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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! Going up to 11!

999 replies

GreenEggsAndNichts · 29/01/2013 13:17

The continuing thread for those of us following either the 5:2 diet or the alternate-day fasting diet.

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, or approximately your TDEE (see explanation below). 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 for a woman, 600 for a man, on those days.

You'll find on these threads we use a number of acronyms. If you're new to the threads, or Mumsnet in general, they might not make much sense.

WOE/WOL = Way Of Eating/Way Of Life. We use this term instead of "diet" as many of us see this as something to do in the long term.

MFP = My Fitness Pal, a website many use for keeping track of the number of calories they're eating.

TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure, 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.

ADF = Alternate-day Fasting, as it says on the tin, fasting every other day rather than 5:2.

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!

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%).")

Something to consider 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.

Another food link, here is a link to the BBC Good Food site, with a list of low-calorie soups.

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:
frenchfancy · 04/02/2013 16:35

Swivel You seem to have increased your TDEE by 364 calories in the space of an hour - impressive! Joking aside you could do what I do and eat under your TDEE during the week (I guess I'm normally about 400 short on weekdays) then drink eat more at the weekend.

PassportHelp · 04/02/2013 16:49

2nd week of 5:2 I have pcos, just wondering if anyone else found their pcos symptoms improved, or any if the evidence shows this? Sorry if this has been covered in the earlier threads. Have the mm book but only 20% in. Doing this as my bp, cholesterol, glucose are heading the wrong way.

The weight coming off would obviously be lovely as v overweight

Dotty342kids · 04/02/2013 16:54

anyone got a working link to the original Horizon programme? I really want to watch it and can't find it anywhere!

Foundapound · 04/02/2013 16:57

Dotty
I watched it here today...
www.dailymotion.com/video/xvdbtt_eat-fast-live-longer-hd_shortfilms#.UQ_oXRykVZp

Foundapound · 04/02/2013 16:59

Finding today a little harder than Friday, when I'd some rice with lunch - looks like I need something a wee bit more filling then. Have just had a wee tomato cupasoup to keep me going.

cardiffmummy · 04/02/2013 17:31

Fast day here and seem to have spent the whole day thinking about food! Sooo looking forward to by Innocent veg pot Smile.

BetsyVanBell · 04/02/2013 17:39

Brilliant news Ghanagal Grin

BetsyVanBell · 04/02/2013 17:42

7th fast today and easiest so far - ended up having a 20 hour period with no food as I'd had an early supper yesterday, had half my cals at lunchtime with salmon fillet & pile of veg planned for supper AND no having to avoid snacking post-school time (though I think that was more a change in routine today rather than will power - note to self: change afterschool routine on fast days!)

Tentatively optimistic for getting into 'normal' BMI category this week (just 1lb to go...)

runfastrun · 04/02/2013 17:43

Really struggling with my fast today- I held off til lunch, had a Innocent veg pot (230 cals), fruit salad (70) and have since had an Options Hot Choc and an apple. With milk in tea that?s my 500 nearly done :-/

Some days it?s like wading through treacle? 3 weeks in and only 1lb lost, grrrr

Dotty342kids · 04/02/2013 18:03

Thank you foundapound really interesting to find out more about the health benefits and the science behind it all. I watched it with my very skeptical, scientific DH and even he was quite impressed.
God, I'm so ready for dinner though Grin

Laska42 · 04/02/2013 18:12

Hi all, dont worry it really does get easier , but even after 5 months I still find the odd day hard, and sometimes I get cold or cant sleep, I think its probably due to all sorts of other factors rather than doing without food now as i've got used to that .. (although some days I get hungrier than others ), hormonal cycle would probably have an effect for women fasters though I'm post meno so cant comment on that) , or state of mind , how busy you re..

Displacement therapy is good - lots of us who have been here a while have very tidy cupboards!

But keep at it.... I'm a stone and a half down now.. Grin

cardiffmummy · 04/02/2013 18:17

Hormones definitely affecting me at the moment - at least I hope its just TOTM related. Struggled to keep things under vague control over the weekend, and today my fast has seemed endless, and fluids not really helping the hunger. Whereas previous fasts have really been very easy.

Laska42 · 04/02/2013 18:19

today fasting I had h/m carrot cardamom and orange soup at lunchtime , then have just come home to a large bowl of stir fried (in stock not oil) veggies with chilli laksa sauce.. (I like to split my fastday food into 2 small meals and have done so right from the start)

My philosophy is that its a really good idea to keep your fast day meals simple but tasty.. with lots of veg to bulk them out ..

Laska42 · 04/02/2013 18:22

greeneggs come over and chat anyway, you are the longest termer of all of us! Grin

ButteryPeanuts · 04/02/2013 18:55

Hello everyone! I've been fasting for the past 3 weeks now, lurking for over 4. Today is my 7th fast day, and for the past 2 weeks I have been doing 4:3. Finding it difficult when it comes to my normal day as I feel the need to eat whatever I want and end up going over my TDEE even though I know i'm not hungry and it's just boredom.
I've decided to change to 5:2 and see if this changes my overeating. I think it might be down to feeling deprived on my fasting days so eating way more than I need to on my normal days.
I haven't lost a single pound yet but i'm still keeping at it. Don't have a lot to lose, a stone/ stone and a half would be great. I have found that I do get full much faster, I just need to train my brain to know that I don't need those extra slices of toast (my downfall).

BetsyVanBell · 04/02/2013 19:15

Butterypeanuts Bread used to be my downfall too (it still is if I have a pack of decent butter in the fridge). I now try to get most of a loaf into the freezer as quickly as possible after buying, packing it into useful sized small portions (for packed lunches, weekend toast etc) - out of sight (and frozen) keeps it out of mind! 5:2 should help as it's hard to feel deprived for only 2 days out of 7, but keep stuff out of the house that you know are your personal nemesises (nemesi?) so it's not there to tempt you. Your brain can be re-trained!. Another thing I've taken to doing is buying delicious fruits to snack on - with the money saved on fast days it doesn't feel so expensive. I now bake tasty treats at the weekend and avoid buying pre-made bought crap stuff - knowing that Monday is fast day I can eat cake if I want! Grin

Also, I often find I'm hungrier on the 2nd day after a fast so I know I couldn't manage ADF without going nuts. I have lost weight on 5:2 though (I'm on my 7th fast today), but I have been exercising 2 or 3 times a week (short sessions - a run, cycle or some yoga) and seem to have stopped drinking wine. Shock

swallowedAfly · 04/02/2013 19:35

thanks for linking the video - interesting to watch. loved that the much gentler method of 5:2 relative fasting was as effective for him as the daunting prospect of changing his whole diet and still having to do 4 day fasts every month or two. incredible the amount of benefits that were found.

it's a bit odd for me because actually i think i spontaneously ate like this for years - would have days or several days where i wasn't hungry and never forced it then other times where i felt like eating so did. somewhere along the way i lost that habit - actually i think it was to do with boredom and using food as something to do, to look forward to etc. not comfort eating as in i'm miserable i'll stuff myself but possibly just getting older, not going out much, being stuck in the house of an evening sort of stuff.

anyway Smile

fast day going fine. had the veggie juice mid afternoon, a boiled egg late afternoon and recently some low fat fromage frais with a spoonful of oatbran in it. going to get ds in bed and eat the other boiled egg and maybe have a slim a soup. should be under 500 i think.

stick with it those fasting - nearly bed time Smile

VideoEtTaceo · 04/02/2013 19:37

Hi everyone,

Huge apologies - I'm sure this has been covered, but there seem to be about 20 threads on 5:2 and having looked at a few I'm no wiser.

I think this way of eating could work for me, so I'd like to learn a bit more about it. There seem to be a few books on amazon - would someone mind telling me which of these is the clearest/original/best?

www.amazon.co.uk/The-Fast-Diet-intermittent-ebook/dp/B00AW8UK0K/ref=zg_bs_341689031_4

www.amazon.co.uk/The-Weight-Transform-Health-ebook/dp/B00AFYX78I/ref=pd_sim_kinc_5

Or is there another I should look at? Am after a real book not at e-book so I can keep checking it!

Thank you in advance!

swallowedAfly · 04/02/2013 19:38

i don't think there's that much to know video. have you checked out the horizon film - it is linked a few posts back.

BetsyVanBell · 04/02/2013 20:02

video just go through all the links in the opening post at the top of this page and you'll have all the info you need including the most appropriate book and the Horizon film that sparked off all this in the first place!

Laska42 · 04/02/2013 20:29

video you should get Dr Michael Mosley's book the Fast Diet - he did the original programme and formulated the idea of 5:2 - IMHO all the other books are written by people cashing on his idea..

MrsJolene · 04/02/2013 20:32

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BsshBossh · 04/02/2013 20:33

after8 you are an inspiration for keeping going Thanks.

Snowkey · 04/02/2013 21:00

Fast day today and it really wasn't that bad. Not having ibuprofen induced dizziness made things a lot easier! Tested my cold turkey on sugar resolve by baking a Blood Orange cake, damn it looked and smelt good! Ds had it with some clotted cream, I was crawling the walls!!! So I settled down to some liquorice tea instead. Sad

Dinner inspiration was courtesy of the lovely speckers who provided a link to a recipe for salmon and mustardy celeriac mash on the 5:2 Recipe thread - what a show stopper, that is now my favourite way to have salmon. Would be a great dish to have with fasting friends - it really will impress, just be aware that the olive oil was not included in calorie calculation but you can still modify it to come in under 300kcals. And after the torture from earlier my taste buds were happy that they were given the proper attention they require. Grin

Betterlatethan · 04/02/2013 21:10

Blood orange cake snowkey? That sounds amazing. Do you have the recipe?