Now you know the basics it’s time to get started and think about your first fast day.
Are you fit and well and ready to lose some weight?
The first thing to think about is what days would be most suitable for a fast. Remember, you need two days a week with at least one rest day in between. You can have a set routine and pick the same days every week or pick and choose. The diet is extremely flexible and is designed to fit in around you and not the other way round.
What days do you normally fast?
‘Tuesdays and Thursdays. My husband is out so I don’t have to worry about catering for anyone else on those days.’
Peggy
Monday is a common day to start as most people want to enjoy their food at the weekend and are ready to start the new week with good resolutions.
‘I like to fast on a Monday, to get rid of that weekend bloat, and on a Thursday, in preparation for the weekend bloat!’
Jodie
Take a look at your schedule for the week and rule out any days where you have social engagements, especially involving food.
‘My fast days are variable, depending on what I am doing that week. It changes from week to week.’
Christina
Look at this as the greatest asset of the diet. Imagine going out for dinner with friends, not worrying about what you eat and even having a dessert and wine, and all the time losing weight.
Do the planning, do the fast days and then for five days a week, don’t diet. Especially when you are first starting out, your diet days should be the least social days on your calendar. They are also likely to be busy days or work days, as you want to be distracted from food and away from the kitchen as much as possible. The only restriction on your fast days is that you must have a rest day between fasts.
Your first fast day will probably be the hardest as your body needs time to adjust to the new regime. So make sure you pick your days wisely when you start out. For the first two weeks you need to give careful consideration to when you fast as there is a possibility that you will feel lightheaded, grumpy and perhaps get a headache as well as feel properly hungry. Don’t worry or be alarmed. There are plenty of tips here to deal with all these things. After the first two weeks of fast days, you will see it getting considerably easier. Focus on the fact that it’s only one day.
Setting targets
Before you start you need to take your starting weight. Don’t think about it too much – everyone’s starting weight is high, otherwise you wouldn’t be thinking about your diet. Think positively. Think how good you will feel when you start losing weight.
Starting weight:__________ st __________ lb
A few tips about weighing yourself
Don’t worry about only weighing yourself once a week. You should weigh yourself when you like, just try not to do it every day as your weight can go up as well as down. We only care about the downward trend.
Ladies, be aware that your bodily cycle will have an impact on your weight. You may put on weight the week before your period and may also find fasting harder during this time. Try and stick with it and make allowances for your cycle if you find you haven’t lost as much weight as you would like.
I would recommend weighing yourself the morning after your second fast day of the week. If you fast on Mondays and Wednesdays, then Thursday morning before breakfast or a drink and after you have been to the toilet is when you will be at your lightest. If you can, use this as your weekly weigh-in to see if you have lost weight and hit your target.
How much weight should you aim to lose?
This will depend entirely on your starting weight and fitness. If you have got more to lose, you will lose weight faster and can set a higher target. If you are quite close to your target weight and already reasonably fit, you won’t be quite as quick but you will still lose weight.
The target for your weight loss should be between 1 and 4lb per week. This is not a crash diet and you should only be aiming to lose weight in a safe and sensible way.
As a general guide, if you are just fasting but not exercising you should aim to lose 1lb per week. If you are fasting, exercising and staying healthy on your normal days then you could potentially see a weight loss of 2–3lb per week.
If you have more weight to lose then your target could be potentially higher than that.
Target weight loss per week: ___________ lb
It is also worth calculating your BMI at the start and end of the four-week period. You should have dropped at least a couple of points and may even have crossed into a healthier bracket.
Starting BMI: _______________
(Look in the ‘Magic numbers’ chapter on here if you want help calculating your BMI.)
BMI at the end of the 4-week plan: _______________
Looking at your body tone and fitness
Try looking at yourself in the mirror before you start, as it will help you see which areas you would like to look better for the summer. If you want to see the improvements, you need to see what you look like before as well, so ladies, put on your bikini or swimsuit, and gentlemen get your board shorts out. It’s time to try them on and have a good look at yourself in a full-length mirror.
First of all, ignore the fact that you are probably a little pasty – everyone looks like that at the beginning of summer and we all know how to fix it. That is a different problem.
What you want to be looking at is where you think your problem areas are. Is it your tummy? Thighs? Cellulite? Or a little bit of everything?
The 5:2 Bikini Diet exercise programme is designed to burn as much body fat as possible while improving muscle tone, giving you a leaner, healthier body in just 30 days. Remember that the diet will help shift the excess pounds, specifically some of the fat. Where we need to help out with exercise is to bring some definition to the flab.
Exercising three times a week for four weeks, as well as following the 5:2 diet, will bring noticeable changes to your body shape. After four weeks put on your swimsuit again and see if you can spot the changes. Then slap on a bit of fake tan if necessary and get yourself to the beach!
Your first fast day
You need to do a bit of planning before you start on the first fast day. There are many different ways in which you can eat your 500/600 calories, but I would recommend that on your first day you have three small meals.
For women this means something similar to:
100 cals for breakfast, 150 cals for lunch, 250 cals for dinner
For men this could look like:
100 cals for breakfast, 200 cals for lunch, 300 cals for dinner
You should plan out exactly what you are going to eat. Take a look at the