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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:
bunjies · 20/09/2012 08:49

Morning from me too. Week 3 for me and a feed day today after fasting Mon and Weds. Previously I'd do Tues & Thurs but I've got a lunch thing at work today (all you can eat indian veggie buffet thing!) so decided to change days. I actually prefer doing Mondays as I'm not at work that day and I found it easier to keep myself busy and away from food than when I'm at work. Yesterday wasn't so good though as dd2 has Brownies and this makes for a very stressful and rushed dinner time. So....I'm thinking of suggesting to dh (we're doing it together) that we do Mon & Thurs. This also gives us a couple of days between fasts and then only 3 feed days before the start of the next week. I think having 4 feed days between was a bit much.

Have found some lovely prepared fish meals in Sainsburys frozen section which when eaten with a shed load of veg (roasted cauli, broc & courgette) came in at under 400 cals. Meant I could have a square of 80% dark choc with my evening coffee which was yum. They're doing a 2 for £5 offer as well and there's one with Sole which was also nice. So the whole family had the same dinner on our fast days but the dcs had a pudding of greek yoghurt.

Went on the Wii Fit last night and much to my chagrin dh has lost 3lbs and I have lost none. However, I am not stressing about it as I know my trousers are looser and I know the scales LIE. Bloody men and diets though Envy.

Have a great day everyone whether faster or feeder.

loulou969 · 20/09/2012 09:14

Morning everyone. Struggled a bit with fast day yesterday as was starving in the evening! (which is unusual but woke with a stinking cold today so could be that). Piece of toast for breakfast and tea then a pitta bread, chicken and salad and fruit and yoghurt for lunch and homemade pasta and meatball sauce made by the DH for tea Smile

HappyOrchid · 20/09/2012 09:15

Morning all,

Managed to fast all day yesterday and eat smallish portion of chilli for tea.

Will fast all day today and then have a meal out with my German colleagues tonight. Will eat tomorrow starting with hotel breakfast, finger food lunch and then probably KFC or chippy when I get back to UK tomorrow evening.

Good luck to all those fasting today.

ChazsGoldAttitude · 20/09/2012 09:30

I'm fasting today. Ate a normal meal around 7.30pm last night and will have something for lunch around 1 or 2pm. I tend to have something like an Innocent Veg Pot for lunch because I don't have much time to sort out a meal for myself before the school run and it would be a challenge to find something appropriate in the office canteen.

I don't eat anything sweet at all on fast days, not even fruit as I do get sugar cravings if I eat something sweet (possibly because I have PCOS). I have noticed that since I have started fasting I can get away with the odd sweet thing on feed days without having an overwhelming urge to go back and eat more so I hope this shows my response to sugar / insulin is a bit more normal.
Someone brought biscuits into the office and I ate a biscuit and didn't want another one Shock. Before, I could never understand how someone could have a packet of biscuits in their desk and they would last them a week but now I can.

BurningBright · 20/09/2012 09:36

Morning all. Fast day for me today. I have two different soups lined up for today's lunch and dinner. They come in at less than 250 cals between them.

Ohh, Victoria Woods/Julie Walters moment:

One soup.

And another soup.

I'm going to 'spend' the rest of my calories on dairy - a low fat yogurt (90 cals) and semi-skimmed milk. I can't do without hot milk at bedtime. [Old codger emoticon]

Rosylarose · 20/09/2012 10:04

Morning all. Back on 5:2 this week after a week's holiday off piste on holiday. Rather grumpy that I've gained 3lb, but the holiday was no holds barred, so I'm not surprised. I was a bit trepidatious about this week as my last experience of fasting was so awful. Thankfully, second fast day yesterday was absolutely fine. I'm pretty sure now that my exhaustion and headache last time was because I was getting my first period in eight months (I'm perimenopausal). I do still struggle a bit with sleeplessness on fast days, but they are also (deliberately) days I don't exercise, so that might be connected. I found yesterday that I didn't feel overly hungry, though I was ready for my meals when they came, and didn't think about food all the time. Being busy is really key for me, as is protein. I had a two egg omelette with spinach, mushrooms, spring onions and lots of garlic for lunch yesterday and it kept me going all afternoon. I got a copy of the ADF book through from Amazon yesterday and have started reading. Once again, the question of whether the benefits of the diet are about overall calorie restriction or about some magic "skinny gene" getting turned on seems to be very hazy. Oh well, I push on!

Rosylarose · 20/09/2012 10:05

too many holidays in that post!

mommybunny · 20/09/2012 10:11

Hi all - second fast day of the week for me. Instead of having breakfast and dinner of ~250 cals each I'm going to go for a ~450 cal lunch and use the rest on milk in my coffee, see how it goes. I had a slight bender yesterday, a champagne tasting with clients after work where there was not enough food Angry so felt slightly tipsy. Then when I got to the train station I had half an hour to kill as I'd just missed a train so went to Carluccio's for some pasta at 10:00. Feel a little rough today, probably not ideal for a fast! But I will get through it - life has to go on, and unless I'm really ill I have to just suck it up. Lots of water will help, which is one way this WoE has already helped me - I had at least 2 liters yesterday of just water on a feed day - no Diet Coke at all!

Happy fasting/feasting everyone!

BelinaTheChicken · 20/09/2012 10:25

2nd fast day yesterday, went fine though it was a bit difficult in M&S picking out a ready meal for DSis who was looking after the DC whilst I did my night shift. Got her an amazing looking roast butternut squash and haloumi salad, but didn't have enough calories left for one for me.

Night shift was harder than normal, as it was shopping day, so the house was full of unhealthy crap (some residents on high calorie diets, but more that the staff like to munch far too many biscuits, don't get me started!). Managed to resist though, but again have woken up not hungry, and finding it hard to get out of the fast frame of mind. Never normally a problem Confused

I know they said high fat on feed days makes no difference, but was is high fat but within calorie limits? Cos if I just ate what I wanted on feed days I could more than cancel out the deficit so I'm still calorie counting (roughly) on normal days.

On the downside, I woke up after my nap at work and feel like I have broken my coccyx, it's so painful! How is that even possible?? I was lying down FFS Sad so no exercise for me today

mommybunny · 20/09/2012 10:37

Belina, I don't think there are meant to be any calorie limits on feed days. I think "high fat" was meant to encompass "high/unrestricted calorie" as well. I wouldn't worry though as I think the premise is twofold: (1) that you really aren't canceling out the deficit you created by fasting - most bodies, no matter how fat they are, aren't capable of consuming as many calories in such a short period of time as it would take to do that, and (2) the fasting helps recalibrate your metabolism and appetite so that, over time, the amount you want to and are capable of consuming even on your feed days just keeps decreasing. So while you think you're going overboard now, give it time and you should find yourself being satisfied with less and less. Does that make sense?

mommybunny · 20/09/2012 10:40

Just had 500ml of water and already I feel so much better...

And not really "killer hungry" at the moment - stomach is definitely empty, but I don't feel like I could eat my right arm. Maybe a single meal is the way to go for me...but we'll see how we are come dinner time - I promised DH I'd make some poached chicken for him when I come home from work as he's sticking with 2 meals.

GreenEggsAndNichts · 20/09/2012 11:05

Fast day here. Coffee and water are my friends. :)

Unfortunately, if you had unhealthy eating habits before attempting this WOE, it's not that difficult to eat double or more the number of calories you need for a day. There was a woman on tv (one of those Secret Eaters programmes) who was regularly consuming over 6000 calories in a day due to various poor choices she was making.

I don't calorie restrict on eating days, and I know I'm not alone in this thread when I say that. :) I do allow myself to eat whatever I want, and that often means indulgences (yesterday I had a BLT, mm). I'm still losing weight, and that's what matters to me at the moment. If you want cheese on your eating day, eat cheese!

I guess the point is, yes, I imagine it's possible to overdo it on an eating day, but as mommy says, over time you'll eat less on eating days just due to the nature of this WOE.

OP posts:
loulou969 · 20/09/2012 11:41

You're right greeneggs. Although I've always eaten 'good' food as in meals I realise how much I rely on the unhealthy extras and how they can add up.(I am not very overweight by the way)
However much I ate I still 'needed' something sweet/snacky afterwards and can eat until I feel sick! It's been a revelation to try fasting and manage to go without food for some hours without collapsing!
I think being made to eat all my dinners up as a child prevents your body from recognising actual hunger too as you learn to eat past the point when you're full

ThatBintAgain · 20/09/2012 11:49

Morning - I'm managing to do alternate days at the moment and it's not too bad. The day before yesterday I got all the way to 6pm before having a decent meal at around 500 cals. Started out starving this morning (unfortunate as another fast day!) so have had 2 eggs scrambled on 2 ryvita and will have a carton of soup later and that's my lot. Going to weigh on Monday and see what's going on but am hopeful things are changing - I didn't go overboard yesterday on my eating day and I found I was getting fuller from less...

ILoveLemonCurd · 20/09/2012 12:12

Hi all, fast number two for the week today. I love your philosophy btw catsrus.

I am becoming quite relaxed about it all as for me my training will always come first. I've not had a fasting high, but do get a runners high instead Grin.

Last night I ate a huge chilli at 5 pm and ran 4 miles later that evening. This morning just tea then a 6.5 mile run pushing DS in the buggy. I was definitely running on empty and struggled. It wasn't a feeling I liked so when I got in I had a snack of ryvita thins and humous. Next time I will eat a small breakfast before running. Probably it was 400 cals in one go and I can't contemplate the rest of the day on 100 cals Shock. So I've decided to restrict my eating two days a week and try to get in the 16 HR thing in. I'm not stressing about 500 cals on fast days but will low carb as much as possible. I need to have energy to exercise too.

I feel happy with this Smile

Good luck to other fasters today

ThatBintAgain · 20/09/2012 12:15

Wow, 6.5 miles is impressive on a fast day! I think I'd be gnawing the plaster off the walls.

Tell you what though, am working from home today and fasting next to the kitchen is the ultimate test in will power...

mumofcrazynamedkids · 20/09/2012 12:31

day 13 of fasting today, second this week and I am for the first time planning a 3rd on sunday, as the kids are with their dad, no visitors and I have my 40th birthday coming up very soon - and party in 5 weeks.

it's getting much easier, although I miss milk in my tea the most.

like lots of you I go to bed hungry-ish, but pacified by the thought of eating what I like the nex day and then the next day comes and I am just not that hingry, and neither do I feel like bingeing or eating all teh unhealthy foods i think I will.

I did have 6 squares of galaxy caramel yesterday at about 4pm, but that was it, fully intended to eat more chocolate after my mackerel salad, but ended up so tired I just went to bed after drinking an actimel.

usually I skip breakfast or just 1 boiled egg, but today I was hungry , so I had 1 sachet of plain porridge, made up with water and mixed in 75g raspberries, black iced coffee and one hot fruit tea.

I'm using teh calorie counter by fat secret app and keep getting annoyed at the differences between their lists of calories content and those on the packets.

for example, when i look up raspberries on the app it says 100g is 52 cals, but on the packet of raspberries from tesco it says 27kcals per 100g . . . ..which is it? aagghh spend ages then having to go off and look up elsewhere online.....not trying to be obsessive, but i would just like some accuracy.

anyway, i shall be cake baking this weekend for a 6 year olds party, so no doubt some extra calories will be consumed!

RightBuggerforGOLD · 20/09/2012 12:38

Fasting again. Going to do adf until i get back round to mon, wed, fri. I have a headache and have given in to the diet coke after going without for a day and a half! Used up all my calories already, again! But at least i'm not hungry yet, and when i get really hungry i can go to bed!

BrigitBigKnickers · 20/09/2012 12:49

On my second fast day this week. (first one was Monday.) Had a few cherry tomatoes and some seafood sticks this morning but now sitting here rumbling so about to have some french onion soup and a yogurt for lunch. Then poached eggs for tea.

Did 20mins on the cross trainer this morning and according to the counter burned 260 calories! (Nearly killed me though!)

One thing I am noticing though is a rather nasty taste in my mouth on fast days. Anyone else get this?

dandycandyjellybean · 20/09/2012 13:05

Second fast day this week for me, did Sunday and was going to do Tuesday but unusually I was ravenous Monday and still hungry Tuesday so deferred to today...love, love, love the flexibility of this woe.

Dh has been poorly since Friday when I got home from visiting my dad after his cancer op (100 miles away). I thought it might be shingles, but a visit to nurse prac. tells us it is a non specific viral rash. He is plastered in it and in agony as it is itchy and sore, on top of high pain levels from his disability anyway, poor sod! So it's been very full on here and I am knackered and woke up with a cold sore this morning. Hey ho, one or two people are starting to notice a difference in my size, face less podgy etc, so that is a real incentive, as I haven't weighed/measured yet. I have put some olbas on my chest to counteract the smell of cooking lovely handcrafted bread toast and eggs and other lovely stuff for dh, and ds who keeps eating crisps and polos and oh everything then hangs off me breathing it all on me...misery Sad!

Will be glad when today is over and I can indulge. I too am not restricting what I eat on feed days, although like most others am finding that I am naturally eating smaller portions and generally making good choices, although I did have 3 packets of aldi mini cheddars and a pack of smart price plain crisps with my g&t's last night Shock!!!!!!! Oooops. Grin

Carrot and coriander soup in a bit then a Quorn lasagne with a massive salad and an options orange hot choc before bed. Roll on Friday...

Laska42 · 20/09/2012 13:27

oooooh.... cheeeeeese greeneggs!
But luckily its a food day and im eating some now... (couldnt do that on WW...)

See im not the only one who goes to bed early on a fast day .. but I am still waking up in the middle of the night... not necessarily hungry but just wide awake for a couple of hours .. weird.... and i usually sleep so well.,early to bed or not ..

mommybunny · 20/09/2012 13:36

Just finished my itsu duck and pomegranate salad wrap (and very tasty it was too!) and I had enough calories left over for a frozen yogurt - decided to plump for a blueberry topping too! If the calorie counts on itsu's website are correct, I've still got 53 calories, give or take (I have had two tiny splashes of skim milk). Feel pretty full now, but don't know how long it will last. It will be painful making dinner for DH tonight but I just have to get through it. Then no more fasting till Monday! Yay!

Oh and Brigit, yes I had been getting a nasty taste in my mouth on fast days - a couple of pages back there's some discussion of that. Haven't had any today though. I don't know whether that's because my body's adjusting to the fasting, or because I've changed my eating on fasting days - from a meal in the morning and a meal in the evening to a single meal at lunchtime. It will be interesting to see if I get that foul taste this evening.

vigglewiggle · 20/09/2012 13:48

This is day 16 for me and day 6 of fasting. I have just weighed myself, and despite an initial loss, I am now back to my original weight Sad. I was really hoping this would work for me as I had started to find the fasting easy.

I can't understand how I have lost no weight at all as 2/3 days per week I am eating significantly less than I usually do.

mommybunny · 20/09/2012 13:58

vigglewiggle, are your clothes looser? It sounds so frustrating to appear to have gained all the weight you lost back! I wouldn't worry so much about the number on the scale on any given day though, as there are so many things that can make your weight fluctuate, which I won't rehearse here.

Also, you may be eating "significantly less" on your fasting days, but are you measuring out your food, counting the calories and keeping them under 500? I know I need to count them on my fasting days, and pretty strictly, or else I will definitely overshoot that target (I'm not very good at "eyeballing" 100g of meat, and I have no idea how many calories that 100g of meat even is, and when I guesstimate I am usually too generous to myself). Give it at least another week and watch the calories on the fast days - I'll bet you see better results then! Good luck.

TellMeLater · 20/09/2012 14:11

Have you tried low carbing ilovelemoncurd I run quite a bit too, I find that when i ate a carby diet I'd have to eat breakfast before a run or I'd feel weak, but when I low carb I don't hit that wall and can run with plenty of energy....I ran 14k on Monday without breakfast, no energy lows either, fasted all day Monday and then ran 8k on Tuesday morning before eating. Quite often I'll run my best times when fasted. I know it's different for everyone, so just throwing the idea your way.