I have been doing the 5-2 diet got about 14 months with very positive results. I lost a lot of weight very quickly but have hit a plateau for a long time now. When you hit a plateau you tend to relax a bit on the strict diet regime.

On a strict 5-2 diet, I was usually in and around my 600 calorie a day limit. Sometimes I go above this but never really above the 900 calorie mark. This I did religiously 2 days a week and I backed it up with burning almost an equal amount of calories exercising on the day of the fast. On reaching a plateau I tended to average 900-1200 calories of food on fast days. Exercises were also less diligent. Needless to say I wasn’t losing any weight but thankfully not gaining much.

This brings me to the 24 hour fast. I discovered this through a gym buddy. The basic idea is to go 24 hours without any calories. It’s not a dry fast as you can and encouraged to drink loads of water and no/low calorie drinks.

It’s really up to you how you want to time your 24 hours. I have chosen to do a 7 to 7 fast. Actually it’s a 1900hrs to 1900hrs fast. My last meal was 1900 hours yesterday and my next meal will be 1900 hours today. I see loads of water and sugar free mints in the horizon.

Read more here https://orobo2lekpa./2015/10/27/tweeking-the-5-2-fast-diet-the-24-hour-fast/

Update - The 24 Hour fast - Day 1 

As I shared earlier, I am modifying my 5-2 diet to kick-start my weight loss after being on an elongated plateau. I am now doing the 24 hour fast 2 days a week. This week I am choosing Tuesday and Thursday as my fast days. As an aside, The 5-2 diet really works and I always recommend it to Black and African people hoping to shed some excess pounds.

My last meal before the fast was at about 6.30pm on Monday. I had Moi-Moi (I will talk about this super food later) and grilled Catfish. As a snack, I had a banana and a handful of peanuts (groundnuts). I did not weigh the meal but using my experience of logging from Myfitnesspal, I reckon the meal was in the 800 calorie mark. After the meal had fully digested, I went to the gym and did some cardio workout. I took it relatively easy by doing hill walking at high gradient for 30 mins and cycling for another 20 mins. I always like to end up with a little weight lifting just to get toned. I bench pressed 40 kegs 5 sets 10 reps. This is done rapidly for maximum impact.

The next morning started as usual. On days when I do the 5-2 diet, I skip breakfast so I was already of the mindset of no breakfast. On fasting mornings, I just have a glass of water with my vitamins. Lunch time was trickier as on a 5-2 diet, I would normally have a carrot or grapes or any fruit I can get under 200 calories. To counter this, I settled for a 500 ml bottle of Pepsi Max. It's supposed to have no calories and it gives you that sweet taste to the mouth that kind of tricks your body that it is eating. Through the course of the day I drank caffeine free coffee and always had sugar free mints every other hour. To get through the day, you have to drink loads of water to stop yourself from dehydrating.

I broke my fast at about 7pm on Tuesday (24.5 hours later). I had unripe plantain pottage cooked with Spinach and some grilled fish. This is a very Nigerian meal popular among the Igbo and Delta peoples of Nigeria. It's locally called Ukodo in Urhobo and Ogede Awai, or Awai Ji Oko in Igbo dialects. This is a very filling meal that keeps you going for longer. Although it is starchy carbohydrate, it is balanced with proteins in the fish and spinach vegetables which is rich in vitamins and irons. I also had a pear and a handful of peanuts to go with it. I will say the meal was about 900 calories. Not bad going for 24 hours. I went to gym later in the evening to do a mix of Jogging and hill walking for 40 mins

All in all it was not a bad experience. It was actually easier than I thought. You have periods when you get hungry but I always counter that with a mint. The trick with any kind of weight loss fast is to keep your self liquid, take in loads of fluids.

Hunger is really a thing of the mind in the short run

Read more here https://orobo2lekpa./2015/10/29/the-24-hour-fast-day-1/

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