The continuing thread for those of us following the 5:2 fast or other forms of fasting such as 4:3, ADF, or daily 16:8.
The 5:2 diet was featured on Horizon in August 2012 and essentially requires you to fast for 2 non-consecutive days per week. The other 5 days, you can eat normally - or approximately your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE - see explanation below). 4:3 is the same except you fast on 3 days in the week. Alternate-day fasting (ADF) is just how it sounds; you fast every other day. 16:8 is another form where you stick to only eating in an 8 hour window each day, therefore fasting for 16 hours each day.
By "fasting", we mean that we keep our calorie consumption very low, around 500 calories on average for a woman, 600 for a man, on those days.
You'll find on these threads we use a number of acronyms. If you're new to the threads, or Mumsnet in general, they might not make much sense.
WOE/WOL = Way Of Eating/Way Of Life. We use this term instead of "diet" as many of us see this as something to do in the long term.
MFP = My Fitness Pal, a website or app many use for keeping track of the number of calories they're eating.
TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure, quantifies the number of calories you burn in a day. This measure is best estimated by scaling your Basal Metabolic Rate to your level of activity. TDEE is critical in tailoring your nutrition plan to desired fitness goals. Here is a link to a calculator to help you figure out how many calories you should be eating in a day.
NFD = Non fast day
NSV = Non scale victory
Michael Mosley has a website to accompany his book on the subject. Please go check it out, as he's the whole reason most of us are here!
Lurkers and new starters: please just jump in and post - you'll find a lot of support here and we’re a friendly bunch.
Here is a list of links to get you started with this way of eating. Please let us know if you find a new article or some other information online:
All our previous threads can be found by browsing through the fasting section of the site.
Another thread which breadandwine has started is a good resource for some of the tips and links that get lost in these big threads. In addition to sharing links, we try to condense some of our top tips for fasting there. Keep in mind, we all do this differently, so these are just tips, not rules. This might be a good place to catch up with us if you're feeling a bit lost!
eatriskier’s thread has some lovely inspiring stories which are worth checking out if you want some motivation to get started or keep going through a plateau. Please add your own too.
frenchfancy has a recipe thread over here, please post any low-calorie recipes there so they don't get lost in these bigger threads!
If you've been at this a while and are moving on to maintaining your goal weight, there is a thread here to discuss that.
Here is the link to the BBC article regarding Michael Mosley's findings, which was featured on Horizon.
There's a link to the aforementioned Horizon programme here.
A blog post here gives some of the scientific explanation for why this way of eating helps you to not only lose weight, but improve your all-around health.
This link nicely demonstrates that there are many body ‘right’ body shapes and types, because what we are actually aiming for is low body fat for fitness and health.
A Telegraph article which comments on the diet and gives a brief overview by Dr Mosley himself, very informative if you're just starting. (I highly recommend this for an overview)
A study discussed here gives commentary specifically addressing the effect of this diet on obese people (both men and women), with regard to both health and weight loss. ("After 8 weeks of treatment, participants had an average 12.5 lbs reduction in body weight and a 4 cm decrease in waist circumference. Total fat mass declined by about 12 lbs while lean body mass remained relatively constant.) it also mentions "Plasma adiponectin, a protein hormone that is elevated in obesity and associated with heart disease, dropped by 30%. As did LDL cholesterol (25%) and triglycerides (32%).")
Something to consider if you are currently your ideal BMI: this appears to suggest the benefits for women at a lower BMI might not be seeing the same health benefits that are found on men at their ideal BMI.
A BIG THANK YOU to all who have been contributing. Most of us are learning this way of eating as we go along. All of the links above have been posted by others in our previous threads, and they've been very helpful.
A HUGE THANK YOU to Greeneggsandnicht for putting together all this info and resources into one concise OP text, much appreciated by so many 5:2ers!
Come join us, and tell us about your experiences with this diet!
Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.
Fasting / 5:2 diet
The 5:2 thread number 31 - Getting healthier one day at a time.
BetsyBell · 19/11/2013 10:36
Will now go back to finish other thread off. (Slinks away singing I was first, I was first.) 
Notas... That is so childish!!
... Oooh am I second??....
(flounces off to tell on Notas)
Ooohoooohhhohoooohohh I'm the OP - I must have made it
to betsy again.
But back to the old thread as there's till about 50 posts left
Ah, here we all are!
Hello!
Fast day Monday was sabotaged by book club wine and crisp scoffing in the evening. NFD yesterday and today, fast turning into cake fest.
I'm out tonight at a craft fair so that will at least stop me munching my way through tonight.
Must revert back to my old trick of eating tea, watching half an hr of telly and then disappearing off for a bubble bath, with my book, in order to stop bad evening eating habits 
Phew #30 was fast.
Betsy
for shiny new thread. Shall I drip chocolate on it ?
Oooh, NNN, ok at the weekend then.
Well done Bennett
eatriskier you've lost a large amount of weight too: so is this feeling more cold a recent thing for you and do you feel freezing even on NFDs?
BigChoc my heating's on at 22C. I exercise well so it's not that (though I've strained my pelvic floor through doing too-intensive weight training sessions so I can't do weights until that's all healed up ).
In the end I filled the bath with scorching water and immersed myself in it before the school run - it helped lots but isn't conducive to working.
I'm so glad DH is working late tonight so I can wear my sexy dressing gown, hat and scarf combo (on top of the thermals, leggings, ti-shirts) without getting teased tonight.
The crazy thing is, it's not even a FD!
Betsy thanks for the new thread 
.
Marking place. Still in SF without scales so no idea if I'm doing ok or not. Using MFP and have only gone over tdee once since I got here and managed 2 fds.
Feel fat today though.
Possibly a TMI question but does anyone else suffer from constipation doing this WOE? If so how do you manage it? Resorted to taking laxative here but never again as was in the loo 6 times during the night/next morning, they worked a little TOO well!! (Hadn't been for 6 days tho!! 
)
Not cure if this is 5:2 related, but isn't something I've ever suffered before... Really bad pain in stomach, constant, not agonising but bad enough to make me not want to do anything. I had ad nap earlier and it seemed to go a bit, then I had a packet of wotsits (99 cals!) and it came back again, so not eating anything else now 
feels like I could do with 6 trips to the loo tbh Annie!
Cuckoo Cuckoo Cuckoo couldn't answer you on the previous thread but wanted to say I don't know you in real life!! No need to panic. I just wanted to offer support 
.
Bssh I often feel the cold but just lately I seem to be feeling it more than ever. I just go and get another jumper now. I don't suffer any more.
I am doing enchiladas for tea. How is it even possible they are only 166 in each one???
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