Just done my first week in the 5:2 diet so I thought I'd pop on to share my experience and read about yours. I've already lost 32lbs in 4 months just by following a calorie controlled diet and exercising, but for the last few weeks I've plateaued a bit, just losing 0.5-1lb a week instead of my usual 2lbs, which I found a bit disheartening. So I was looking for something to help shake things up plus I was going for a slap up 4-course meal on the 14th, but didn't want another week of lack-lustre losses.
So, I did 2 500cal days (Wed and Sat). To hit the target, I found I needed to plan everything I ate and drank in advance (I use MyFitnessPal app anyway to track my calorie intake during the day but for my 500 cal days I fed everything in in advance). I needed to ensure that I could still have 4 cups of tea with milk and half spoon, which took up 100 cals, but I still managed breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was surprised at how easy I found it to keep to the day's target. The hardest part was cutting back on the teas, not the food!
And, the upshot? 2lb loss this week, so back to being a happy slimming bunny! I'm only 4lbs off getting into the next stone zone so I'll be thrilled if I can reach that by end of Feb.