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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! 7 is our lucky number...

991 replies

GreenEggsAndNichts · 19/11/2012 12:57

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 2012, 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.

I know a number of people lurk on this thread, as this is currently quite popular. Please just jump in and post if you're new- we won't bite. Well, maybe on a fast day. Wink

Here is a list of links to get you started with this way of eating. Please let us know if you find a new article or some other information online:

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

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.

Here is where I would link to the aforementioned Horizon programme, but it appears as if the BBC have finally noticed it on YouTube and have taken it down. If you have another link for this episode, please PM me with it, or post it to the thread and we'll put it up for the next thread.

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 all the links re-copied and back into one post.

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

OP posts:
Thegirlinbrighton · 05/12/2012 15:45

On the other hand, the good thing about 5:2 at Christmas is that you have extra advent calendar chocolates to eat for non-fast days...

GreenEggsAndNichts · 05/12/2012 16:27

Oh those responses from the Genesis diet researcher are interesting. I'd read the excessive milk was also for the calcium so many women lack.

Which brings me to something I've been meaning to say, but, I hope everyone is taking vitamin supplements! At the very least, vitimin D + calcium supplements. (check ingredients to make sure it's vitamin D3) By virtue of all our of comments, I know we're drinking milk/eating dairy very little on our fast days, so we need to make up for that.

And if you take another supplement, try to avoid iron and calcium together, as the body won't absorb them as well.

As you were. Xmas Wink

OP posts:
Bordercollielover · 05/12/2012 17:50

Yes also b**y freezing and have chucked out all last year's winter clothing as it was TOO BIG now. I hoped to hang on a bit longer and get a new wardrobe to celebrate reaching size 12 for the first time in 20 plus years. Seems a shame to get things when, for the first time ever, I know that I am just "passing through" each size on my way down!!

frenchfancy · 05/12/2012 19:19

I know what you mean bordercollielover I spent some of my weekend enjoying quality retail therapy in London - and all I got myself was a shiny new belt!

The suitcase was filled to the brim with PJs for the rest of the family though after sqpending too long in Primark.

I'd be up for a meet up if it were this side of the channel, or I'm back over end of Feb.

Laska42 · 05/12/2012 22:02

bordercollielover one word. ebay . I've sold lots of my big stuff and then bought 'transition' stuff and then resold it .. in fact on this WOE i've had to resell stuff i bought for the winter in the early autumn and had to have to look for the same in smaller sizes .. ( sometimes i've even made a profit! Grin)

Cyclistist Yes! I feel the same . A school friend saw David Bowie when he was still playing pubs and she converted me (though I never saw him live , how I regret that now) , and I saw the 'pre Genesis' group and Simply Red also on pub circuit .. .. felt kind of cheated when they all became phenomenal..as they were 'mine'

Re TTC etc and female studies . I'm post meno now (hooray!!) , and so maybe it works better for us older birds, but greeneggs you are right would be interesting to see studies of younger women, But perhaps we are the study group.. we just need someone like Dr MM to put some researchers in touch with us.. Fingers xd for TTC though I wish you luck with it a but good to know that you'll stil be with us ..

GirlWMH West Sussex? I'm on IOW now but always going over Chichester Arundel, Worthing way .. used to live there and have friends I visit regularly. I looked up the soup.. it sounds fab , and found some recipes might give it a go .

So i'm still up for meeting/eating sometime if anyone fancies, I could easily do Hants, Dorset, Sussex London or Hertfordshire .. all a bit south east-y , but if anyone is interested and would like to PM me maybe we could find somewhere we could do , sometime in the new year perhaps . Hate to be 'Cityist' , but i suppose London me may be best ..

Lets see ... no pressure .. only if people think its a fun idea ..

BTW out of rude interest .. who's in Dubai?

Laska42 · 05/12/2012 22:33

Cold yes..me also .. I've had to put the winter duvet on for the first time in years, although (too much information emoticon here ) , we meno women don't tend to get too cold..

Poor DH has got rather confused as he's used to having the duvet flung on and off at intervals and now I'm complaining of the cold .

I'm sitting here right now ( with heating still on ) wearing 4 layers and have bought myself 'slipper sock' boots today ..(though I may have to wrap them up and pretend to DH that I have been given them in a secret santa as he will have a 'bad style... why on earth are you wearing those ' attack )Xmas Smile

Worth it though , most definitely worth it.. Grin

Laska42 · 05/12/2012 22:41

Being cold is worth it I mean . A small price to pay for everything else we get on this WOE , and there's always woollies, warm socks , fires, snuggly rugs, D Others, Kids and dogs n' pusscats to cuddle up to...

TalkinPeace2 · 05/12/2012 23:04

thermal socks and baggy jumpers ..... :-)

starlady · 05/12/2012 23:26

Laksa, girlwmh, green eggs & anyone else interested in the menstrual side, this is my 5th week, I started 5/2 at the end of my LMP. At 42 I am considered peri menopausal & heavy periods lasting over a week are the norm for me. This month, my period is shorter by 2 days. Bonus.

GirlWithTheMouseyHair · 06/12/2012 01:53

that is a massive bonus starlady

Laska my mum and Dad are near Shoreham by Sea....actually just bought s ton of chilli chocolates for Dad and I to enjoy and thought of you!

Laska42 · 06/12/2012 08:59

GWTMH I lived in and around Shoreham by sea for 20 years! wouldnt it be strange if i knew you? (or your parents? ) though pretty unlikely... its fairly big place and it sounds like you are a lot younger than me..

starlady .. careful we have sensitive men here .. dont look MOB

Jobyloo · 06/12/2012 09:44

Morning peeps, been on twitter and MM answered my question re women having 600cals instead of 500 and he said should be fine...so think I will stick with that. Have also asked about what his research is saying about the best split of those cals. He's not replied yet but will let you know if he does. I expect all that info will be in the book.

I'm fasting today but have found that on none fast days that I'm not eating until about 3pm because I'm not hungry...mind you make up for it once I start Xmas Wink. Does anyone else eat much later now on non fast days?

Hope you're having a fab day what ever you're upto Xmas Smile

nminx · 06/12/2012 09:54

Hello all, just chipping in with an update. Today is exactly 17 weeks from my first weigh in.
Some of you may remember me moaning about only losing ten pounds (which all went in the first 3 weeks) and then NOTHING for weeks and weeks.

It was highly frustrating as I seemed to be doing the same thing as most people on here - 2 days a week usually Mon and Wed fasting, rest of the time eating normally (and sometimes eating waaayyyy more than normally!)
Anyway had to chop and change the days in the last few weeks which has bizarely resulted in weightloss. 3 - 4 pounds off on today's weigh in!
So in total 13 pounds gone. I am delighted. I feel great. Not just slim, all the problems I had with headaches, flu etc have all gone.
I positively slid into my previously tight jeans this morning too!
It has been interesting reading about how this WOE is affecting the different age groups. I am 45 and have a myrena coil. I wonder if the hormone release in that could have had an effect.

Good luck today feeders and fasters, I started today with peanut butter on toast. Yum!

fretfree · 06/12/2012 10:01

Hi all,

I've been reading the posts for a while and have been doing ADF for about four weeks, six months after having a baby. So far I have lost about 5 1/2 kg and I really like this way of eating. It suits me. I don't feel hungry on down days and find that I don't really pig out on up days.

I was doing a bit of research, however, having read the discussions further up about the potential differences between impacts on male and female bodies and found this link: www.paleoforwomen.com/shattering-the-myth-of-fasting-for-women-a-review-of-female-specific-responses-to-fasting-in-the-literature/

It is sobering reading and I would be really interested to see what people think, especially about the part on changes to fertility and cycles.

myjoy · 06/12/2012 10:07

I realize it's a little early but I want to wish you all a Happy Christmas, ( or whatever holiday you're celebrating). I'm going to be offline for a bit as I move in a few days from UK back to California, but I look forward to hearing about everyone's successes when I can plug back in.

TalkinPeace2 · 06/12/2012 11:04

fretfree
palaeo for women is opinion, not research - do not worry too much.
And WELL DONE.

myjoy
enjoy the sunshine when you get there

tiggy114 · 06/12/2012 11:08

Hi fretfree. That was interesting to read. I have found i can't sleep till around midnight most nights now but to be honest i'm over the moon at this side effect! I was one of those who couldn't stay awake past 9.30 and used to moan that i was missing out on s big chunk of life that my oh was getting. So i'm pleased. And i don't feel tired in the mornings. As for af issues, we've had all our kids so to be honest i'd rather be healthy and slim than fertile now. It's inportant to be aware of all the side effects of something but this wouldn't make me quit IF as i've never felt healthier. Saying that, i plan to cut back to 6:1 when i've lost a bit of weight.

Breadandwine · 06/12/2012 11:22

"starlady .. careful we have sensitive men here "

Laska, please don't think you have to spare our blushes - women have a lot to put up with without feeling the need to consider men's feelings all the time:

"God I hate being a woman sometimes...." (Girlwiththemouseyhair)

I know this is a long time ago - 56 years ago, in fact - but I, with three sisters (two of them older than me) and a mother, began my National Service at 18 without knowing anything about women's periods! [shocked]

The more we know about each other - women and men, I mean - the more we can empathise. And men in particular have a long way to go.

Snowkey · 06/12/2012 11:26

fretfree I think it's noteworthy that not much research has been done on woman. I've see it suggested that women do better on shorter fasts...might be worth considering if you find longer fasts tough. Fasting has affected my cycle to the point where I thought I was peri menopausal, but it seems not, if I was still in the business of trying for babies I don't think I would be fasting, getting a period back can be a tricky challenge for some. Not much is known about the negative side effects of fasting, it's a chance you take and hope that the general pay off is health improvement.

ThinkICan · 06/12/2012 11:49

What do you ladies say on figs? Not the real fruit, I get only the dried version. Happened to lose weight the day after eating figs on two occasions. But not after that. Read that it adds fibre, bulk, calcium, helps lose weight. Am stalled now for 4 weeks, and feeling down in the mouth :(

ThinkICan · 06/12/2012 11:53

And gents too of course! We have some very helpful gentlemen on our thread.

virginposter · 06/12/2012 12:21

thinkican
100 g of dried figs is 249 cals which is way too much when trying to lose weight. I expect you lost before when eating them because of the high fibre which emptied your system.
Are you doing 5:2 or 4:3? I too stalled for 3 weeks or so on 5:2 so tried 4:3 and lost a couple of lbs that week. I have since done both but now only lose on 4:3 but I expect that's because I only have about 7lbs to go (lost 22lbs total). Hope this helps. Xmas Smile

tiggy114 · 06/12/2012 12:46

Nearly caved today on my fast. Took ds to the sweet emporium and he chose some sweets. They have an american sweets section so i got a snickers almond for tommorow. Well i was so cold when i got home that i made myself a coffee and ate the snickers. 230 cals Blush i figured i'd just fast tmz instead. But now i don't feel hungry at all! I'm wondering if it was all the nuts (crammed full of em) . I think i can easily wait till tea time and have my low cal soup thereby having a fast day afterall. Weird. I would never have eaten a choc bar on fast day before. Prob won't again but interesting non the less.

fretfree · 06/12/2012 13:03

It's interesting what you say Snowkey. There do seem to be a fair few of posters as well who say they have stalled. HOWEVER, as we stand, this seems to work for me (although I did find it quite challenging at the weekend up in the mountains at minus 14. Very cold).

I tend not to eat until the evening on my fast days, with the exception of some milk for tea during the day. I've found that peas are very filling, and only 43 cal for 100g!!

Jossysgiants · 06/12/2012 14:07

Hi all - on second fast day and have already lost 3 pounds so am thrilled! Feeling better already. In fact my appetite was much less than usual on feed days. Just made a quick seafood soup which made 2 large bowls for under 200 calories. Delicious! Quick question - my husband is doing this- he is being diligent but is losing less than me which is strange as he is bigger and has quite a bit to lose I expected him to have more success. In fact when we have done eating plans before, I have tended to lose more. He seems to really struggle to get weight off. He is 15 stone and needs to lose at least 2 stone. Any other chaps who have had similar difficulties, and any suggestions?

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