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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:
BsshBossh · 05/03/2013 18:04

Welcome back Ezzza!

frenchfancy · 05/03/2013 18:12

blue I'm not sure I understand the question about starting time. You fasted on Monday, ate on Tuesday, so you can either fast on Wednesday or Thursday. If Thursday is out then fast on Wednesday.

swallowedAfly · 05/03/2013 18:22

or friday.

it's from when you wake up, all through the day and next night. just as you did.

i'm now at 22hrs. i think i may be able to make 24

IDismyname · 05/03/2013 18:22

Sorry, French - what I meant was - can I do a fast that starts tomorrow afternoon and continues through to Thursday afternoon?

swallowedAfly · 05/03/2013 18:24

no that won't be a fast.

IDismyname · 05/03/2013 18:25

Ahhh.... So it needs to be a day, with both the nights either side of it...?

ie 36 hours?

Sorry. Am being a bit dense, here.

Wommer · 05/03/2013 18:29

Hi all,
Can I join?
I started the 5:2 last week - have done 2 fast days so far and have another tomorrow.
Am loving that I can work the good behaviour around when I have clients in (which means lunching) at work.
I found my second fast day alot easier than the first - I'm hoping this is me adjusting rather than the huge amount of food I ate the day before!
Will check out the previous threads in a min - but what kind of weight loss is it realistic to expect?
Am just into the overweight bracket (bmi 25.5) but to be really svelte (but not skinny) could do with loosing about 1.5 st.
(Am 6ft which skews it a bit)
Cheers all!

Wommer · 05/03/2013 18:30

Hi all,
Can I join?
I started the 5:2 last week - have done 2 fast days so far and have another tomorrow.
Am loving that I can work the good behaviour around when I have clients in (which means lunching) at work.
I found my second fast day alot easier than the first - I'm hoping this is me adjusting rather than the huge amount of food I ate the day before!
Will check out the previous threads in a min - but what kind of weight loss is it realistic to expect?
Am just into the overweight bracket (bmi 25.5) but to be really svelte (but not skinny) could do with loosing about 1.5 st.
(Am 6ft which skews it a bit)
Cheers all!

Wommer · 05/03/2013 18:30

Crap! Double post - sorry!

ErikNorseman · 05/03/2013 18:45

Blue2, the fast has to be from waking up to waking up the next day.
Wommer, you may lose 1lb a week?

countryhousehotel · 05/03/2013 18:46

blue2 if you ate something tomorrow afternoon and then ate nothing until Thursday afternoon, and then stuck to 500 calories until you got up on Friday morning, then yes you could start fasting tomorrow afternoon and finish on Thursday, but you'd have to stick to 500 cals during the period b/w tomorrow afternoon and Friday morning preferably with as long a gap as you can manage between your last food tomorrow afternoon and first food on Thursday. I think!!!! I hope someone who's been at this longer than me can clarify the rules around this.

Slightly confusing because to some people "fasting" means literally eating nothing at all, but can also mean sticking to the fasting day limit of 500 cals

Oh god now I'm getting confused Smile. That'll be the hunger Grin.

Wommer · 05/03/2013 18:54

Thanks Eric Smile
I've got a big birthday coming up in may so if I can lose 1lb a week until then that was be amazing Grin
Huuuuuge present to myself!

swallowedAfly · 05/03/2013 19:06

you need the two sleeps - that's where most of the fasting takes place realistically and just 500 cals between them.

i have an hour and a half to go. have been reading about the benefits of hitting the 24hr mark to motivate myself. learning about human growth hormones and how the increased levels keep increasing upto the 24hr mark and then taper off. human growth hormone is good! also known as the 'youth hormone' and i could do with some of that Wink

going to put ds to bed soon and read him a story which will take a bit more time and then will have a bath and then it'll be time to eat.

frenchfancy · 05/03/2013 19:08

The truth is blue you can do it pretty much any way you want. There are people who IF who stick to various eating windows. Some people move it around to fit in around various social schedules. But that isn't 5:2.

Overall you should look at your weekly calorie intake and see what your deficit is. I've been fitting in some "mini fasts" whilst I've been on holiday. So basically skipping breakfast and lunch and eating what I wanted in the evening. I won't lose weight doing that but I'm hoping it has helped me not put too much on.

catsrus · 05/03/2013 19:18

blue2 some people fast for a 24 hr period from - say 2pm one day to 2pm the next day. It is perfectly fine to do that - BUT in order to benefit from the simplicity of this WOE you would have to count all your eating and fast days in that way. you are aiming for a certain balance over a week so the 'days' have to be consistent.

The simplest way we have found (most of us who've been doing this a while) is to assume you don't eat while asleep (for most of that is the night time) and so count the 'day' as the time between getting up and going to bed.

Keep it simple. Just pick a couple of days and only eat 500 cals during them. don't worry about the time you eat etc. As you get used to doing this you will probably start to tweak it. I used to have 3 small meals, then went to 2, now on most fast days I only eat in the evening - unless I'm at home when I might have a veggie soup/stew on the go and have a number of bowlfuls during the day. The tweaking you are seeing many people doing is generally the result of fine tuning the WOE to get max benefit given that person's life style.

whatsforyou · 05/03/2013 19:30

Hi all, first time poster on this thread but I've been doing the fast for a couple of months now. I find it really easy to stick to and feel great on it. Only problem is, at first I lost weight - about a stone in a month - but now I've hit a plateau. I haven't lost or gained an as much as an ounce in three weeks!
I am still over half a stone off the top end of my healthy weight range and a stone and a half off what I want to be. I never watch what I eat on non fast days as I tend to eat healthy fresh food most of the time and I thought the idea was 'no dieting'
Have any long time fasters hit a plateau like this and any advice? I don't want to start counting calories on my off days as that is what I love about this plan but am thinking I might have to start to get these extra pounds shifted!

chocolatespiders · 05/03/2013 19:38

If today I was on a fast day would I need to leave 16 hours between stopping eating today and starting my eating day tomorrow?
So if i eat tonight at 6pm on fast day I cant eat until tomorrow lunch time is that right?

ErikNorseman · 05/03/2013 19:39

Chocolate - once your fast day is over you can eat what and when you like.

chocolatespiders · 05/03/2013 19:40

If today I was on a fast day would I need to leave 16 hours between stopping eating today and starting my eating day tomorrow?
So if i eat tonight at 6pm on fast day I cant eat until tomorrow lunch time is that right?

Talkinpeace · 05/03/2013 19:40

Blimey falimey these threads are moving fast again.

THinkICan
Get that lazy backside of yours back in the zone and do a proper fast. Grin

TiP

chocolatespiders · 05/03/2013 19:42

So you sleep after your fast day and when you wake the next day you can eat whatever time you like?

Is the 12-16 hour thing the time you leave between an eating day and starting to eat your 500 cals on your fast day?

BsshBossh · 05/03/2013 19:42

whatsforyou I'm not a long term faster so there will be people more experienced than me who will advise, but I have been on my own successful weight loss journey for the past 12 months. I've often not lost for weeks, sometimes a few months, but always, eventually, the trajectory has been downwards. I no longer fear plateaus; I see them now as part of the journey. But mindfulness is key and sometimes it's worth examining your daily eating habits - eg are you eating enough, are you eating too little, are you eating a bit too much salt, are you drinking enough water, would more/less cardio and/or weights help. But overall, keep at it; consistency's key. Good luck!

BlackMaryJanes · 05/03/2013 19:43

Very much looking forward to Sunday. I'm going to allow myself to have a ruddy good binge. It is mother's day after all.

Who's been fasting today?

catsrus · 05/03/2013 19:44

when you get up tomorrow chocolate you can start eating whenever you like. keep it simple.

Once you've done it for a few months you might want to start counting hours between meals but you don't need to for it to 'work' re. weight loss.

whatsforyou I would add in another fast day every now and then rather than count calories - worked for me Grin I lost 2 stone, now tweaking re. maintenance and getting rid of a final 3-4 lb.

Talkinpeace · 05/03/2013 19:45

Maintaining Healthy Weight :
There is a much quieter thread I started to discuss exactly this.
My weight has basically been stable since before Christmas.
I think the thing to do is to stay with 5:2 - to get the health benefits of the fasts
but to relax a bit about the 500 calories
that way the weight loss slows down as you have less to lose.

What weight should I stop at
Probably a LOT less than you originally thought.

My original target was 9st. I'm now going to aim for 8st 8lb in time for my Easter relapse.

But as I've hovered around 8st 11 for two months it should not be hard.
So my BMI is under 21 but I can still pinch an inch all the way round my hips!!
You need to look at your frame,
but if you can pinch an inch on neck or shoulders or arms, chances are you can safely lose more
so long as you tone up the butterfly that is coming out of its shell