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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! 14 threads in a stone?

975 replies

GreenEggsAndNichts · 28/02/2013 10:18

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!

If you've been at this a while and are moving on to maintaining your goal weight, there is a thread here to discuss that.

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.

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:
Aftereightsarenolongermine · 05/03/2013 08:53

bvb couldn't agree more. I'm definitely a bouncer. I seem now to be bouncing between 11.1 & 11.4 whereas before that it was 11.3 & 11.6, previous to that it was 11.5 & 11.8 if that makes sense.

SerotoninButterfly · 05/03/2013 08:55

Hello all, glad to hear all the positive stories this morning!

I had a difficult fast day yesterday as had some bad news (have been given notice to vacate my home) and usual stress response is to smoke and eat my body weight in biscuits.

However, am still a non-smoker and kept under 500cals.

Worth it this morning - weighed in at 149.6lbs!! GrinGrinGrin

Reason to be cheerful - I also enjoyed the fasting! Felt in control and like I could do it forever.

Had 2 cups of coffee with milk and now feel mega bloated though Hmm

LittleFriendSusan · 05/03/2013 09:01

Can I join you? DP and I have decided to give this a go after watching the Horizon programme and reading Michael Mosley's book. A few people we know are doing it, and are all very positive about it. Reasons for doing it - primarily the health benefits for DP: he is of healthy BMI but carries a lot of visceral fat. Me, I need to lose at least a stone and a half to be of a healthy weight again. So, weight loss first, and any additional health benefits are an added bonus!

First fast day today - wish me luck! The plan for me is to go as long as I can before eating. I know from experience that if I have breakfast, I'll be hungry mid morning. So I will try to last till 2- ish and then have some veg soup. Tuna steak and veg stir fried in tsp oil & soy sauce later tonight. Does that sound ok? DP has gone the breakfast & evening meal route: so a couple of boiled eggs and a slice of wholemeal toast this morning and nothing till dinner tonight. He has quite a labour-intensive job and was worried about going a full day (and driving a lot) on an empty stomach...

BetsyVanBell · 05/03/2013 09:15

seratonin Horrible news, sorry to hear that but huge well done for sticking to your fast so successfully :)

LittleFriendSusan Welcome! You're in the right place and your plan for the day sounds brilliant. I'll bet your DP will be fine, planned hunger is very different to panic hunger (i.e., when you're worries about where your next meal is coming from!). Good luck to you both and do report back.

aftereights I think I nicked the 'bouncing' phrase from you, very apt! What I love is knowing that I can keep up this WOE and I'll keep bouncing down and it doesn't matter how slowly that happens.

In other news, I will have to wear a swimsuit of some kind next month in public so I tried on an old bikini from slimmer days and it didn't look too awful! Result!

Dotty342kids · 05/03/2013 09:29

Well done everyone, some great news from lots of you.
Welcome to all the newbies too. I'm on week 5 and have lost about 5lbs so far so slow and steady. Had an over indulgent weekend and then fasted yesterday. Fast days are never easy but it's so good to have a feeling of hunger and get through it, rather than just caving in and eating constantly.
Going to mini fast on Thurs (no breakfast / lunch but a normal dinner, not calorie counted) and then my second main fast on Friday.

swallowedAfly · 05/03/2013 09:32

bvb that sounds very similar to how my weight goes on this woe and how i approach it. my most recent new low was 11.4.8 - now i'm holding at 11.5.6 but want to see at least that 11.4.8 back tomorrow and hope to see a new low.

it's like within a week or so that low becomes the norm and you begin to glance a new one - so it is like you hit it, then you work to keep it and then the next one appears and repeat.

i've done the school run and a few errands and made myself do a little bit of a jog on the way home to kick start things. i've been doing some reading and i find this idea of eating fats to get your body used to running on fat interesting. not up for swallowing a spoon of olive oil but will take some omega3 and some evening primrose oil capsules today.

BsshBossh · 05/03/2013 09:42

swallowed, putthehamster have you seen this comparison of various IF strategies by one guy?

www.precisionnutrition.com/intermittent-fasting

He compared weight loss results of 5:2, of 18:6, of combination of 5:2 & 18:6 etc. Makes interesting reading.

I'm doing just 18:6 this week to see the results.

BsshBossh · 05/03/2013 09:44

He's a doctor and so he monitored his blood work too. Here's the wrap-up chapter with bloodwork results:

www.precisionnutrition.com/intermittent-fasting/chapter-7

sunnymum44 · 05/03/2013 09:49

Hi everyone, I'm new to this and have a quick question on milk in coffee please. I did first fast day on Saturday and 2nd yesterday - all good so far, managed to not eat anything until evening meal as that seems to work best for me. However I probably had 3/4 coffees with skimmed milk during both days. Does this mean I wasn't actually fasting for the 24 hours that I thought I was? I counted the milk as calories in my 500 so the weight loss benefits will be there I'm sure, but what about the health benefits? Have I null and voided them because I had milk in the morning?
Also, I am a bit confused about this window of fasting being as long as possible as I read the 5:2 book and I thought it was ok to consume the 500 calories at any time during the day? However most of you seem to be trying to get this fasting window of no calories - why is that?
Would love to hear any thoughts on this, many thanks.

sunnymum44 · 05/03/2013 09:51

PS. Thank you for all your comments about weight fluctuation over the week and "bouncing" as you call it! Makes complete sense to me and answers a question I posted yesterday about when to weigh, thank you!

BetsyVanBell · 05/03/2013 09:52

saf I've done a bit of reading on eating fat to burn fat and from personal experience I do find I'm more likely to lose weight if I have a high fat day here and there... and by high fat day I mean a good roast with lots of crackling!

Not doable on a fast day really but on other days I try and make sure I'm eating a selection of nuts and seeds as well as making a salad dressing from good quality olive oil, which really can go on anything.

Outnoobered · 05/03/2013 09:52

Hi everyone, first post (when I can get it in the right thread)!

Male, 46. Been doing mostly 5:2 (occasionally 4:3) since the beginning of September and I've lost around 2 stone in that 6 months. BMI is now around 23.

Anyway, I have a question I never thought I'd need to ask: when do I stop trying to lose weight? what is the ideal BMI? Obviously the advice is 18.5 to 25 but within that range, is it best to be at the mid point or the lower end? I did read some stuff that said around 19.5 is ideal but other stuff said over 22.5 was better = confused!

I'm thinking of the best weight for health and I'm aware of the shortcomings of the BMI scale.

Apologies if this has been asked before and thanks in advance,
David

BumBiscuits · 05/03/2013 10:37

Welcome Ootnoobered!

I don't know the answer to your question but someone will come along who does. I'm looking forward to having the same issues Grin

I did my 9th fast yesterday. I got some of that very low calorie pasta from H&B and found it to be grim. I think if I were to try it again I would cut it up into tiny pieces. It was too rubbery for me to eat.

I have stayed the same for 3 weeks now. I'm hoping that breaks this week. I've been eating/drinking lots of the wrong things at the weekend though as I've been away every weekend due to a family member being ill in hospital, 2 hours away. I've still had a deficit of 3000-4000 cals each week from my TDEE.

Breadandwine · 05/03/2013 10:58

Hi David - and welcome to the thread!

I'm a bloke in my mid-seventies and I've lost 10kg on this WOL (way of living) over the last year - and I don't need to lose any more. I'm 5' 6" and hover between 9.2 and 9.4.

I've gained three new belt holes and every time I do up my belt I check just where I am. I can generally pull the belt through a further one and a half inches from the last hole, but not every time! Grin

You ask a good question, and I don't think the answer relies entirely on facts and figures, TBH.

I suppose I'm at the lower end of the BMI range, but, more importantly, I 'feel' as if I'm in the right place. I think you just have to let your body tell you when you get there.

Sorry - that wasn't much help, was it? Grin

BetsyVanBell · 05/03/2013 11:02

ootnumbered I suspect there's no definitive answer to that question! Once you're at a point where you're feeling fit and healthy then you're probably already there. You could probably happily go down to a 6:1 with an extra mini fast thrown in here and there. That's what other maintainers seem to do (I'm looking at Bread&wine and TalkinPeace here).

Also congratulations!

There's also a maintainers thread here you might like to check out.

BetsyVanBell · 05/03/2013 11:03

B&W, you got there first :)

ExitPursuedByABear · 05/03/2013 11:05

Hi All - Fasting day not very good yesterday for me, but not losing heart (although I am not losing weight either).

Can anyone recommend some good scales? Ours seem to have given up the ghost and are constantly showing 2lbs when empty Confused.

I mean scales for me, not my food Wink

Daisy1407 · 05/03/2013 11:09

Morning peeps!

Eating day today and ive had porridge (which i over cooked and spilt half! rarrr!) with a tablespoon of honey - OMG delicious!

Im feeling a little smug today as i also got up at 6am and did 20 mins of the 30 day shred dvd - my first time on this DVD looks pretty good

Not sure how many kcal i burnt off though - not sure what thats under on MFP!? any ideas?

Hope your all okay - the sun has got his hat on - lets get fit and skinny for summer x

systemsaddict · 05/03/2013 11:22

Hello all, second fast day today - I was really nervous about it last night but OK so far, have only had black coffee and peppermint tea - last food was coffee with cream at 9.30 last night - holding out for food until I really want it. Easier than last time though.

Food for today will be a whole grapefruit (82cal), a kiwi fruit (46), half a carton of carrot and coriander soup (108), and a weightwatchers beef hotpot for dinner (231), comes to 467, so I can also have a coffee with milk / a miso soup sachet if I want something extra.

I am even tempted to weigh tomorrow morning so I get a starting weight - have been avoiding scales for a couple of years as I was finding they were demotivating me.

Sherry the best thing I did for that horrible 'needing to hide' feeling was to go and see a personal shopper in Debenhams, at my very highest weight, who found me a lovely capsule wardrobe set of clothes (not expensive ones - think a few £15-£20 tops and a few pairs of nicely fitting trousers in the £30-40 range) which make me look and feel good. I had no idea how to buy clothes to suit me in my post-kids shape and was living in stretchy trousers and big jumpers until that point. It was money I didn't have (went on a store card they got me to open!) and I am paying it off gradually but it was the best thing I ever did for getting me to feel like myself again.

greenfig · 05/03/2013 11:28

Hi daisy mine is logged as 20mins =240cals. However I can't remember where I got that from, someone in the know, google??? May not be accurate but a reasonable guestimate I'd say.
Fasting here today & feeling much better. I have had a wierd sort of 'congested' feeling in lower tummy over the w/e. Had a 9pm pb & jam sandwich & cocoa last night so am keen to try & stretch out a few hrs before I eat. sunnymum you are right, it confused me too & I asked the same question when I started. Some posters are tweaking things to suit them or following other AF plans I believe. I tend to have 3 small meals on a fast but am now trying to have as long as I can comfortably manage before first 'meal' to give as many hrs with no cals at all. You will find what works for you. My feeling is it is better for me to go less hrs than to cave in & grab the wrong foods, but that's just meGrin

Breadandwine · 05/03/2013 11:29

BVB Just as well we were in agreement! Grin

Exit Check out the Tips thread for a scales recommendation. Click on 'Show all messages', then, using CTL F, look for 'scales'.

ExitPursuedByABear · 05/03/2013 11:50

Sorry - I have given up Bread and Wine for Lent, so I am unable to read your post. Wink

swallowedAfly · 05/03/2013 12:08

thanks for links bshh - have had a read.

Treacleq · 05/03/2013 12:19

Wow! I have spent the last three days reading through this amazing thread and couldn't help but want to join in!

I'm very new to dieting, and have become rather depressed since attempting Diet Chef from the New Year.

I weighed myself just before Xmas and realised I had put on a stone since I last weighed myself about three months before! I thought 'Now is the time and I really must do something about this!'. I'm 30 now and have been 14 stone and a size 18 for about the last 10 years, I'm 5'10 so just about got away with it but have always been overweight and unhappy with my extreme apple shape - but never so bothered as to actually do something about it... Then I got sucked in by the ads and thought I would try DC as I want to get to a healthier weight.

Well that backfired big time - I'm now 15 st 8! Horrendous! Its left me feeling worse than when I started :( (and considerably lighter in pocket) I did cheat at weekends because I felt so restricted but hoped to loose at least a pound or two!

So here I am - your posts have been so inspirational, and along with a male colleague at work loosing a lot of weight on 5:2 I'm giving it a go! First fast done yesterday ( the DC meals are handy for out and about calorie counting on these days - one use for all the left overs anyway!) and just over at 540 cals - felt elated and 'lighter', didn't sleep wonderfully but woke feeling lively and happy this morning!

So fingers crossed for another fast on Wednesday... and then another, and another :)

Apols for the lengthy post but this thread has been wonderful and inspiring and I so hope I can succeed just as most of you have done! Thank you!!

(Accidentally posted this on an earlier thread - catching up now!)

BlackMaryJanes · 05/03/2013 12:29

So I'm full of cold and fasting. It's no biggy. My taste buds are dead at the moment.

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