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! :)

right. Weighed myself this morning and was a shocking 12st 4!! That's heavy for me and explains why I feel so flabby. 78 kilos. I was that when I was heavily pg with DD.
i'm 5ft6 or 1.67cm so my basal calorie thingy is 1565. i've been eating waaaaay more than that for a while I reckon.
First fasting day today. Have had nothing but water and a herbal tea and feel ok. quite hungry but ok. Going to have a tortilla wrap (108kcal) and some salad for lunch as kids are having chicken fajitas so I'll be doing the same minus the chicken. Then probably a bit of porridge later.
Haven't eaten since last night so will be at least 16 hrs without food. So far it's been easier than I expected. When I get hungry I visualise my body doing all those repairig things they talked about on horizon .

Bunt oh yes, damned men. :) They do quite well on this diet. My DH has quietly joined me this week. He didn't announce it, but I'd finally broken down and told him over the weekend what I was doing (can only avoid food for so long without drawing attention) and it seems as if he's doing a modified version for himself. No doubt will lose twice as much as I do. sigh.

But yes, basal rate thing for men will allow them more calories on average than for us. Unless you're a lot bigger than he is, or there's a big age difference, or whatever other factors are taken into consideration.

I've allowed myself quite a number of treats over the course of my eating days, certainly a lot more than I would on a normal diet. I've calmed down a bit, though (I think I went a bit crazy the first couple of days, but that was getting used to the fasting I think).

My BMR is 1429.7 I don't do any particular exercise but I have an active lifestyle running around after ds2 (4), breastfeeding dd (10m) 5 x a day, housework and walking with kids. So what i multiply it by?

Lagarti welcome :) Those first few fast days are a bit of an endurance test, and a chock to the system if you've fallen into some bad snacking habits (like I had), but it gets easier after the first one or two. Good luck today!

I don't usually have much more than 1400 and often it is less as MFP set me as 1350 and some days I struggle to hit it and other dad I go over it

I did yours by 1.375 which was moderate exercise. That's erring on the side of caution, you could multiply by 1.55 if you feel you fit the description of the playing sport 3x a week etc.

Anyway, it comes out at 1964 calories. If that helps.

That's what I though greeneggsas bfing is like exercise thank you.

I think the long term sustainability is the big thing - If I can lose weight on ADF or 4:3 and then come down to 5:2 or 6:1 and just find the level that works for me then I've cracked it in a way I really haven't before

okay but MFP is doing that as your suggested average daily intake of calories. If you see what I said about averages, we've got to take into consideration we're fasting on at least two days out of the week, some of us more. It's important to remember the averaging, because we're eating so low on the other days.

Even if I eat 2000+ calories today, I will be eating 1200 calories on average per day this week. Because of those days when I'm under 500 calories.

good hope it helped. :) I think the BFing, the walking, the general play with children, means moderate exercise as referred to by that chart. I think the resting level is pure rest- someone who is literally not moving much- waking up in the morning, getting into their car, sitting at the office all day, etc.

I do a lot of to-ing and fro-ing getting DS to pre-school (walking, an hour round trip) amongst other things, so I said moderate exercise. I'm not doing proper cardio at the moment so I won't claim higher.

I agree cats! I think I've been so conditioned to think that my body needed x amount of calories per day, including breakfast, that I hadn't even considered this style of diet.

That makes sense greeneggs our school run will be very slow as ds2 snaffled blackberries off the bushes this time of year

Thanks Green! I was going to have porrigde for breakfast, following the measurements on the food blog link you posted but was running late to meet a friend and anway, wanted to try to wait til lunch if poss so as to get the benefit of the 16:8 thing.

Hi everyone.

Managed just under 1000kcals yday so going to Aim for 500 today. I have found now on eating days I just can't eat like I used to! Don't like the taste of chocolate or crisps anymore. I actually seem to crave fruit!

absolutely greeneggs - and then I'd get into the whole "not being able to eat normally" - even healthily normal which my diet generally is, and the idea that skipping meals is bad for you and whole days without food is "faddy dieting" and dangerous. Getting rid of those ideas is positively liberating!

Non-fast day today so had yoghurt and fruit then was out in town with dd and we had a drink - nice milky latte for me and hot chocolate for her - neither of us wanted the little chocolate flake that came with the HC so we left it! We both agreed that if it had been a bowl of crisps we wouldn't have managed to do that

I think it seems to work well if you're able to put off your first eating of the day, so it might even be for the best that you weren't able to have your breakfast! :)

So true. I find I wake up quite hungry but bustling round and a coffee soon knocks that on the head. With practice, I've found I can easily delay eating till 10 or 12 or 6pm depending on the day...

Laska thanks for putting the link to BMR up - very useful :)

My calories per day is about 2000 - which is 14000/week, with ADF I've been getting about 7000-8000 which is pretty much the deficit required to lose 1kg/week which is what I've averaged for the last month (10kg over all but I lost more in the first couple of weeks). I'll just have to make sure that I reduce the calories on non fast days as my BMR reduces with weight loss.

Hi all,
this thread is soo busy I can't keep up. Never mind waves to anyone fasting today! I'm having a fast day meself!
Laksa thank you for the Basal rate doo da. Mine is 1379.75 and to maintain 2139. I chose moderate exercise because I do 20 mins on my exercise bike 4 times a week and my job involves a fair bit of lifting and running up and down stairs, plus I walk everywhere. Or am I fooling myself. Probably only need 1500 cals per day!
So far today have had a coffee with 100 mls ss milk a 2 egg omelette with slice of ham and 70g of carrots (all I had left). Am making a bit of dahl soup for later, will work out cals later, but should be ok for 600.
Was hungo earlier on today, but went for a nap. Off to work soon feeling suitably rested.

greeneggs yep I am loosing weight and inches. More wanting to loose inches than weight though. I'd say I have averaged out at loosing a pound a week(sometimes 2 but theni can get that back). If I lose another 7 pounds I will be at my absolute lowest weight I'd consider aiming for. So not to bothered if I lose it or not. It's all a bit of a guessing game! I think in 6 months I'll have it all worked out as it seems very individual!

I think this article was posted the other day , but i've just read it
and reposting for newbies. The recipes are good ..though I shouldn't be reading them as I'm on a fast day and shouldn't be thinking of food until later ...

Having said that my 3-egg omlette I ate earlier still seems to be working....yes lots of protein , but ill be having mostly veggies (and some prawns) later

www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/9480451/The-52-diet-can-it-help-you-lose-weight-and-live-longer.html

www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/9483381/52-diet-healthy-recipes-250-calories-or-less.html

Also the programme is no longer on the BBC website but is on You tube

leeloo Perhaps the most dangerous fat of all is what your body has been utilising - that stored around your organs, specifically, rather than the general area of hips/thighs/waist.

So, weighed myself this morning and at 60.9kg...

Wow you have been chatty!
Just wanted to say I agree with cats, I found my fast day and post fast day really easy this week, honestly I felt like any other day.

Just checked my BMI and it's 27.7 so officially overeight. No surprise there. To get into a healthy eight range I'd need to lose about 10 kilos or bout a stone and a half.
But I'm doing this for the health benefits too, as like Mosely the idea of dementia in old age is horrifying. Also watched a friend die in his 50s of prostate cancer last year.

In terms of the first fast day, feeling OK, although have had a bit of a headache since midday, but that could just be cos I had such an appalling night's sleep with DD up at 12, 3, 5 and a 630 start to the day.

Had nothing til lunch and then had 2 flour tortillas (108kcals each) 5 strips of chicken smaller than my thumb and some lettuce, tomato and a tiny bit of queso fresco (like cottage cheese) and 3 grapes. This evening will have a little bit of porridge. Feel hungrier now than before I ate, weirdly.

how many fast days have you done sputnik