The 5:2 Thread Number 24 - Summer's still here so skip the snack and share the meal!

[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 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:

All our previous threads can be found by browsing through our very own fasting section of the site.

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 Greeneggsandnicht for putting together all this 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!

I consider the slight tightness in my tummy to be the feeling of fat cells being used up ....

semi fasted today.
DH is currently looking up where we are going out for supper tomorrow ...

JB + somewhere you made me laugh out loud.

bashbosh I swear on my personal weight loss record I noted (because I like to guess what weight I shall be the day after fasting, slightly like gambling I suppose!) That, the night before I felt lighter....sure enough next day 3rd all-time-low but,like you could feel the lightness, revelled in it, revelled in the fact that I could feel my body again (at last) and that feeling was true! :-)

Doitnow, absolutely, and I've also rediscovered how good a proper healthy meal tastes after a day of fasting - so I'm far more inclined to deliberately eat lightly on days when I know I'm having a good dinner, not just to keep the overall calorie count down, but to make sure I really, really enjoy it.

May I boast, all? I don't know if this counts as a NSV, exactly, but it's certainly a psychological one: yesterday was a FD, and I got sprung with an unplanned work afternoon tea. It is almost impossible to avoid eating something at these, given the dynamics of my workplace, so I chose the smallest, lightest macaron and nibbled it. Which of course set off the hunger pangs, because my appetite woke up, and of course refined sugar and carbs.

And I hadn't got around to cooking a FD dinner. And I was supposed to be at fencing an hour earlier than usual, meaning that my entire timeframe was squeezed to death.

Reader, I managed it! I ate a small portion of roast chicken breast, skinless obviously, and some edamame and chopped raw vegetables (as did the kids, somewhat bemusedly but fairly enthusiastically), went to fencing, came home and had a miso soup. I don't know exactly what the cals for the day were, but I figure even on a generous counting it can't have been more than 550, which frankly is amazing given the macaron ambush.

And today I am below 60kg! On the old scales. So actually I'm 61.4kg, because I told myself that once I re-hit the original goal, I would start counting properly on the new scales and finally throw the old ones out instead of stepping on both every morning , but it counts as progress because it is the lightest I have been for years.

New goal: below 60g on the new, accurate, scales.

18 hour fast as didn't feel hungry til 2.30pm.
Ate egg and 2 slices ham, steak for supper with spinach if I can get motivated to cook it.
Weirdly disinterested in food, aware I am empty and need fuel but a bit spaced out and slightly nauseous at thought of cooking.

Then again DH is on holiday and DS playgroup is closed for two weeks so I have been cooking and serving up and wiping and feeding the pair of them breakfast snacks lunch and dinner since 6am. Having to cook yet again is making my heart sink.

DH is quite capable of cooking a steak and spinach but it had not occurred to him to offer.

Lovely holiday for him. No office for 2 weeks, playing with Ds, lovely home cooked meals 3-4 times daily.
Not much of a holiday for me!

Just read tortoise, wow well done!

Brilliant, Tortoise, great stuff!

I have to say I enjoy reading your (to us) middle of the night conversations. I spent 12 years in Australia, mainly in Melbourne, Perth and Darwin and I look back on those years with affection.

I was once best man at a wedding on Mount Lofty - in 1963 - which I don't remember much about!

And I experienced my highest temperature - 117F - somewhere near Iron Knob in 1967 when I was driving from Melbourne to Perth. I took a motel room during the day, so I could drive at night, and I remember the sweat dripping into my ears!

I'll be reconnecting with the Aussies at 11am tomorrow morning, hoping for great things - 3-0 d'you think?

I'm not anywhere exotic, just at work in scraggy old Preston. Catching up on the threads, I was starting to get a hankering for peanut butter on hot buttered toast, but then I remembered the jar of pb in the cupboard has probably had somebody's fingers in it and those fingers have been "places". I used to love nutella, but when you read the ingredients its mostly sugar and vegetable oil. Don't bother with it now.

tortoise what a sterling example of steely determination in the face of temptation. I think fasting gives us that weird edge where other diets fail.

smelly little orange hope test went well!

There was a lot of other stuff I wanted to comment on but brain has removed it. Excercise good, smacking bad the main gist I think.

Breadandwine the photo on my profile is of DD2, last weekend, on Mt Lofty! Earlier this summer we had a 44C day, so it's been a year of extremes.

Trucks tell the man that he's taking DS out for the day today and then cooking tonight, for pete's sake. It's only what you do every day, right?

Brilliant Tortoise! I don't think I could have resisted afternoon tea.

hooray tortoise ! Yes, time to detach yourself from the old scales I think - you can do it!

trucks tell your DH the kitchen is closed and he needs to take you both out for the day. I'm so glad I have one that pulls his weight (though there's 3st 6lbs less of him now).

peplum yes, smacking is bad, but tip could probably convince us that snacking is even worse

Good morning :). Fast day today so looking forward to a good one. Have set myself a mini goal. Today I weigh 89kg (14 stone) and my next goal is to weigh 82kg which is 13 stone. Currently losing 0.5kg a week so my maths tells me that's about a 1lb a week. 14 weeks is achievable I think?!

What's everyone else's next goal?

Morning all

Have been AWOL for a while as I was having a break. Didn't fast at all last week as I had the week off with DS1 and wanted to enjoy picnics etc but I did manage to fit in 6 gym classes so I don't think the damage is as bad as it could have been. I am also hoping that it may have jolted my body as I had definitely plateaued.

First FD on Tuesday which I was dreading but it was good

peplum spookily enough I work in Preston too

whoop whoop! Weigh-in today and I have lost 2lbs which make sup for the none I lost last week. However, I am off to the land of the baguette and Brie next week so a but anxious I'm going to pile it all back on again. Not sure fasting is a good idea on holiday so am just going to have to be extra careful

good morning all.
fast day Thursday here today. am not feeling great following the Tuesday wearing a dressing gown in 24 degrees incident, so won't beat myself up too much if I don't make it today. got a nice dinner planned to keep me motivated though.
well done tortoise and macca
I am sitting here currently looking resplendent in my new 12-14 PJs dont tell anyone PJs are stretchy. all my old ones range from 16 to 22 so I'm feeling a lot better. though my mum is buying me some more for my birthday and I'm hoping she doesn't go for 14-16 given how well these are fitting. eek.

Macca my next goal is to break the 11 stone barrier (next week I hope). After that the next goal is to get below BMI=22 (currently 22.4). Ultimate goal is to go sub 10 stone.

Excellent pyjama victory ERD!

Congratulations Tommy

Well done tommy and ERD :)

well done eagle - better get in and tell your mum quick.

i'm 1.2lbs up this morning after eating a chinese last night BUT usually i'm 3lb up after a chinese so thinking that at least doing a 20hr fast before tucking into it did some good and once the salt and water fest in my body is over with it'll have done no harm at all.

Tortoise and Tommy that's fantastic! Well done. ERD hurrah for PJs!

Trucks you need to tell your DH you need a break and he needs to accept that - in this day and age, his behaviour is not acceptable.

macca I've never had mini goals - just the end goal. Even at my highest BMI of 36, my goal was to get to 24 and I just chugged on till I got there. Now my end goal is to get to BMI 21 (am currently just inside 23).

FD for me today. MIL is here and playing with DD and I'm mumsnetting working. Swimming for DD later. Nothing for me to eat until the evening when I have tuna and butterbean salad with cherry tomatoes, parsley and red onion (very yummy, from the BBC website).

Tortoise I am so impressed, well done!

Well I was going to fast today to get it done given we are going on hols on Saturday. But went for my workout this morning and broke down in tears half way through when I couldn't do an exercise and realised I am just too tired, too stressed with the move, new job and all and I need fuel to get though all I have to do today. So had a very delicious late breakfast of yogurt, lots of fruit and a little bit of granola and feel much more rational!

May try to fast tomorrow so that I have done 5:2 this week before hols start but not going to push it.

12st3 today, 6 lbs down on where I started 4 weeks ago, not my official weigh in day so won't count it, but overall def in better shape than start of July, clothes fitting better, etc.

Re exercise, moving means I need to find a new gym and was wondering about getting a couple of DVDs in the meantime, I see people like the shred, has anyone done the 'insanity' DVD whole fasting? Looks like it might be hard to do both.

So impressed with the tenacity on this thread, very inspiring!

Gosh, finding today's fast quite tough. I'm aching all over from having resumed exercising this week - which in itself is fine and normal, but coupled with generally feeling tired due to today's clammy heat and always finding Thursday fasts tougher than Monday fasts (due to eating more over weekend but less during the week)... well, I'm just whinging really... :) I'm sure I'll get through it.

Hope all the other Thursday fasters are doing okay.

not fasting but thinking of you bssh. remember it's the time of day too - kind of like a hump - get over this bit and it's downhill again till teatime x

Hello everyone, I'm still here, still fasting! Currently on my second FD this week and am starting to feel those lovely empty hunger pangs! But looking forward to my evening meal of chicken thighs and chestnut mushrooms in a light cream sauce, over spinach and grated carrot. All comes in at 433 cals according to MFP so happy with that.

Macca - sounds like we're about the same in terms of weight and goals. My heaviest weight last month was 90.2kg and my first mini goal is also 82kg. Weighed in this morning at 86.2kg (but had an all time low of 85.6kg yesterday). I hav decided to embrace my scales addiction and just be interested in it instead of feeling horror at any upward fluctuation. The libra app is helping me with that as it gives you a lovely red line. Also now I'm a few weeks into 5:2 I feel like it's working and I can cope with my weight going up slightly as long as its a downward trend overall. Plus I feel like I've gained some control over my eating and am feeling really happy with this WOE. I'm going to start shredding next week myself!

All's well in vikkisue land xx

Having been unofficially challenging BsshBossh for the longest plateau I can now report that, today, after recording the same end of month weight since 30th April, I have finally started going downwards again with a 4 pound loss for July!! I only record weight and measurements once a month but weigh every day so have been watching a 4-5 pound bounce for weeks! One minute happy, the next definitely not but, as BsshBossh says.. just keep on 5:2ing. So to all you fellow plateauers, it really doesn't go on for ever, just feels like it! Having a celebratory NFD now!