Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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.

IF, 4:3, 5:2 - Maintaining a healthy weight - Chapter 3

999 replies

Talkinpeace · 19/07/2013 13:03

This thread is for those who have been practicing IF (Intermittent Fasting) for quite a while and are now at, or nearing, their target healthy weight.
It's also for anyone who is doing it for the health benefits alone.

How do we experience fasts and balance a stable food intake while having little or no weight to lose?
How do we ensure that this WOL keeps us at the healthy weight long term rather than revert to yoyo games?
How do we ensure that we keep ourselves looking great rather than just thin?

Many of us have been maintaining at our original goal weight for a few months, and others are joining all the time.
Obviously, the more the merrier!
It is also worth considering whether a second, leaner target might be achievable.

You'll find the first two maintenance threads and all the main 5:2 threads for posters practicing IF to lose weight here on the Fasting / 5:2 on the diet forum. We're currently on thread no. 23, but there is a new main thread every 2-3 weeks.

There are two other associated threads:
This one, which is an absolute goldmine of Tips and Links on how to practice IF, and the research behind it.

And here is a treasure trove of 5:2 recipes, mostly low calorie for fasting days, but there are also recipes for when you want to treat yourself. And, now we're maintaining, we'll need more of these!

PS thanks to Breadandwine (proof that this forum welcomes everybody, not just Mums) for setting up the last thread while my old name that set up the first one was on 'holiday' Grin

OP posts:
CuckooAtchooUhOh · 12/01/2014 23:16

Hello!

Betsy There you are!!! Grin

Phew! Certainly is busy on the main one. As somebody who doesn't do forums/threads - until googling 5:2 and finding you lot - my screen time has (obviously) increased massively. Add on novelty factor/over excitement, and well.... I haven't been a stranger, put it that way!

However! Even I can't keep up with the recent speed. So, my question to anyone with experience... how normal is this sort of increase? And how long until it usually drops off?

I love the thread, also lurk occasionally on this, and am now checking in now and then on exercise one, but I don't think I'll be able to keep up with all the Newbies and questions.

I feel bad because when I joined it was fairly quiet for newbies so I did find it easier to 'get to know' everyone. Although I had lurked for ages, so I also knew all the basics. I am trying to pipe up to help where I can, but my head is not in a great place right now and tbh I can't be arsed with any confrontational challenging kind of posts, if they pop up, so feel like I might be a bit of a deserter (in the helping sense).

Am I a bad, bad person for not paying my dues!? Can I hide here too. I'll be quiet and won't make it move quickly. Promise! (squeezes eyes crosses fingers)

CuckooAtchooUhOh · 12/01/2014 23:21

Oh and I may or may not have been partly responsible for speeding up the other thread occasionally (winces), but it really isn't my fault this time!

..and this isn't me speeding this one up. Just wanted to acknowledge that I know, that you know, that I talk a lot! Sometimes. That. Is. All.

Goodnight!

wildwater · 12/01/2014 23:46

Hola todos. Very hot down here - 34 degrees today. Not fasting but may as well have been for all I've eaten. I am currently baking six dozen muffins a day for selling to tourists at the lake. They all sell, every day (my sixth consecutive). I am not eating any of them...just a tiny taste of the mixture to check flavours. (Fresh raspberry & white chocolate; banana & dulce de leche with black sugar.) It is quite a bit of work, but well worth it. I am happy to finally be contributing towards household expenses. Paying for all our food, essentially. That means whatever LL earns goes straight towards our house, which nearly has the roof completed - so exciting!

I am loving my yoga three times a week. Can even imagine balancing oranges in my ribcage - thank you TIP ! The clothes I brought with me from NZ, that were a tiny bit small then, are now hanging on me the way clothes are supposed to. I can hardly believe how different (good) I look now. Shame I left it so late, but better late than never.

Interesting to read about people's trigger-foods. Mine are cheese, nuts, crisps & crackers, a particular Argentine brand of chocolate chip cookie...and sometimes ice-cream. I have however been very 'good' lately - far less red wine, and practically zero sugar now for a couple of weeks. I am hoping to register below nine stone next time I step on the (pharmacy) scales.

Sorry this is all me-me-me. Haven't checked in for a bit...thinking of you all. Thanks Smile

Southeastdweller · 13/01/2014 08:07

Good morning. I see Bssh is looking very youthful and healthy looking in her pics. What a fantastic achievement on losing all that weight (five stones?).

cuckoo Your advice last might was great so don't feel bad please. Some posts yesterday made me feel uncomfortable but it felt like others - hopefully including myself - we're genuinely being helpful and caring.

BetsyBell · 13/01/2014 08:19

Laska! Thanks - I've squirrelled the link away for use at some other specified point :)

I need less screen time too - done quite well this weekend. I've promised myself that I will read more - Christmas holiday is always good to kickstart that, not least because now my need-to-read book pile is even more towering that it was before!

Cuckoo I know that this lot started this thread in response to massive increase around this time last year (I was one of the influx!), but I'm pretty sure this is unprecedented. I'm guessing it's because 5:2 is now established^, it's been going a while, most people know people doing it so it's no longer a flash in the pan type thing.

Everyone fasting today? I know I need it! My tummy is pleasantly rounded from lots of lovely food yesterday; not so much I felt overwhelmed and over-stuffed but enough to see me through a week of light eating.

Southeastdweller · 13/01/2014 08:26

Betsy Why not join us on the 50 books to read this year thread? It's not really compulsory to read 50, though. I find it motivating 'having to' record my reading and now on book 2 already which is good for me! I've spent too much time over the past few years with my head looking at screens Sad.

BetsyBell · 13/01/2014 08:29

Laska SED B&W Thanks for being nice about my photo! I'm feeling pretty good in my skin right now. Now focusing on getting fitter and stronger :) Like bssh says - I feel good in the sort of clothes I love to wear so goal achieved really!

Turns out I can dance for 3 hours non-stop like I used to so very happy with that. Grin

BetsyBell · 13/01/2014 08:32

SED I'm trying to cut down on the number of threads I'm plugged into - y'know, so I can read novels instead Wink Once the term-time exhaustion kicks in I'm lucky if I can read 2 pages before passing out!

I do love falling asleep while reading though :)

Laska42 · 13/01/2014 08:42

I'm fasting! was another lb down this morning.. the Christmas gain is going , and im feeling so inspired by everyone here ..esp wildwater - 6 doz muffins and hardly a taste! Well done!

Laska42 · 13/01/2014 08:44

cuckoo Im not sure if it will slow down .. (It didnt really last year , but yes its great to see 5:" becoming accepted as a real option away from the dreadful WW and SW etc ..
No guilt no 'syns' and lots of lovel;y food on noon fast days! ( i could never eat cheese on the old regimes )..

EarSlaps · 13/01/2014 09:24

I was expecting quite a few newbies at new year but not quite so many! I started in July when the boards were a bit quieter so I could keep up with it all a bit more. I was already on MN but had never been on the weight loss boards and was directed to it by the 5:2 book.

I think I might get the Fast Exercise MM book, BigChoc's breakdowns of it are pretty interesting. I'll see how cheap it is on Kindle.

Not sure if I'm fasting today or not, I've skipped breakfast so I'll be getting a 16:8 in. Taking DS swimming so it will be a struggle not to eat after that! Plus I haven't really planned dinner tonight then again, now I'm maintaining quite easily I'm not too worried about doing 500 cal fasts. I'm just mixing it around depending on how I feel and what the scales are saying (plus how my clothes feel).

I agree re the muffins Laska (in my head you're always laksa, I love laksa), no way I could cook muffins and not eat them.

catsrus · 13/01/2014 09:54

Dr M is on a web chat here today - talking about HIT

BsshBossh · 13/01/2014 11:05

cuckoo things may slow down in February as willpower is always strongest in January for many but you never know - 5:2 is still getting loads of press attention. But I love how the newbies are helping the newbies on the main thread, which is just as it should be. When I first joined weightloss threads I appreciated the advice of the old hands but what really kept me going was the support of those at the same level as me in terms of weight to lose.

wildwater lovely update as usual. I always start dreaming when you post your evocative descriptions of life in Patagonia.

Thanks Southeast. Six stones actually Wink.

I'm fasting today too. Have just hosted a coffee morning but no one noticed that I didn't help myself to the biscuits :) Soup tonight for the "break fast" meal. Am working now then will go to the gym after "lunch" to do some interval power walking training on the treadmill. I still am too scared to pick up the weights (due to pelvic floor injury late last year) but I know January is the month for me to get back into weight training. I know exactly what I need to do (light weights, short sessions to ease my way back in) so it's all down to summoning the nerve.

wildwater · 13/01/2014 11:07

FD today. Just finishing plunger of good strong coffee for 'breakfast'. Will not eat until around 9 or so tonight - Argentine hours! (I am getting more accustomed to not eating until what is for me very late.) Today I have yoga then another muffin-making binge. Also have to flog myself back into my online Spanish lessons, which I am enjoying but it is so easy to backslide.

I imagine that most of us who have been doing 5:2 for a long time have got to the stage where we actively enjoy FDs. I remember how bored and bereft I used to feel without eating all day. Now, I pack as much as I can into those days and could easily go to bed having not eaten.

Having a body that feels good and works well is the ultimate gain in all this. Wishing you all a very smooth day, fasting or not. Smile

Fillybuster · 13/01/2014 11:27

FD here too - but I don't normally wfh on a Monday, and I do find it so much harder to stay focussed when I'm sitting at a table right next to the kitchen. Worst case scenario, I'll shift it over to tomorrow, when I'm back in the office. Planning at least 2 fasts this week, and maybe a mini one too, if I can manage it: it's my 40th birthday party on Saturday night and I want to look good :) :) :)

Although I've got a bit of a challenging NPV: I tried on all my party frocks this morning (including 1 which still has its tags in Blush) and they're all too big and just don't look right :(

Which of course would and should be great, but means I'll end up in jeans and a vest for my party, when I wanted to look really glam Hmm

Welcome Betsy and Bsssh - it's great to see you over here. So impressed by your pics :) :)

I hadn't realised that the 5:2 thread came with in-built soft porn options...I'm going to be sticking around for those topless pics, guys Grin

Laska& & B&W* how are the grand-kids doing? Did you get to see them over the xmas break?

Anglaise well done on the dress :) That's amazing!

Is MOCNK ok? Haven't seen her for a while...

TalkinPeace · 13/01/2014 11:30

Another Monday faster.
Swam in the sunshine, did yoga, then could not get into BodyPump so am going to get on with other errands.

Cuckoo
All things diet and exercise ramp right up after Christmas - have a look at the WW / SW / Low Carb / general weight loss boards, let alone the number of threads on Chat and Aibu.

I joined MN because of the freelancers board - I have posted using this name on lots of sites for nearly 9 years now.
Because of DHs work I also mill around the Education boards a lot.

Laska
they style board always leaves me cold as I'm basically a slob.

When I'm here at my desk I post a lot. On work days I generally do not have access to the interweb.

I think the big thread will reach a new plateau - but its great that people who started in mid 2013 are doing the job we did this time last year.

Wildwater
am vicariously enjoying your sunshine Grin

OP posts:
EarSlaps · 13/01/2014 13:00

Well the fast has become a mini fast, I shared a sandwich and cake with DS after swimming, about 280 calories. Then planning squid and chorizo casserole for dinner, so fairly low cal there. So I'll do another mini fast this week on weds, then a 16:8 on Friday. That pattern suits me better than 6:1 mostly. I rarely over indulge these days, so I don't feel that need for a big fast too often.

Breadandwine · 13/01/2014 14:07

Hi folks

Is this thread getting busier because of the amount of traffic on the main thread?

It's so good to see IF taking off in a big way! Whenever I hear of the obesity crisis about to hit us [ouch] I think why don't the medics see the value of IF and get behind it in a big way?

Oscar is fine, thanks, Filly! Just had him down for a few days. He's 19 weeks old today, and just reached the stage where he can grab a string and pull a set of ducks towards him - which then go 'Quack'!

He was 15.2 last week - so he'll have doubled his birth weight (8lbs) quite a bit sooner than 6 months. He's BFing 3 out of 4 feeds, which is pretty good, I feel.

How's Marcus, Laska? We need another update!

Great posts as usual from you, WW, you cup-cake queen, you! Grin

I'll try and spend some time with you and your blog this evening, hopefully.

I've just found out that the course I thought had been cancelled - only 3 had signed up - is running with just 4 students. Dead easy for me, of course, but I still have to jump through the paperwork hoops.

Anyone in the Taunton area fancy some cheap (but thorough! Grin) breadmaking lessons, please get in touch!

When I look at the cost of other breadmaking courses, I'm always blown away by the cost. £200 for a day isn't unusual - whereas the course I'm offering (through Somerset Council) is £41 for ten hours instruction! Bargain!

Thanks for the link, Catsrus!

Betsy That's what I hope to be doing at a U3A R&R evening this coming Saturday. I don't want to be sitting down at any time!

Fasting today - but I'll probably eat normally from dinner-time onwards. I've got the last third of my vegan trifle to finish off for pudding, and I'm not sure I can squeeze that into a

Anglaise1 · 13/01/2014 14:12

Fasting today here too - another week of 5:2 then hopefully back to maintenance. I'm hungry but about to go out for a nice long run to get some endorphins going.
It is really nice to have some other people on here, maintenance or not.
Filly it was French on fitting into her wedding dress. I've never even been close (to getting married that is!) or wearing dresses for that matter.
I am sharing jeans and t shirts with my nearly 13 old daughter - she is very tall so we both fit size 36 jeans.

EarSlaps · 13/01/2014 15:59

Very tempted by one of your courses B&W (I'm Bristol based so not too far away), but it will have to wait until the boys are bigger I think ( then I can bring them too- ds2 loves his toy kitchen and watching me cook).

Southeastdweller · 13/01/2014 16:20

Is this thread getting busier because of the amount of traffic on the main thread?

For me, yes, partly. I find the other thread at the moment quite exhausting but I'm still reading daily and post advice when I can.

I also felt last week for the first time and still do that I’ve moved on, not in a snobby way, but in the way that Tip said last Friday.

Plus I’m a bit childish and anal and want to fill this thread and have a nice shiny one a.s.a.p.

frenchfancy · 13/01/2014 16:46

Fasting today as well. Just trying to decide what to have for dinner. I've been eating mostly bean chilli on fast days lately, but I don't have the ingredients in today. I do have a lot of eggs (picked up 9 from the girls this morning, they are laying well at the moment) so it will probably be omelette or scrambled eggs.

Just checked a 3 eggs omelette cooked with a small amount of butter and 50g of cheddar cheese is 462 cals. So that's decided.

Fillybuster · 13/01/2014 16:56

Oops! Blush Sorry Anglaise and well done French

I can see the mental shortcut that aligned one name to the other, if you see what I mean....?

BetsyBell · 13/01/2014 17:12

cuckoo - just re-read your post. Yes, come and hang around in here a bit. I haven't been in the right frame of mind to get involved with the confrontational stuff on the main thread either - best to let tip get stuck in and sort out the skirmishes, she's usually up for it Grin

Glad to hear it B&W! Get those dancing shoes on :) Dancing into the night on Saturday has left me lacking in energy for today's fast I must say - I always need more sleep at this time of year as I'm forever fighting the urge to hibernate. It was nice and sunny today though which always makes life just a little bit easier.

Laska42 · 13/01/2014 18:21

Oooh.... Dr M said hello to me!! [swoons]..Grin

southeastdweller we're only on our 3rd thread in a year!.. but it looks like we had better ask Tip to prepare us a new shiny one ..

Am slightly over 500 fast today , but not much .. I have had a niggly head all day and was feeling a bit woozysick so had a couple of crackers when I got in before my stuffed aubergine was cooked .. feeling better now so I think I can forgive myself..

but off to read the new Fast exercise book now.. but actually I'm not sure im convinced .. not by the premise , but the thought of exercise at all..! I really am such a sloth .. Blush

Swipe left for the next trending thread