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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:
LackaDAISYcal · 10/02/2013 15:38

I posted this on another thread, but meant to post it here! Any advice would be much appreciated :)

Hi guys

I'm new to 5:2 and a bit lost by it all.
I've calculated my TDEE at 2080 calories. With 5:2 do I eat this on feast days and then 520 calories on two consecutive fast days?

This would put my weekly intake at 14560 (to maintain) and 11400 (if doing 5:2). However, looking at a healthy weight loss of 1.5lbs a week, I reckon I would have to reduce my total intake to 9310.

Am I confusing the 5:2 principal with calorie reduced dieting? Is the TDEE just a tool to calcuate what you ahould be aiming for on a fast day?

I was happy enough with the principal until I read the TDEE calculator page!

ManVsFoodRocks · 10/02/2013 15:40

Afternoon all!

Please might I ask a question re. appetite? can I ask how you would feel if you had eaten the following by 3pm:

No breakfast except 2 cups coffee
A shortish (half hour walk)
Then for late lunch:
Half a large sausage roll
3 cherry tomatoes and 3 balsamic pickled onions
A moderately large piece of cheddar
3 buttered slices of bread from a very small loaf (each slice about the side of the palm of your hand and less than 1 cm wide)
A smallish slice of cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

  1. Barely touched the sides
  2. Could def. eat seconds
  3. Just about right
  4. Pleasantly full
  5. Uncomfortably full
  6. Slightly sick since you mention it

Thanks to anyone willing to humour me Grin

blueberryboybait · 10/02/2013 15:42

6 - and I haven't started fasting yet!

notapizzaeater · 10/02/2013 15:45

3/4 and I'd think I'd had a lovely ploughmans lunch

ManVsFoodRocks · 10/02/2013 15:58

Interesting interesting ... keep 'em coming!

Dotty342kids · 10/02/2013 15:59

About a 4 for me I think. It'd be the combo of the sausage roll and bread and butter / cake that would make me feel full up!

VV49 · 10/02/2013 16:03

Hi. I've been lurking for months so thanks for all the support and encouragement. I'm 49 and 5'2", I had about 16lb to lose. Weight loss has been fairly slow since last September, 12lb so far, doing 4.5/3.5 (ie 500 calories of food monday wednesday and friday but drinking wine on friday night!). But I decided to post to let everyone know the staggering improvement in my blood chemistry (cholesterol etc), hope it will be added motivation. I have fairly healthy diet anyway, except for too much wine and haven't changed it drastically apart from the fasts. In September my stats were:
Total cholesterol 6.95, HDL (good) 1.84, LDL (bad) 5.11, Triglycerides 5.65.
I had them done again on friday and they are now:
Total cholesterol 5.23, HDL 2.51, LDL 1.86, Triglycerides 1.89.
I'm staggered by the improvement. The rest of my family are on statins, but it looks like I won't need them if I stick to this. I'm finding it very do-able, enjoying the freedom of eating as I like on eating days, and very much liking being 12 lb lighter!

Dotty342kids · 10/02/2013 16:09

wow, that is brilliant vv49. Huge well done on the health gains and the weight loss!

Laska42 · 10/02/2013 16:11

definately 6 for me I think, the sausage roll /cake /ice cream would do it for me .. bread cheese toms and pickles yum or sausage roll and pickles fine ..

I take it that this has been your day ? where on the scale are you? (remember of course on a non fast day you can have all of those things without guilt.. .)

ThinkICan · 10/02/2013 16:22

Great going VV49. Truly inspiring for people like me who are almo-o-o-st falling off the wagon. I'm sort of in a corner, wondering 5:2, 4:3, take a break, do something stupid???
ManVsFood - 6 for me too, though you're fine if it's an eating day. And the best part is - you can make tomorrow your fast day and nothing's lost.

ManVsFoodRocks · 10/02/2013 16:35

Thanks for responding everyone (and do please keep doing it!)

It's a 'feast' day for me today, having done 4 fasts in 9 days, including one 22 hour complete fast.

I just think this WOE is doing something to my appetite - either massively shrinking it, or just making me hyper aware of how I actually feel.

I don't mind telling you - that lunch, especially not having had breakfast, would have only just touched the sides before. Seriously! I would probably have had another helping of cake and ice-cream, and then felt merely 'pleasantly full', and would have then looked forward to a pretty substantial dinner.

Today, after eating all that I was really uncomfortably full, and then when I went and baked peanut cookies and ate one, I tipped over into feeling properly sick, and almost certainly won't have dinner tonight (perhaps a late BAFTA snack but definitely not a full meal).

I am staggered. It's been less than a fortnight. DH agrees with me. I've always had a good hearty appetite - though never, ever, ever for junk food or takeaways, which has probably saved me from being 20 stone Hmm - and I now realise it was a definitely much, much bigger than average. And that this WOE is teaching me what 'normal' portion sizes are, and that feeling full is actually a bit unpleasant.

Thanks for humouring me! At VV that is so inspiring - thanks for posting!

Bramblesinafield · 10/02/2013 16:59

Wow that is ally good news on bloods, vv.

I would probs be troughing cheese if I had had the foods listed - bit of a trigger!

Well, fast day today and I'm fantasising about chocolate icecreams- something I don't usually eat! I'm nicely full, afte a cuppa, black coffee, lots of sparkling mineral water, herbal tea and a big bowl of skinny soup for lunch. Coming in at about 130 cals all told. Saving my meal for tonight, and have made the good food lentil and roots spicy casserole, yum, to have with lo fat yog and coriander. Nicely filling.

frenchfancy · 10/02/2013 16:59

manvsfood I would be either a 2 or a 6. On a non fast day I could definitely eat more than that, but I wouldn't want more of that as I feel slightly sick at the tought. Does that make sense?

Would have been a 2 before starting this but now half a sausage roll doesn't appeal at all, not sure about white bread or ice-cream either.

I am starting to crave more protein and less carbs - not like me at all I am a bit of a carb fiend - dinner tonight is roast chicken with all the trimmings, and I'm looking forward to the chicken and the broccoli rather than the roast spuds Confused the pear tarte tatin however won't even touch the sides Grin

frenchfancy · 10/02/2013 17:00

Great bloods vv definitely inspirational.

Bramblesinafield · 10/02/2013 17:00

I do find the day after fast day that I am not as hungry. Still early days, so haven't seen weightloss yet, but we will see and hope that something has got going by next week's 'weigh in' at the weekend.

Dotty342kids · 10/02/2013 17:08

Me too brambles. I'm going to weigh at end of this week when I'll have done four fast days across a two week period. Really hoping to see at least one or two pounds off to keep me motivated! Though I am noticing that on feed days I'm happily full on less food than usual. Think I'm conscious of not just eating for the sake of eating.

BetsyVanBell · 10/02/2013 17:09

ManvsFood 1, 2 or 3 depending on whether I'm having a hungry day or not.

BetsyVanBell · 10/02/2013 17:18

VV - great news, inspiring so thanks for posting Smile.

Virgin - just re-read the list hadn't seen the cake & sausage roll first time, actually that combo of food would be a 6 for me, a bilious mix if ever I saw one! But on a snacky day that is a possible mixture, though not usually before 3pm - snack attacks happen post-school for me.

Rosiei21 · 10/02/2013 17:56

Hi.just jumped into this thread from last one.

OK. ..Anything wrong with a latte on my fast day ? as long as it comes within my 500 calories ??

Laska42 · 10/02/2013 18:18

Rosiei no , but you may find you get hungrier as a result and end up going over .. I tend to just stick to lots of veg and a little protein (usually eggs or prawns)
but i experimented with marinaded ,and baked spicy tofu today .. was v yum and filing

mangohedgehog · 10/02/2013 18:30

I just had scrambled tofu with spring greens, carrot and spring onion for my fast day dinner - was lovely! very satisfying

I am surprised how easy my first day went. I had a full-on day out with DDs and I was expecting to be really grumpy all day. Actually it was fine although had to stop myself snatching their tuna sandwiches off them

Something seemed to kick in after about 1.30pm - that gnawing feeling in my stomach went away and I felt quite normal for the rest of the afternoon. It has really opened my eyes to the nature of hunger, which isn't at all like I thought it would be.

frenchfancy · 10/02/2013 19:00

rosie as long as it is counted in your 500cals nothing is forbidden.

parrotsandcarsnips · 10/02/2013 19:18

vv49 that is such good news for you and is just what i needed to hear.
I am mainly adapting to this WOE to reduce my cholesterol due to dire family history of cardiovascular disease.

Newlook · 10/02/2013 19:57

There are so many positive and helpful comments here - and honest "talk" - thank you everyone. I have just had meatballs 'n' sauce, recipe courtesy of Be Food Smart resource (check the app if you are short of ideas for feeding healthy meals to your family - google change 4 life) Really easy and popular meals so far, good for encouraging my 11 and 13 year olds to get involved and cook too (ok, most of the time they would prefer to be on the xbox or ipod but sometimes I manage to entice them away).

I start my first fast day tomorrow so checking out whether to have porridge, smoothie or eggs - might just have to be spontaneous...

Frannyfeet · 10/02/2013 19:59

Hello to all you very kind people who sent such nice messages to me after my fat girl freak out on Friday when I'd had a gain despite a week of utter control!

I am amazed to report that I've lost 4lbs since Friday! I have set myself a 7lb a month target for Feb, March, Apr, May, June and July, to give me a 3stone loss by my 40th. I am 1lb off my first target, so that is easily do-able by the end of Feb.

Ive decided not to get weighed tomorrow because Ive had a high cal day today.. and eaten all this....

English muffin with butter for breakfast
Full roast beef dinner in a pub for lunch
A slice of Chocolate tiffin
4 violet cream chocolates

I think I am at 1600 calories today....fast day tomorow, so may get on the scales on Weds.

Thanks again for all the encouragement, you made me stick with it and not give up!

I am on call for the week so just hoping I can stick with the fasting on Mon & Weds.

Have a good week all x