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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:
swallowedAfly · 05/02/2013 16:08

hello Smile

thanks for the advice ezzza. i eat way less protein than that even on a fast day so i'm happy to say i don't think it impacts on me.

non fast day today and i've found it hard to eat. it got to about 12 and i thought i really had to eat something as i was going into a two hour meeting but couldn't fancy anything. in the end i had a small bag of cashew nuts and now i'm home and just sipping a beer of all things. planning to have a nice bowl of carbonara pasta in a while to make sure i do get some calories in - no doubt that will wake my appetite up!

aiming to do another fast on thursday. i 'think' mondays and thursdays will be my fast days.

welcome to the newcomers - keep up the good work to the fasters and happy eating to the eaters Smile

LaurieFairyCake · 05/02/2013 16:29

Bloody fucking wanky annoying teenagers bitching and whining incessantly. Grrrrrrrrrrr. Angry

I've decided not to scrap my fast seeing as its bloody 4.30 but I have not eaten a healthy 500 calories. Macaroni cheese and a Crunchie Blast Ice Cream.

However, the good news is I'm full - same goal, different road today Smile. I'm just glad I fought off breaking the fast.

TalkinPeace2 · 05/02/2013 16:56

Exercise / Fasting / Weight loss
A paper in the British Journal of nutrition published in October - picked up by the Daily Fail last month
showed that exercising on an empty stomach definitely increases fat burning.

The point of a fast is not just to reduce the calories, but to actually give your digestive system a total break.
Your body does not NEED to snack (it copes just fine for 8 hours when you are asleep after all)
And when you are slim and your TDEE drops to around 1600 calories a day, you'll only stay slim if you learn not to snack.

As I posted in the tips and hints thread, go as long as you can without eating. And be as active as you can. Housework, gym, gardening etc etc.
If your tummy has no food in it, your body will draw from reserves.

TiP

GiraffesEatPineapples · 05/02/2013 17:40

Yes ManvsFood as ezza says it balances out over the week. Work out your calorie allowance for the week (if you want too) (MFP does this too if you click on the week tab) some diet experts advocate a high calorie day each week as part of their diet.

Good link B&W i have a habit of getting doo complicated and it will be interesting in a years time to see if the people who are less restrictive on non fast days are caught up to by those who have just stuck to the principal of 500 cals 2 days a week and normal eating 5 days a week.

Thanks for info on excersise TIP. Good timing for reminder on snacking aswell I am trying hard to wait for dinner and skip the snickers bar!

Bssh I have been thinking the same about water, I had loads yesterday and only one glass today.

GiraffesEatPineapples · 05/02/2013 17:42

sorry I meant more restrictive

TalkinPeace2 · 05/02/2013 18:15

This is not a diet.
Its a way of eating that you will be with for the rest of your life.
My BMI is now 20.4 and I still fast because its good for me.

swallowedAfly · 05/02/2013 18:45

giraffes - i'll be one of those who is not restricting on non fast days. unless i don't have much appetite. this way of eating appeals to me because i don't want to have to watch what i eat every day or deprive myself ongoingly. i'd rather cut to 400cals on fast days than watch what i eat on non fast days.

i also suspect, rightly or wrongly, that the point is in the switching somehow - the plenty to the fast and back again rather than just overall reduction of calories. obviously if it doesn't work i may have to rethink. i agree it will be interesting long term to see if those like me and those who are still calorie counting and trying to eat under their expended calories on a daily basis end up with any real difference.

swallowedAfly · 05/02/2013 18:47

in fact i think i'd rather do two total fast days a week and eat whatever i like the rest of the time than calorie count each day Shock guess i have my back up plan for plateauing

Snowkey · 05/02/2013 18:51

Ok i have to ask, been want to know for a while - what is wrong with using the word diet? Smile

Snowkey · 05/02/2013 18:51

Ahhh Been wanting to know for a while

artemis17 · 05/02/2013 18:55

MWOW1 nice to know its working for you, i hope to have the same success.
Had my 1st fast day yday, felt fine, today didnt feel hungry til 2 had sandwich, then 3 hours later im starving, ate a mahoosive plate of pasta (in a sauce) & salad, and ready to pick again now..thats my worst thing, eating after ive eaten, habit i know, im not hungry now but maybe like a smoker its the hand to mouth thing..gonna make a big mug of tea see if that helps..2nd fast day Thursday as out tmow eve, feel im already letting myself down as i could have managed not to eat much today...

LaurieFairyCake · 05/02/2013 18:56

I think people prefer way of life because it gets away from the yo yo thoughts around dieting. 'Dieting' unfortunately now suggests something with an end point rather than just 'this is my diet'.

I like using the word 'diet' on my fast days as its just brilliant to think I'm dieting for one day ! Grin I find it a really cheerful thoughts before dieting was about drudgery and months of calorie control.

Snowkey · 05/02/2013 19:02

But would you really say way of eating out loud in real life? I'd never heard anyone use it till I started coming onto this forum....
I see diet as what you eat, the dictionary agrees with me. All sorts if different diets - veggie diet, Asian diet, lactose free etc - it doesn't mean weight loss unless it's prefaced with low calorie or something similar.

Laska42 · 05/02/2013 19:28

I do say 'way of eating' when i'm referring to 5:2 now , or 'way of life' even .. snowkey.. .but that's probably because I have 'dieted' for so long -40years or more - that although I agree you are correct , the word 'diet' just means 'weight loss diet' to me now..

BsshBossh · 05/02/2013 19:34

swallowedAfly I consistently lost a lot of weight last year by calorie counting (except for a bit of summer and the week of Christmas). It worked for me. But it was boring and eventually seemed to take the joy out of eating; it also made me obsess about food because I was logging it all the time. 5:2 appeals because I only have to think about calories twice a week (and it's a bonus that there are so many health benefits too). I've only got 10 lbs to lose now and I couldn't imagine daily calorie counting being a longterm fixture of my life as I maintain my weight. 5:2 seems to be more practical in the longterm - at least that's what I think at the moment!

GiraffesEatPineapples · 05/02/2013 19:40

I would generally just say I am fasting today in rl - wol does sound a bit strange outside of this forum and I felt the same as you initially snowkey but I quite like the sentiment behind it on here. I think way of eating is ok in the right context but funny that it spells woe (I keep thinking of shakesperian actors saying "woe is me")

TIP I can't believe I was planning on eating a snickers just before dinner - i resisted and totally stuffed now! Having Wine in a mo - haven't really had any recently so quite looking forward to it.

GiraffesEatPineapples · 05/02/2013 19:42

actually even saying "I am fasting" (in non religious situation) sounds a bit pretentious...

GiraffesEatPineapples · 05/02/2013 19:47

bssh I think this woe is perfect for people who are bored of other diets and want to lose the last bit in a free-er (total mental block on sp!) way; wish i had found it when I was 11 stone a year ago.

Breadandwine · 05/02/2013 19:49

I do know there its a theory that calories in protein are not equal to calories in other food

Giraffes - Not sure about that, but, as Robert Lustig says in this film

'A calorie is not a calorie'.

It's not just him saying that - if you google that phrase you'll get quite a few responses.

The film, made by UCLA, also leads on to another series of shorter films that are well worth watching. It's called 'The Skinny on Obesity':

Once again it all comes back to the invention of High Fructose Corn Syrup - pure poison in may people's eyes. These films explain the obesity epidemic in graphic detail.

(These links are on the Tips and Links thread.)

BsshBossh · 05/02/2013 19:53

actually even saying "I am fasting" (in non religious situation) sounds a bit pretentious...

Funny you should say that. I only discovered this past fortnight that my MIL, my DH's aunt and my mum have all been fasting (my MiL and her sister since last September!) and none of us told one another! My MIL said she felt a bit "silly" talking about it in RL.

GiraffesEatPineapples · 05/02/2013 19:57

My first quick google B&W came up with this which is interesting but maybe not what I meant [[http://www.ourcivilisation.com/fat/chap2.htm] but have to get on with my Wine ! Pretty sure I have heard on the radio that there has been a suggestion that calories for protein need to be modified

ManVsFoodRocks · 05/02/2013 20:00

Bssh it's really interesting what you say about calorie counting getting mind-numbing. I lost about half a stone late last year on MFP. It worked - of course it worked! - on the purely mathematical sense.

But I'm a serious foodie (I've done professional food writing/reviewing etc.) and am a good cook. Food is such a massive part of my family and social life that joylessly logging every single calorie every single day just killed it for me and I couldn't stick to it even when my dresses began to fit etc.

I fasted v. effectively today - went 17 hours with no food at all, and although I was looking forward to my meals I wasn't exactly ravenous and miserable - and am now cheerfully looking forward to cooking home-made ravioli stuffed with squash and served in a walnut and black butter sauce for supper tomorrow ... and I literally cannot believe that that's OK Confused Grin

Obvs I'll need to wait a few days to find out if it's working but I have to say at the moment it feels a bit 'too good to be true'

PoshVoice · 05/02/2013 20:17

12th fasting day for me today, banana at work and a plate of dal and rice for dinner (which I could only finish 70% off).

Deffo losing inches around my waist, missus has noticed and I got my first "you've lost weight" comment the other day ::little dance:: Three pairs of trousers I couldn't get into are now wearable (and two require a belt!!!).

Think I'll stick to not weighing myself, don't want any 'pressure' from chasing the numbers.

As anyone else noticed being cold/having cold hands doing this on fast days? Keep telling myself it's just coincidence but this is the third time I've noticed it now...

Keep posting everyone, this thread is a great source of info so thanks.

MiconiumHappens · 05/02/2013 20:27

Only on the first week (lost 4lb) but just wanted to chime in with the godsend that is Weight Watchers ocean pie < drumroll > 198 cals ;)

BsshBossh · 05/02/2013 21:04

Does anyone here not eat anything during their fast ie not even their 5/600 cals? I'm assuming the health benefits would be greater than consuming food. I'm wondering, if you do this, what your experiences are. I save all my cals on fasting days for a single meal in the evening by which time I am not always hungry and often think that I could go right through to the next day without eating.

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