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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:
TheCyclistist · 29/10/2012 15:07

Grin sounds about right Laska. And before starting this WOL I think I used to be carrying the weight of an identical twin around with me...definiately had my chin and atleast 1 other persons from somewhere Wink

Laska42 · 29/10/2012 15:16

worryingly then, C perhaps we were actually quadruplets..(I reckon i've lost at least half a person also) Smile

madlet · 29/10/2012 15:36

Thanks for making me so welcome. I must admit I ma finding the first day really difficult and can't stop thinking about food! I may try to wait until the evening on my next fast day, (Probably Thursday). I will read the hints and tips too.

TalkinPeace2 · 29/10/2012 15:44

Stay busy.
Tidying is great. As you get a sense of achievement too!
I blitzed my under sink cupboards this morning, then cleaned the bathrooms, then hoovered.
Distraction and things that keep you OUT of the kitchen but moving around
and in my case, lashings of black coffee!

Laska42 · 29/10/2012 15:49

madlet This will take your mind off eating.. make a pot of tea.. then take a cup upstairs and get out all the clothes that are too big out and put them in a charity bag or in a pile so you can list them on ebay (you wont need them again) .

Then get out all the clothes that are too small . Imagine yourself wearing them very soon ...Then hang them back in your wardrobe right at the front .. Smile

virginposter · 29/10/2012 16:12

Hello everyone.
I have never posted anywhere before but have also been encouraged to de-lurk. I don't expect I'll post much as I'm the strong silent type 😉but I shall be avidly following everything as usual.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this as you have helped me in so many ways Thanks. I've been encouraged out hoping that perhaps I can help someone too.

Three years ago I lost nearly 3 stones at SW but put 1 back on. I tried and failed to lose it again 😢until I struck gold by watching the Horizon programme and by finding this forum. Like many of you I have embraced this WOE which has now become a WOL and found it difficult at first but now so very easy - I don't even get hungry on my fast days!

I will add my answers to the questions, below, but before that I'd like to talk about visceral fat. This is internal abdominal fat which surrounds major organs like the liver etc. As my scales measure this I have been delighted to see that I have reduced this bad fat from 9 (9-12 bad) to 8 (5-8 healthy). Now this may not seem like much of a loss but in all my years of doing SW there was no change at all and after only 7 weeks of 5:2 it went down.

According to the net, visceral fat in women contributes to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer and gallbladder surgery. So I guess that maybe this measurement (hidden normally but seen on my scales) is proof that the health advantages are working and not just the overall weight loss???
I am in the 10 stones for the first time in decades and will continue until I'm in a healthy BMI then I too will drop to 6:1 to hopefully reap long term benefits.

A) Since late August
B) 5:2 for 6 weeks then, after staying the same for the next 3 weeks, I read more of your posts and decided to try 4:3 for two weeks to see if I would start moving again. After 1 week I lost another 1 lb then another 2lbs the next week - hooray. This week I'm back to 5:2 just to experiment to see if I carry on losing.
C) Thurs and Sunday but very fexible around social arrangements. I drink lots of peppermint tea and water until 7.00 pm and then I have my 500 calories so that I'm not hungry when going to sleep.
D) Have lost 7lbs, 3.2% overall body fat and many many inches (more than a dress size) and feel wonderful and positive about keeping this up forever. Full of energy, look good and getting lots of compliments. Am 58 and through the menopause and proof that all is not lost at this age or any age come to that.
E) No negatives at all. I too love my fasting days and am looking forwards to Christmas and to testing myself.

Sorry for the long post - hope you're all still awake. 🎃

virginposter · 29/10/2012 16:14

Oops those weird numbers are emoticons on my ipad which didn't work (novice).

ToffeeChops · 29/10/2012 17:11

Hi virginposter (I was one too until last week, but virgin no longer! Smile)

It's great to hear what you say about visceral fat - I started 5:2 mainly for health reasons (turned 50 this year and want to look after myself a bit better) but I was hoping I'd lose a bit of weight in the process, having been stuck at 2 stones overweight for years.

I know what the scales are telling me about the weight loss but have no way of knowing what this is doing to my health so reading your post is very encouraging.

I'm doing 4:3 this week to make up for a VERY indulgent weekend, but it all seems so much more manageable than when I have done diet clubs, slimming plans etc. In the past, after a weekend like the one I've just had i would have gone into a tailspin but these days I just get back to the fasting and hold my nerve - and it's working! Even Mr Chops has lost his moobs, so he's chuffed to bits (and so am I! Wink)

Breadandwine · 29/10/2012 17:18

Hi VP, welcome to the new WOL board.

Great first post! Very interested in your scales - what sort are they?

Congrats on the weight loss! Smile

madlet · 29/10/2012 17:31

Thanks for the tips, i've kept myself busy at work today and have even refused home made birthday cake!!

I think it will be easier at home. I have a salmon steak for dinner with some steamed veg which I can't wait for. I will then get the kids in bed, kick husband out so I don't have to watch him eat, and knit furiously! It may take my mind off it. I'll let you know xx

Laska42 · 29/10/2012 17:41

Hi VP i'm interested also in how you are measuring the visceral fat also. I'd thought about getting some fat measuring scales but had heard that they were not that accurate (not that im trying to diss your stats at all... they sound great )

I have lost 3inches from my waist and am thrilled.. but also 3 ins from my hips (not so good as now they are only 34!) I'm a top heavy apple shape and have gone down one bra size only (so DH is pleased!Wink) .. So I'm still the same 'inverted triangle' and still have the same prob in dress fit, i.e. if it fits on the boobs its too big on the hips ..only now its a much 'smaller size' problem .Grin

It would be great to have the fat properly measured in one of those Bod Pod things that Dr Mosley ( and the Hairy Bikers/dieters) were .. I know they have one at the University of Sheffield but I don't expect you could just go knock on their door and request it.. .

mollysfolly · 29/10/2012 18:20

I bought some Salter scales from Amazon that were supposed to measure general body fat but they had no instructions and I couldn't set them up (I'm a technological philistine Grin). I guess it was a case of 'buy cheap, buy twice'. I would also love to know where the scales were from that measure visceral fat.

myjoy · 29/10/2012 18:48

Supervixen80 (sorry so slow to reply, I've been offline for a few days) I do allow myself some extra calories on fast days. I aim for 650 or so and drink lots and lots of water.

DD is 9 weeks and DS 3 years. Since life at home is pretty chaotic most of the time I am loving just not having to think or prepare food for myself more than once a day on fast days.

Spinme307 · 29/10/2012 18:53

Going to have my first fast day tomorrow and have everything planned out ready for....I excited and nervous all at the same time!

alphabite · 29/10/2012 19:12

I did my first fast day today.

I had a small bowl of cereal at about 11am.

I had a plum at about 3pm.

I am just about to have a chicken breast and veg for my tea.

About 500 calories in total.

Not too bad but I struggled a bit between 12-3pm (so I had the plum).

Next fast day probably on Friday.

Trills · 29/10/2012 19:19

Today's fast day going well, maybe because I can feel how much I ate at the weekend. Coffee, tea, big pot of soup ( butternut squash from the New York soup company) On the train on the way home now, not sure what I'll have for dinner.

Lots of tea, but I don't take sugar and there are not many calories in a few ml of semi skimmed milk.

Laska42 · 29/10/2012 19:25

Ooh people ! Exciting news!! Remember the Bod Pod that showed Dr Mosley's fat to lean mass ratio..? it seems that you CAN get it done even if youre not on the telly ..
Ive just looked up University of Westminster (ok for us 'Darrn Sauff', well its a good old train ride for me ) and they charge £45.. Link is Here.

I also know that Southampton Solent have one and they also do testing but maybe only for teams ( but ill try and find out if they do individuals and what they charge because that's nearest for me..)

Give me an hour or so and ill do a trawl of universities in other areas and see if I can come up with a useful list ....

Laska42 · 29/10/2012 20:10

OK here is a quick list of universities that have a bod pod , but I don't know if they do testing outside of their normal research apart from Uni Westminster above which advertises appointments. Also an old 2007 article from the Daily Mail ( sorry!) which might be informative I can put this on links and tips also.. if you think its useful

Daily Mail article on fat monitors (2007 article)

Bod pod testing in London

University of Warwick

Southampton Solent University

Canterbury Christchurch

University of Brighton (at Eastbourne)

University of Aberdeen

University of Newcastle ( This is the guy the hairy dieters had their fat percentage tested with)

University of Manchester

MummysHappyPills · 29/10/2012 20:13

Just done my first fast day! I had planned to skip lunch and dinner and just have hot drinks throughout the day, and then have a low cal dinner.

However I hit a bit of a wall around lunchtime and actually felt dangerously light headed at one point, so grabbed one of those individually wrapped packets of biscuits at a meeting - 3 digestives coming in at a total of 150 kcals.
The rest of the day I was fine, and whilst I was hungry when I got in, I felt ok. I had enough kcals left for an aduki bean salad and a weight watchers coconut cake slice with a cup of tea. I drunk a lot of tea and coffee today, I take skimmed milk and sweetener so I had enough calories.

Quick question, do you include exercise kcals in your allowance on fast days? I didn't do any intentional/strenuous exercise obviously, but I have to park a far walk away from work and usually there and back earns me 101 kcal on mfp...

TalkinPeace2 · 29/10/2012 20:43

Mummyhappypills
no - exercise is not negative points - unlike WW etc !
if it was, I would routinely show -50 calories on fast days because of my swimming habit!
or to put it another way, running around does not earn more than the 500 calories [hgrin]

MummysHappyPills · 29/10/2012 21:09

Thought so! Never mind... Still going to track exercise kcals on non fast days though (if I bother to track kcals at all). Got to have some incentive to do exercise! Grin

virginposter · 30/10/2012 00:22

ToffeeChops, Breadandwine* Laska42

Thanks for your warm welcome.

For everyone interested in my scales they are Omron BF511 Body Composition Monitor which you can see on Amazon. I too heard that these type of scales can be inaccurate but DrMM himself answered a question (on twitter) about his scales used at the end of the Horizon prog (they look similar to mine). He said that they may be inaccurate in the first measurement but they will at least tell you how much fat you are losing (or gaining). I think that Laska42 is right, the only true measurements are achieved by the bodpod and scanners but as many of us are unlikely to use these then body fat scales are the next best thing imho.

This WOE has amazed me. Even during the 3 weeks my weight stayed the same, I could feel that my size was reducing and my DH said my bum looked lovely and small as he was dancing behind me (we go Line Dancing 2 or 3 times a week - great excercise and good fun).
He has lost 1 stone doing 5:2 and now is maintaining on 6:1. I have actually lost 17lbs in total but that is since the beginning of January - it took me 8 months of cutting out sugar and everything else that I love to lose the first 10lbs so I am very very pleased to have lost these 7lbs in just 2 months. And like you all I am able to indulge without guilt and at last I feel that I am in control of my diet and not my diet in control of me. Grin

Laska42 · 30/10/2012 09:10

fasting for me again today .. btw I emailed Southampton Solent to see what they charge.. I still have a student card for them

MummysHappyPills · 30/10/2012 09:24

Was so relieved to be able to eat again today! Had every intention of stuffing my face, but so far I have had 2 thick slices of white toast with butter and marmite and a (skinny) chai latte from costa! I took a muffin in to work with every intention of eating it ASAP, but I have decided I don't really want it yet! Shock Isn't it funy how when you give yourself permission to eat what you like, you are really not that bothered? Grin

Think I like this already! Scales say 2.25lbs off already but I know this will be unreliable after a fast day, just couldn't help checking though! Grin

catsrus · 30/10/2012 09:27

Well

I'm working from home today so went for slouchy clothes - pulled out a long black tunic thing that I bought a couple of years ago thinking it would be slimming [hhmm] I did look like a sack of potatoes in it so shoved it back in the drawer [hsad] now it is brilliant [hgrin].

Brimming with confidence I tried on the skirt that was too tight a few weeks ago - yep, it fits - woohoo!! the scales are nicely at the bottom end of the mini fluctuations you get - so then I decided to measure my waist and confirm that I was now in a healthy range [hshock] [hblush]. I'm afraid my waist is still in the danger zone [hsad] and so I decided I would look at hip to waist ration because surely that would show I was now healthy [hconfused]. Nope - I still have a good few inches to go before that's going to be the case.

But as someone said upthread about feeling in control of my body now - it didn't send me into a spiral of despair and a mountain of toast [hsmile]. it's a non-fast day today so I'll make a big healthy spicy beany veggie stew. not worry about calories but be sensible. I'm trying to decide whether it's worth doing the 16hr fast even on non calorie restricted days - I think some people on here are trying that? more for the health benefits if my abdominal fat still is too high.