The 5:2 Thread number 22! Put down that biscuit - you can eat it tomorrow

[BetsyBell]

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.

NFD = Non fast day

NSV = Non scale victory

Michael Mosley has a 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- 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 tips and links 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.

There's a link to the aforementioned Horizon programme here.

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 by Dr Mosley himself, very informative if you're just starting. (I highly recommend this for an 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. 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.

A HUGE THANK YOU to Greeneggsandnichts for putting together all the info and resources into one concise OP text, much appreciated by so many 5:2ers!

Come join us, and tell us about your experiences with this diet!

well done to everyone and thanks for the welcome back to the main thread, good to be back on track, sipping a final chamomile tea of the day, done almost exactly 500, had a calorie counted sashimi salmon and edamame and rocket salad for lunch from abokado (195 incl dressing) and a very filling covent garden pea and creme fraiche soup of the month for dinner 300 cals, one cup of coffee with milk, 2 peppermint teas, 1 fizzy water, 2 chamomiles and a can of diet dr pepper (sshh don't tell tip evil sweeteners i know, don't go near them usually!)

tough times have been the classic 4-5pm and then again 8.30pm once kids were in bed, I usually always have a snack or sweet treat then, but it feels good to be successful, and i know that i won't be hungry in the morning...for anyone new to this, that's the best thing, you go to bed on fast day fantasising about yummy breakfast and then weirdly wake up not hungry, i've learned to try and capitalise on this as once I start eating the day after a fast i usually don't stop. so aim is to not eat til lunch, when i'm meeting a fantastic old friend who's visiting from New York, after attending ds's sports day.

very impressed with tomorrrowweeat 2 stone, 6 months, just perfect;y steady 1 pound a week, with so many lovely non-restricted days, this really is the best WOE!

night all

alwaysanauntie no oven since January? I have no reason to moan then! I think salads this week are the way to go for me. Oh, and during my 5 stone weight loss journey I've had several 4000 cal days (due to eating out, celebrations, TOM-induced etc) but have still lost weight. As you have discovered, it's all about balance over the week. Overeat one day, no problem - undereat the next. It's why IF suits me well. No more guilt.

Finished another fast day here, lasted all day until 5pm with nothing which I think was 20 hrs.

mocnk that soup sound yummy, I may have to look for that next ime I'm at the shops.

Hi everybody - it's been a long time since I checked in here! Much water under the bridge...LL left for Argentina today (well, his plane is about to leave this very minute!) and I follow with his son this coming Sunday. So exciting.

Despite all sorts of distractions both wonderful & terrible I have kept to my 5:2 regime. Once only I had to give up my fast day, but ate so sparingly it wouldn't have been much over anyway. (I was rather upset and it's hard to eat in that state.)

I am happily maintaining my size at 62 kilos (down from 83 when I began last November). Well, it's really maintaining itself. I don't think I've lost any weight for a number of weeks, but then I am no longer wanting to particularly.

LL says I'm 'too skinny' but then he always did like me a bit fat! My friends all tell me I'm just right now and to lose no more...but when I look at myself I see a still very rounded person with a slightly too generous covering of fat. I think I should eventually lose another three kilos to be my best, but it can wait. I like the idea of holding it right here for a while.

We have bought an iPad to take on our journey to Patagonia. I plan to write a blog, with pictures. When I get this going I will post the link so anybody here who is interested can follow our adventures!

So, best wishes to all of you 5:-2ers out there. It's a great life. I can't believe I wasted all those years hiding inside an overweight body. The best thing about my 'new' body is that I feel so fantastically healthy. I can actually run, fast! At nearly 63, I feel like a teenager.

Will be in touch again from across the ocean. Cheers for now :)

hi - sorry i haven't been keeping up with the thread as i've been very off the wagon. think firstly stress and now premenstrual. going to try for a fast today as i've eaten so much junk over the last few.

hope everyone is doing okay

Morning all

Going to do second consecutive fast today, as I have woken still feeling full from my tofu scramble (

Great to hear from you wildwater. i can't wait to hear about all your adventures.

Made it through the fast day, hard work at times. But, not only have I maintained (and after a huge weekend), I'm now at my lowest at 10st 1! I'm hoping that maintainance might be sensible eating and one fast every 10 days or so - we'll see, but for health reasons this is a good scales reading. Otherwise, I have some improbably skinny jeans off the peg that actually fit - I haven't been able to buy trousers in the shops for years as I was too bulky in the wrong places so that meant the fit was bad and I was uncomfortable.

Morning all - made it through yesterday's fd. Within about 10 mins of eating dinner I had an overwhelming tiredness and sat down on the sofa and fell into the deepest sleep. Woke up at 9pm.

Yesterday was a difficult fast day. Normally I do them on days when dh is working late so I can eat slightly earlier. This week I've got commitments which involve lunches so the only days I can fast are when he's about. Next fd is planned for tomorrow.

Wow - patagonia will be fantastic. Keep us updated with your blog. Really good to hear how well this woe works for you - v inspiring!

Morning all.

saf hope you're doing ok and not pushing yourself too hard.

wildwater, lovely to hear from you. I hope the wonderful distractions are outweighing the terrible ones. Good to hear you are maintaining ok, you can tackle the last few kgs when you are ready.

brambles well done on you new low.

It's not my WI day until tomorrow but a sneaky look tells me I bounced up by 3lbs! Frustrating, but determined not to get bogged down by it.

Morning all, ok, this mornings weigh in 11 2, lowest weight was 10 10, and maintained at around 10 12 for months, new proper target is 10 stone, but for september 11th....to join ATB 10 stone 6, my starting weight last August was 11 8.

Feeling good after first full successful fast in a while.

NFD today, but not eating til lunch with a friend.

wildwater don't know you as i've been on maintainers thread for ages, but your adventures sound great, would love to read a blog once you get set up.

well done brambles great to be at your lowest weight, such a fabulous feeling!

Swallowedafly i know what it's like to avoid the threads when you go off plan a bit, i tend to do that too, but just reading how other people are doing definitely helps you stick to it, I'm really glad to be back on the main thread and planning on sticking to it again until i get things back under control.

have agood day all, i'll be out and about so catch up this evening.

Morning all can someone tell me what 16.8 is please.

Hi everyone, I am going to attempt to do this, I get bored with diets very quickly but think I can manage to fast if it's only 2 days a week.

My fast days will be Tuesday and Thursday as we have to eat early on those days as my son does athletics in the evening. It also means I am out of the house for a couple of hours and avoiding temptation. So today is my first attempt at a FD. I
have king prawns for dinner which I will cook with some lemon and garlic but need to work out what to have during the day.

Hope to be able to post a positive update!

Chipstick, I think its fasting every other day but I may be wrong.

Woke up today.... not hungry!! It's brilliant! Especially as I had a stressful night with DS wanting to get up for the day at 4am and then taking well over an hour to get back to sleep. Think I will have another fast day tomorrow and maybe also even Friday to jump start me. I think I might also get myself weighed as I don't know what I weigh, just that I look scary with no clothes on. Would love to get down to 10stone - I remember weighing that at 24 and wanting to cry, now it sounds wonderful - which should hopefully be quite do-abe

Do-able I mean!

And good luck today's fasters! It's not easy sonetimes during fast days, but I am actually quite delighted at how easy and sustainable it seems short term! And this thread is a massive support x

Chipstick10 16:8 is so called as you only eat in an 8 hour window of the day thereby fasting for 16. Some people who have been on this WOE for a while like to find ways to mix it up a little!

Just broken my fast with some chopped fruits, muesli sprinkle and a blob of yogurt - my favourite :)

Good fast yesterday and making my usual Tuesday promise to myself to keep it light till my next fast, a promise which has gone wrong for one reason or another most weeks recently! I did weigh in today and I was happy with the results... which is usually when it goes awry tbh (and exactly why I should have waited till Friday I suppose).

Wildwater Very excited to hear about your up coming adventures :)

babysaurus The lack of hunger the next morning is the most surprising thing isn't it? Mind you, my hunger tends to kick in 2 days after a fast for some reason!

Hello AphraBehn Sounds like you've got a great plan in place :) Do plan your lunch though - a boiled egg with loads of salad/veg should keep you in check till your delicious sounding prawn dinner. It's good to have a carrot or apple on standby to nibble to avoid temptation for something worse. Once you've got one fast under your belt it gets easier! Good luck.

Is there any way we can have a mini tip app. I find her tips (pardon the pun) have really helped. I could do with an app that randomly tells me to do things like stop weighing so often, not snacking, etc.

Maybe its just me

Ah! I was wrong then, about the 16:8 I mean

Yep, am feeling really good. Know its only one day but... Maybe the hunger will kick in tomorrow or Thurs then, hope its not tomorrow though as plan to fast again then!

mttum our oven will only be out of action for a week but thanks for the halogen oven tip :)

Thank you BetsyBell

Morning all! So after weekend camping related scoffing and an apparent 4lb gain I fasted yesterday, weighed in this morning and the 4lbs is gone again so back to 10st 8lbs which is at the one stone loss point.
All good. Let's see if I can creep it down to 10st 7lbs after second fast of the week. That would really make me happy

Bacon, scrambled egg, wheaten toast - yum yum. Does anyone else feel a bit guilty having a "naughty" option after fast day? I think I have a case of dieters guilt - have to get out of the dieters frame of mind! I nearly had cereal instead, which in all honesty calorie wise isn't that much better. At least I kept my resolve and stayed away from the scale.
Now I'm pondering what to have for lunch, something tasty/treaty or boring soup...hmmm. I have a meal out later but it's going to be healthy enough. Decisions decisions.

I don't mind having a 'naughty' day, but I do mind having a wasted day. I really want to be someone who eats proper balanced meals and no snacking, but with small demanding children around I find myself just grabbing at whatever. The idea of scrambled eggs on wheat toast is heavenly, and a perfect start to a NFD, but my morning is more like coffee, coffee, then a grabbed oat bar or other sickly sweet thing, then carb fest till dinner. Feeling bleurgh today as a result - I haven't logged calories because I know I'll just be cross about it. I don't mind a high calorie day that I really enjoyed, but I don't even have much of a sweet tooth and yet today has been biscuits and cake because it was handy.

Grumble grumble grumble.

(Hey, SAF, good to hear from you. You've inspired me, I have a GP appointment next week to start the ball rolling towards a BR!)

On the plus side, DH made this amazing dish tonight of wilted spinach with balsamic honey dressing, cous cous and salmon. His only mistake was, he could have halved the cous cous and salmon and tripled the spinach. SO GOOD. SO SO SO GOOD.