Fasting diets were in their heyday when I first embarked on the 5:2 back in March 2014. By then I was officially "overweight", with a body mass index of 26, and I was finally determined to do something about it. Having recently become a homeowner after years of sharing rented flats with friends, I was also living on my own for the first time - able to exact absolute control over what foods filled the fridge and cupboards.
Back in September 2012, I had watched the episode of Horizon where Dr Michael Mosley famously investigated the possibility of losing weight and reversing diabetes through intermittent fasting - eating normally five days a week while cutting down to just 500 calories (600 for men) on the other two. READ MORE: Obesity in an ageing population is 'biggest issue for the NHS' BBC reflects on career of Dr Michael Mosley and how he 'demystified' science Alarm over rising rates of Type 2 diabetes among young adults Like many others, I was intrigued. And successful.
By October 2014, when I jetted to Mexico on holiday, I had shed more than two stone - going from around 11st 6Ibs to 9st 4Ibs. I was a size 10 again, for the first time since I was a teenager. On fast days I ate a high-protein yoghurt for breakfast, a salad box for lunch, and dinner was usually scrambled egg on toast or stuffed mushrooms.
On the other days I stuck to around 1600 calories - fewer than the 2000 recommended for women - but it seemed like loads compared to a fast day. Ten years on, my weight s.
