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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.

Original poster

Did 5:2 work for you? If not post here and tell me why...

211 replies

BetsyBell · 04/01/2014 10:24

I'm a huge advocate for 5:2 but I often wonder about the people who drift away from the main threads and if it's because in the long run they didn't get on with it.

I understand all the positives about intermittent fasting but in the interest of balance I'd like to know why it doesn't work out for some people.

If you didn't get on with 5:2 for whatever reason I'd love to hear from you, mainly so I can dish out better advice to people on the main threads!

OP posts:
fairisleknitter · 04/01/2014 12:14

It's counter productive to be evangelical about particular regimes. I think it's sensible for you to hear other views Betsy.

I thought Michael Moseley's earlier programme where he looked into more accessible ways to lose fat was really informative (eat soup, move about more. have protein for breakfast etc.)

With diet days did you get the rage Betsy?

Original poster
BetsyBell · 04/01/2014 12:14

oranges I work in a school, on my feet all day (fair few teachers on the main threads too!) - I do find I prefer to have lunch on fast days when I'm working, though can wait it out till later in school holidays.

Just mentioning that so others who want to try it don't think it automatically won't work for them if they have an active job.

If I hadn't have lost weight doing it then I would not have kept it up, even though I'm convinced of the health benefits, so totally understand your reasons for giving up. I could not sustain 4:3 either.

OP posts:
Original poster
BetsyBell · 04/01/2014 12:19

I am fasting today so that's a good question fairisle! Some fast days I'm bursting full of energy, others not so much. Some days I'm a bit more snappy, others not at all. But I think I could say that about non fast days as well...

Today I am not bursting with energy - but I didn't sleep brilliantly, am a little bit hungover and it's grim outside. But I'm not snappy either, and certainly not raging! Just happy to noodle about on mumsnet Grin

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Original poster
BetsyBell · 04/01/2014 12:23

Oh and I've been doing 5:2 for nearly a year so I'm pretty comfortable with the fast days now.

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OrangeMochaFrappucino · 04/01/2014 13:17

I think the thing is that eating can be such a complex and emotional subject for a lot of us. Those of us who haven't got on with IF talk about rage, we refer to other WOE as 'safer' and I don't think we are talking just about the physical effects of fasting but the consequences for our mental wellbeing. The idea of fasting leads into dangerous territory for some people who struggle with disordered eating patterns and I know that for me, it stirred up a lot of negative feelings.

There is also the physical differences between people as mentioned as well. The suggestion of skipping breakfast would work perfectly for my MIL - she doesn't get hungry til late morning naturally and drinks gallons of tea. I'm an early rising tea-hater who finds coffee too harsh on an empty stomach and am most alert and productive in the mornings so it's when I like to get things done - but I can't concentrate or summon the energy for that without eating. I think that for people who don't get on with IF, all the practical tips in the world won't help. Similarly, I couldn't cope with MFP at all but others absolutely swear by it. When you find a WOE that really works for you it's great and I see why you want to help others with it, but some eating plans will never work for certain people and I think that is insurmountable.

Aquelven · 04/01/2014 13:43

It just didn't work
I did it for eight weeks & only lost one pound. I kept track of my intake on MFP so know I was within the limit of 500 on fast days & never went over 1700 on non fast days. I have low thyroid but it's adequately controlled by pills so don't know if that contributed. I did exercise, not gym or anything but I have four dogs who I walk on lead every day for at least three miles.
I had such high hopes but just didn't work for me.

Abra1d · 04/01/2014 15:11

Betsey, yes, I need to do something like that.

My other problem on non-fast days is that I eat well and sensibly until 3pm and then little demons start muttering about things downstairs in the kitchen (I work from home).

Lazysuzanne · 04/01/2014 17:27

Low-carbing, on the other hand, reduced my appetite massively, had a much quicker effect on my weight, didn't really feel it was depriving me, gave me more energy

Whome, I think your example illustrates that different things work for different people.

My feeling based, on what I've read & heard, is that low carbing and IF may be different ways to activate similar mechanisms.
Perhaps to do with putting your metabolism under a little bit of stress but not too much stress?

I like the 16 hour fast/8 hour eating window approach, I've not tried approaches with fast days and non fast days but I've always been quite regular with eating times and amounts and so having a schedule which is the same every day suits me better.

ProphetOfDoom · 04/01/2014 17:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
BetsyBell · 04/01/2014 17:50

When you're ready SchmaltzingMatilda come and join us again on the main threads :)

My fast day foods (apart from an occasional egg) are salads, soups (homemade or shop bought), veg, homemade curries. Protein part tends to be ham, half a pack of prawns, mussels in sauce, salmon fillet, veg, baked beans… (not all the same time of course). Sometimes I'm in the mood for carbs and have a jacket potato with beans. It doesn't matter what you eat but some foods go further so if, like me, you like to see a proper plate full then you have to bulk up on the veg.

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Original poster
BetsyBell · 04/01/2014 17:52

Abra1d Working from home: I think I'd go for having a small late lunch (2pm?) then an early supper. It is a lot harder when the kitchen is close at hand. Willpower...

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Mintyy · 04/01/2014 17:53

I fasted for 6 months and lost at most 4lb. It just seemed too much like hard work for me.

Dh has lost nearly 3 stone in 15 months and a good friend of mine has lost 2 and a half stone in a year, so I know it works for some people.

mamalula · 04/01/2014 18:01

I have fasted for 2days a week for the past 6months with a little break in the summer. I have lost NO weight! It is the most depressing thing. I have a lot of weight to lose! I think I must have been eating to much on my non fast days. I really struggled with it and hated my fast days. My amazing dh used to come early to cook dinner for the kids to help support me. But I never lost anything. I gave up just before Xmas and now feel so shit about myself! And have no idea what to do now. Seriously rubbish feeling!

headoverheels · 04/01/2014 18:42

Mamalula, I recommend reading Eating Less by Gillian Riley. It's not really a diet but more of a look at the reasons why we overeat and some techniques to bring it under control.

Original poster
BetsyBell · 04/01/2014 19:09

mintyy, mamalula How frustrating to give it your all and get nothing out of it. The Gillian RIley book sounds like it might be worth looking at.

Before 5:2, I kept a food diary (spreadsheet on my computer) and logged absolutely everything I ate and what exercise I got, plus a column for notes about how I was feeling etc. It was a proper reality check and led to me being more mindful about what I was eating. It only works if you're completely honest with yourself of course. But it meant no calorie counting or expensive ww/sw/ll memberships. As a result I increased my healthy eating and recognised more about what I was eating, when and why.

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fairisleknitter · 04/01/2014 19:09

mamalula don't feel rubbish, it clearly doesn't suit everyone.

Mintyy · 04/01/2014 19:49

So would you say it was your food diary or 5:2 that made you lose weight Betsy?

Original poster
BetsyBell · 04/01/2014 20:15

mintyy both - lost 2+ stone with the food diary/mindful eating. Got stuck for ages, put on a bit over last Christmas so started up 5:2 (having watched the Horizon doc in the summer with much interest) with the help of the MN threads a year ago. Lost another stone and a bit. Been maintaining since the summer. (Give or take a few lbs here and there with holidays and Christmas).

5:2 feels easier than being 'good' for a lengthy period, though the mindful eating set me up with good practices for doing 5:2. It would have felt a lot harder if I didn't already have a good idea of what a normal, healthy day's eating looked like.

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Original poster
BetsyBell · 04/01/2014 20:20

5:2 is brilliant for maintaining a healthy weight. I only have to look at a biscuit to have half a pound stick straight to my hips so without the 2 fast days I'd have put that lost weight back on while I wasn't paying attention.

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Original poster
BetsyBell · 04/01/2014 20:21

Disclaimer: brilliant for me - as we've established, it doesn't suit everyone.

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EasterHoliday · 04/01/2014 20:28

Mintyy - do you mind me asking how much you want / need to lose?
I'd like to get shot of 4 or maybe 5lbs (permanently, rather than "until I go out for dinner again") but I don't know whether this works just for small amounts or if it's simply too painful for that!

Original poster
BetsyBell · 04/01/2014 20:32

Easter If I'd come to this with very little to lose then I think I'd've abandoned it. I'd quite like to definitively shift another 5lbs but it's hugely difficult. I will happily settle for not putting weight back on though!

However, others report differently so the only way you can know is by trying it.

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EasterHoliday · 04/01/2014 20:35

My boss is doing it, an I have to get his secretary to warn me which are the fast days because he's intolerably (& unusually) grumpy those days! (at least he can joke about it on the full eating days)

BellaVita · 04/01/2014 20:47

I love 5:2.

Never ever thought I could go without breakfast until I started 5:2. On my fast days I go to the gym too.

I didn't really have a huge amount to lose, was about 9.2 and wanted to get back to under 8.7. I am about 8.5 now, but I could look at a cream cake and put 2lb on very easily.

When I first started back in the spring of 2013 I used MFP which I found very helpful but for the last couple of months I haven't.

Mintyy · 04/01/2014 21:20

What I find frustrating about 5:2 is that it is sold as foolproof and you just need to really restrict your calories on two days of the week and weight loss will automatically follow, when for many of us the maths just doesn't add up!
If dh eats 600 calories on 2 days per week then his calorie "allowance" for the other 5 days is higher than the average tdee (or whatever it is, I've forgotten the abbreviation) for a man because he has accumulated such a deficit by fasting.

But for me, my normal tdee is only 1500 per day so a deficit of 2,000 per week amounts to less than 1lb weight loss per week and I would still need to restrict myself quite severely on non-fasting days.

It worked well for the original presenter of the Panorama programme because he was a man and quite an active one at that (lots of footage of him running and swimming iirc).

For those of us with really tiny calorie requirements, the pain of fasting so severely really doesn't bring results that make it seem worthwhile.