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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:
MakeHayNotStraw · 09/11/2012 09:36

Well, I'm fasting today, and going to really try this time. So far so good, a bit headachy but tbf that could be lack of sleep too (broken sleep on fast days will not register, thanks to my insomniac children!).

Please don't shoot me, but I don't want to lose too much weight, so was also wondering if the benefits of 6:1 are the same as 5:2.....

lilacbluebell · 09/11/2012 09:38

morning all. attempting 3rd fast day today, not sure how it's going to go, but can only try

delphie I have similar to lose Sad

going to decorate the kitchen today, so won't be able to get to any cupboards to snackWink (this is not a tactic to help me through the day BTW, it is a pre-xmas job as DH has invited the family to ours this year and there is lots to be done ), need to be done enough to cook tonight though - my stir fry is ready to reheat, but if I have to do pizza for the boys (instead of cooking as planned) it will kill me!

I bought some sachets of miso soup the other day - does it taste of fish?

frenchfancy · 09/11/2012 09:50

Makehay why would we shoot you? M.Mosley went down to 6:1 as he didn't want to loose more weight. I am certainly planning to when I eventually get there. I have no idea if you get the full benefits, but you have got to get some of them right?

MakeHayNotStraw · 09/11/2012 09:58

frenchfancy very true - I remember MM saying he was looking a bit gaunt on 5:2. (I didn't want to come across as stealth boasting by saying I had no weight to lose - truthfully a few months ago I did, but then I had an ectopic pg all summer that I didn't know about, and it dropped off. So now I'm worried about losing any more... Not a method I recommend, obviously. ).

I'm currently remembering that I really don't like green tea. Anyone have ideas for tea-like infusions that I can make that taste nicer?!

BuntCadger · 09/11/2012 10:20

I'm not wanting to stop this WOE. I've done 5:2 for every week past 3 months bar 3, when I did 4:3. It's not just weight loss, but the other health benefits. I'm now 9st6 at 5'3" and wouldn't want to go less than 8s7lb. I just don't know wether the wright will just stop and I continue 5:2 or wether I switch to 6:1. I don't want to creep back up or lose health benefits. Dh is doing great too.

On 5:2 I do them with a day or 2 inbetween. I do not restrict calories on feed days and do not long feed days either. On a fast day I don't eat till lunch or later.

GreenEggsAndNichts · 09/11/2012 10:35

Piebald congratulations :) loved your last post!

Bunt really well done! I believe a follow-up blog said that Mosley dropped down to 6:1 as he felt he was losing a bit too much weight. I think you would still get some health benefits from that kind of fast, or perhaps research will show that doing some shorter fasts (these 16 hour fasts we keep mentioning) might be sufficient for some health benefits as well. All guesses on my part, though.

oh I see makehay has said what I did! What I get for skimming. :) Well, as I said, I do wonder if shorter fast periods would be the way forward when someone is at their ideal BMI.

Jester it's so much easier when both of you are doing it. My DH joined me after I told him what I was doing, and he's really doing well with it (and ofc I'm the one who needs to lose more, sigh)

OP posts:
Louboo2245 · 09/11/2012 11:06

So I need some help and some support. I have been doing alternative fast/feast days for the past 3 weeks, after I my DH started and I saw the benefits for him, good weight loss, less back and joint pain, so thought I would join him and reap some of the same. I am lagging now, my weight loss hasn't been as much as I would hope (6/7 pounds in 3 weeks). I am very overweight and expected weight to come off quicker than this in the first few weeks and then slow down.
Not feeling very energetic, even on my feast days and get very snappy on my fast days. Has anyone else had these problems?

Iwearblack · 09/11/2012 11:53

louboo2245 though you are disappointed with 'only' losing 6/7 pounds this is a good weight loss in 3 weeks. If you keep this up you will soon see a real difference in your body shape too. I believe lots of others have had slow and steady losses (with lots of stalling at 1 weight inbetween).
i have lost about the same as you in 8 weeks and have been the same weight for the last 2 : I am taking comfort in the fact that others are taking a while to lose weight too (but do get there). I have a lot more to lose Sad.
I like the feeling of control on fast days - it is so easy to get into patterns of overeating that you don't even realise you do (choccy biscuits and hot chocolate before beddy bye byes; who says romance is dead!)
makehay I recommend black earl grey tea or peppermint. I am going to try the triple ginger that was recommended upthread too as I love all things ginger and this may have a bit of zing.
Also a wee dash of peri-peri sauce good to add to almost anything to make it tasty on fast days!

frenchfancy · 09/11/2012 11:54

Louboo 6-7 lbs in 3 weeks is really good, sustainable weight loss. It is very difficult on any diet to maintain that sort of loss every week. This WOE isn't about quick weight loss, it is about changing the way we eat so that we can all be healthy LONG TERM.

I get snappy on fast days as well, especially around 6pm. I find it helps to be organised and have all the families meals organised in the morning so I don't have to think in the evening.

Lack of energy can be helped by excercise. Not necessarily a gym class, just a short walk will help.

Keep it up, at this rate you will have lost 1.5 stone by christmas! And nearly 4 stone by next easter! Imagine that

FoodieToo · 09/11/2012 12:00

Wondering have any of you found your losses erratic?
I lost 3 pounds the first week,one pound the second week but have lost nothing this week...
Now I had mid term in there,always 'difficult' on the food front.

But was wondering is this a sign I need to do 4:3,which really does not appeal.

Thanks!

Bordercollielover · 09/11/2012 12:05

Louboo, there is evidence elsewhere which suggests that losing weight at faster rates than you are doing is potentially bad news owing to the release of harmful toxins stored in the fat, so I think your loss sounds just right!

Louboo2245 · 09/11/2012 12:08

Thanks peeps. Nice to know I'm not alone and it is actually working right for me x

GreenEggsAndNichts · 09/11/2012 12:20

Louboo count me as another who says to stick with it. You aren't going to see the change this soon, but another few weeks and you will. You didn't gain the weight all at once, so you can't expect it to fall off all at once, either. (sorry to trot this old line out, but it's true!) Your weight loss is at a healthy pace. Well done. :)

OP posts:
Louboo2245 · 09/11/2012 12:34

Thanks x Has anyone looked at raspberry ketones? In my desperate hours I looked at this as it's marketed as a bit of a quick fix, but also gives you more energy apparently, which with feeling a bit lathargic on my fast days might help. Anyone any knowledge?

MakeHayNotStraw · 09/11/2012 13:00

Hi lou - I have no wise words, but 6/7 lb sounds like a great start to me.

After a 16 hour fast I've just had a miso soup and a few scraps of sandwich from the DCs' lunch - how do others avoid the temptation to Hoover up the leftovers?! I need something to distract me this afternoon....
Thanks for the tea recommendations, I think I have some earl grey somewhere if I can bear it without milk. Confused

GreenEggsAndNichts · 09/11/2012 13:05

makehay I have my teas and coffees with a bit of milk. There's no problem with it as long as you're counting the calories?

OP posts:
MakeHayNotStraw · 09/11/2012 14:09

Good point, although this morning I was aiming or a 16 hour full fast so tried to avoid all calories..... No morning cuppa!!!

I wondered how possible it was to make your own fruit "teas" - I've done mint and ginger before, but there must be others!

GirlWithTheMouseyHair · 09/11/2012 15:35

Sorry all just time to skim read and check, brother is now here for 3 weeks, attempting to fast without really mentioning it so we'll see how that goes!

Went for dinner with some friends last night and found one has fasted every Monday for the last 2 years!! There were friends of hers there who'd known her for several years who had no idea but were interested when we started talking about it.

She does IF, so 24hours pure fast (dinner to dinner) as opposed to what we're doing (which I've realized in my case tends to work out as 500cals in 36 hours), but like me does it for maintaining weight while not having to "diet" reasons

We live in LA so all our friends from home are very wary of us taking on faddy eating to fit the aesthetic here so it's a relief to have found a friend doing it (or a version of) as well

Breadandwine · 09/11/2012 15:43

Just posted a link to a description of 'Autophagy' on 'The fasting connection' on the Tips and Links thread.

Autophagy is the cell repair mode most of us are aiming for.

babbas · 09/11/2012 16:07

This is random but has anyone noticed a change in their smell? Body odour? I know it sounds strange and I promise I'm not stinky but since doing fasting I have no body smell whatsoever! I'm pleased.

literarygeek · 09/11/2012 16:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MakeHayNotStraw · 09/11/2012 16:57

literarygeek thank you, I'll try those!

Might have given in to a Jaffa cake. 1/10 of my calories!!! Shock Still, the fact I stopped at one is some sort of minor triumph.

rainbow23 · 09/11/2012 17:56

Hey, I started the diet two weeks ago. I lost 2 pounds on the first week.

I'm on the second week and I normally weigh myself every Monday but I couldn't help myself and I weighed myself today since my second fasting day of the week was yesterday (still have two eating days before the week ends.)

I gained the two pounds. What am I doing wrong?

Breadandwine · 09/11/2012 18:01

As instructed advised by the good folk on here Thanks, I bought my wife a box of Lindor chocolates, today - partly as a treat for having lost a significant amount of weight since she last weighed in, and partly as a normal thing for a husband to do occasionally.

I have to say they were very well received! "Are you trying to get me fat again," she laughed, "Thank you, they're my favourites!"

And I'd never known!

She gave the box straight back to me and they're now sitting on top of the cupboard. I'll report back when they're gone. Bear in mind that the box of Thornton's lasted an impressive 13 days! Smile

TalkinPeace2 · 09/11/2012 18:07

I had to work all day today (am currently writing up my report) so missed gym and weigh in.
Will do it Monday. But a supremely fit 70 year old gym friend commented how trim I looked after my early morning swim .... Well chuffed.

For those not losing weight.
Another option for mixing it up a bit.
On your fast days, if you currently have several meals, switch to one and vice versa - as a meal is easier to calorie count than snacks

Also on your non fasting days, are you staying within your TDEE - not calorie "counting" per se, but making sure that you are not nibbling up to much more than offsets the restricted days. Its so, so easy to do.

It comes down to planning meals rather than randomly opening the fridge or larder. Hard, but once you've cracked it for 6 weeks you'll have it sussed.