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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! 12! Cheaper by the dozen!

999 replies

GreenEggsAndNichts · 08/02/2013 10:09

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:
notapizzaeater · 09/02/2013 21:14

Oooh can I join you ... Saw the programme lat year and played with other diets since. Woke up ths morning and just thought let's do it ! Obviously nothing in the house suitable till I shop tomorrow so I've had about 3 litres of peppermint tea/ black coffee, 2 boiled eggs, vegetable cup a sop, (bath to distract me !!!!) then 2 whole grain Ryvitas (lurking at back of cupboard must be 12 months old Smile and some cheese spread so I reckon just under 500 cals, just having my last 1/2 litre peppermint tea.

I don't do breakfast (well I do but apparently 3 cups of black coffee don't count !!) do I need to eat in the morning or can I keep going till lunchtime (as I normally would ??)

cardiffmummy · 09/02/2013 21:30

Hi notapizzaeater and welcome! Well done on your first fast! Tomorrow you should just eat as normal so no obligation to eat breakfast!

hhhhhhh · 09/02/2013 23:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

blueberryboybait · 10/02/2013 09:45

Hello

I am starting the 4:3 tomorrow as I really need to kick start things. DH is doing 5:2. Tomorrow is our first fast day and I am oddly looking forward to it. AM doing a menu plan for my fast days and shopping today so I don't end up having to head to the supermarket on a hungry stomach!

BetsyVanBell · 10/02/2013 09:52

blueberry Welcome! Great to hear you've got a buddy - I'm just convincing my OH to got for it Smile. I often end up shopping on fast days but actually it's fine as you can't have any of it so there's no point buying the goodies! What's your plan? Most people find it easiest to wait as late a possible to eat as breakfast seems to 'unlock' hunger for the day.

BetsyVanBell · 10/02/2013 09:54

Monthly I love that you converted someone after a week! I think once people see that you don't actually faint and expire and appear to be completely normal they realise there's nothing to fear!

BetsyVanBell · 10/02/2013 09:59

Hello to notapizza and Trying too! Well done on your first fast day and Trying what's stopping you? Just try it tomorrow and see how you get on - skip breakfast and see how long you can go, then have some soup...

Don't forget to keep hydrated fasters - pots and pots of herbal tea are the way I do it!

Fasting tomorrow and I'm going to need it - all you can eat Chinese buffet today scaredface

mangohedgehog · 10/02/2013 10:11

I have been wanting to do this for weeks but have had back-to-back colds, which have finally cleared - so today is my first proper fast day, woohoo!

I am planning to have liquids until dinner if I can. So far I've just had two cups of black tea. The plan is:

  • Make up a big bottle of green juice with kale, cucumber, broccoli, celery, carrot and just enough bits of apple/orange to make it taste ok
  • Take it with me today (have day trip planned with the DDs) and have it for lunch / whenever I am really hungry. I'll try to hold off it until I'm really desperate
  • Also bring out a bottle of water to sip all day
  • Tonight, have a big plate of scrambled tofu and veggies

So there! I am not quite sure how to measure the calories in the juice but I am guesstimating that this lot is probably around 500.

So far I'm feeling very good and energetic but it's only just gone 10am! Yesterday was a massive carb fest so I'm really looking forward to giving my digestion a break.

Lyrasilvertongued · 10/02/2013 10:24

Hi, I'm keen to give this a go. Can anyone advise best way to split the 2 fasting days- eg if I did today and tomorrow to get started is that too much altogether? Also, was thinking boiled eggs and soup for bfast/lunch, anyone good tips for v low cal dinners? Really hoping to shift some weight quickly for a boost, first time in my life I've been size 20/22 and hating how I look just now!!

BetsyVanBell · 10/02/2013 10:28

mangohedgehog I think you might be over-estimating the calories in that green juice - MFP says that 250ml of "mean green juice" - yours sounds similar - is only 100 calories so you might have have room for a couple of boiled eggs or a big bowl of soup later. Good luck! You'll love it Smile.

BetsyVanBell · 10/02/2013 10:30

mango Oops, just re-read your post - you've got a great dinner planned :)

Lyra Lots of people leave 2 day gaps between fasts but try things out and see what works best for you. Good luck.

mangohedgehog · 10/02/2013 10:33

Oh brilliant, thanks for looking that up! I have just made it and it comes out at just over 500ml so I guess that's around 200 cal then. Hopefully it will do me until (early) dinner anyway.

thanks Betsy!

Breadandwine · 10/02/2013 11:16

Way to go, folks! Lots of energy on the thread this morn! Smile

Welcome to all the new fasters - you've come to the right place.

If you've got time in your busy lives I strongly recommend you read the OP and the Tips and Links thread (where most of the research resides).

Good luck to you all!

Just heard from Piebaldrider, who's been missing on these threads for a while (one of our most inspirational losers), that she promises to post sometime today.

Cheers, B&S

Breadandwine · 10/02/2013 11:25

B&S? Who he? Grin

B&W, of course!

swallowedAfly · 10/02/2013 11:36

morning all - welcome to newcomers Smile

i surprised myself last night by buying ice cream and doing my usual of into bed with tub and spoon and something to watch on the laptop only to find after a few spoons i didn't really want it and went and put it back in the freezer Shock

so yesterday was a bit of a failure as a fast day but none the less ended up on a positive. i haven't returned ice cream to the freezer in a very long time and it has been those late night binges on sugary stuff that have led to my weight gain.

fingers crossed things are changing.

have accepted i will just do my fast on tuesday when i'm in work and will see if i can do another during this half term constantly feeding child period. if not then it's not the end of the world it's just one week less effective and in the interim i can just focus on not going mad with food.

reminding myself that this is a long term endeavor not a fast fix.

BsshBossh · 10/02/2013 11:41

So wonderful to be able to eat pizza and Chelsea buns without guilt (a sample from my - non-fasting - weekend eating) Grin. don't worry though, it's not all this unhealthy, lots of veggies and salads too

BsshBossh · 10/02/2013 11:45

Well done swallowed. I'm finding that even though I'm still enjoying cake, chocolate, crisps etc, I'm definitely no longer craving it. I think this is because a) I know it's not banned, that I can eat it if I want and b) my tastebuds are changing - fasting is making me more sensitive to heavy, cloying foods and I'm preferring cleaner, lighter tastes.

Dotty342kids · 10/02/2013 11:52

In terms of recipes I find anything based around chicken / fish with chickpeas / tinned tomatoes with a great combination of spices / flavourings will usually come in under 500 calories for dinner! So, if you rummage round the bbcgoodfood website you should find a fair few things.
This week's fast day dinners will be: Nigella's lentil / squash curry - really yummy and dead easy to make. Then the other one is a chicken / harissa / roasted squash bake. Yum.

ButteryPeanuts · 10/02/2013 11:53

After 8 fast's I have to started to notice getting fuller quicker and staying full longer. Yesterday I didn't eat anything substantial until 3 o'clock just because I wasn't hungry. Although when I did eat my hunger switch clicked on and I ate a tad little too much than I should have in the evening. Felt really uncomfortable last night when trying to sleep so that'll be a lesson learnt. I just need to listen to my body -when it tells me i'm full, I need to stop ruddy eating!

Today is a fast day so hopefully I can right the wrong of yesterday. Going to see how long I can go without eating today since I can't do that during the week.

I was sceptical at the beginning that I wouldn't be able to not go crazy on my non-fast days but i'm slowly coming round to the fact that I will eventually not want to eat myself silly.
Really enjoying this way of eating and hopefully I'll be able to stick to it for the foreseeable future!

TyrannosaurusBex · 10/02/2013 12:34

Bssh, yy to taste buds changing. Yesterday (splurge day) I ate one McCoys crisp, nibbled a pie and then left both of them - they just didn't taste nice to me!

Same cannot be said of freshly baked bread, cheese and pickle, M&S giant chocolate raisins or Nigella's choc chip cookies, however...

My top tip for fast days (of which today is one) is Big Tom tomato juice. Really thick and spicy, makes me feel like I've eaten loads, tastes like a pizza in a glass and all for 30 cals.

chipmonkey · 10/02/2013 12:47

weekly weigh in, I have lost 5lb! I was really surprised as on my non-fast days, I didn't really try to stay within TDEE and actually had a chicken kebab on Friday night and a lot of wine and party food last night! I could live like this!

Breadandwine · 10/02/2013 13:49

Hi swallowed good move with ice cream.

It sounds like you're moving towards gaining control over what you eat - and if you go back through these threads 'control' is a word that comes up again and again.

For the first time in my life, I'm in complete control over my weight!

Not quite in complete control of what I eat - but if I do eat half a bar of chocolate, or too much ice cream, I can instantly rectify it by throwing in another 'mini-fast' the next day. Smile

Good luck with the rest of half term - perhaps you might like to occupy yourself and the DCs with some fun breadmaking?

Breadmaking with children.

notapizzaeater · 10/02/2013 14:02

I had my 3 cups of black coffee for breakfast as I normally do. Had a grilled bacon sandwich at 1 for dinner and having home made beef stew for tea, ds is coeliac so no dumplings etc and has loads of veg so quite healthy. Bought a couple of sachets of diet Horlicks today (iirc 50 cals each) for fasting days.

Am not going to weigh till next Saturday so a full week. Am fasting tomorrow (on a course In afternoon so normally running round like a mad thing) so lots of coffee and a banana mid afternoon and think stir fry for tea.

Eating normally on Tuesday - always have lunch with a friend and couldn't cope with the "look"

Can't decide to fast Wednesday or Thursday - doesn't actually aid much difference to me, eating normally Friday then fasting again on Saturday.

That said if I eat normally on Friday am I bet eating weighed Saturday or Sunday after fast day ? Will get tape measure out tonight and measure myself ....

BsshBossh · 10/02/2013 14:57

chipmonkey well done!

notapizzaeater · 10/02/2013 15:35

Wow chip monkey missed that - 5 lbs that's brilliant GrinGrinGrinGrinGrin