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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:
plecofjustice · 30/01/2013 11:49

I don't religiously eat the "earned" cals. I just don't stress if I've earned them and I go 50 or so over 1590

BettySuarez · 30/01/2013 12:10

Hello everyone, a long time lurker but have been watching this thread and swatting up and will be ready to start my first fast tommorow.

I did try the low carb bootcamp a few months ago. I didn't get on well with it unfortunately (lost the weight but felt quite unwell) but I did learn an awful lot about my eating habit and my bodies response to carbs.

Will have a normal meal with the kids tonight but will skip the wine as worried that this may make things tougher tomorrow. I won't miss breakfast as never usually bother with it anyway but hoping to last through lunch with small piece of fruit and then enjoy a low cal evening meal.

Like quite a few others, I am planning to fast on Monday and Thursday as this seems to fit in best with my plans.

My DD is also planning to join me although I am slightly worried about this due to her age (17). She is usually pretty good and self disciplined at calorie counting so this may well be a better option for her.

Does anyone know if it is contra-indicated in teens?

I have 5 stone to lose in total, so hoping that we see some results Smile

BsshBossh · 30/01/2013 12:14

Thanks Breadandwine.

Vix I would try and shoot for your TDEE on non-fast days but try not to go over it - log everything in MFP. Try to eat full fat everything if you're struggling to eat enough on non-fast days. Make healthy but full fat snack choices eg nuts and cheese. Hopefully that will satiate you so you don't binge but also ensure your weekly average calorie intake doesn't get too low.

Pleco, I've only just started but this is my routine:

Monday: 24 hour fast. 500 cals in one sitting - dinner with DH.
Tuesday: Eat at TDEE
Wednesday: 24 hour fast as Monday.
Thursday to Sunday: Eat at TDEE.

I want to eat at TDEE on non-fast days as I don't want my weekly calories to go too low. I lose weight well eating 15% below my TDEE so I want my weekly average to reflect that.

Betterlatethan · 30/01/2013 12:18

Struggling today. Sad. Second fast day of the week and I think I am going to have to abandon. Using up some time before eating by writing this, but the hunger has just not disappeared at all today. Guess its just one of those days. Funny really but Mondays fast was a breeze, and over before I knew it (it was my 8th fast to date) in fact I struggled to eat all my 500 cals! I do wonder if having a fast after a good few days of eating is easier on the system than a fast, feed day and a fast again, almost as if my body hasn't quite replenished itself from the fast on Monday. Anyone got any opinions on this? I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts.
I'm also interested to hear more about what those people who have now reached their goal planning to do about maintaining. I've just read bcl (or it could be bandw?) view of once reaching the ideal weight, having one fast day and another fast, but reverting to normal calorie consumption. Is this a standard thing?
I was planning on continuing my 4.5:2.5 ( sorry catsrus, can't quite manage the 4:3!) and then dropping to 6:1 at goal and staying there for all time. Is there a health benefit of doing 6:1 with another fast day and reverting to normal cals after?
Have I got that right or is my hunger causing me to misunderstand today...tbh, it wouldn't surprise me, everything just seems to be a little too hard today and I'm not even at TOTM!

TalkinPeace2 · 30/01/2013 12:21

Betty
There is burger all evidence about this in teens but I'd be very, very wary.
I've told my kids (12 & 14) its not for people who are still growing.
Could you persuade her to add enough food on fast days to come up to her BMR (link in the OP) ....

BsshBossh · 30/01/2013 12:23

Betterlatethan why don't you try spacing out your fasts more - eg Monday and Thursday or even Monday and Friday - and see how you get on. You may be right in thinking a Wednesday fast is too soon for your body.

Try it for a week.

iseenodust · 30/01/2013 12:23

Hang in there Better! What about a cuppa soup? Waitrose chicken noodle love life ones are only 40 calories and I make in a really big mug. You also get the cosy wrapping your hands around it feeling. Also I'm getting a thing for sugar free jelly. 1/4 of a jelly is 9 cals. Sorry can't address any of your technical points.

LaurieFairyCake · 30/01/2013 12:26

I think there is something in what you've said - maybe it would be better to leave 2 days between fasts . I was much hungrier yesterday than the first day after fasting - because I ate well yesterday fasting today is easy.

I wouldn't look on it as a failure either, you've managed to get to 12.30 without eating and you fasted overnight Smile

Just try again another day. Surely what's perfect about this is that if something goes tits up during the day you can abandon it for the day and then come back to it another day.

hhhhhhh · 30/01/2013 12:28

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hhhhhhh · 30/01/2013 12:30

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Betterlatethan · 30/01/2013 12:36

Thanks all.....currently sitting in Starbucks with some sushi from M and S and a hot chocolate ( not as good as the cuppa soup on the calorie front, but sure gives the 'hug in a mug' feeling! Grin
The good thing about this WOL is that you are constantly learning about your body as you go along. For me, I think I need to space out my fast days more and fit in a 16 hour fast on my other day. (I usually go straight through to 6pm with no problems before eating my cals on a fast day and my half day is a 16 hours fast from dinner to lunch)
The thing is, I'm just so unused to actually listening to my body that anytime something falls outside of what I've planned, I automatically think 'its obviously not for me'!
Really learning a lot about my physiology doing this!
Feeling better now, so best wishes to everyone and thanks for the support!

Snowkey · 30/01/2013 12:39

betty both dh and I feel that the second fast of the week is tougher and I agree with your reasons why - the body is using up reserves on the first day and on the second the tank is empty - that's my theory, interesting to hear if others feel the same. We fast Mon and Wed because we like to get the fasts out of the way.

TalkinPeace2 · 30/01/2013 12:46

Monthly
if your BMI is 35, I would suggest working out your TDEE (link in OP) and then logging everything you eat in MFP (link in OP) to find out where the extras have been coming from.
Do not stop eating that day when you get to the limit, and do not miss things out, just use it as a tool to teach you what should be eating on non fasting days.
Very, very few people have a TDEE of 2000 calories ... because correct intake depends on size and activity.

maniacbug · 30/01/2013 12:53

Betterlatethan what did you have for dinner last night? I remember reading on an earlier thread that high-carb meals the night before make for a tough fast the next day, so pasta, risotto, etc. best avoided. But I am not very clued-up on the science side of it so someone else might have a better explanation!

headintheclouds · 30/01/2013 13:09

im coming 'on board' today ,and have started my first fast day today.Ive been lurking on this thread for an age and a couple of days ago thought Ill start next Monday( i dont know why I think I should start any diet on a Monday,but thats what I ve done over the years with other diets and always failed) .this thread has been so inspiring and Ive got the book, read as much as I can .... Loving your blog and recipes breadandwine . So I thought why wait until Monday? get on the horse now and get on with it.
Im not massively overweight but its crept on over the last 10 years, all around my middle so I want to reap the health benefits of this as well as lose 20 pounds ideally. im 50 in November and would like to be svelte for my 50th.
Today Ive got up ,missed breakfast and had a light lunch of boiled egg ,2 slices of pastrami and a tangerine .( i dont think I could go without food all day but I'll 'suck it and see'
plan on having a big bowl of lentil and spinach soup for dinner and
ive drunk my coffee without milk today . Right now Im off to watch the Horizon programme if I can find it for more inspiration!

Betterlatethan · 30/01/2013 13:12

Thanks manicbug. Very interesting. I had a homemade chicken in black bean sauce stir fry with a small portion of 'straight to wok' noodles. Not sure that's massively high carb, but something to watch out for, for sure. We are pretty healthy in the main, most of my feed day meals are variations on a theme of stirfrys or fish, veg and a few potatoes, but maybe I will cut out the carbs a little more and see how I go...thanks! Smile

literarygeek · 30/01/2013 13:29

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literarygeek · 30/01/2013 13:30

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Snowkey · 30/01/2013 13:35

I have bought a Fitbit which calculates my TDEE as accurately as possible. Have been surprised by how active I am - also great incentive to keep moving. Over January I have been monitoring the numbers trying to achieve a 7000kcal deficit as I wanted to knock the Christmas gain on the head while I was keeping to a dry January - I have guessed food quantity on my food on feed days but you log your food on mpf so you can be as precise as you like and then mpf and the fitbit "chat" and tell you how you are doing.

plecofjustice · 30/01/2013 13:35

better - FWIW, I had the hardest fast last Monday, harder than it's ever been before. I felt dizzy, cold, could barely keep my eyes open, could barely speak to anyone. Still felt dizzy on Tuesday when I was eating again.

Two things came to mind - one I'd not fasted the week before due to illness, and second, it was my birthday on the SUnday, so I'd rather over-indulged. I think the various bits of cake, alcohol, etc had disrupted my bloodsugars so much that I just crashed on Monday. Is it possible something similar happened to you?

schnauzerstar · 30/01/2013 13:48

hi all im a relative newby (posted once on the last thread) im in to my third week of fasting, week one i did 2 days lost 4lb last week i did 3 days and overall i only lost a couple of ounces- totally gutted. i dont overindulge on eating days and as a dance teacher i am pretty active at work also i try to walk the mutt an average of 20 miles a week anybody give me any ideas where im going wrong or am i just being impatient??? on a positive im fasting today and its going ok so far-no desire to eat my hand yet.

maniacbug · 30/01/2013 13:49

I seem to remember that the general advice for the night before fasting was less carbs, more protein - can anyone clarify?
(Better I am still at the trial-and-error stage myself + remember suffering the morning of one of my first fasts after a big veg pasta dish the night before in the misguided belief that carb-loading would be a good idea.)
I think I definitely need to pay more attention to what I eat the day immediately before a fast, so any advice on what works for others will be very gratefully received!

maniacbug · 30/01/2013 14:01

Also have been reading a bit today about the difference between drinking cold/warm water. Apparently far better to drink warm water/herbal tea with and after food: I had heard this before but always thought it was so that your body didn't have to work to warm it up, but have learnt today that cold water solidifies the fat molecules in the food you've just eaten and clogs up the intestine, whereas warm water actively aids digestion. Interesting.

ErikNorseman · 30/01/2013 14:10

Marking place

I'm in a real rhythm of fasting now and finding fasting a piece of cake (fnar). Doing mon wed and fri seems the easiest. To all newbies; stick with it. It gets easier, and the urge to binge on feed days does abate!

ErikNorseman · 30/01/2013 14:14

Dinner before fasting should def be high protein, low carb if you are worried about being hungry. A carb heavy dinner tends to make me really hungry first thing next day!