but I gave up Stevia after this one came out. I found it very hard. For motivation I read David Gillespie’s Sweet Poison. He’s an Australian lawyer so it is written in plain english but has a lot references if you are into information. He’s an ex Coke lite drinker. 🙂

As far as I am aware Stevia is not an artificial sugar – it is a natural plant that is approx 300 times sweeter than sugar. Sometimes Stevia is mixed with other ingredients ie Erythritrol (called Natvia). This is the one I have been using IF I need to put sugar in coffee. I don’t bake with it although you can, because the flavour does something to my stomach in large doses.

I was a MASSIVE Coke Zero fan like 2 litres per day, i have cut that out of my diet, as well as having an equal or stevia in my coffee. I am using almond milk instead of Zymil (not sure if that’s any better but calories are lower) however, the almond milk is sweetened so in not sure if I’m having a bit too much over 2 cups of coffee in a day.

I went today without sugar and it was surprisingly easy. Still bloated but I’ll see how I go in a couple more days. I will get a copy of “Sweet Poison” and see if that helps. You guys are great, thanks.