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Fasting / 5:2 diet

Talk about intermittent fasting and 5:2, including what’s worked for others. Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.

5:2 Diet Thread: Part Three. Come join us!

986 replies

GreenEggsAndNichts · 07/09/2012 15:51

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.

Here is a list of the links we've gathered so far about this diet. I hope I haven't left many out, but it was a 40 page thread! This is a good start for anyone, though:

First things first, here is a link to our previous thread, which we've outgrown. Lots of good support and ideas still to be found there.

Here is the link to the BBC article regarding Michael Mosley's findings, which was featured on Horizon.

is a link to the first part of the aforementioned Horizon, subsequent parts of that episode are linked on that page.

There is a Wiki article here which explains intermittent fasting and gives a short summary of some studies which have been done on it.

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.

A Telegraph article which comments on the diet and gives a brief 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%).")

Important link 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.

And for those already fasting, here is a link to 100 snacks under 100 calories. :)

Another food link, here is a link to the BBC Goof Food site, with a list of low-calorie soups.

I will start a different thread just for recipe links, though, as there seems to be some demand for that.

A BIG THANK YOU to all who have been contributing, btw. Most of us are new to this diet. All of the links above have been posted by others in our previous thread, and they've been very helpful. Sorry if I haven't given credit where it's due, but it was just enough of a job getting them all in one post this afternoon. Wink

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

OP posts:
HappyOrchid · 12/09/2012 23:56

Good to know about the Starvation mode, because several people have made the comment that I won't improve my health as body will go into 'shut down'

ThinkICan · 13/09/2012 04:36

Hi! Please allow me to join your amazing network. Am inspired by all the smart women losing weight and supporting others. Was a gigantic 86 kg for a 5'5" height and hoping to lose and get within a healthy BMI. Lost 1 kg this week after 3 days of fasting and hope to get there with your help. Thank you all

TellMeLater · 13/09/2012 06:58

Welcome to the boards ThinkICan they are a great way to stay motivated.

Weighed in this morning after a fast - I know, I know it's an artificially low reading but it's still the lowest artificial reading I've had. Mind you given I'm low carbing, fasting twice a week and doing intensive exercise 5 days a week with only wine as my vice (giving that up is a step too far), you'd think my body would start to consider giving up a few precious calories. Wink

Will try to maintain the fast till lunchtime when I'll have scrambled eggs and 93% meat sausages.

Paddington76 · 13/09/2012 06:59

Has anyone who has been doing this from the start noticed any considerable change in body fat? I have just measured mine and needless to say Shock. I know home scales are not the most accurate but even so Shock.

I can't be doing with low carbing but I would like to reduce this figure considerably.

On another note yesterday's fast was a breeze (second one), I slept well and feel great today Smile.

frenchfancy · 13/09/2012 07:02

Weigh in this morning. I'm 1.5kg down after 2 weeks. Pretty pleased but I'm very impatient so would have liked to lost more. Not helped by the fact that DH is now down 2.5kg.

TellMeLater · 13/09/2012 07:05

Low carbing isn't essential but I have been low carbing now since March and it's my method of keeping sweet cravings under control - apart from the obvious reasons for this - sugar gives me insomnia, a few nights of lying awake for hours on end and you start to think any diet is reasonable. There is also some suggestion that fasts are easier, hunger pangs are less intense if you low carb but if you find the fasts easy anyway then that isn't a consideration for you.

TellMeLater · 13/09/2012 07:10

frenchfancy women can't compete with men in the dieting arena, the weight just seems to fall off them!

poachedeggs · 13/09/2012 07:27

First fast day last Monday.

Weighed in today: 6lbs off!

MamaGeekChic · 13/09/2012 07:52

Fast day 4 here- up at 6am with DD and home with her all day so it's going to be a long one! Plan for today:

Lunch- scrambled egg white on rye toast
Dinner- lean small chicken breast and salad

Felt hungry all day on my feed day yesterday, ate far too much so feel hungry today Sad

reddwarf · 13/09/2012 07:52

Wah wah wah, I do t see the starvation mode link. Am I being thick? Was doing my homework till 10.39 so excuse me. If I dim. Also can't see a thing on this iphone

Aboutlastnight · 13/09/2012 08:37

Another fast day today. Have a temp and starting a cold do not much appetite which will help.

Am also 5ft 2ins and currently 10st 4lbs and want to lose a stone.

Whoever works night shift - it will be interesting to see how this works as I have a run of three nights, 4 days off then three nights again. I often lose weight on nights but then get terrible carb cravings in the days afterwards. Am thinking about low carving as this might help me stay off the cake!

ILoveLemonCurd · 13/09/2012 08:51

Second fast of the week for me and third overall. It might be tough as I am stuck at home with two children with chicken pox, aaah! I did my run last night so hopefully I won't struggle like I did on Tuesday. Just a cup of tea so far ...

scattergun · 13/09/2012 08:53

Just a comment about the body fat thing. I bought some fat-measuring scales out of curiosity and, while accepting they may not be very accurate, I thought they'd help track any trajectory.

I only use them once a week and in the 3 weeks I used them I lost 5.5% of my body fat. According to them, during those weeks I only lost a few pounds but swapped fat for muscle. I found that interesting as that's sort of the desired effect.

bunjies · 13/09/2012 08:54

2nd fast day of week 2 for me. I have no idea if I have lost any weight as I didn't weigh myself at the start, only took measurements. Haven't noticed any changes there yet but it's still early days. I did get drawn onto Wii Fit by the dcs on Tuesday and did the weigh in thing there. I knew I was in the overweight category but this was a stark reminder especially as I was at the top of the overweight category and heading towards obese...again Although my Wii Fit age came in at 10 years younger than my actual age so I have no idea how that happened. Dh was most put out as his came in at 6 years over and he is at a healthy weight Grin.

I am another short arse at 5'1" and am about 70kg Blush so even worse than you other short guys. Having said that my heaviest ever weight was 82kg Shock about 4 years ago and I started low carbing. I lost about 12kg over 2 years then stalled. Maintained for another year then got fed up. Did a VLCD diet for 2 months and lost another 7kg to get to about 63kg but couldn't sustain it. Decided to just have a break and from it all and here I am 6 months later back up to 70kg Sad.

I do think I have an incredibly resistant metabolism and it takes me ages to lose weight. Anyway, I am trying to not think about the weight aspect too much and just go by how my clothes feel as I do have a tendency to get completely obsessed by the numbers to the extent that if I don't see the numbers going down on weigh in day then it affects my mood for the rest of the day and then I take it out on the family. Also, I know weight loss isn't linear so I don't want to think about the numbers at all.

Good luck to those on a fast day today.

bunjies · 13/09/2012 08:57

Wow, another shortie There's a lot of us on here aren't there?!

moosemama · 13/09/2012 10:41

Hi, I have started intermittent fasting this week. I'm doing alternate days rather than 5:2, but am finding it ok,.

I am forty-ahem years old 5 ft 7 in tall and currently 166 lbs. I'm doing this because want to try and get to a baseline state of good health, plus hopefully lose a stone into the bargain.

I lost just under 4 stone in 2011, but have regained just over a stone through ill health this year that I'd like to shift again. My lowest weight was 10 st 9 pounds, but my goal was 10 stone 4 pounds and I really like to reach that target if I can.

Unfortunately I currently have a broken toe joint and ligament and tendon damage, so not really up for exercise. I used to Shred and do other Jillian Michaels workouts before I was ill and would like to ease my way back into that when my foot is better.

Can I ask how soon people started seeing losses on their scales with the fasting? We've a weekend away with friends planned for November and I'd really like to have shifted a bit by then.

Also, has anyone done this and not lost anything? Is that even possible?

saladfingers · 13/09/2012 11:16

Moose we are a similar age and the same height.I am currently 2 stone heavier that you.I changed my WOE approx 4 weeks ago.I have had 7 fast days in that time.So far I have lost 11lbs.But actually feel I have lost more than that.My clothes are very loose.I have bundles more energy and generally feel great.I'm trying to have all my 500 calories in one meal on a fast day to give my body the optimum 16hour repair time on either side of the meal.I drink pepermint/green tea for the rest of the day.Each fast day seems to get easier.
This feels totally sustainable for me.I was hoping to have cholesterol test today at Sainsburys(free for next 2 weeks) but unfortunately they cancelled on me due to lack of kits.
I obviously want to lose the weight but also want to try to achieve the other health benefits.

SuseB · 13/09/2012 12:04

Hello all. Been lurking for ages but not posted yet (partly because not doing this for weight loss). Me and DH decided to give this a go for a month to see how we feel: we're interested in the health benefits and we could feel ourselves 'getting used to' eating a bit more than we needed to and wanted to 'reset' our appetites/portion sizes. It seems to be working for that. DH (35 y.o, 5ft 11in, 75kg) has found some of his cravings for unhealthy foods reduced and we'll find out at the end of the month (we're both on 5:2) whether he's lost any weight and whether he feels some minor gut issues he's been having have been fixed or changed.

I'm 5ft 1in (another shortie!), 34 y.o. and was 54kg when I started (BMI 22). I wasn't expecting to lose much weight, and if I did I expected it to be pretty slow. I feel a bit slimmer but it might be all in my head! The scales are very variable but the lowest reading has been 53kg, so I've lost at max a kilo over three weeks. My plan at the end of the month's trial is to carry on doing 6:1 to get the health benefits without further weight loss (as Dr M said on Twitter he did).

Someone just asked whether anyone had done this and not lost weight, which is what prompted me to post, as if I have lost any it is not very much at all - but then I am pretty much at the right weight for my height/build. So far I feel fine on the fasting regime (5:2) but do find it tough going some days! I eat very well on non-fast days though! I think I could easily adopt 6:1, probably with the fast day on a Monday, as a permanent thing.

TalkinPeace2 · 13/09/2012 12:19

Another fast day - and getting easier every time.
Even doing the food shopping this morning was a doddle because I was planning meals for over the weekend rather than today.

suse am also BMI 22.5 - would like to lose a little bit but am MAINLY doing it for the reduced alzheimers and stroke risks : its also nice to have FINALLY found a system that DH is happy to work with to shed the couple of stone he really could do with.

NB
DO NOT place much reliance on Body Fat Scales
as part of a medical project I had a full body ultrasound scan done a year ago at a medical school.
Here are my stats
Age 46 Height 165 cm Weight 62.4 kg = BMI 22.9
Body Fat percentages :
Arms 33.5% ~ Legs 30% ~ Trunk 34% ~ Head 23% ~ Total = 32%
And bear in mind I do a LOT of exercise and my bone density was deemed to be that of a 30 year old.

I looked up online and a lot of the figures for aiming at 10% fat are plainly bilge.
And a bit more checking showed that the scales and tests at Chemists are grossly inaccurate at sorting out WHERE your fat is
which was of course the issue with Dr Mosely - he was thin but had lethal amounts of visceral fat.

TalkinPeace2 · 13/09/2012 12:21

bunjies
sadly others of Dr Mosely's programmes showed there is no such thing as a resistant metabolism, just a great misunderstanding about actual portion sizes and exercise levels.
As a simple test, take a photo of each of your meals before you start eating with a 50p next to it (for scale) and get somebody else to estimate the calories in it ...

moosemama · 13/09/2012 12:57

Saladfingers, you sound like are doing great!

I've only been fasting since Monday but my clothes already feel loser, although no movement on the scales (shouldn't have weighed myself yet though really).

I often forget to eat during the day, so fasting hasn't been too hard for me so far.

I'm hoping fasting will improve my general health. I was told a couple of years ago that I have a slightly fatty liver, although very mild and apparently nothing to worry about at that point, I made up my mind then I was going to improve my health and lifestyle.

I lost the weight last year by using My Fitness Pal to log my intake and gradually building up my exercise, no magic bullet, just eat less (and healthy) and move more. I was really fit after a couple of rounds of the Shred and regularly shredding then adding other Jillian Michaels workouts in on top, plus daily walking and I have honestly never felt healthier or stronger.

Unfortunately I have a neurological problem (as yet undiagnosed, despite lots of tests etc) that makes me quite poorly sometimes and had a raft of medical tests last Christmas which knocked me right back. I managed to get back into it until April, but have been unable to exercise since. Then of course, just when I started trying to build it up again, starting with just walking, I managed to fall and break my foot. Doh!

The health rewards in relation to stroke and alzheimers are of particular interest to me, because I have lots of vascular type lesions in my brain.

SuzeB, I think that's the crux of it, if you don't have much, if any, weight to lose then then you probably won't lose, but if, like me, you could easily drop and stone and still have more to spare then it's a double whammy of health improvements, with weightloss as a welcome side-effect.

My body tends to have two plateaus. One at 11 stone, then if I get past that, another at 10 stone 7. In my ideal world I'd love to hit my 10 stone 4 target, as that's what I settled comfortably at in my younger days, but if I get to 10 stone 7 and stick there, that's fine by me, as it's obviously where my body wants to be. I don't want to get obsessive about numbers on a scale. I know from my experience last year, inches, strength and feeling healthy is far more important.

Yesterday was my second fast and last night I slept like a log. I am a bit of an insomniac and always tired as a result, but last night I slept almost straight through the night. Which is a little odd, because a lot of reports I've read seem to suggest fasting causes/increases insomnia in women. Confused

Eating day today, but oddly I don't really feel like eating much.

squidworth · 13/09/2012 13:06

I am on week 5, so far so good. I am refusing to step on the scales as I am a serial crash dieter and once I go on I might not get off them and with my past form this could turn into another crash. My clothes are feeling good and I do have more energy so I am going to continue. I am having the one meal a day which is great as the kids are at school and they get to see me eat a meal with them.

welshmill · 13/09/2012 13:09

Bunjies I'm glad I'm not the only one with what feels like a resistant metabolism. I sometimes feel as if I'm fighting my body as it just wants to stay very overweight. It has been a real effort over the years to try and lose weight (so much easier to put it on!) and I'm hoping this WOE will be the solution. I'm only 4ft 11" , so a real shorty. I've lost 5lb over the last 4 weeks but still weigh in at 10st which is way too much!).

BettyButterknife · 13/09/2012 13:31

Hi everyone, struggling a bit today (second fast day) as was up half the night with my 2yo.

First fast day was ok although I began to feel quite faint towards the end of the day and had to tuck into my meal quickly to stave it off.

Today I've felt quite sickly - perhaps because of being so tired - and so have eaten half a packet of polos, plus had a sugary, milky coffee this morning. So I think I have about 370 cals left to eat today.

I'd like to split this over two meals if possible. Can anyone recommend a good way to split this please? Want to feel full :)

moosemama · 13/09/2012 13:54

How many calories are you having on your fast days Betty?

I have a bowl of porridge made with cinnamon and water and a splash of milk in the morning, then skip lunch and have a massive salad for tea.

I'm veggie, so protein for my salad comes in the form of 20g cheese and 12 g nuts. The whole day's intake comes in at around 400 kcals. I am also drinking lots of water, pukka teas and the odd decaff coffee with skimmed milk.

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