Mumsnet Talk

http://www.healthyfellow.com/511/alternate-day-fasting-interview-part-1/

Thread for anyone wanting to try the 5:2 diet mentioned on Horizon. It involves picking 2 fast days a week and eating 500 calories in one meal on the fast days.

The other 5 days, you eat a normal diet note to self, does not mean pig out for 5 days

Give it a try & let us know how it's going.

Hi Kotinka, thanks for the thread.
I will give it a go. Not sure I can do one meal straight off though so may split into 2 and work up to it.

I'm into my third week & have lost 8lbs so far (BMI was 36 after birth 4th baby).

I'm doing ADF rather than 5:2 because I have more weight to lose. My dh has just started 5:2 for health reasons (he has a high risk of Alzheimer', grandfather diagnosed at 50 & father in his 60s) - he is slim & doesn't want to lose weight though reducing fat % would be bonus.

ADF suits me - when I've tried typical diets I feel hungry through the day because you are encouraged to eat breakfast & snacks- the more times I eat in the day the hungrier I feel. Fasting makes me less hungry, in my usual eating pattern I miss breakfast & lunch & typically eat a small meal at 3ish then dinner with my dh at 7:30ish - I just eat too much of the wrong stuff

Yesterday was a non-fast day, I had a couple of cups of white coffee for breakfast, late lunch was a veggie sausage (grilled)/salad/boiled egg sandwich (no butter or dressing but I wouldn't use either normally), dinner was steamed veggie & a slice of homemade mushroom pizza (basically small portion of what the kids were having). Lots of water & a couple of cups of tea during the day.

Today is a fast day & I usually have the same most days, sometimes fish rather than egg - white coffee (I hate black & count milk into my calories), boiled egg, leafy salad, steamed veggies & miso soup. Sometimes I split sometimes just one meal.

I don't low carb particularly on either day (makes me feel very very ill & I want something that I can maintain easily - i.e. must be able to eat what rest of family is) & I aim to keep protein low-ish (around 40g) on fast days. I'm avoiding cakes/chocolate/biscuits entirely because I can consume a huge amount of calories in no time at all & it is easier to not eat them at all than portion control - that mean calories intake on non-fast day probably less than before but I'm not trying for low calorie particularly & don't calorie count. I don't have alcohol on fast days.

So far I've found it really easy - first few days were hard (chocolate withdrawal!). I would find it impossible to give up my coffee & I occasionally feel a bit light headed on fast days if I do I split the calories rather than one meal.

I'm in This is my fist fast day, going fab so far, no hunger pangs! Hoping to have a 250 cal meal at 12 and another at 5ish. I have been drinking pomegranate green tea all morning.

I'm in for a go! Not eaten since 8pm last night, plan on one dinner later today.

hiya, whatever works for you alfie, are you starting today?

phlebas, well done! I'm hoping I'll find this more bearable long term than atkins (got bored with the food).

I saw the programme and am fascinated. Don't need to lose weight particularly, but the health benefits seemed amazing. My trouble is, i've never really calorie counted and have no idea what a 5/600 calorie meal would be. Any suggestions? On the prog, the scientist suggested a massive omelette meal - but not sure i could do that at work, for instance!

Marking place. I'm 37, 5', 9st 7lbs and carrying it all around my middle and on my boobs. My mum has the early signs of thinning bones so I need to get the excess shifted while I can.

I used to do something similar to this at university, although not out of choice, just because the food and money usually ran out before the end of the week! I survived and certainly felt more alert and was much slimmer .
<blithely ignores youth as a factor>

I'm planning on eating my 'fast day' calories as a big breakfast (which is usually the meal we all sit down together at anyway) on a Monday and Tuesday, which is when my willpower is at it's strongest .

I'm in - fasting today.
Lovely peach for breakfast and I'll have a M&S Fuller Longer meal for lunch (about 350-400 cals). Then nothing. Lots of water.

My meals that I have planned today ...

12 pm - 1 boiled egg, some charry toms, pepper sticks, cucumber, an oatcake and a cupasoup - will take me to 240 cals

5pm - 2 x Youngs Cod in parsley sauce & steamed cauliflower, should be under 250 cals (fish is 200 exactly).

yeah I was vegetarian which makes low carb difficult - I've recently began eating fish sometimes which helps but can't be major part of my diet. I don't enjoy the Atkins type foods particularly so it just won't work for me. I used to do 2 & 3 day fasts in my 20s but couldn't do that now!

Hi everyone.

Yes kotinka I'm going to give it a whirl today. I ate something at 9pm last night so going to see if I can get through to lunch and keep it low cal around 250 and then eat at 5.
So far had copious amounts of black
Coffee.
Are you doing the one meal Kotinka?

count me in. I'm doing Thursday and Mondays as they are busy work days, also never see DP on Thursday so don't have to watch him eat!

I too will probably start with the calories split over 2 meals. In fact Mosley did that and got great blood work results. I'm not completely against idea of one main meal around 2pm ish. I know if i eat a large sunday lunch i don't want to eat later on. Actually eating one meal at 2pm wont work as its the end of my lunch hour. Maybe I can try one meal at 6pm on Mondays and split the two on Thursdays when its my dreaded late finish. Anyway i 'll weigh in tomorrow morning and that will be my first day.

Good luck to everyone trying this.

I would love to be able to compare my bloodwork like he did though (but i won't be paying for that so not going to happen). My background diet is generally quite good but i am an emotional eater, not got much weight to lose. I do have a fondness for sweet things and cakes/pastries/icecream especially. I've stopped snacking recently as i believe snacking to be the work of the devil! (unless you're having a healthy post or pre work out snack). Very interested in the possibility that this could be a preventative factor to ward off ill health in later life.

phlebas ditto the effects of snacks on me. I find it much easier to reduce the number of times i eat on any given day as a way to control hunger and avoid just eating a bit more. Basically for me the more often i can eat the more i will eat.

Just been thinking. In my twenties I used to skip brekkie and never had to diet. Then read it was bad and you should eat brekkie
Now wonder if this was all a diet industry ploy.

I've already cut sugar out of diet so hoping won't get too many side affects.

alfie, If I can do it I'm going through till 10am tomorrow for a 36 hour fast. But my backup plan if I'm about to eat the sofa is to have a small meal about 10 tonight.

Blackcats and phlebas, I'm the same.

Count me in. Not eaten yet but going to have porridge and semi skimmed milk for late breakfast/early lunch then think i will have 2 veg sausage with steamed veg for dinner. Getting a bit excited about this!

Oh my Kotinka, you are very brave. You can be our ultimate guinea pig
Have you fasted before?

It's 11am and first hunger pangs are hitting. Time for another brew

I'd be interested in any books on this. Anyone know of any? I'm sure I am a wannabe dietician just too greedy.

haha, pig definitely!

Yes I had to do 9 days when I was ill with pancreatitis, gall stones etc. It was hell. But the first 3 days were a breeze.

There's one book called "eat stop eat" It's not that great but gives a bit of info. It's not sciencey enough though.

cagneyNlacey i may steal your food choices!

anyway off to get some frozen fish . Sainsburys have an offer on their frozen quorn products at the moment. Two for £2 , so pretty much 2 for 1. I got two packets of frozen quorn cumberland sauages (6 sausages in each) for £2 .

86 cals per sausage.

Ha ha you know I mean
9 days oh my! Did you just eat very little? My friend had to do very low fat lost loads but put it all back on.

Mosley must have cut his sugar down. This
Must have had some bearing on his bloods. Could it not just be this and restricting cals that worked?

Thanks Kotinka, I will check out that book. I had wheat belly lined up next

Blackcats, the Linda McCartney red onion and rosemary sausages are only 128 cals for 2, according to fitnesspal- am off to buy some of those plus the cod in parsley sauce, which for 200 cal sounds good, as does the m and s fuller for longer meals!