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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.

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5:2 Diet Thread! Perfect number 10!

999 replies

GreenEggsAndNichts · 20/01/2013 15:24

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. 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:
BeyondTheLimitsOfAcceptability · 27/01/2013 10:33

I'm gonna do it! Just made a huge root vegetable and lentil casserole, so that will be my main fasting food Grin

duchesse · 27/01/2013 10:41

Ooh, the press slating a way of eating that is non-commercial. Quelle surprise. that wouldn't have anything to do with media doctors all being in thrall to the pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry would it?

frenchfancy · 27/01/2013 11:29

From the express article:

^The danger was identified in a 2005 study published in Obesity Research which tracked eight men and eight women as they tried intermittent fasting for three weeks. All were a healthy weight or carrying only a few extra pounds, with BMIs between 20 and 30.

At the end of the trial there was no insulin improvements in the women and their glucose response got worse, while the men had no glucose changes and their insulin response improved.^

And from those 8 women after 3 weeks having a worse glucose response the conclusion is that 5:2 causes diabetes in women! WTF?

literarygeek · 27/01/2013 11:44

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Snowkey · 27/01/2013 11:56

Sorry I know its of topic but can I ask a stupid "vegan" question - what do vegans do when their child gets head lice, or worms or any of the other parasites that seem to spread like wild fire around primary schools?

My Dad once tried to spare wasps rather than killing them, he destroyed their nest and hoped they would just go elsewhere - big mistake, they were very pissed off.

Ezzza · 27/01/2013 11:59

Well, if you can use the phrase 'a few' to mean 29 (the difference between BMI 30 and BMI under 25 in my case) then yes BMI 30 is a few extra pounds, but personally I would define 'a few' as much less than 10.

Tsk. [rolling eyes emoticon]

It was also disappointing that I wasn't able to identify the studies the article referred to so was not able to read them and draw my own conclusions as to whether they are applicable to 5:2. Somehow I doubt it. Hmm

tomorrowweeat · 27/01/2013 12:05

The diabetic thing is worrying. I have yet to hear of a regular GP that recommends this WOE for diabetics, mine said it would be dangerous but no real explaination why. I can see why it might be a problem for type 1's or anyone on insulin as there would be an increased risk of low blood sugar leading to a hypo but surely type 2's should be OK?

literarygeek · 27/01/2013 12:19

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literarygeek · 27/01/2013 12:27

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hhhhhhh · 27/01/2013 12:27

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Ezzza · 27/01/2013 12:39

MonthlyNeedsToDecide welcome! If you're working your way through the links in the OP you'll soon get to the recipe thread. Lots of good ideas, and more get posted on here too all the time. I always give up on 'diets' too, but I've been doing this since the beginning of September and can't see me stopping it anytime soon. Like you said, the ability to fit this way of eating around upcomming events makes it much easier to stick to in the long term.

Snowkey · 27/01/2013 13:36

Thanks for that LiteraryGeek I dabbled with veganism at times while I was veggie, felt bad about the dairy industry. Introduced the dcs to pork by taking them to a pig farm in Cornwall - they saw the way the pigs lived, they looked like they had lots of outdoor space, shelter etc....they then decided to try bacon at the farm cafe knowing exactly what they were getting, we had no realisation that animals were being eaten in out house, they knew from the start. 2 years later i discovered that the owner of that farm was prosecuted for extreme neglect and animal cruelty of the pigs, he was supposed to be looking after - sometimes you just can't win Sad

ErikNorseman · 27/01/2013 14:07

When my bmi was 30 I was in the obese category Confused that's more than a few. For me, that was 2 stone overweight!

Re vegans and headlice etc - I'm a veggie and I don't wear animal products, don't kill spiders etc. I will happily kill something that is after causing harm, fleas, lice, ticks, all enemies!

tomorrowweeat · 27/01/2013 14:07

Thank you LiteraryGeek Interesting links :)

literarygeek · 27/01/2013 15:41

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Prettymaidsallinarow · 27/01/2013 16:10

Hi everone! I started 5/2 in early December and found you guys at thread 6 in mid December and have read the thread everyday since. Anyone just starting I would recommend setting aside an hour or two to go back at least a couple of threads and definitely read the op and the tips and links. It is well worth the time it takes to do it. I have lost 6lbs having started out at 138 I am now 132. I start week 9 tomorrow. I fast on Mondays and Thursdays in the main and haven't missed a single one yet. I now go about 19 hours on my fast days before eating. I exercise 6 days a week early morning on an empty stomach but I have always done that tbh. I have taken loads of your advice over the last few weeks, thank you guys for the inspiration. I will pop in now and again if that's Ok, going to try a modified hairy bikers chicken jambalaya tomorrow which should come in about 460 cals. Using extra chicken so will report back on that and am going to try Posh Voice's burger on Thursday!

LaurieFairyCake · 27/01/2013 18:37

I did my first fast day today Smile. It was ridiculously easy - I stopped 'eating' last night at 10pm (I wasn't eating, I was drinking vino Grin) and then had my first meal of 117 calorie porridge at 3pm today - so 15 hours without eating.

Wasn't at all hungry until I ate the porridge then found myself thinking about food (which loads of you have reported) and then ate my big meal at 5.30. I'm totally stuffed.

Won't eat til breakfast tomorrow - for me that won't be till 9am. So a further 15.5 hours without food.

Just one teensy issue for me - the TDEE for me is 2046 - a ludicrous amount as I normally on weight if I go about 1500 and utterly fail to stick to the 1200 calorie demanded for weight loss. So I'm going to make sure I eat 1500-1900 so that I don't feel as if I'm 'dieting' - a new way of thinking for me. If it doesn't work I will tweak it downwards in a week or two.

What I can't do as I fail at dieting is eat 1200 calories plus 2 fast days - if I end up having to do that to lose weight I will prefer being fat. I'm only overweight as I've eaten a tiny bit extra every day over 20 years - interspersed with horrible periods of trying to eat 1000-1200 calories - which obviously I can never stick to.

I feel completely fine, bit of a headache earlier, peeing for Scotland Grin

Dh is doing it too - he doesn't need to lose very much weight, he only has internal fat but he was utterly convinced of the health benefits.

frenchfancy · 27/01/2013 19:16

Well done Laurie.

My TDEE is higher than yours - 2300. I don't eat it mid week but more than make up for it at weekends. I've still lost on 5:2 and I am now finally back down to a normal BMI (or did I mention that already :) ) Don't diet. Just eat normally and do 2 fast days a week exactly as you did today. For a beginner you seem to have got the idea very quickly so I am sure you will do well.

Nomadtech · 27/01/2013 19:27

Hi all,

I've been reading silently for months and thought maybe a time to dip the toe in the water!

I've been doing the diet for 3 months now, I put 2kgs on over Xmas but lost half of that in a week when I went back on. Just before Xmas I was at the same weight for about three weeks (I lost a stone).

I think that I may have reached the limit and need to cut out alcohol completely to shift more weight. Has anyone else reached a bottoming out level yet?

Cheers.

LaurieFairyCake · 27/01/2013 19:30

Thanks french - really pleased for you that you're at a normal bmi, that's fantastic. I took loads of measurements today but I need to work out my bmi.

I have spent all day reading the threads and all day yesterday reading the book - thank you for replying to my other thread Smile

TalkinPeace2 · 27/01/2013 19:37

Nomadtech
I'm not planning to lose much more weight (the odd pound maybe but nothing substantial)
I'm going to stick with 5:2 for the health reasons, just relax on my calories between fasts.

How much exercise are you doing ??

gonepearshaped · 27/01/2013 19:43

Thanks frenchfancy, stickygingerbread, breadandwine,Snowkey and Ezza (hope I haven't left anyoneout) for really helpful posts. Its a relief to hear that the over reaction to fasting does calm down. The breakfast I described was low GI linseed bread with almond butter so not super fast carbs. I think for me the problem is more one of trying to get to an all things in moderation WOE.
Till now I've only lost weight with hardcore calorie restriction which makes for an all or nothing attitude. breadandwine hit the nail on the head in with the 'just don't start' approach. As soon as I decide 'oh well I've blown it now', that's when I eat way too much. The other thing is that I'm marathon training at the mo, running for an hour or so on fast days has been totally fine. My long runs will always be on feed days and properly fuelled with low GI carbs. Is anyone else doing anything similar?

Nomadtech · 27/01/2013 19:43

Hi TalkinPeace2

I'm not doing anything as yet, I've been waiting for the snow to melt then start running again (I did the marathon a few years back).

Want to lose another stone, body fat is 28.5% and as a man that is far too high, needs to half ideally...

TalkinPeace2 · 27/01/2013 19:46

Running is one form of exercise - but you need to mix up lots of different things.
And it appears that exercising during fasts is extra effective at burning off fat ....

Snowkey · 27/01/2013 19:53

gonepairshaped I run for an hour on a Sunday - an eating day but I do heavy bootcamp training on fast days or run for about 40 minutes. I struggle to squeeze in my 2 rest days and often exercise is more difficult the day after a fast, than on the fast day itself. I tend to eat low carb food, so my body one runs on fat rather than glycogen and that makes quite a bit of diffence to my energy levels when running without food.