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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:
DontGoThereDaisy · 15/01/2013 13:20

Has anyone seen this...

www.nhs.uk/news/2013/01January/Pages/Does-the-5-2-intermittent-fasting-diet-work.aspx

Not very complimentary!

literarygeek · 15/01/2013 13:34

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Madhouse2012 · 15/01/2013 13:35

Hmm so basically a report written by doing google searches and admitting to having no evidence! Pointless really! Seems to be more proof on here by people who are actually following the diet!

Snowkey · 15/01/2013 13:46

Sounds like its written by someone who has an axe to grind. When dietitians and the NHS stop recommending that type II diabetics eat pasta, bread, potatoes and rice to regulate their blood sugar Hmm while they prescribe masses of drugs to deal with the blood sugar peaks caused by the pasta, bread, rice and potatoes they have recommended I might start taking their opinion seriously.

DontGoThereDaisy · 15/01/2013 13:47

I was more suprised by the tone - "we dont know anything about this but it can't be good" was how I read most of it.
Specifically itemising anecdotal negatives, but nothing positive unless it was peer-reviewed science! e.g. possible side effects being bad breath - not seen anyone in 8000 posts here mention that.

Snowkey · 15/01/2013 13:52

Good job we can all google!

MisoIsMyFriend · 15/01/2013 14:00

Just had a very brief glance at the nhs report DontGoThere. No wonder there is a growing obesity problem in the UK; if the nhs believes that a balanced 500cal day is a bowl of cornflakes, a single sausage and a slice of pizza, are they encouraging those on a 2000cal diet to have 4 bowls of cornflakes, 4 sausages and 4slices of pizza a day? What happened to 5 fruit/veg??? A lazily written report which lets the nhs down IMHO

Snowkey · 15/01/2013 14:18

The NHS only takes peer reviewed research seriously, yet they are happy to share all the negative anecdotes they can grip hold of - hardly a balanced piece of writing. My guess is that it was a hastily pulled together report compiled by a new graduate.

virginposter · 15/01/2013 14:41

B&W once again you have posted a great link, Sugar the bitter truth, (over on the tips and links thread) which I agree we should all watch. Anyone who is interested in health and losing weight, I urge you to watch this. Yes, it is very long and in the middle there are some very in depth bio/chemestry bits but stick with it as I did and you will be enlightened.

I lived in the U.S.A for 2 years and during that time my son became quite overweight before I even realised it. Now I know why! (He is now normal weight and an exercise addict).

I no longer consume 'low fat' products (as from last April) and eat olives, olive oil, avocados (oh so sinful on S.W.) full fat plain yoghurt (yum) and make my own mayonnaise (so easy with a stick blender all-in-one method) and which I eat nearly every day (but not on a fast day) and ice cream with double cream and I have still lost 22lbs.

Elegantlywasted · 15/01/2013 14:52

scooby it was my first week last week and I made all my food on my fast days, this week though I am trying the ready meal route for my evening meal. have a lasagne at just over 300 cals waiting for me in the fridge. I think I will mix and match and see how it goes.

Aftereightsarenolongermine · 15/01/2013 15:30

Fasted yesterday & unusually am ravenous today. Had boiled egg on toast for breakfast, a banana, & steak for lunch! & I'm still hungry. Tomorrows meant to be a fast day not sure how that will pan out if I'm feeling like this. Hope it's just the cold & not a sign of things to come.

Bordercollielover · 15/01/2013 15:52

Virginposter, I am with you on the fats! Can you share the recipes for easy mayo and ice cream please, my daughter has mayo on everything and I would love to make her a healthier vErsion without hidden ingredients.

kiwigirl42 · 15/01/2013 15:55

Additional fast day due to migraine. Have eaten a crunchie bar though as wanted one on yesterdays fast day. Will have to panettone tomorrow now Hmm
Those videos on HFCS sound scary. Will watch when head pain allows

Iwearblack · 15/01/2013 16:17

maniacbugthanks for the chewing gum reassurance! Have become a connoisseur of Wrigleys Airwaves!
You are right miso the meal plan on the NHS website is a disgrace!
The NHS can't change it's health advice overnight - like trying to turn an oil tanker, so I guess it will be a while before it drops the 'eat breakfast' etc Still the tone is very negative ....

TheCyclistist · 15/01/2013 16:26

Afternoon all,

Fast day here and tbh has got to be one of the easiest for quite a while. As it's 4.00 I've broken the back of this one as I'll soon be out Football Coaching for a couple of hours and won't get back till after 8.00 and as I've only had about 20 kcals so far should be able to cook a massive meal to keep me full till the morning. Laska how's yours going...is this open plan office still resembling a bistro more than a place of work? Grin

Interesting link Dontgotheredaisy, on the positive side it shows how much progress this WOE has made over the past 6 months if the NHS has felt need to comment. As you'd expect though they're fairly sceptical, but I don't suppose we could expect anything more from an organisation in it's position faced with such a new phenomenon. You'd expect them to err on the side of caution and to be honest they're not saying anything we don't already know.

They list some possible negative side effects though:

Difficulties sleeping yep that's true for some, me included but the quality of sleep seems much better as another point they list
Daytime sleepiness definiately does not apply to me, I sleep less now but feel a lot less tired.
Irritability To be honest I feel a LOT LESS IRRITABLE
Anxiety Again I feel a lot more in control
Dehydration Confused er no!!!!!
Bad breath (a known problem with low carbohydrate diets) (that was a direct quote Grin ) Well this is not a low carbohydrate diet so where's the link? And as said elsewhere on this thread no one has mentioned that in over 8000 posts, yes possibly our friends are too polite to comment. But on a personal note, people seem to be no less eager to keep their distance from me than they did before Wink

They also mention a possible problem with exercise...well me and plenty of others on here can testify that that's a deadend as well.

In their summary they say it's probably better to keep to a balenced diet and get your 5 a day. Fair enough but you can get your 5,6 or even 7 a day on a fasting day doing this let alone on a feeding day Confused AND advising overweight people to stick to a balenced and moderate diet seems rather like advising a person with a cut artery not to bleed - when has it ever worked?

Good luck to all today, and remeber if you're Fasting today and it's getting tough...Life is Long, and there's always tomorrow Wink

scoobybaby · 15/01/2013 16:31

After reading the Sunday Times Style magazine article I've just ordered a variety pack of miracle noodles - anyone else tried these?

niki3108 · 15/01/2013 16:44

Scooby- I've done 4 days now and basically had 100kcal of soup for lunch and the rest of kcal as a ww ready meal and huge pile of stir fried veg for tea-. lost 7 lb since 4th Jan, so working for me!
I also work out what I'm eating on a fast day the night before. that way I don't have to over think it on the day.

Aftereightsarenolongermine · 15/01/2013 16:50

Just read the NHS article. Talk about sitting on one side of the fence! Both my rheumatologists told me to go for it with the warning that fasting may make one of my weekly medications side effects so much worse. It did so I no longer fast on that day. They also told me lots of RA patients fast as a way to lessen the arthritic pain. Enough said I think!

Bobshouse · 15/01/2013 16:50

Just a thought, if we are all super healthy from this woe the NHS will be redundant. Hee hee

GreenEggsAndNichts · 15/01/2013 16:59

The link to the NHS actually made me laugh. That meal plan is ridiculous. They suggest that as an example of a 500 calorie day, but then end the whole thing with "eat your 5 a day." Yes, eat your 5 a day, except we know you just want to eat sausages and pizza so there's what you will really eat on a fast day. Hmm Why do they not treat veg as a given, normal thing to eat?

I am, of course, not saying that you're getting a lot to eat on a fast day, but you can get a whole lot more than what they are listing, and a lot healthier as well. ridiculous.

OP posts:
Salbertina · 15/01/2013 16:59

Wishful thinking! We' ll just die even later and cost even more

mollysfolly · 15/01/2013 17:00

Hi Everyone! At last I can post the news I've waited almost 5 months for - I've reached target Number 1 - 1 stone lost and now 8 stone 13.6lbs. Whoop-diddeley-oop !! Unfortunately target number 2 is now an impossibility - 8st 7lbs by end of January, when we go to NZ [KiwiGirl will call in for a miso soup]. Never mind, will try and be sensible while I'm there so the clothes I rashly bought in the size 10/12 that fit me now, will continue to fit for the 5 weeks I'm away! Smile

Thank you all for the inspiration, tips, recipes, laughs and shared experiences Grin FlowersWine

Bobshouse · 15/01/2013 17:04

I cannot believe so called health professionals would dis this woe. I spent years on weight watchers being encouraged to eat only their chemical laden foods. Finally saw the light and this 5/2 thing makes perfect sense. I eat good real food that I cook myself. I rarely buy any type of processed food, making my own bread, jam etc. how can it be considered wrong? Just ordered the good doc's book for more reading.

scoobybaby · 15/01/2013 17:07

niki3108- thats great weight loss - well done. I started last week and you're right about working out what to eat the day before. Going through the calorie book on the day is very hard. I've got an M&S meal in the fridge ready for tonight. Have only had 2 clementines & milk in tea all day so adding loads and loads of veg to my meal.
elegantywasted - enjoy your lasagne later, I've stocked up on a few ready meals so I dont have to think for this week at all. Will see how it goes, and probably mix & match depending.

stickygingerbread · 15/01/2013 17:14

BreadandWine thank for the link you posted. Hope to find some time to watch it this week.

Have you read Why We Get Fat: and What to do About it by Gary Taubes? As part of the larger story, Taubes goes in to how the nutrition/medical community/government in the US has gone so off track in its dietary advice since the 50s/60s. Very good read. Comply with their advice, become overweight, be castigated for overweight - a stupid, vicious cycle.

I havent had hfcs since the 90's in beverages. We don't eat much processed food, but where it gets one is purchased sauces.

InterestingIan are you reading? I noticed your post that you have not been losing weight. I am reading a big stack of books on related topics currently and in one The Alternate Day Diet by James Johnson, he says if weight loss halts it is usually a matter of restricting calories more on the fast days. Since I am just starting, haven't tested this out yet. Something to try, anyway.

Can anyone point me to a good resource on the 16-hour fasting stretch? I have a lot of questions on that. Mainly, if I drink a bit of something caloric in the stretch (coffee/milk) is the whole scheme ruined?

scoobybaby my dh quit refined carbs a couple of years ago and the weight melted off of him. Envy Now with adf he has acquired a sculpted kind of look. I restricted refined carbs greatly (not a total quit mind) and... nada. I can relate. But there was an underlying isssue and now addressing it with diet and adf, am already seeing progress (after 6.long.years).

Hi and welcome to all my fellow newbies. Now have all of 5 fast days under my belt and while I am not weighing in yet, the belt is looser.