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!
Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.
MNHQ have commented on this thread
Fasting / 5:2 diet
5:2 Diet Thread! Perfect number 10!
GreenEggsAndNichts · 20/01/2013 15:24
Have queued up a new thread but will hit send on it in the morning, it has an explanation of acronyms we use etc. Hopefully we don't fly through 50 posts before I check back. 
Well it?s weigh day today. The scales say I?ve stayed the same which I?m actually quite pleased about. Past experience of weight loss tells me that, after the first few weeks? fast weight loss, my body likes to settle into a slow but steady 1lb per week average of loss. Whenever I lose faster than this it?s usually followed by a small weight gain (which always used to be the time I?d get despondent and give up). My last two weigh-ins showed over 2lbs lost each week so today I was bracing myself for a weight gain, but I didn?t have one!
Lots of interesting posts yesterday so apologies in advance for my multiple posts now!
lottie63, I haven?t had thigh pains, but had cramp in my calves on one of my recent fast days. I used to get it a lot when I was younger as I ate a very low sodium home-cooked diet but haven?t had it in ages due to years of processed food. My reaction was almost ?hello old friend? that day. I deliberately picked fairly salty food on my next normal eating day and was fine for the next fast day. Sorry, I know it?s not quite your question but I thought I?d share my experiences in case it did help. 
Hi McGloom, last year I took Chinese Mandarin evening classes at the local Confucius Institute. When I heard the Institute gave out scholarships for study in China I decided to apply and won a semester of study, so here I am! Although I do speak Mandarin, I?m far from fluent so to start with there was a lot of pointing at things and saying ?this one?. The language barrier?s not too bad though. Many restaurants have pictures in their menus so I stuck to those on eating days to start with, but as the course went on I learned more food based vocab and started to get braver and went (armed with a dictionary just in case) to the places which didn?t have pictures. But even then, the people are very friendly and one place even let two of us into the kitchen to point at what we wanted!
Actually, it was because I was going to China that I decided to give this WOE a go. I?ve been to the city I?m studying in once before and I knew I really loved the food here. It?s basically loads of veg, loads of rice, a little meat and make you cry in pain spicy (I firmly believe food should bite you back ? no fun else! ) but utterly dripping in oil. When I flew out here in September last year I was the heaviest I?d been in my life and a few pounds into the obese category. I was really worried with all this yummy (but oily) food I?d be even bigger by the time I came home six months later. But I also didn?t want to have to deny myself trying the food out here as that?s part of the point in going abroad to study a language: getting to sample the culture.
As I mentioned in my last post, I was a big sceptic when I first heard about IF, but I did a bit of research and satisfied myself that this wasn?t an extreme way of eating and wouldn?t do me any harm, but I still didn?t believe I?d lose any weight doing it. I decided to follow this WOE in the hope it?d stop me putting on weight while I was out here so that I wouldn?t have too much of an uphill battle when I got home and was able to start daily calorie restriction to tackle the weight. But as it turns out I did lose weight (1 stone 10 pounds so far) and have never been happier to be proven wrong! Needless to say I shan?t bother with daily calorie restriction when I go home now. IF has been really great letting me eat all the yumminess the city has to offer without getting fat or feeling guilty.
The course has finished now and everyone seems to be gearing up for Chinese New Year on 10 February which is a family time for the Chinese so it?s a bit of a ghost town where I?m living now. So I?m basically spending my time now on Mumsnet and job sites waiting for my flight home, so I am kinda looking forward to going home now. It?s been fun though, having a go at such a different language, meeting all kinds of different people. There are a few frustrations, like no heating (technically South of China, which officially has a warm climate so doesn?t need heating ? not even in the snow ? apparently), frustratingly slow internet connection and the Great Firewall of China which stops me looking at any videos or blog links posted on the 5:2 threads. But there are some things I?ll miss too. On most streets there are fruit carts that sell melon, pineapple and oranges on a stick. I tend to go for these rather than choccy if I want a snack on a non-fast day as it?s so much more convenient. Hopefully I?ll get to come back again at some point, but I don?t know when I?ll be able to again.
What am I most looking forward to eating on non-fast days when I get home? Well there are a couple of naughties I miss, like toast (I didn?t expect that one because I?m not that much of a toast fiend, but I do seem to miss it out here), decent wine (have found some wine here but it?s either barely drinkable or ridiculously expensive), decent chocolate (the Chinese don?t seem to get chocolate. They certainly don?t get that there?s more to chocolate than being a sweet brown lump of fat) and Indian Takeaway. Most westernised food is available here (but not very well executed so I tend to stick to Chinese food) but good old British style Indian food is non-existent. I don?t plan to eat too many takeaways when I get home, but now and then I do like getting one of the specials from my local as they have the most fantastic flavours (Kasturi in Crwys Road for any of you Cardiffians ? highly recommended).
Mostly though I?m looking forward to getting back in the kitchen and whipping up some old favourites (8 veg chilli con carne, chicken goulash, broccoli and leek gratin bake) and attempting to recreate some of the things I?ve eaten in China. Also kinda hoping my mum will do a roast at some point. I can do them too but they always taste better when Mum does them!
Sorry for long post in response to McGloom?s question. 
I tried to keep it 5:2 relevant though!
swalloweafly I think your concerns are valid but I can only speak for myself, I did read the links you refer to - I concluded that I am not concerned with fertility issues - my day of bearing children has passed thankfully. I don't eat many carbs, so I have few concerns over insulin sensitivity. My main reason for fasting is to help to maintain my weight - that much I know it does and to reduce my chances of getting dementia and cancer. I'm not 100% convinced it will reduce my cancer and dementia stats, there's not enough extensive research to convince me as yet but there's enough for me to take a leap of faith. I am used to people critisizing my diet - I was veggie for 25 years until I discovered low carbing - which seems to get people all hot under the collar too and now I fast, so when people question it, I don't really care, what I eat is my business. 
I am not evangelical about fasting, I am evangelical about good food though - I like to keep an open mind about these things, I have been fasting since August and it seems to suit us and our lifestyle. I hope I would never try to convince anyone to fast, if it's something you feel interested in, read up about it and make your own decision, you take decisions on your health every day, not all are thoroughly backed by knowledge or science.
I guess we are all looking for the Holy Grail...the search always continues, I hope you find something that suits your way of living.
Morning all. Prompted by that post from Phlebas, for those of us who have slowed down the weight loss or plateaued ( I have for 2 weeks ) there is hope until it starts again.
I've just been through my wardrobe and had a really good sort out. I did this a few months ago and found that I could get into some clothes again which was a great boost. But there were 2 pairs of jeans that I could only just get done up and I wouldn't be able to talk whilst wearing them so they had to go back into the wardrobe into the 'not quite ready yet' section along with 2 pairs of white trousers which have been in there for years waiting for a summer when they would fit 
Yesterday I re-tried my 2 jeans and they have now been moved into my 'real' wardrobe (yippee) but unfortunately the white ones are now too big and have been put into the charity bag. I am frantically wearing all my favourite clothes all the time as they are really loose and soon will have to go 
but hey then I'll have to buy some new ones
Ezzza 5:2 relevant or not, I loved reading those posts....wow! What an amazing experience :) Finding a way to lose weight along the way, through IF, is definitely the icing on the low-calorie portion controlled cake!
After8 - glad you're recovering well, please take it easy!
5th fast yesterday and did a full 24 hours with no food. Like B&W I've discovered that taking my thermos flask of hot water into meetings (along with a jiffy bag of sliced lemon or fresh ginger if I'm being organised) makes all the difference. Each fast gets easier; I had planned to have miso soup for lunch but ended up with no time to get it....! 
For those who were asking on this thread - I definitely find that the easiest fast days are when I'm super busy in the office....
Oddly, I 'only' dropped 1lb yesterday, which is probably already back on due to this morning's toast, but I'm feeling a bit more relaxed about the scale variations. I definitely fall into the low-benefits group (normal bmi, child bearing age etc etc) but am still keen to give this a go....Mimi Spencer wrote an interesting article in this week's Saturday Times about how IF enabled her to finally shift that last 7lbs that had been dragging her down for the past 5 years, and that's exactly how I feel.
Just to let you all know that there is an article written by Mimi Spencer in this weeks Grazia magazine. There is nothing new in what she says for those who have read the book or seen various columns in the Sunday papers, but thought I would mention it.
WI for me today after fast day yesterday, 1lb back on even though I couldn't manage all my 500cals, but the scales are generally downward, only popping back up for a while after a weekend. By the end of the week, I've usually lost that 1lb and dropped another! For 5 weeks in and 8 fast days in total, I'm happy with that.
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