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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! Number 9, welcoming the new year...

999 replies

GreenEggsAndNichts · 10/01/2013 00:14

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 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. This might be a good place to catch up with us if you're feeling a bit lost!

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.

B&W has found a new link to the aforementioned Horizon programme here. If you're keen to see it, watch it soon, because BBC has been quick to find these copies and shut them down online. We're hoping they'll re-play it again soon. I know these threads are popular, maybe they'll read my request. Wink

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!

OP posts:
TalkinPeace2 · 13/01/2013 14:57

Ghana
rather than guessing, start using MFP to check your exact calories. Less to count than to get a real feel for what is in what.

And yes, your TDEE drops as you lose weight. I'm 5'5 and my TDEE is under 2000 because there's not much of me but I'm a gym bunny.

Joeys
be careful of chutneys - they are chock full of calories !

Ezzza · 13/01/2013 15:01

Oh dear, yesterday I broke my fast. After spectacularly failing an exam yesterday I found myself in Macdonalds. A Big Mac and fries, 3 packets of M&Ms and some serious retail therapy later I went to bed. I decided not to post yesterday as I didn?t want to risk ranting at you lovely friendly people, so I thought I?d wait until I was feeling more cheery about it all, or at least more stoic.

Feeling better about it today. I do like that about this WOE. On daily calorie restriction based diets I?ve done in the past I beat myself up for ages after falling off the wagon, but not with this WOE. I?ve already had two successful fast days this week (I?m doing 4:3) which is stopping me feeling like a failure. I know I?ll be able to carry on next fast day!

TalkinPeace2 · 13/01/2013 15:06

Ezzza
No, you did not "break your fast" or "fall off the wagon"
You just had a change in circumstances and moved it to another day.
And all exams can be retaken.

Seriously.
I've been having a fast day and then DH comes home ravenous and stressed and we have a big supper and a bottle of wine. So I fast the next day instead. So long as I (roughly) get two a week done, it will be fine.

Ghanagal1717 · 13/01/2013 15:10

Talkinpeace....sorry but what's MFP?

TalkinPeace2 · 13/01/2013 15:13

www.myfitnesspal.com/

Ghanagal1717 · 13/01/2013 15:15

OH!!!!! lol....sheepishly saying thanks

TalkinPeace2 · 13/01/2013 15:21
Grin its really useful because you can put in ingredients and everything to accurately work out your intake

remember that tea with milk, need to take account of the milk and the sugar....
a lady on another thread had been calorie counting for years but not included her 8 cups of tea a day, each with three sugars !

orange juice is 100 calories a glass for example : 1/5 of your fasting day allowance!

joeysdreamgarden · 13/01/2013 15:40

TalkinPeace2 I don't think it's too bad, I have one tablespoon which is 15 cals, which I count in of course.

Does anyone know of a low cal warm & spicy sauce (but not Tabasco, that's TOO hot!) that I could use on my salad instead of chutney?

Snowkey · 13/01/2013 16:21

joey Tabasco green is quite mild - otherwise I'd use a mild chilli powder.

literarygeek · 13/01/2013 16:26

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Flojobunny · 13/01/2013 16:49

The trouble is on MFP tea with milk and sugar seems to come up with loads of different cals, its hard to know which one is right.

joeysdreamgarden · 13/01/2013 16:49

Snowkey thank you, I hadn't heard of that so will seek it out & give it a try. I used sprinkle on a bit of ground mixed spice which was ok but I don't fancy it now. Tabasco green might be the way to go.
Thank you, Literarygeek, unfortunately though I'm not keen on the flavour of mustard but I will check out the link, thanks so much!! Smile
Kind regards, Joey

TalkinPeace2 · 13/01/2013 17:00

flojo
ALL calorie counting sites have a problem with items that on their own are too small to count but cumulatively add up.
The milk in a cup of tea is minimal. The milk in 7 cups of tea is not.
That's why I learned to round UP rather than down - as then the surprises would be good.

GreenEggsAndNichts · 13/01/2013 17:04

The green Tabasco is quite nice, and definitely much milder (I seem to recall using it and a bit of lime as a marinade for chicken when I lived in TX).

I also use French's mustard mixed in with a bit of normal salad dressing (usually a vinaigrette) for when I do a salad with a bit of chopped ham in it. I love it, and mustard is very low cal.

I also use a microplane (zester) if I'm grating cheese on salads now, even on non-fast days. I use much less cheese this way, but still get the flavour boost from it. I weigh out what I use.

Digital scales are very, very useful for all of this! And they aren't expensive at all, just look on Amazon.

OP posts:
GreenEggsAndNichts · 13/01/2013 17:08

Flojo yes, as TIP says, I tend to round up. Figure out how many cups of tea you have a day. Then figure out how much milk you use per cup. Be honest, is it milky or still dark brown when you drink it? Now, if you're having 5x cups of tea, you could very well be drinking a cup of milk, total. I would figure out the number of calories in the cup of milk and add it to my total.

Then, if you're using sugar (which will definitely add up on a fast day, you might want to try cutting back), that's easy enough to measure- are you putting a teaspoon in? two? Count up all your teaspoons and add them to your day.

I, personally, wouldn't be looking for 'tea with milk and sugar', because that's too random. Just measure the milk, measure the sugar, and that's it. The tea itself is practically nothing.

I often overestimate my milk calories just to be on the safe side.

OP posts:
Flojobunny · 13/01/2013 17:19

Well I've cut down on tea and started drinking fruit juice, which I know is probably much more calories but much healthier.

literarygeek · 13/01/2013 17:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Aftereightsarenolongermine · 13/01/2013 17:45

flojo why not measure your milk 'allowance' for the day & then you will have a good idea of the calories you're consuming.

Absoluteeightiesgirl · 13/01/2013 18:00

flojo I use sugar cubes instead of loose. They are 13 calories each and much easier to log in terms of calories used. I can take them to work as well.

fretfree · 13/01/2013 18:33

Hi everyone - loads of great weekly success stories. Well done everyone. I'm still on alternate days, but my goal is in sight :-). I will move to 5:2 then.

I have a question for those of you using mfp, as I have just signed up. How do you programme in different daily calorie goals?

notamomtokids · 13/01/2013 18:35

I don't think I'm really adding anything new here but I just wanted to reiterate what rosemarysage posted. I stocked up for Christmas and prepared myself for a huge pigout. This still hasn't happened and that is purely because I have not felt like it.

I have been doing the intermittent fasting for a while; not sticking to it as ridgidly as 5:2 but have still seen amazing results. I have watched a few programmes done by Dr Michael Mosley and some of the stuff that he looks at really makes sense. For me it is mainly for asthetic reasons but for the boyf it is all about health. There is some research that shows eating in an 8 hour window is also good as it then allows the body the remaining 16 hours to digest food, relax and do any repair work that is necessary; this isn't always possible when the body is hard at work digesting food.

Eat, Fast and Live Longer was the programme looking at intermmitent fasting but also looked at the incredible health benefits.

I once managed a 48hr fast because I was really busy with work and couldn't actually get to a table to eat. I had hunger pains but they passed very quickly and when I was able to and felt hungry I sat down to a normal meal. I think it is quite difficult to really go over the top in one sitting.

virginposter · 13/01/2013 18:37

Second fast day for me this week and for anyone interested in my 500 cals, here is:
Nothing all day except black coffee, water and mint tea, then at 7pm:
150g lean ham = 165
100g butternut squash = 40
250g carrots = 103
200g cabbage = 44
1 apple = 90
Total = 442
Which then leaves enough for a small knob of butter on cabbage and a quick spray of olive oil whilst cooking squash. Yum!

welshmill · 13/01/2013 18:41

Ghanagal take heart! I'm 4ft 11" and in June I was 11st 2lb with a BMI of 31.5 Blush. I basically stopped eating after that shock but stalled at 10st 5lb and then I saw the Horizon programme.....I'm now 8st 13lb with a much healthier BMI of 25.2. This WOE really works. Smile.

GreenEggsAndNichts · 13/01/2013 18:58

I totally agree with literarygeek's post. I love fruit juice (especially fresh OJ, or cranberry juice, yum), but only in very small amounts, and not often on fast days.

Herbal teas might be a good compromise. I also sometimes have decaf coffee on a fast day, if I think I've had too many (am more of a coffee gal than tea). Oh, I do like chai tea, though. It's nice for a change in flavour, lots of spice in it.

OP posts:
GreenEggsAndNichts · 13/01/2013 19:02

By the way, I highly recommend frenchfancy's post on page 11 regarding TDEE, if you are new to this WOE. She's so much better than I am at explaining these things.

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