The new 5:2 diet thread

[GreenEggsAndNichts]

The continuing thread for those of us following either the 5:2 diet or the alternate-day fasting diet. Both are two versions of Intermittent Fasting, which you can read more about here.

The 5:2 diet was featured on Horizon recently, and essentially requires you to fast for 2 non-consecutive days per week. The other 5 days, you can eat what you like. Alternate-day fasting is just how it sounds; you fast every other day. By "fasting", we mean that we keep our calorie consumption very low, around 500 calories on average, on those days.

Come join us, and tell us about your experiences with this diet! :)

Same as me, 2134 but I have an active lifestyle. Actually I think its about right as I don't actually put on weight eating my normal (large) diet. My excess weight has been hanging around for ages and gets added to at Christmas and holidays.

According to that I should have about 2400 calories to maintain! I think that's far too high and will be aiming for about 1800 on an eating day, but not worrying about it as I'm hoping to do my main cardio workouts on my eating days.
I did my first fast day yesterday and found it super easy. We were out and about all day and my friends had taken a massive picnic but I stuck with my water and fruit for lunch, and had a green tea when they all had coffee and cake. Feeling very virtuous , and had a delicious steak with tons of veggies for dinner.

We're off to soft play today so need to convince them to make me a plain chicken salad! Am going armed with a tub of fruit and some herbal tea bags.

What does everyone consider active?? I walk miles every day, seven days a week, so put that down as moderate. I don't stop most days until 9pm.

I did it! First fast day and didn't find it too bad at all-definitely not hungry in the evening and have woken up this morning at 7 and not feeling hungry at all.
rowingboat yes I was a bit tetchy about 3- 5 ish (but was in Tesco so that figures!!

My basal rate (as I have a lot to lose) is 1764 and on lightly active my calorie needs to maintain are 2400+ - not sure I will eat that much now I am planning and working it out on mfp at the start, but it has given me a bit of a shock as to how much I have been eating, or how much of the wrong things

Can't remember who recommended (but thanks)- I have been reading the John Briffa diet trap book- very interesting. I do think for me personally there is something in cutting down carbs on non fast days- I am genuinely not a massive eater (although drink too much wine) yet I have continually put weight on over the years. Thinking back to when I did Slimming World most successfully I did best on the original days. It's an interesting read, with quite a bit of science to back it up but written in an understandable way. It really turns everything on its head.

Anyway, am not going to stress too much in the first weeks of this about restricting carbs but am going ti be mindful and less worried about low fat everything

Next fast day Thursday-I am also considering whether to go 4:3 as I think Sunday would be a good fast day for me too, especially if I am not working

Geranium, my bmr figures are approx the same as yours, and I've made the same decision re cutting down carbs too.
I've had pcos in the past and I think while it's not active now it's massively changed how my body reacts to carbs and insulin etc.

Cunning, I put myself down as lightly active. I walk about 2 miles a day, don't sit down from 8-8 most days and do a zumba class and 2 other long sessions in the gym and swim a mile most weeks.

Hello all, Delurking here... I've been watching these 5:2 threads and have found them really inspiring! So thanks to everyone for comments and advice that I've enjoyed reading.

I'm in week 2 and did my 5th fast day yesterday (roughly doing ADF as need to lose weight) and am finding them easier and easier - yesterday I didn't eat til 3.45 (apart from teas and a life-saving oxo cube drink while kids were eating lunch!) which I could never have done on the earlier ones.

I feel much healthier, more active and less hungry on non-fast days. I'm also def losing weight - today 11st0.4, was 11st9.8 when I started... but where is it going? I measured myself at the beginning and now and (although I feel 'trimmer') I measure exactly the same! Whats going on? Am I just losing the infamous 'water'?

For me the biggest benefit of this way of eating is that I don't feel guilty for days of over indulgence. I have lost 4lbs and will have been doing this 3 weeks on Friday - during which I've shared 3 bottles of wine with friends, had one thai meal out with pudding, one Indian with popadoms & one Chinese :-)

It's flexible - so a day I intended to be "normal ' became a fast day because I'd over indulged the night before and felt in the zone for fasting - so I did.

Flexibility, no guilt, and can still have - brilliant . Some fast days I have healthy soup throughout the day (gets a bit boring so by the evening I'm chucking curry powder into it), others 2 small meals, others just black coffee all day and one meal when I get home - depending on where I am an what I'm doing.

I got into some old, smart, non-stretchy trousers for an important meeting yesterday :-) first time for 2 yrs that I've been able to do that [high fives self emoticon ]

I walk at least 5 miles a day and do yoga and Pilates alternative days so am probably ok with moderately active then

*rowing boat@
basal rate calculator below
To calculate your basal rate

www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

and to calculate you calorie needs to stay the same weight (you need your basal rate first)

www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harris-benedict-equation/

I was surprised to find my daily calorie needs to maintain were so low 16-1800 depending on exercise level . having always thought at it would be nearer the 2000.. of course ones age does make a difference and i'm post menopausal now. I put my self as light to moderate as i work all day at a desk, and my exercise comprises mainly of walking several miles at a time usually , cycling and things like zumba,

Was planning to fast again today , but had another bad nights sleep not like me , but I have work deadlines on my mind. So I've started the day off with a 3 egg omelette as as I really felt i needed an energy boost. will see how it goes , I may do 600 cals today instead of 500 and have a good piece of protein and salad later ..

Working at home today so need coffee right now .. or else I shall be going back to bed again instead...

Good luck everyone..

2nd fast day yesterday and weigh day today - have lost 2lbs exactly in 8 days and am pretty pleased. I had a very heavy weekend and was already dieting when I discovered 5:2 so perhaps less water to shed? I made a mistake in buying a small piece of salmon for my dinner yesterday before I realised how calorific it is! However, stirfried (frylight!) with lots of veg, ginger, spring onion & oyster sauce it was delicious! Onwards and upwards - only 15lbs to go....... :)

Hi all,
I have followed both threads avidly, and am finally coming out of lurkdom!
Today is my fourth fast day, and after 3 fast days in 10 days I have lost 6lb, so really motivated! although it seems like a long day stretching ahead first thing in the morning, it will be easier after about 2pm. I ususally have just one meal, and try and last as long as I can through the day before I have it...

In case anyone wants a short form explanation for basal rates: those of us (including myself here) who are larger need more calories just to stay the same weight. If I'm carrying around, say, 30lbs more than Laska every day, that's actual work my body is having to do. If she were to haul around 30lbs worth of weights all day, she'd burn a load more calories, too. :)

So, while it might sound high, especially when everyone is discussing their basal rates (remember, we're also all different heights, ages, body compositions here) AND because we're probably all used to the amount of calories we "should" be having when dieting, the number probably isn't too far off the mark. While I'm not saying you NEED to eat that amount on your eating days, you probably don't want to go out of your way to try to eat low calorie on those days, especially if you're doing ADF. Take a look at long-term averages, say weekly, and you'll see that eating your basal rate of calories, plus the fast days, you'll be averaging well into a healthy low-calorie diet range.

Example: I'm doing 4:3 at the moment. If I eat 2000 calories on my eating days, and 500 on my fasting days, I'm averaging 1357 calories a day. This is still in a healthy range for losing weight for my size.

That having all been said: tomorrow will be my 2-week mark, and I've lost over 3 kilos! That's almost 7 pounds. :) I'm very pleased.

And welcome to the de-lurkers! :) leeloo I don't know where you're losing the weight from. Water loss would also show in your measurements, so you must be losing it from somewhere!

catsrus I feel the same. I've definitely indulged on many of my eating days and I've still been losing. It feels very doable in the long term.

Have name changed, so not new. Joining you guys today for another fast, had a bit of a blow out yesterday - slap up lunch with wine and then lots of goodies....rather glad to be fasting today. Plan to use 100kcal on hot drinks, lunch - one boiled egg and dinner some fish or chicken with veg. Interesting stuff on the daily calorie intake - I can see why I am heavier than I'd like.

I would estimate that I do eat a bit more than 2000 cals on my eating days. For example, yesterday I had 2 crumpets with margerine for breakfast. Over the whole day I ate 2 packets of crisps, a mini blueberry muffin (v tiny - not a full size one!), a prawn mayo sandwich and chilli and rice. I then had 2 large glasses of white wine in the evening. I would have though roughly 2500 cals?

I am doing ADF though, so I would have thought I could eat a bit more on the eating days? It isn't a massive amount more than I'd normally have and I don't usually have wine. Or am I fooling myself? Does that sound like too much? I do rigidly stick to 400 cals or less on my fast days.

Just checked, the tiny blueberry muffin was 189 cals .

Basal rate is about 1200, so to maintain i need around 1400 or something (but actually it seems i put on if i eat that much, boooo). Anyway, fast day today, had slimfast, not sure what to eat later, but thinking a ready meal, just to make it easy and stick to my calories.

I put on a size 14 trousers today - and they aren't even maternity ones, wooooooh! My arse hurts from sitting on the bike yesterday, no muscle ache, as i took it really easy, just the seat has bruised my bum!

Ooh, and welcome noobs! (love that word!) x

dontcallmehon that's not too much for me to eat on an eating day, but my basal rate, considering I'm moderately active, is almost 2500. (I believe this to be true from my own experience, as well) It's 2000ish if I'm not active.

So I'd say this depends on your own basal rate, if it's around 2k then you're probably fine. Honestly, you're probably fine even if it isn't 2k, if you're doing ADF. I think the proof is in the pudding (haa!), if you're still losing weight with it, then you're eating fine.

Muffins have a ridiculous amount of calories! If you've faced with either a muffin or a cake as a treat, don't choose the muffin just because you think it will be healthier. Just accept both of them as being cake, and make your decision that way. (I do like blueberry muffins...)

I'm on a fast day today. Struggling as been up half the night with baby .

Planning boiled egg, lots of leafy salad for lunch and fish in sauce, new pots and veg for dinner.

Thanks greeneggs for post about bmi and the calories on non fast days. Dh and I had argument as he's been eating worse on non fast days and didn't get that outward counter productive. We went out for lovely meal on Monday but lots of pudding . Re cakes, I love bake wells but over 200 calories in just one measly cake

Fasting today but woke with awful migraine.Had planned no breakfast and soup & apple for lunch but felt so queasy and faint in work due to headache just had a spoonful of cereal with splash of milk and feel a little better.
Ate normally yesterday so don't think headache and diet are connected.
Will have main meal after weighing and exercise in Rosemary Conley tonight.
My maintaining rate with light exercise is 1965 calories which is higher than expected.

I only eat 1300-1400 on a normal day...wonder if I need to up this to my actuall 2100? I don't think I could physically manage that much....unless I ate high fat!

Lol, ah well, maybe I'm shrinking somewhere (ankles? wrists?) that I didn't measure? :)

Cunning are you losing weight? If so, then I wouldn't worry. If you aren't losing weight, then it might be worth considering upping your calories on eating days by a bit and seeing what happens.

If I were to eat 1300 cals on my eating days, and 500 on my fast days (considering I do 4:3), this would average out to 957 calories a day, which is really too low. If you're doing 5:2, it would average out to 1142 cals a day. That's better, but still on the low side for your size (just guessing as your basal rate isn't far off my own). It's important to see your average for the week, rather than thinking of your caloric intake for the one day, because you do need to consider that you starved your body the day before.

Again, though, if you're seeing results, then it's really up to you how you handle it. :) I'm not a professional at this, I'm merely repeating what I've read in the articles linked previously in the thread.