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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 Six! Now's the time to de-lurk and chat with us..

984 replies

GreenEggsAndNichts · 25/10/2012 12:49

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 in August, 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 we've filled several threads by now. Please share if you find something particularly useful, and we'll add it for the next thread.

First things first, here are links to some of our previous threads: most recent one before that another one.

Another thread which breadandwine has started is a good resource for some of the links and tips that get lost in these big threads. In addition to sharing links, we try to condense some of our top tips for fasting there. Keep in mind, we all do this differently, so these are just tips, not rules.

frenchfancy has a recipe thread over here, please post any low-calorie recipes there so they don't get lost in these bigger threads!

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.

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. We tend to favour lots of hot drinks during the day (count your milk if you use it!)

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

We mentioned BMR and TDEE often. Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) quantifies the number of calories you burn in a day. This measure is best estimated by scaling your Basal Metabolic Rate to your level of activity. TDEE is critical in tailoring your nutrition plan to desired fitness goals. Here is a link to a calculator to help you figure out how many calories you should be eating in a day.

A BIG THANK YOU to all who have been contributing, btw. Most of us are learning this way of eating as we go along. All of the links above have been posted by others in our previous threads, 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:
TellMeLater · 07/11/2012 09:48

Tip2 how are you working out your maintenance calories. Using the link in the OP I can't get your TDEE down much below 1900 - assuming you have a serious gym habit you are working out moderately 3-5 times a week. When I plug in a guess of 50kg - pretty light! your age 47 and height 5ft 5, I get 1877kcal not 1600kcals. What am I doing wrong?

mumofcrazynamedkids · 07/11/2012 10:42

frenchfancy thatbint babbas I'm with you, happy fro talkinpeace to be a gleeful size 8 and also a total gym bunny, but that isn't that way for all of us and that's fine too!

good for us all to do it in our own ways and get the best from it.

Fast day for me, after a non fast yesterday, enjoyed not eating breafast, yesterday, but tucking into a half pot of higher calorie soup and a very yummy seeded roll with butter for lunch, and then 3 gin and tonics in thevening and a delicious fishcake with cheese filling and stir fried kale with garlic, and about half a box of after eight mints! (it was a hormonally miserable day, so after eights definitely required)

half wondering about doing a half fast tomorrow, and fasting all day, but eating a normal supper at 6.30pm, we shall see, I would relly quite like to get back to the 10 11 weight i was 2 weeks ago.

also slightly fed up as i used that link someone posted to see what size i was and it says size 14, except that all my size 14 stuff is getting too big and I've started buying size 12 again, so it doesn;t really make sense?

anyway, glad that this is a life long WOE rather than a diet, i can kind of just forget and know that slowly slowly my body will get to the right size for me.

have a good day all.

loulou969 · 07/11/2012 10:51

Natasha I am 52 and also coming to the conclusion that 6:1 suits me better (but with the 500 calories on fast day as I get horrendous headaches if I eat nothing at all). I also do 1 or 2 16 hour fasts on the feed days. I haven't got a lot of weight to lose so having been doing this in various guises since August and not weighed but feel definately less bloated. It also helps with my diverticulosis by giving my digestion a rest! I agree after researching that fasting, in whatever form, is definately beneficial.
Thanks to everyone commenting and keeping this thread going as I would never have tried or sticked to this WOE without everyone's support Thanks

FoodieToo · 07/11/2012 12:47

Hi everyone. Am on my second fast day of the week. I know I am losing weight as I can feel and see it.
But am afraid to weigh myself!

Am so excited about this WOL that I am terrified to think it may not work.

Am wondering do any of you notice you cannot exercise on fast days?

I walk and run but on fast days I can only walk.Tried to do my run on a fast day last week and felt leaden! Was horrible.

TalkinPeace2 · 07/11/2012 12:47

tellmelater
I am 47, 5'5 and as of yesterday 58kg - so TDEE at moderate is 1997
and BMR is 1288
average those two and get to what my true body needs = 1600 ish
:-)

frenchfancy
you are right, I was not clear
"iam am happy" is for once you get to a happy weight and know how to stay there :-)

stillhere · 07/11/2012 12:50

natashamousse thanks so much for that article link. I'm kind of enjoying trying the 5:2, despite still sitting on the fence in terms of the potential medical benefits. Will wait to see what develops in terms of any further trials, but in the meantime, I'm eating plenty of fish and green vegetables on fast days so I can't really see a downside at the moment. Have been getting less headaches and generally less tired and smelly (anyone else got this?!) on fast days, so think I am getting the hang of it. Keep up the good work, people! Not fasting today - think one of the hardest things is trying to schedule it in on a day when I don't have social engagements, kids play dates etc. :)

TellMeLater · 07/11/2012 12:56

tip2 why do you average TDEE and BMR?

MummysHappyPills · 07/11/2012 12:56

Hi all. Just checking in. Fasting today. Feeling ok so far - my pledge to only drink fruit teas has failed - I have decided I need the teas and coffees to function!

I have skimmed milk so they do not add too many calories.

I'm on dangerous ground as I have not planned what to cook tonight and I don't have an awful lot in - what would be your top tips on what to have this evening so I don't just end up pigging out on something convenient and caloric?! I have a skinny dd and dp at home that also need feeding so something that I can potentially add calories to their portions!

squoosh · 07/11/2012 13:00

I'm fasting today too. Bit tired since I stayed up till 4am watching the US election. Just drinking water and will scoff eat my 500 cals at 7pm.

frenchfancy · 07/11/2012 13:12

Talkinpeace2 I'm sure you didn't mean to upset people, I woke up in a not good mood today and just saw red.

mummysHappyPills give us an idea what you have in (any veggies? ) and I'm sure we can come up with something.

TheCyclistist · 07/11/2012 13:13

Afternoon Tellmelater , yeah I know what you mean, people tend to see what the want to see in reports and only absorb what they want. At the end of the day we have to each weigh up the evidence and then act accordingly and it is our bodies that then benefit, or pay the price. Wink

What I find so great about this Thread is the openness people have to new ideas, and the way that we all realise that we are all finding our way with this WOL/WOE and are ready to change direction and subjectively analyse facts as they arise.

Despite finding Fast days harder than some report, I love this WOL, I love the way it makes me feel and I love the way it has changed my appearance. I also love this thread and the many posters and new ideas and spirit of mutual support that eminates from so many of the posts.

As the government said a few years back.....'we're all in this together', the only difference being possibly that we mean it Wink

frenchfancy · 07/11/2012 13:14

I was wondering why you average the TDEE and the BMR as well. Surely the whole point of the TDEE is you choose which excercise level most closely matches yours then that gives you your maintenance requiriement. No need to reduce that if you are having fast days.

GreenEggsAndNichts · 07/11/2012 13:19

Foodie you might find that changes with time. My first few fast days (over two months ago now) were grim, but after a week or two I found I could carry on with normal active activities on fast days, no problem.

Fast day here. I was also up late with the election, but caved around 2am! Have had a cup of tea so far. My fast days are all off this week but it's the only way I can keep on 4:3. I'll be happy for next week when I think I can rotate them back to their usual days. I am such a creature of habit. :)

OP posts:
NotWilliamBoyd · 07/11/2012 13:20

Hi everyone, can you cheer me up a bit please?

I'm in my 5th week now, and have last a little weight and changed shape a little, but it's slow and this week I seem to have put weight on despite having stuck rigidly to what I was doing before (and it's not hormonal, I do always retain liquid before my period but I don't even have that excuse). I had expected to have more rapid results as I'm also following the C25k running programme.

Just feeling really down about it all today.

GreenEggsAndNichts · 07/11/2012 13:20

Mummy unless you're trying to kick coffee for other reasons, there's no reason you can't have it on a fast day. I love coffee on my fast days. It's a rich flavour I can savour. :)

OP posts:
NotWilliamBoyd · 07/11/2012 13:21

I posted way up this same thread, I'm getting a really bloated stomach - not the look I'm aiming for! Hmm

MummysHappyPills · 07/11/2012 13:23

French - I really don't have much in as i have been trying to use up the fresh stuff before I went shopping again - but can go by the shops on my way home...

I probably only have in onions, garlic, couple of eggs, rice, couscous, pasta, cheese, frozen broccoli,peas, parsnips, sprouts, bread, various flours quorn fillets etc.

Really nowt at all, but if I know what ingredients i need i could maybe stay focussed in shop on my way home! Grin

Just go fuzzy fast afternoon head so can't think of anything!

mumofcrazynamedkids · 07/11/2012 13:37

mummys i would pick up some fresh broccoli or kale and mushrooms on the way home and do the quorn fillets with either stir fried broccoli/kale with garlic, chilli and a little soy sauce and lots of grilled or steamed mushrooms, you could add pasta/couscous for the kids?

or if you have a sainsburys their meal soups are very filling, but not veggie if you are? then kids could have soup too and have cheese on toast with theirs?

fatsatsuma · 07/11/2012 13:38

Ok, I'm delurking today Smile

First fast day going well so far.

Thanks for the really helpful links at the top of the thread - it's a brilliant resource.

My question: I've downloaded the MyFiitnessPal app to work out calories, but it gives several different values for the same food - a satsuma could be anything between 10 and 50 calories - which is it?Confused
Where can you find definitive calorie values?

TheCyclistist · 07/11/2012 13:40

Hi Notwilliamboyd . All I'd say is don't worry about the pace of progress. Put it this way if you had lost loads of weight in the first 5 weeks you'd have to come off this way of living sooner or later or you'd end up looking gaunt and doing yourself long term damage.

If you loose half a pound a week, in a year thats nearly 2 stone, plus you'll look like you've lost 4 stone. If you lose a pound a week that's 52 lbs in a year and you'll probably look like you've lost 72lbs.

I had problems after a few weeks of being bunged up, but it soon went so you might find your body adjusts soon. My advice for what it's worth is, continue to eat large amounts of low cal veg on Fast days (Green or fine beans, cabbage, sprouts, carrots, broccoli etc) have some protein with it to fill you up like tuna (1 can of Aldi tuna chunks is 129 cals) or beef and gravey. And remember when things get tough that the craving won't kill you and your food tomorrow will taste great and you'll soon look in the mirror and think...'YES, YOU LOOK GOOD!' Smile

mumofcrazynamedkids · 07/11/2012 13:45

hi notwilliam don't despair! I promise I was in the same position as you at about the same stage, and it was disheartening, but for some reason it was just easier to continue than to give up, I only gave up on one day at that stage in the last 12 weeks, and I've lost 11 pounds in total, not as dramatic as others, but i don't need it to be and i don't restrict at all on my other days, just as long as over the long term it is consistently going down that's all I need. I also think for me it got easier afte that first dip, because the likelihood is by next week you will be back on track and in 2 weeks you'll be seeing a real difference, and it will all be getting so much easier.

sorry to hear about the bloating, do you get that normally, and how much has your eating changed? it could just be that you're eating more pulses than normal? I haven't been getting bloating, mostly because i'm avoiding potatoes, which always bloat me, and overall I am eating less.

try some peppermint or chamomile tea, that might help?

good luck, you'll be fine!

frenchfancy · 07/11/2012 13:47

Mummys - you are right you don't have much in :). For some reason I read your list and thought prout omlette Confused , I'm fasting today so that is my excuse.

TBH if you can get to the shops then could you pick up a WW ready meal for you then do cheesy pasta with broccoli and peas for the kids?

frenchfancy · 07/11/2012 13:47

Sorry - sprout omlette. not sure what a prout is [even more confused]

mumofcrazynamedkids · 07/11/2012 13:51

talkinpeace i also want to know why you average TDEE and BMR? i've not heard that mentioned before?

Breadandwine · 07/11/2012 14:10

MHP I'd make a large veg curry with your onions, broccoli, peas, etc, and have it with 30g of rice

Should be under 300 cals - and you can add stuff for the rest of the family.