5:2 Diet Thread! Perfect number 10!

[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.

Michael Mosley has recently unveiled a new website to accompany his new book on the subject. Please go check them out, as he's the whole reason most of us are here!

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!

And just to highlight, from MM's own highlights in that article, he says that while you're welcome to eat what you want, most people stick to their recommended daily allowance which is "2000 calories for the average woman" etc. So, we bring up TDEE because that is more specific to each person. A petite, inactive person will need fewer calories than I will, etc etc. 2000 calories is quite a lot to some people, and not enough for some others.

Oh, forgot to say I can understand TiP's frustration

Encyclogirl my trainer thinks that people who do distance running are already adapted to burning fat as it's challenging to store enough glycogen for a long runs, he thinks short, sharp exercise like interval training and sprinting is where you really need fast access to glycogen. But he does interval training with me and I seem to manage just fine, not sure if I perform at my absolute best but I don't need to, I exercise for fun and to give me a few extra wine calories....depends what you want to get out of it. Just get to know your body again, see what it can do while low carbing/fasting and work with it, gradually. I have gone out and run 16km on an empty stomach while low carbing - I was fine...ran fast but I was in the mood to do it and exercise can be like that - some days those legs are like lead. I wish I knew why.

hello to everyone!

well, i thought i would leave it a few days before posting, but catsrus's tip to me to try 4:3 clearly worked! i am another pound down this week. Doesn't sound like much, but for something that is going to be a way of life for me, i'm happy and im now 4lbs down only another 18 to go!!
no-one seemed to have any advice on my acid reflux that im getting on fast days....just thought id put it out there again??

Also to new people you will find some fast days easier than others. I tried my third fast for this week straight after yesterday's but couldn't go further than 2pm. Different methods work for different people but the main thing to remember is 500 calories twice a week!

Or maybe if you find it irritating answering the same question over and over again you should ignore the post and either allow someone else to answer or let the person asking find out from elsewhere - surely that's the beauty of a discussion thread - no one is asking you anything directly and you don't have to answer - just let it go!

Just to say, I've read these threads from the second one and find them so supportive - but this is only my second post!! I'm sure there are loads of us out there like that. I find the posts whip along so fast I'm usually too late to post! Best WOE ever though

I'm feeling a bit bad for ever posting on this thread in the first place! I just presumed that if someone knew the answer and wanted to tell me, they would, and those that didn't, would just ignore the question. I genuinely didn't realise that I was supposed to read ten other threads, or even this thread tbh. So, apologies.

My confusion is solely down the fact that the calculator in the OP gave me such a high number of daily calories on my off days. I run 5 times a week and walk the dogs daily so am fairly active, but still need to lose weight. Eating nearly 3000 calories 5 times a week would send my weight up, not down! I have the 500 calorie thing off pat already, those days are easy. I guess I already have my answer..I just eat as I have been doing before I started this (1700 cals as per my cal counter app) and see how it goes.

I have to say the notion that anyone has time to read 10,000 posts on a subject is a bit ludicrous. I felt proud of the fact I'd read the Tips thread and skim read this one. Agree with Snowkey that surely the answer on a communal thread is just to not answer yourself, if you find it annoying, and wait either for the moment to pass or for someone else to proffer their knowledge.

As a fairly prolific newbie (admittedly, I did read the OP so avoided most of the regularly repeated questions.... :) ) I'd like to point out that I have only received positive input, encouragement, advice and general warmth and friendliness on these threads.

Although it might help that I got here just before the most recent wave of publicity.....

Having a terrible day today...yesterday's fast was a walk in the park but today's eating has been awful - not even desperately unhealthy, but just far far far too much. I have utterly failed to apply TiP's first tip and have been snacking all day :( Damn....

Keep posting thecat hopefully you will get replies to you question, 1700kcals sounds a good place to start - if you feel hungry on any day eat a bit more though, your calorie intake doesn't have to be the same everyday, mine isn't....I don't eat to a limit - or least I try not to.

hello everyone! I've been looking at the site for a while now, and just plucked up the courage to join. This post is an encouragement to everyone who may have just started the diet. My partner Clive and I have been sticking to 5:2 since the beginning of September. Apart from a few crabby-induced rows, we've done really well, losing 14lbs each after the same number of weeks. Clive had his cholesterol tested before and after the 14 weeks, and found that his LDL had dropped by 20%, which was the main motivation for the diet. We are on the verge of dropping to 6:1 - has anyone any experience of how this affects them in terms of weight, other measurements, etc?

Thecatinthehairnet please don't feel bad for posting, everyone is genuinely welcome. Question: when you put the numbers into you cal counter app did you say you wanted to lose weight? As the fast days take care of the weight loss try putting in that you don't want to lose weight.

Reading ten threads of 1000 posts each - really? That's not how long running threads work. I agree with some, if you don't want to answer, either direct folk to the OP (nicely) or wait for someone else to. As a veteran calorie counter I'm more than happy to help people with figures if I can.

Hello mags and well done to your DP. A 20% drop in LDL is great! Very encouraging.

fillybuster I had a similar post-fast day overeating this week but when I worked it out it turned out my meal calories were so low that the mountain of snacks I guzzled only just got me to a 'normal' calories eating day. Just a thought

magsiegm that's a brilliant result! The LDL reduction is massively encouraging :)

My mum did 5:2 to lose half a stone & is now doing 6:1 - she's only been doing it for a couple of weeks but is maintaining so far.

frenchfancy
using MFP I did tell it I wanted to lose a pound a week, but pretty much ignored its targets - just used it to monitor rather than religiously count!

Have just eaten a small bowl of 2 scrambled eggs. Will have my big bowl of soup after my meeting at 8.30 tonight.
Looking forward to weighing in tomorrow morning, and drinking wine tomorrow evening!

magsie
I'm sticking with 5:2 - but plan to have a larger meal in the evening after my 23 hour fast IYSWIM ... then I should stop losing weight

F hi mags welcome! Michael Mosley is doing 6:1 and posted about it in his live session yesterday. a couple of posters are grating up for 6:1 Now.

Catinthehat 1700 cals sounds good, another option is to cycle your cals on your off days so one 1500 and one 1900.good if you like to complicate things! But as talk in peace and others have said it can be useful to think of calorie over a week so if you have an indulgent day you can make up for it another day, it might even be good to have a high calorie day and quite a few recent diets such as clean and lean or the four hour body include one feast a week

I didn't say that anyone was 'supposed' to read 10 threads it was just a suggestion and there is such a thing as skimming. To say that it's ludicrous to read through all of them is a bit ott in my opinion as they could be read in sections. After all I bet a lot of people read Dr MM's book in nearly one sitting so how is reading the threads any different.
When I first started doing this I read everything I could get my hands on as I believe in researching before I do anything. The 5:2 discussions on moneysavingsexpert is pages and pages long too and I've read every one of them and also many many long blogs. It wouldn't occur to me not to read and absorb every last scrap of information going. That's why I'm on here and still reading these posts even though I have been doing this for ages. You can never have enough knowledge and never know it all (imho).

If it helps any of the newbies I started just under two weeks ago. For now I am just eating what I used to eat on non fast days and not worrying if I eat a little more than usual and then sticking to 500 cal mon/wed/fri. My theory is, once I've got used to the fasting days I can start watching my non fast days esp as weight often plateaus.

I lost 3lb in my first week and due to weight again in Monday.

I think it depends what you want out of the diet. It's not a short term gain on either weight loss or health, you need to be in it for the long run, so you can make gradual changes rather than forcing yourself into changing everything. I suppose that's probaby what's meant by WOE. You hange the way you eat for the long run, not just a crash diet

Sorry very poor spelling/grammar.
Typing on a phone does not help there!

has anyone else noticed that hunger on a fast day feels different than hunger on a feed day??
it maybe just me, but after a month of doing this now, i can honestly say that my hunger on a fast day is negligable and at most, just a sort of nagging feeling that goes away when you dont think about it.
hunger on a feed day though....wow! i could chew the hind legs of a donkey and cant really get a grip on it...i would go so far as to say that i feel slightly sicky with the feeling.
thats pretty weird isnt it? i would have thought it was the other way around, and id love to know if there is a scientific explanation for it...

By the way, there is a pull out section in this week's Radio Times about this 5:2 and Dr M is fronting it.

By this week I mean the one that's available this week for next week's programmes.