The continuing thread for those of us following the 5:2 fast or other forms of fasting such as 4:3, ADF, or daily 16:8.
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 normally - or approximately your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE - see explanation below). 4:3 is the same except you fast on 3 days in the week. Alternate-day fasting (ADF) is just how it sounds; you fast every other day. 16:8 is another form where you stick to only eating in an 8 hour window each day, therefore fasting for 16 hours each 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 or app 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.
NFD = Non fast day
NSV = Non scale victory
Michael Mosley has a website to accompany his book on the subject. Please go check it out, as he's the whole reason most of us are here!
Lurkers and new starters: please just jump in and post - you'll find a lot of support here and we’re a friendly bunch.
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 the 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!
eatriskier’s thread has some lovely inspiring stories which are worth checking out if you want some motivation to get started or keep going through a plateau. Please add your own too.
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.
This link nicely demonstrates that there are many body ‘right’ body shapes and types, because what we are actually aiming for is low body fat for fitness and 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!
Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. You may wish to speak to a medical professional before starting any diet.
Fasting / 5:2 diet
The 5:2 thread number 33 - Counting down to Christmas (and NOT thinking about the impending chocapocolaypse. Yet)
BetsyJingleBells · 16/12/2013 08:21
Bollards to it! I'm having some soup!!
Could chew my own arm off today. 
Homemade rep pepper, chilli and tomato I made yesterday during my fail so not overly packed with ingredients and shouldn't break the bank!
Better than succumbing to the mincepie.
Have just had a proper stomach growl in confirmation of desire to soup it!
.....although if I just vacuum the stairs first???.....
HELP! Arrghhhh!
Roll on January!!!!!!!!!!!
ToffeeOwnstheSausage
and breathe
if you can, train the cat to take it back outside and then praise it for keeping them outside
but TBH at least it was a whole mouse and dead ....
xx
My previous cat only ever gave me 2 gifts and I was not expecting it when our new cats started bringing them in. Normally we chase them out and they take them. The other night one cat dropped one and the other grabbed it and ran out with it. One was left on the kitchen floor and my 8 year old got rid of it as he was down first and I found another which dh missed but this is too much. I honestly am already a nervous wreck after nearly 3 hours at the PS and I have a headache. I told her to take it out and she walked off 
. Trouble is, if I don't deal with things immediately I freak out.
Hello all! Rather belated post weekend check in here. Would have been here for my fast day yesterday, except I spent it all either on the sofa, or in the loo, throwing up 
It was not a nice FD, but at least it was a FD! So, that's one out of the way 
Although am not vomiting anymore I certainly don't really feel like eating or drinking. At the rate I'm going, this'll be a second sub 500 cal day. Actually, thinking about it, I quite fancy cheesy chips, maybe that'll be my tea later!
Turkey. I've been sleeping. 
Sorry. DC are at pre school and school. I'm just so utterly tired. I was up till past 3 this morning because I couldn't sleep even though I had taken a sleeping tablet. And I have a cold.
Just waking now as the school run awaits shortly.
I'm absolutely starving now. Could eat a horse!!
Ill try to ride it out and wait till I feed the DC at 5 but wonder if I will make it that long!
Hopeful I did two back to back fd a couple of weeks ago.
Found one rolled pretty much into the other tbh.
Think once the 'work' is done on the first fd, the second one is just a continuation.
I recall that the two major things I noticed by the end of the two days was, I was really ready to eat (though still not starving) but much fussier about what I wanted to eat afterwards and didn't waste cals on empty food. The other thing was that I did notice how full I was getting much earlier on. It was loud and clear!
So for me it was a good experience. I would def repeat again. But I do think it helps if you're in the mood for it, which I was.
Toffee you poor love! Well your cats do love you don't they! Maybe they've noticed how svelte you've got eh??!
Being country bumpkins we have had our issues with mice on and off!
Unfortunately they have been live ones. One time I walked into kitchen at night, turned on light to find a little visitor sitting on the toaster looking at me!
We obviously both sharted ourselves because I nearly dropped the bottle of wine I was carrying and he jumped into the toaster!
We put the toaster in the garage with door propped open overnight for him to escape. Little bugger couldn't get out though.
So there was I, the next day with my trusty screwdriver taking toaster apart and sprinkling trail of cheese out of the door for him. Spent best part of a Saturday trying to free him!
Ironic really when the rest of the time was spent setting traps to electrocute his relatives!
We had tried the humane traps previously, and had driven a good distance from house before releasing. But I'm sure the same ones kept reappearing!
I remember reading a story online (was unsurprisingly doing lots of research at time) about one individual who swore blind the same ones kept returning. So one day he marked the back of one with lipstick or nail varnish?, before doing his usual couple of mile drive to release - including crossing a river (on bridge obvs! ).
He said that the very same one reappeared again a couple of days later, and I for one can believe it!!
All gone now though thankfully! We had not long lived here and there were lots of holes in walls. They only need a gap the size of a pencils diameter you know! (knowledgeable face)
So the moral of my story is, on a positive note, your cats are going to be fantastic at preventing an invasion, all you need to do is get them to dispose of in the garden or preferably the neighbours
You have been feeling crappy anyway today and when we're on edge these things bother us that much more.
Hope this morning has achieved something for you, and you feel better soon. x
Toffee
Your pets and your DCs ! lol.
I wish I had a cat who brought me elvenses !
We'd probably be fighting over who had to eat the scraggy tail.
Sorry, I know diferent things upset us all - I suffered severe trauma over the suggested chocapocalypse.
Maybe you could de-sensitise yourself by watching serial killer movies ?
Yes, today is a bugger for FDing, very unusual for me.
.
I have a headache, so my bod is refusing to burn its fat stores and is whinging for me to supply choc cals by mouth.
^^
Once I start CrossFit this evening, that intense fasted training will mug the body of fat stores. I need to survive until then.
==> exercise helps some of us on FDs.
If anyone does succumb and goes over the 500 limit (600 for chaps):
- 200 extra cals of protein and veg is not a fail.
- Even a 1000 cal mini-fast is a good calorie deficit
- Just avoid junk - at least make it a healthy eating day
Whatever happens, we do not fail on this flexible WOL:
We just try another day, when mind, body, weather & social calendar fit better.
Keep going all FDers !
Thanks Bigchoc 
I am so hungry. Luckily on school run in a car with nothing to eat. I just need to hold out till 5 and dinner with DC.
No eexercise today either my cold isn't great. Perhaps tomorrow.
DC have a last half day of school tomorrow am with carol singing etc and then over 3 weeks with mummy. They can't wait. I am stockpiling wine and choc!!
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The above post was my first on my new phone . So proud of me, I might not be able to deal with a dead mouse but I can brave the internet via my phone!
DH phoned soon after so had a quick chat but he will be home soon and I have bought both of us chocolate. Has no calories when it is medicinal I believe.
DS2 was in tears as soon as he saw me . His friend is leaving school today and he has only been there four weeks and two children have left so he is feeling it as he is finding it hard to settle.
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