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! :)

Is the protein limit for feed days or both feed and fast?

Really helpful post! Thanks ShortLass

Is the protein limit for feed days or both feed and fast?

Thanks that's really helpful ShortLass

Re 5:2 diet - can the 500 calories be spread throughout the day or do I have to keep it to 2 or just 1 meal ? Mosley divided it between 2 meals but I think I would find it easier and keep energy levels up by nibbling or at least 3 small meals. Can anyone confirm as have searched online and can't find the answer.

Many thanks

Hello everyone. Have now read threads and background info properly and am de-lurking to join in.

Day 1 of fasting for me here, but generally I think I will do Mondays and Thursdays.

DH is going to join in, but not today (he has a day out with the children and has promised them fish and chips!).

It is such a long time since I went on a diet as such that I know nothing about calories, so am going to have to do a bit of research on that.

What do people do about bad breath/bad taste in mouth on fast days?

Chdev the idea, as far as I can gather is the longer the fast between eating the better the benefit. So you eat your last meal on a feed day and if you are fasting the next day and eat early, your fasting period is not as long if you hold of until lunch or dinner. You would essinatly be doing just a very low calorie day rather than a fast. Iykwim

Fast day today. Not eaten yet, had a two cups of coffee, though. Unfortunately, have been invited over to a friend's house for a casual supper, so it's very possible this will turn into an eating day and I'll have to fast tomorrow. :( I will see what food is on offer when I'm there, and if I think I can manage to keep under 500 cals then I definitely will. I'd rather not make a big thing about a fast day again as she just happens to be the person whose house I visited two weeks ago and didn't eat because it was a fast day. I know the diet is flexible and will accommodate my changing the day, I'm only dithering because in my mind, I have it set as a fast day.

Am baking a cake at the moment. madness :) but I'm not struggling with it. I know someone else mentioned it upthread, but I do sort of switch off when I know it's a fast day. I'm not sitting here salivating, despite the lovely smell in the house. So yes, would like to finish my day fasting, but shall see what the evening brings.

For those on MFP feel free to add me. My name is same as here

Many thanks TCStunt. Makes sense and I never find it too difficult missing breakfast what with school run etc. Mind you after years of being told not to skip breakfast ????? Apart from Telegraph and Horizon is there any where else I can get info ?

Hi fellow fasters...

Great post shortlass - v helpful. And delighted to see MNHQ trying to get Dr M or similar on to talk direct to us...

I've decided - despite my pathological need for Proper Weekends - that I can actually fast at weekends! I am doing today as had evening out yesterday and out for 2 meals tomorrow! So far so good - doing my very long break before breakfast thing so only a milky coffee and bouillon soup so far. Will have some steamed veg, bit of soy sauce and tiny bit of chicken/soy sauce for dinner. Have saved my apple for later too!

That will be three days this week and think this is going to be normal for me in order to lose weight. Got period yesterday also which explains the 3lb gain after one eating day earlier in the week . Funnily enough, I haven't had nearly the same issues with craving carbs in last couple of days, AND much less water retention than normal. Really hope this means this will continue. Anyone else finding things changing with water retention?

just posted a whole new thread then found this one. bugger.

i am seriously thinking about doing this, for many reasons. just wanted to know how much weight have you all lost???? and over how long? cant find any actual weight loss stories, or before and afters etc

also do you eat your 500cals in one sitting or over a day?

I've lost 7lb in 6 weeks, so pretty slow for me but I'm happy with that as don't want to regulate much in normal days, so I can try and live like this for a long time. This is because weight has been yoyoing for years some I'm treating it like a lifestyle not a diet.

People are tweaking differently to suit them. I'm doing 4:3 and trying to eat all my calories as late in the day as possible - so nothing till 12ish, then only a small milky drink or apple, then most calories in the evening. Others are carefully calorie counting and spreading them out through the day.

I've had my dinner (pea and ham soup).

I never eat this early!

How am I going to survive til bedtime ?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't one study show that very low-carb (ie not counting calories) was just as effective as eating very low calorie during the two days?

This is what I'm planning to start next week anyway, I was doing it just before the summer holidays, but have fallen off the wagon big time.

I lost 11lbs the first 3 weeks of doing 4:3. Now on week 4, weigh in is Monday for me and I'm hoping to make it a stone in 4 weeks so I better stop eating all the snacks. I tend to spread the calories over 2 meals, plus tea sometimes.

How much are you hoping to lose liljen and by when, ideally?

hiya. ideally 2 - 3 st by xmas. know i could easily lose 2 stone if i went back on slimming world but am so bored of it

Whew. Am home, managed to keep today as my fasting day.

liljen last I weighed myself, I'd lost 7 lbs. That was at the two-week mark. However, you'll find that people are losing at different rates, so you won't really know how it works for you until you give it a go. :)

Finished a feed day and, boy have I enjoed my food today! Not felt all that hungry but reall enjoyed the flavours of things. Went to a kids' birthday party and had a piece of cake, which was nice and one little biscuit in the afternoon, but other than that I've just eaten sensibly today. Another feed day tomorrow as we're having lunch at ILs and then thinking of trying a fast day on Monday, which will make it a 4:3 week.
A friend said she thought I'd lost weight, but fairly sure it was an optical illusion..but was telling her about the 5:2 thing and have now e mailed her a link to the Horizon prog.

Well when I posted last saturday my weight was 61.5kg and this morning it was 61.2 (although hit 60.8 earlier in the week...) so that's .6 of a lb in a week which may seem very small to someone looking on who is interested in the weight loss part of this way of eating but a) I have very little weight to lose anyway (bmi 21.5) and b) the health benefits are of interest to me especially since I've had dc4 15 weeks ago I'm even more scatter-brained than I have been the last few years...and as someone who had an astounding memory when I was younger, it's quite dismaying.

I do feel somehow more switched on (placebo?). And other than my morning coffee, all other coffees during the day are decaf so it's not caffeine!

First fast day done. Bit better than expected. Had a main meal around 2pm (M&S calorie counted) plus veg and had enough calories left for a soya latte and a couple of rice cakes at 7.30pm.

Made sure I have something ready for a sensible breakfast tomorrow so I don't nibble my way through the cupboards whilst deciding what I want for my feed day breakfast.

I'm doing a fast day today as I have a stinking cold, so don't want to eat anyway. I am making a big hearty family tea so one plateful of that at supper will be my calories for the day! I also fasting tomorrow and am making a big old pot of soup with a ham shank. Can you tell I am getting in the autumn mood?
Some great weight losses for some folk! Mine is super slow but my bmi is down to 23 so really, technically no weight to loose, but I would like it to be lower.

CAn I just ask, one poster mentioned that they were doing 7pm to 7pm as a fast. I tried it one day and found it much easier. If I am fasting until lunch time the next day I am having no food for 17 hours, but obviously some of those are sleeping hours, do you think this would still work? If you do it 7am to 7am obviously you are starting off with breaking a fast, and will also have a fast until the next morning iyswim?

Wish the poster who is doing it this way come back and comment on success?

Sexbomb - as far as I understand it, you aren't supposed to fast for a full 24 hours.

From what I have read, the rules are very low calorie (500 for a woman, 600 for a man) on fast days and you can have those calories when you like, although there is some speculation as to whether it is better to have one meal only or two.

I was discussing this with dh today and he (quite reasonably imo) says that he couldn't possibly go 24 hours with only one meal so he will only join me in this lark if he can have two meals on fast days. Otherwise he will be miserable, angry and discouraged and likely to give up.

I agree with him.

Thanks Mintyy I get what you're saying, but I didn't mean not eat at all, sorry, I meant fast day as in 500 cal day. So last meal 6.30ish pm, then nothing till lunchtime next day, 500 cal meal then nothing until 7pm, then perhaps a normal meal. Lots of people here have talked about 16:8 ratio, i.e. 16 hour fast to keep insulin production down, then 8 hours low cal. So I would still be doing that, but don't know if I am then undoing it by eating normally at 7pm.

Any thoughts, or do you think it doesn't matter as long as I'm getting the 16:8 happening?