5:2 Diet Thread! Number 8, fast away fast away fast away all!

[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 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. You'll find a lot of support here.

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. Here is a link to the programme's page on iPlayer, which features a couple of clips, and might have updates eventually. Let us know if you find another site hosting 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. 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. (This is a new calculator to previous threads, this one seems to give me approximately the same results the last one did, but without the virus warnings on my browser!)

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!

Meant to add. I feel slimmer because of the less bloated feeling. I don't expect I have lost weight yet after one day (lthough it would be nice)

Another successful day here, it was an eating day but I ate 3 meals, didn't gorge, made up my calories with seeds and raw chocolate and don't feel deprived, I feel happy.

Just off to read the Getting Stronger link (thanks for posting), I am very obese and my eating was out of control, so sounds interesting.

The Fast Diet is now the fastest selling book on Amazon - and the Kindle version is out on the 10th Jan.

Here's a review with a comment from Dr Mike himself - the exchange reveals a bit about the process:

www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/book_reviews/the-fast-diet-by-michael-mosley-and-mimi-spencer/

Now it seems that every food writer and her/his dog is busy cobbling together >500 calorie recipes!

Nice to see all the newcomers joining in! And good that we're ahead of Facebook - I can't get on with that, at all!

Hi all, hope you don't mind me joining in!!! I've been losing weight through calorie counting and exercise for around 5 months and have lost around 2 stone, but I've been looking at the 5:2 diet for sometime due to its associated health benefits! However... I have a couple of queries, and I'm getting a bit overwhelmed with going through all of the threads!! So hope you don't mind me asking!! Firstly, I thought that on fast days you were supposed to cut calories down to 500, but I've since read that you're only supposed to cut 1,100 from your TDEE? That gives me over 1000 calories on a fast day?? I exercise 6 days a week and burn 600-800 calories a time. I don't want to stop training as I love it!! So.... On my fast days should I drop to 500 calories? Even if I burn 800 calories that day through exercise (let alone calories used just staying alive!!) Or should I minus 1,100 from by basic daily need calories+exercise burnt calories a day?

Sorry to be a pain! But I'm desperate to get it as right as I can from the off, and really don't want to give up training!! Or faint after training actually....lol!!! Thanks so much!!

Hi chicken

Nobody one here minds posters asking questions - we all had to start somewhere.

You do need to keep your calories down to 500 calories on your fasting days. TDEE helps you to calculate the calories you shouldn't go over on your feeding days.

Calories burnt by exercise don't count in this WOE, I'm afraid. And there's no need to give up any training - in fact, if you can exercise on your fasting days, that's more beneficial. I myself feel much more energised on my fasting days - sometimes I'm absolutely buzzing after 24 hours without food.

Best wishes - and let us know how you get on!

Chicken - the way you re doing it, you should work on a weekly basis, rather than daily. Count your calories over the week, stick to 500 on fast days, and eat your exercise cals on normal days. Don't forget to average out your cals, so that you don't get a weekly deficit of more than 7000.

Ah you heroes! Thanks for your quick replies!! Right then, I'm off to bed ready for fast day number one tomorrow. I much prefer the one easy rule of not going over 500cals...it's my training rest day tomorrow so seems a good day for a trial! Thanks all so much

Hi Chicken, I was very similar to you in having been losing weight for a while with exercise and calorie restriction before finding intermittent fasting. For me this has been 100 times better, but you'll see this for yourself within a month of starting. Not enough evidence in to say for sure what's the best way to do this-however I strongly advise starting with 500 cals on your fasting days and tinkering with things later. As for exercise I cycle between 20 to 40 miles a day, 5 days a week weather allowing and generally don't have much of a problem with it interacting with this WOE.

Good luck

chicken The 500 number comes from the fact that it's 1/4 of the average calories needed for a woman for a day. 600 for men because their average is higher, 600 is close to the 1/4 for them.

I've not heard the 1100 number before yet.

Welcome to the thread :)

Miriham posted this on the Tips thread:

"Hello all,

The eat stop eat diet seems amazing but I need some help. I am quite good once in the zone but it's quite hard to go from the 'eating' phase to the fasting phase. If one minute you are able to tuck into cholocate fingers guilt free, I'm finding it hard to switch that happy state off. Any advice would be warmly welcomed. Thanks!"

Like you, I find that once I'm 'In the zone', I find it easy to switch off, and I'm not tempted in the slightest. However, once I can eat what I want, I find myself continually snacking. Like tonight, since I had a cup of cocoa at around ten, I've had a piece of carrot cake, three biscuits and I'm just finishing the leftover lentil curry I'd provisionally earmarked for tomorrow's lunch.

However, I have a secret weapon up my sleeve! Depending on where I am with my weight (and it's up a bit over the past week or so), I can either just forget about it OR have a 'mini-fast' tomorrow - telling myself that, since I had breakfast 'last night', I won't have breakfast - or lunch - tomorrow.

Hope that makes sense!

Hi all. I was a regular on the earlier threads and have namechanged. Just popping in to say I was really ill with proper flu over Xmas. I didn't eat for a week but since recovering I can't stop eating. Not huge amounts but think my body is craving food as it had none for ages. I'm back to
5:2 tomorrow as feeling really fat and bloated although I have only gained 1-2 lbs in total. I was one of the ones who list nothing for 2 months when starting and then I got into a good rhythm of losing 1lb a week before I got ill.

I have to say I agree with a previous poster who said that fasting lowers resistance to infection. I suffered with terrible colds in the first few months of this diet. Fatigue, headaches etc. and then having the flu for the first time in my adult life. Inherently I feel that fasting has somehow made me more prone to catching every virus out Theresa I can't remember the last time I was ill before fasting. I do however feel better mentally and physically with fasting and am hoping my immune system is building itself up!

I'm worried about going back to fasting tomorrow after two weeks off but don't want to delay any longer. So this week will be a 6:1 and the back to 4:3 next week. Good luck everyone!

Oh I should add that although I've not fasted for about 18 days about 9 days were non eating days. I wonder if this enforced fasting helped keep my gain low? Who knows.

This really started for me today, I had a 20hr fast and had 564 cals I found it fairly easy going and quite enjoyed it. Even watch the programme again on line.

Second fast of the week today and will struggle as had rather more that i should have last night and i'm am paying for it this morning. I have managed to post a very basic Dry curry recipe over on Frenchfancy's recipie thread. All i can say is it tatses good and you can modify it as much or as little as your calories will allow. Its very nice if you have laskas Cumin baked cauliflower on the side for a different texture... Off to muck out now and then to work for lots of black coffee and not much else until tonight- at least thats the plan.

Morning all. I have to say in terms of imunune system I think fasting helps rather than hinders. DH and I have only had one cold since starting this in September (and no tummy bugs at all). Given how wet it has been, the fact we have young children and we are both active in the school where there have been lots of bugs around I think that is pretty amazing.

Fasted yesterday and managed to lose almost all of the weight I put on :)

Greeneggs I know what you mean about the face book group, I'll keep an eye on it but I don't think I'll be very active there. People seem to be trying to complicate the diet there.

5lb off already (one fast day but at 700 not 500) and one normal day yesterday (including 'normal' chocolate and wine!). I know will not all be fat lost but still a motivating start!

Hello! Another newbie here I've been lurking on this thread since Christmas and managed my first fast day yesterday, about 700 not 500 but I was happy. I'm hoping to realise the health benefits and lose weight and feel better in the process. I'm not going to excercise on fast days for now, mainly because a really good workout makes me ravenous and I don't want to set myself up to fail. Although having said that I did do a balance class last night and that was fine . Thanks to all if you on the thread for the information, I'm really positive about this change and looking forward to 2013!

Welcome everyone. Weighed myself this am which I don't usually do after a fast day & I'm back to pre Xmas weight (not a proper reflection I know but still).

I've been taking a multi vitamin on fasting days so if anyone is concerned about their immune system that may be a good place to start. Having said that both my rheumatologists were very positive about this WOE & since I have a reduced immune system I'm sure they would have not allowed me to do it!

Interestingly I have horrid virus at moment which came on in the holidays when I had time off from fasting. Not sure what that means though!

A special hello and welcome to laurylou ...looks like we all missed your first post!

Fast day today.

Thanks for the recipe pie will try it out next fast. Have haddock with roasted veg planned for tonight.
I was the other poster who has had 2 fevers since starting fasting. Before that the last fever I had was in 1998! I googled for information on the connection and could find little evidence to support my worry that fasting and lower immunity are connected. I'm still not 100% convinced, time will tell.

Off for an hours work out in the park, I don't struggle with exercise on fasting days but we are all different, figure out what works for your own body and work with it not against it. And remember lots of people find their body's response to fasting changes over time.

Hi all. Glad that we are back to it after xmas and welcome to the newcomers too.

Just to add to the discussion earlier about exercise, I don't do that much formal exercise. I do about half an hour on the cross trainer a few times a week and I am generally quite active in my job with lots of walking and time on my feet. I exercise regardless of whether it is a fast day or not and I don't feel any difference when exercising. I think I have more than enough fat stores on my body to fuel 200 calories worth of walking!

Hi again peeps . I dont do facebook so cant comment on friendliness or not , but so glad to know those who do will be staying here !(where we are all very friendly!).

so for newjoiners Welcome!!

So It seems that people on FB (from what I read here ) are trying to complicate things ,and in some ways I can understand that , as all diets and eating plans previous to this Have relied on been complicated 'science' and do take up a lot of headspace.

And that is why I think they are so alluring, with their promises of 'if only you follow this you will succeed' AND as a way of justifying why they ultimately DID NOT succeed ( 'well' you didn't follow the Plan to the Letter! So no wonder it hasn't worked!')

But the beauty of this WOE is its so simple and Yes , you DO need to follow the 'Plan' but Hey! its just 500 (or 600 for blokes) Two days a week ..that's it DeadEasy

We generally feel here that It works out best to stop eating one evening , eat 500/600 cals over the whole of the next day and night , eat normally again the day after

Of course we all have different small add ons , but these are just personal preferences. Some of us do 4:3 , some their two days back to back , some eat 2 meals on fast days and some eat only one.. As for me, I have strongly advocated that you have 14/16 hours on fast days without eating anything at all ( No calorie drinks allowed!)

BUT stick in the 500/600 zone on fast days,and you'll be fine

I've lost 21lbs over 4 months doing this ( and shifted 5 inches from my middle which was stubborn fat id had sat least 10 yrs) and I dont exercise a huge amount - mainly walking and cycling (though I keep meaning to change my slothful ways )

bro I'm proud of you for resisting the lure of toast!! Well done, you'll soon be back to your slimmer self and anyway think of what you'll look like in the lycra if you dont!

Morning everyone . Lovely eating day for me today .. However I'm sticking this yesterdays fast out until lunch at least because the more I read , (Dr Ms book and the Getting Stronger website) the more I'm convinced of the benefits of an extended period of not eating anything at all , so now aiming for eight hour eating windows on fast days followed by another 19/ 22 hours total fast after. (somehow there seems to be a psychological 'stop' for me at that point , as I havent made the whole 24 yet!! )

Anyway good luck fasters today ..

Morning Laska, yeah it really was touch and go yesterday morning. Couldn't agree more about the16 hour + period without eating, the evidence looks pretty strong