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

[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.

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.

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

[reddwarf]

Just done a conversion, and you are a bit less than me, about 64 kilos, and want to get to about 58, so we're roughly in the same position. Will be interesting to see how we get on.

[beamme]

Can I join you please? I tried this ADF at the beginning of the summer holidays but fell off the wagon with days out and holidays. But I'm ready to get back into again.
Had my first fast day yesterday and found it easier this time around. Really enjoy Skinny Soups, very quick and convenient for work.
Just wondering how often everyone weighs themselves?

[BIWI]

I think I'm going to give the 16 hour thing a go - essentially its just missing breakfast, which I think I can manage, and on those days I will drink peppermint tea or water instead of coffee with milk. Next week is a good week to start as I'm working at home for most of it.

[LouiseDavies]

Thanks Chaz for taking the time to respond to my query. it's all a matter of trial and error I guess. As I'm in it primarily for the health benefits I want to follow it to the letter as much as I can. Pity there's no easy way of finding out if we get the beneficial changes apart from any weight loss

However like many others I really do feel it is a lifestyle change that is achievable.

[vigglewiggle]

I had my second fast day yesterday and thanks to the advice on here it was far easier than the first. I started with two boiled eggs, veggies for lunch and fish and veggies for tea. I drank loads of water and a bit of green tea and even a coffee!

Weighed myself this morning and I've lost a kilo in less than a week.

I'm using 'my fitness pal' app just to calculate calories and track my weight which is quite handy.

[sassytheFIRST]

Week two over; 5lbs down. Yay.

I'm not being enormously strict on official fast days; reckon I'm hitting nearer 700cal than 500. But my appetite generally is much reduced, so that yesterday (a normal day) I ate a banana, an apple, a biscuit and half a piece of toast until about 4pm, then a couple of cream crackers and a good chunk of cheese. Had steak, chips, onion rings and salad for tea though, plus wine and a little bit of trifle.

The best thing about this WOE (and what makes it sustainable for me,I hope) is that I don't feel at all deprived or as if I'm missing out.

[MandaHugNKiss]

Marking my spot. Thanks for the new thread and fantastically informative op, green

[chocolatespiders]

Marking my place.. because I love reading this thread. I am doing Weight Watchers and thinking of incorporating fasting days into the plan.

[welshmill]

Also marking my spot. I've been using myfitnesspal to track my calories as much out of curiosity as anything as it's been a few years since I calorie counted. Interesting to see how much I do eat on an ordinary day. Looks like it's around to 1500-1700 mark so I've decided to try and average 1400-1500 which curbs my overeating (extra biscuits and chocolate, the odd cream cracker with lashings of butter) but doesn't leave me feeling deprived as diets in the past have done. I skip breakfast on a fast day - I have a home made 'skinny latte' first thing instead to wake me up! A boiled egg or half a tin of soup around noon and then the rest of my calories around 5.30 in the evening - fish with steamed veggies or similar....a couple of cups of tea with skimmed milk & and lots of water during the day, then nothing until breakfast the next morning (around 8am). After 4 weeks I haven't lost oodles of weight but I reckon it's taken me years to get here (I was 10st 5lb 4 weeks ago and I'm now 10st 2lb) so it will probably take me some time to get rid of, especially as most of my fat is around my middle. But to be honest, I'm feeling healthier and that's great. I take the dog out for a 30-50min walk most days and always make sure I do on a fast day. It's the only exercise I do so I want to keep it up.

[reddwarf]

OK; I have a question, I am statrting to wonder if I have got the wrong end of the stick or am understanding or doing it wrong? I thought the aim was for 2 days a week, (if 5:2, or every other day if ADF, to eat nothing at all during the 24 hour period apart from 1 small meal of up to 500 cal for women? The point being that having several hours of not eating anything at all causes the body to shift gears into repair mode. And a constant stream of snacks deaf eats the object. I've read a few posters saying the had this for breakfast, this for lunch that for dinner on "fast" days. Isn't this just LC eating rather than fasting, or do I just not get it? Am confused

[LouiseDavies]

Hi "red" that's what was confusing me too!That's why I wanted to know if a little milk would break the 'fast' period As Moseley had two meals I guess that would be ok but your insulin will rise up and down if you 'snack'

[Skinnyeye]

Hi all thanks for setting up new thread Green - the 3rd we sure have a lot to say about this subject :) Fasting over for this week and have lost 3.5 pounds in my first week. Fasting on Mondays and Thursdays as I feel I need 2 days between fast as I find I have little appetite on the day after a fast. Heading out for a bike ride bbl

[GreenEggsAndNichts]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. :)

red This is a contentious issue for some, but I'll go ahead and throw my opinion out there, based on what I've read in the articles. I believe that you will still lose weight if you spread your snacks through the day, as long as you stay under 500 calories. The study groups which were weight loss-orientated seem to only have had the restriction based on calories consumed over the day (500 on average for a woman).

However. Other related research into fasting has shown that extended periods of fasting (16 hours or so) in mice left them burning fat more efficiently. Here is another article from the same time period.

I'll be honest, I think you might need to experiment for yourself to see what works for you. I am having success with leaving my eating on a fast day until the evening, thus having a fasting period on both sides of the meal.

However, I do still have a bit of milk in my coffee in the morning, Louise! I wish I could answer the great milk debate, but I can't. :)

[Lagartijadoesthecrazyshake]

reddwarf I think the aim is to at least eat nothing from the night of a feed day until lunch on a fast day (and even better if you wait til evening) as, yes the idea is to trick the body into starvation mode and therefore repair mode. I can't wait til evening so I have about half the 500 at lunch and half in the evening, but nothing in the morning. I think if you had, for example 5 snacks of 100 cals from breakfast on you wouldn't be getting quite as many health benefits as the insulin levels for instance don't drop. That's my understanding anyway.
It's a feed day for me but I'm not hungry at all, in fact I feel a bit queasy. I feel less queasy on the fast days when I don't eat at all til lunch.
Anyone else had this? DH says it's all the digestive juices with nothing to digest after a fast day?

[MandaHugNKiss]

Ok, another thing for you all to ponder and offer opinion on:

I do ZERO exercise. Seriously. I used to walk everywhere but circumstance has meant that for the last three years or so I am mostly sat on my behind. Well, I get up and down from the sofa multiple times a day after DS2, run the hoover around, taht kind of thing but I'd be kidding myself if I thought my lifestyle at present was anything more than sedentary.

Despite this, my usual resting heart rate is about 77. I have pretty low blood pressure (100/60 ish usually).

I thought, for the sake of interest, I'd check my blood pressure and pulse yesterday, a fast day. Bp slightly up at 120/70 (although still 'normal') but it was my pulse that shocked me: 60!

Ate last night about 9, but nothing yet today. Just did it again and it's 98/69 pulse 71.

Thoughts? I realise it's quite a small sample of results to be analysing

[catsrus]

hi red the science around this is very new - as greeneggs says we don't really know, some studies say proper fasting, other studies just low cal. My experience is that some fast days (when I'm busy) I don't eat solid food until lunch time or later in the evening - I do have milk in my tea during the day though, other fast days I might nibble more - I had a pear earlier on and now having a large bowl of veggie soup. I find days at home I have to eat throughout the day, when I'm out it's easier not to.

all I do know is that I have lost 8lb in 4 weeks and I'm . My friend who started just after me has texted to say she's just zipped up some size 18 trousers for the first time in 5 yrs so is also .

As I'm trying to find a WOE that works long term I am not weighing food or strictly counting calories, particularly on non-fast days. I am eating mainly vegetables on fast days - that makes it hard to go above 500. If I really am starving I will have a hard boiled egg which seems to take the edge off .

[Lagartijadoesthecrazyshake]

WOE?

[BIWI]

Way of Eating

[granndi]

is anyone else getting headaches ? on my 3 rd fast day in 8 days

[reddwarf]

THats fine. I mean if someone wants to loose weight and archives that it's a real achievement in itself. And of they also find "WOE" ( hark at me getting down with the new lingo :)!) that's also brilliant and a potentially life changing step forward. But if you want to do fasting, and the (albeit new and 'infant stage' findings show it should be only 1 meal in order to reach this repair phase it's also important to bear that in mind. If the motivation is the potential health benefits from fasting rather than weight loss, then grazing, albeit on v healthy things doesn't seem to fit in with the finding that I read in green eggs' v useful links.

Am v impressed with all these stories. One of the links did say that a small bit of milk regularly through the day ie in tea or coffee does not break the fast and indeed is probably beneficial.

I also read somewhere else that drinking lots of water is not too good an idea as it flushes lots of minerals out of the body. The urine should ideally be a pale yellow colour, totally clear is too dilute ie flushing out minerals. I have tended to do this, and am trying to listen to mya thirst& keep an eye on my wee rather than trying to fill up on gallons of water.

[Movingforward123]

reddwarf I am 65 kg and need to loose weight ASAP so yea we have similar goals have you stares yet?

[reddwarf]

I've only done 1 proper fast day so far. Planning to do wednesday and Friday, but considering doing Monday Wednesday and Friday next week as I am super desperate to make headway on this. Bored of feeling too fat, of being too fat. But also mega concerned about health too. Luckily Due to enforced gluten rfee seem to have reduced appetite so not hugely difficult.

Which days are you doing? Wanna compare? I seem to loose weight v slowly unless I go v lc

Dare I ask yr age? Do you have a youthful glow and advantage?

[Herrena]

granndi I got a mega headache on my first day - I put it down to having a tiny breakfast as I then got hungry well before lunchtime. On the second day I had a larger breakfast/lunch and skipped dinner. Felt a bit light-headed but no headache!

I think you've got to go with what your body wants (whilst not giving into the 'CAKE' demand, obv ) - mine clearly prefers its calories early in the day. I'm having a cupppa soup for dinner, because it's only 80 cal. Makes me feel less like I've abandoned DH to his lonely meal - mealtimes are social occasions in this house!

[scattergun]

Hi, All. I've been following this since the beginning and doing my own version since the day after the TV programme. My reading of the research (and other people's theories) was that a period of fasting was the key and 24 hours was adequate. This I have taken literally and so 3 days a week I've been eating nothing from dinner one day (about 6/7pm) until dinner the next day, i.e. I eat at least a good-sized dinner every day. I have nothing but coffee, tea and water in the intervening period.

I have found this staggeringly easy, eat normally at all meals around the non-eating times and the weight seems to be falling off. I shall hit target weight in a few weeks and may then have to reduce the days to 2 and see if that maintains it. I agree with those who say find what works for you. This way suits me and means I can go out for dinner a lot with no ill-effect.

[Lagartijadoesthecrazyshake]

Do you do the days consecutively, scattergun? How many calories do you eat on those days? How much weight have you lost in how long?