5:2 Diet Thread! Number 9, welcoming the new year...

[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. 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.

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!

New name (was froot.) lottie I've been doing this since May ish and gradually the gap between eating has stretched . I started on 3 meals adding up to about 600 then found skipping breakfast worked better for me, cut down to 550 ish cals too, and past 3 fasts have found tummy doesn't rumble any more and can easily skip lunch too now. I always have some food with me "in case of emergency" which makes me feel in control (salad or cherry tomatoes and I also always have a packet off ww fruity sweets in my bag but haven't touched them for months) but now I can get through the day on waking up cup of tea with milk, then black coffee, sweet chilli tea (delicious and a recent discovery from HOlland & Barrett) and cup of bovril at lunchtime eat in the evening but not even starving then. I dont get hung up on the exact calories - i probably eat 400-550 but dont count obsessively. i dont count on eating days .

So for me it has taken time for my body to get used to it and as this is a way of eating for life - that's fine. I only needed to lose 9 lb or so and that came off in the first three months. I am a natural glutton and abandon fasting on holidays so each time I go on holiday I put a truckload of weight on but it always comes off within 10-14 days now whereas previously when I did ww it would take months to lose a holiday gain. I am happy feasting on holiday now ( I tell myself it boosts my metabolism) as I know I will lose it quickly.

So don't worry to begin with if you don't have too much of a gap between eating just stretch it gradually. And i agree with everyone else who has said on fast days avoid all sugar even fruit!!

ezzza think you've got your answer.

Weighed myself this am & though not official weighing in day & it's after a fast day I've lost 3 stone on this woe since August. But won't celebrate till Monday if it shows same results. Am half way to my goal loss. But wanted to share w u all & say thanks for everyone's support.

And sad person that I am I've worked out that its taken me roughly 55 fast days to get that weight loss! So equivalent of 7& a bit weeks!

snowkey Ezzra and all..

Sorry I wasn't intending to be at all 'cliquey' (..I'm the last person to be in a clique) Its just that the thread has been moving on so fast after the new year and as I'm not checking it so much I wasn't seeing so much of the the people who had been here before....

so I thought id say hello to some of my old mates

I certainly am NOT trying to be exclusive.. but it is true that those of us who have been doing it successfully for some months now are at a different place .. not superior ,not special , just different..

but believe me, What we want is for the new people to get there also .. (ok I could be accused of sounding patronising here , but I suspect I wont be able to win on this one )

...its only been a couple of weeks since this one started and previously they took some time to get to this amount of posts .. perhaps i was feeling a bit swamped .

what can I say? . sorry ..

I completed my 3rd fast day yesterday. Have to say, it was a bit harder than the first two, and I felt starving a couple of times in the afternoon, but just wouldn't allow myself to give up in the afternoon, figuring I'm almost there (ate meal around 6.30pm). Lost 5lbs in the past 6 days (doing 4:3 and run two to three times a week - might have to give it a miss today though....frrrrreezing!). Feel almost evangelical about this WOE.....I'm loving it

Hi all - another enthusiastic faster here.
I got interested in this approach after reading an article by Dom Jolly - see www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/ive-discovered-how-to-lose-weight-fast-8303657.html .
Since the new year I've been doing alternate day fasting (with the same principles as 5:2). I intend to drop this down to 4:3 then 5:2 as I lose weight.
My strategy for fast days is to try and keep as many calories for the evening as possible. So, I skip breakfast and lunch then have porridge with water at 2pm, a miso soup in the afternoon before dinner which normally consits of lots of veg, tinned tomatoes, quorn chicken and chilli. It's no gormet menu but dinner feels like a lot of food. So, by the time I get to late afternoon it feels like the fast is more or less over as I've got plenty of food for the evening to look forward to.
Look forward to sharing experiences and picking up tips from this thread.

Aw Laska tis nae bother!

Snowkey that's a great suggestion for tonight's dinner, ta

"I certainly am NOT trying to be exclusive.. but it is true that those of us who have been doing it successfully for some months now are at a different place .. not superior ,not special , just different.."

There's lots of us who have been doing this successfully for months though Laska not just the old mates you mentioned. Lots of us that name-change frequently and lots who have been fasting since August but have just found this thread.

I never thought you were trying to be cliquey Laska and you weren't the first to mention the oldies and the newbies.....it just reached a peak last night and it irked me somewhat because it does make people feel like the new girl in the class who hasn't quite been accepted yet. Would just like to see this thread continue to be the welcoming and supportive club that everyone wants it to be whether they are a frequent poster or a frequent lurker.

Ha ha, Laska don't worry, I wasn't meaning to tell anyone off. I was just noticing that I was neither an old face on the thread nor new to the WOE so wasn't sure whether to think of myself as new or old or both!

Been grumpy all day on my fast day today so sorry if my post seemed whiney.

I know where you're coming from, Snowkey, but I can also see Laska's side of it as well. For a few months it was really just the same 20 or so names posting, so you get used to those names. "New" is just the easiest way to describe different names posting now! It's not that we only want to see the other 20 names. Getting new people in to replace those who don't post as often anymore is the way this thread stays so helpful and supportive.

I think it's like most of the helpful areas of MN (not AIBU!), just keep posting and you're an oldie in no time.

My take on it, for what it's worth, is that Laska was feeling decidedly perky (we won't go into the details of why, particularly ) and said 'Hi' to the many newcomers (hate the word newbie!) to the thread. Then she thought, 'Oh, I'm neglecting the posters who've been on here for a while', so she listed a few of them - even including me, and I didn't join until October.

So, nothing more than an excess of bonhomie on Laskas part!

I get nothing but warm feelings whilst reading these threads - long may it continue!

In the light of Dr Lustig's 4 'rules' I posted earlier, having just finished breakfast and eyeing up the biscuit tin which contains three opened packets of biscuits. 'Oatey's (Lidl's answer to Hobnobs, and very nice, too!), ginger nuts and 'Spiced Almond biscuits' (also from Lidl) (and all vegan, BTW, LG), I set my timer for 20 minutes.

And I have to report that the feeling of satiety has indeed arrived, and I can resist all those biscuits easily!

I came on mainly to give the link to an article in the Scientific American, which, while being generally positive, contains a few caveats:

www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-intermittent-fasting-might-help-you-live-longer-healthier-life&WT.mc_id=SA_CAT_HLTH_20130115

Fast day here. I suspect tomorrow will be a snow day so it's probably best that it be an eating day for me.

Peggy69 I think the afternoon on these cold days can be particularly difficult. I've struggled on a couple recently and I'm sure it's related to the weather! I've been having an extra cup of tea, myself. And I'm not a huge fan of tea. (Which reminds me of this , that'll be me in the future! :) )

Welcome to the thread Falkus! I remember that article. I think your way of fasting is similar to many of ours; saving those calories for a decent meal later in the day helps you to feel much less deprived. Tiny amounts of calories throughout the day just perks up my appetite and leaves me waiting for the next chance at eating again.

G'mornin all

Good luck with the Fast today Laska and congratulations on getting back to pre-Christmas levels. I've still got a couple of pounds to go but have that 'slim', flat feeling back rather than the flabby bloated one from December when I really let things go, so pretty pleased. I

Fast day here and as always, first thing is hardest for. Although I've been following this WOL for a 6 months my brain still hasn't given up playing silly b*ggers with me, trying to convince me that today is not a good day to do it and a slice of toast or 10 won't hurt. Reminds me a lot of when I was trying to give up fags or booze, both times I'd have a crisis and tell myself it wouldn't really be a problem if I had '1', I could always give up later.

Welcome to yet more newbies and delurkers,it's great to hear so many people having so much success with this, my strong advice to anyone new or looking into this way of eating is to have a look at the link to the HORIZON programme posted above and to read Dr Moseley and Mimi Spencers book. Got to admit Peggy like you, there's a lot on here including me that feel quite evangelical about this.

Can't live up to my name and get out on the bike at the mo although the sky is blue and the sun is shining out here because of all the ice.....so off to do all those jobs I've been putting off for the last ten years, to keep my mind at bay.

Have a great day all

GreenEggsAndNichts I think you're right....I know if I ate breakfast, that would start me off for a day of wanting to eat.....felt surprisingly ok waiting until my evening meal. Yesterday, felt a bit coldy/chesty, so that didn't help, and frankly I was pretty miserable....stuck at it though, and happy I've got a feed day today . Not looking forward to my 4 mile run in 0 degrees today.....but I'll do it.....begrudgingly!!

Peggy just been out for my run, well wrapped up, it was absolutely beautiful out there. Go on ge your shoes on and go - it'll be great!

Eating day for me . Looking forward to an avocado and seafood sticks for lunch (sorry fasters!)

Ah! Oaties! I miss Oaties. I managed to stuff six packets of them in what little remained of my luggage allowance when I flew out here in September. They kept me going on fast days for about two months before they finally ran out!

I too am getting rather evangelical about this WOE. Back home, only my mum knows I'm doing it, but I'm sure that'll change when I get back in 6 weeks. I'm actually quite glad I'll have 6 months of weight loss and other health improvements (in my case reduced anxiety and better sleep - complete opposite to the negative side effects listed in the rather unbalanced article on the NHS website) behind me to quieten the naysayers.

B&W I liked the scientific american article - many thanks for posting

Half a pound gained in last week. 4.25lbs gained in last 4 weeks. This 5:2 diet is completely hopeless for losing weight! At least for me.

Lets just move on .. the trouble with internet posting is that it lacks the personal nuances and so ....if ive unintentionally offended anyone . I apologise again.. Wont be mentioning 'oldies' or 'newbies' again

Yes , fasting again today .. and its got back to feeling normal after the christmas excesses... luckily im back in the little office (just me)today . so no tantalising food smells...

I'm now working out how I can have my ton of broccolli tonight without going overthe top .. curry may be the WTG..

Im impressed bro that youve given up both fags and booze.. I dont think i could give up my -not that i drink that much.. tend to get quite squiffy on a glass or two!. But heres a secret .. im still a serial smoker .. in that i mean i have periods when i might smoke a packet on a weekend away ..or a few during a holiday.. then I dont again for months.. Yeah its bad for me i know .. but somehow ive never developed it as a constant habit and can pick it up and put it down (unlike my wine habit which is pretty constant !) .. In fact the last time i smoked was last summer when i was in Greece,and during the first couple of weeks of doing this WOE in August . Ill have some more when i go away to Copenhagen at easter . (or maybe even this evening!)

.... I Never said I was good.. (somaybe i wont live any longer then .. oh well as long as im slim.. hee hee)

Now bro..just because imnot good doesnt mean you dont have to be (she says in a stern sisterly manner) if you are not cycling this weekend because of the snow you dont need those 3000 calories.. yeah ...ok .. and i dont need the fags either .. ( still feeling a bit empty nesty ..)

Interesting Ian Did you google the Leangains website? its strange its not working for you but perhaps you just need to try a variant on intermittent fasting.. lots of info there for people who fast and weight train ..

InterestingIan I don't know what you weigh so it's hard to gauge the significance of 4.25 lb but it doesn't really sound like you've lost or gained to me. I think you need to give yourself at least a couple of months on this way of eating before making judgements.

I'm male and have been 5:2ing since late aug '12 and have actually only lost about 1kg but my waist size and derriere have shrunk, am more energised, have seen reductions in triglycerides, fasting glucose in blood test plus lower bp so I think for the time being it's worth carrying on, although am still scratching my head as to why my weight is only down by 1kg. High confectionary intake on feed days could have something to do with it?

Just seen some of the up-post messeges and seen the discussion over the 'n' and 'd' word and seen that I used them both. Apologies Snowkey no offence meant it was just a shortened term for welcoming those new to the thread. Although when I was called one when I first ventured on to here I took no offence. However wrists are duly slapped and I won't use the term again, let's move on, this Thread has been amazingly positive so far let's try and keep it that way.

Hi sis, yeah unfortunately when the dear lord created me he forgot to fit an 'off' switch so the Fags and booze had to go, as in the Pringles advert 'once you pop you just can't stop', so once the bottle was opened I found it hard to stop and that led into some unhealthy habits especially for my poor picked on, pickled Liver. And as I started smoking at 11, by the time I was about to hit my 40's the 30 a day habit was starting to take it's toll

Probably why this WOE appeals to me so much as on a Fasting day I KNOW I can't eat until as late as possible, if you see what I mean.

....as to the staying below 3000 cals this Saturday [hmm, how many calories are there in a Chicken Dhansak with Keema Nan bread??!!!

Ezzza - I know what you mean when you say you 'want to stuff your face with cream cakes'. After not eating anything solid the last 2 fast days in an attempt to break the plateau, and failing - I've eaten cookies and sweets and a whole lot of awful stuff. Thinking of getting pizza tonight - it's not a fasting day after all. And maybe like Laska's clotted cream it will push me off the plateau . Or I would have put on a kilo tomorrow.

I would say that with the 500 cal days, if you're cooking yourself, I'd definitely advise weighing all ingredients. Only saying that as about a year ago I realised what 30g of breakfast cereal looks like, and most people's bowls hold about 5 times that! I know it doesn't get you away from calorie counting, but think that once you realise what a portion is, you'd be surprised how many calories you can unknowingly eat

@skippyscuffleton

Been on the 5:2 since 8th Aug 2012 (2 days after the horizon programme).

Have lost maybe about 12 lb since then, but nothing in the past 3 months. Exercising 6 days a week, exercise cycle for 3 days and weight lifting other 3 days.

Waist size I've only been measuring since about 5 weeks ago. Increased by an inch, but my tummy feels and looks smaller -- certainly since August.

I have no idea if it's doing anything for the various disease markers. But I'm continuing on the diet in case it is having a beneficial effect!

At the moment I have the intention to continue it for the rest of my life but eventually dropping down to one "fast" day a week . . .unless I discover it's not having any beneficial effects on the disease markers either. No point in suffering 2 days a week for nothing at all!