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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.

16:8 any success?

583 replies

iddybiddymum · 15/11/2018 22:17

I've been doing 16:8 Monday - Friday for 2.5 weeks now . I pretty much eat what I like between 12-8 ( not in excess and mostly healthy).

I didn't weigh myself but do feel clothes fit slightly better and feel
A little less tired.

Does anyone have any success stories at all? Would love to hear!

OP posts:
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PC20 · 01/07/2020 09:20

Morning everyone
I'm definitely not hungry when I wake which is progress. Still snacked a bit yesterday during my window but down 0.5lb this morning...and there are still a few flapjacks in the tin...which is unheard of this long after making them!
Glad I have planned my menus this week so I know what we are eating.
@HighlandPeach - my DS is also eating in the 8 hour window but without realising it. Mostly because he gets up v late and would have to bother to make his own breakfast!
All the best for everyone

PC20 · 01/07/2020 09:21

Sorry @ScarletPower - it was your son eating in 8 hour window not @HighlandPeach. Oops

ScarletPower · 01/07/2020 16:22

Afternoon all

Day 8 for me today - first official weigh in and another 0.2kg down from yesterday making it 2.9kgs in total (6.3lbs altogether). This just takes me down into the next stone down bracket (just!).

Listened to some more podcasts today (The Obesity Code) podcast and OMG, the benefits from fasting are amazing (if everything is true, of course).

Excess sugar seems to be linked to A LOT of ills.

floraflo · 02/07/2020 09:54

@ScarletPower well done on your loss! Fantastic. I'm going to find the podcast you mention and give it a listen. I always find listening and reading about IF helps me to stay on track and motivated.

I managed my first 24 hour fast yesterday. I hadn't planned it and it wasn't as hard as I'd expected but I was very much looking forward to 3pm when I could eat again.

I think my clothes are feeling looser. I'm almost scared to weigh myself though as I know I'll feel so disappointed if the scales dong show a loss, still really as I'm feeling much more in control and better in myself just for doing IF so the numbers shouldn't really matter.

Just out of interest, how many of you are counting calories in your eating window and how many calories do you try and stick to?

Have a good day everyone.

ScarletPower · 02/07/2020 17:17

Afternoon all

Day 9 – another 0.2k loss today, 3.1kgs off altogether which is 6.8lbs.

@floraflo – I would definitely recommend the podcast for reinforcing that it works. It’s just called The Obesity Code, it’s no longer active but there are plenty of episodes to plough through.

I can believe you now when you said a 24hr fast wasn’t that hard – if you’d have said it to me a week ago I’d have laughed you off Mumsnet but I know it's doable now.

I love the better relationship I have with food at the moment. It’s like I have been convinced now that I don’t need refined sugar in my diet anymore and this is the cause of the weight gain I have been hating myself for over the last 20 years so I choose to actively avoid it rather than try to see how much sugar I can get for as few syns/calories as I can. I’m still eating sugar but it’s from berries (only one serving per day, with single cream, eaten as a dessert).

It seems really easy at the moment (famous last words). All it takes is a bit of willpower to get through the morning and then once I’ve had a good lunch I’m not hungry so don’t have the urge to snack.

I am with you on the daily weighing though. I did it for the first week as I was bound to lose water weight if nothing else but I know it will slow down. Even the slightest rise on the scales could knock me off kilter but on the other hand the sensible me knows weight fluctuates daily even for slim people. Even if the numbers did go up, with eating such moderate carbs (I’m not deliberately low carbing) it’s not likely to be fat.

My clothes are definitely looser too. I’ve measured my waist today and have lost 2cm in a week which is about ¾ of an inch. I still don’t need a belt with my jeans yet though.

I’m not sticking to calories – the first time I tracked was yesterday and that was only because I wanted to see how many carbs I had. I had 1780 cals yesterday and today I will have had 1450 cals.

However from the book and podcast – calories don’t matter. The body metabolises fats, protein and carbs differently – if you had a steak at 200 calories and a cake at 200 calories, the good fats and protein will get used (and any excess excreted) from the steak whereas the sugar will produce the insulin which makes excess get stored as fat (or a rough approximation, I’m not an expert). So I don’t know why Michael Mosley says to follow an 800 calorie diet.

In the book, a scientist (he was British thats all I can remember) went on a high protein high fat diet and he was having 6000 cals per day. He was estimated to gain 16lbs in 3 weeks but at the end of 3 weeks he had only gained 3lbs (which was lean muscle) and had lost 1" from his waist. He wondered if he was just a lucky person who could eat what he wanted and not put weight on, so for another three weeks he ate a diet high in carbs and he gained the predicted 16lbs but also put on 3" around his waist.

A lady on the podcast (who had all manner of ills, from memory she had type 2 diabetes, PCOS and later a brain tumour) low carbed for 6 months, her health got better but she stayed the same weight and a body can showed she'd lost a lot of internal body fat and gained lean muscle which accounted for the weight staying stagnant.

PC20 · 02/07/2020 19:52

Hello everyone
I've been at work today with enough time for coffees (black) during the morning and busy enough to not be hungry/think about food. So I have found it easier than the last 3 days at home. Was disappointed that my work uniform did not feel looser (but I suppose it was not 'awfully' tight!). I have read(listened) through the obesity code book up to the chapters on debunking the Atkins diet. As diets with restrictions I have always found hard and unsustainable - then I continue to be encouraged about IF.
I'm not yet prepared/motivated enough to cut out all refined sugar.....but I'll keep going in small steps. I think I am down 2.5 lb in the first week (...but stupidly I forgot where I started!!).
Really interesting about the 200cal of steak or cake. Need to find out more.

VanGoghsDog · 02/07/2020 21:35

Hi all - I started on 16:8 four weeks ago. My plan is to fully fast two days a week (500 cals), 16:8 five days a week and stick to sensible calorie counts on those five days, 1400 or less.

So my window is 12.30om to 8.30pm, so I have no breakfast (though my first meal might be porridge or scrambled eggs), no snacks (if I go out walking I usually eat a banana) then supper of fish or chicken and salad or steamed veg, then melon, pear and berries, followed by three Brazil nuts and eight almonds. Now and then I also have a small piece of 85% cocoa dark chocolate.

Waiting to 12.30 to eat after a fast day is hard but I'm getting used to it. Fitting the fast days around walking is harder, I can't walk on fasting days, I need more sustenance.

Anyway, I lost six pounds in about three weeks, then went to my mum's for the weekend and put three back on (stuck to 16:8 window but ate so much carbs and cals) so I've fasted twice since then and am back on it.

I'm 5'6" and 168lbs, well 165lbs now. I'd really like to lose twenty pounds. I'm 52 and this is the heaviest I've been, I'm not used to having to diet, I was always pretty slim.
I don't crave sugar though, which has been a surprise to me.

Time for my camomile tea now. Did a seven and a half mile walk today.

ScarletPower · 03/07/2020 17:22

Hi all

Hello VanGough'sDog - Have you been doing this long? Well done for getting back on it after the trip to your mums.

How is everyone else going? Any non scale victories you want to share?

Day 10 - another 0.3lbs down today, 3.4kgs altogether (which is 10% of what I want to lose!!!) which is , 7.48lbs. I'm expecting the losses to get slower now though.

I've found my appetite has really shrank. I never, ever, ever leave anything on my plate ever unless it's really horrible and I don't like it. Last night we had salmon and vegetables and I couldn't manage all of the salmon, so I ended up having it for today's lunch in an omelette.

The omelette today consisted of 3 eggs, some cheese, some single cream and the omelette and I was huffing and puffing through it near the end, thinking "Maybe I should buy a smaller frying pan for future omelettes".

I had a bowl of berries in single cream afterwards and as I was chomping my way through this I thought to myself "I might just buy blueberries next time, cos the strawberries and raspeberries are too sweet". TOO SWEET? I had a famously sweet tooth pre starting this, that's why I'm in this mess.

Tracking my meals on My Fitness Pal to count carbs is traumatic! Not because of counting the carbs but from having to ignore the calories, years of everything we've been taught to watch is wrong but it's taking a while for my brain to compute it.

ScarletPower · 03/07/2020 17:23

Sorry Van Gough - just seen you said you have been doing it for 1 month. That serves me right for speed reading

PC20 · 03/07/2020 21:01

Welcome @VanGoghsDog. You and @ScarletPower are being very strong on your 800cal and 500cal days. One of the things that attracts me to IF is eating in the window without calorie counting / obeying lots of SW/WW rules. I am sure you are achieving results faster using these plans as well - but it is not for me at the mo.
My window started at 12.45 today with a salad & fruit. Then (again) I nibbled cheese & bits while waiting for my dinner (jacket pot & chilli) to cook. Felt very full after but finished eating at 7.15 - so less than an 8 hour eating window. I aim to fast until around 12.30 tomorrow. Definitely being busy at work limits the snacking ability which does help.

Hope to spend more time reading the Obesity Code this weekend. Esp the 'how to' chapters near the end. Really appreciating the support on this forum. I know I weigh most days but my baseline day to weigh is Saturday am. Am hoping for 3lb this week.

VanGoghsDog · 03/07/2020 21:22

I was 168, then after three weeks 162, 165 after mum's, but 163 now after two proper fasts this week.

I went a bit outside the window today because I was building a TV unit and forgot the time.

On track today though I had a mini Madeline about four (c110 cals) with a cup of tea. So no chocolate square tonight.

Scrambled eggs, poached salmon and dark green leaves for brunch, griddled chicken breast, salad with avocado for supper, melon, pear, 8 raspberries, three Brazil nuts and eight almonds after.

Not really intending to be low carb but it seems to happen automatically.

ScarletPower · 04/07/2020 10:14

@pc20 I’m not doing a calorie counted diet, I’m still doing 16:8 but now seem to be leaning naturally towards low carb just to hit my good fat quota. I didn’t want to count calories but as the days have gone on, I’m learning it’s important to try and eat within macros so I’ve started counting carbs on My Fitness Pal. I am being very strict though only eating twice a day between 11am and 7pm. Like you, I have had years of calorie counting and am sick to death of it now and in a way it’s putting me off doing Fast 800 as I’ll have to count calories yet I don’t really mind counting carbs – maybe because I have to eat more to hit the targets whereas with calories it seemed to be that I had to eat less!

I weighed in today although I’ll probably regret it – as it’s a Saturday and I had a lie in, I had 2 ½ extra hours in bed and maybe that has had an effect on the scales but this morning I was down an amazing 1.2kg which is 2 ½ lbs overnight (I got on the scales twice to make sure it wasn’t a blip). Today is day 11 and I have now lost 4.6kg which is just a shade over 10lbs. However I didn’t have an evening meal last night. I had a huge omelette for lunch followed by a bowl of fruit and cream and just wasn’t hungry. As the end of my window got nearer I just didn’t want a big tea and hadn’t yet eaten the 50g of mixed nuts that I’d allocated as a snack, so I had those instead. (MFP shows that I ate 1121 calories yesterday) and my macros were 63% fat, 14% carbs, 23% protein. I’m also managing to drink two litres of water daily and have kicked my Pepsi Max habit down from 4-5 cans per day to 1.

I’m being very strict on myself at the moment as if something works for me, I will throw myself into it, so that’s what I’m doing at the moment. The one thing that has made me fail on other diets is hunger, and I’m rarely hungry with this WOE so want to be as strict as I can for as long as I can. I was, and still am, very overweight – my BMI is showing as 42+ today so I need to shift this weight for future health reasons. I don’t want to end up with Type II diabetes like my dad and having to go on insulin so I’m staying motivated – how long this lasts remains to be seen.

I’ve got a nurse’s appointment at the end of July and I can’t wait to see if it’s had an affect on my blood pressure. I went for contraception in April and when she did my BP three times it was over 100. I went back two weeks later and it had gone down to 90+ which is still high but had it been over 100 I’d have had to see a doctor – I had walked every day in those two weeks for 35 minutes but hadn’t lost any weight. Funnily enough at the time she told me to cut down on fat……how ironic it would be to go back and tell her I’ve lost a stone (or whatever it is by that time) by eating more fat….

VanGoghsDog · 04/07/2020 11:55

People on the diet to manage diabetes eat less sugar and carbs, not less fat.

You're unlikely to lose weight walking unless you walk a good ten plus miles a day at speed, but it is good for weight management and general health. It's the only exercise I like which is annoying because to do enough takes a lot of time up!

I don't like eating more fat though, so less carbs for me means more lean protein, piles of salad/veg and fruit (I try to stick with lower carb fruit like berries, but not always). Low carb and high fat is basically what the Atkins diet recommended.

I'd prefer not to calorie count but I tend to find I have to. Luckily I live alone so can do what I like and I can manage a diet where I just eat the same foods on a rota so I don't have to think about it. As soon as I have to think about it I start inventing new ideas and extra foods to eat which increase the calories.

ScarletPower · 05/07/2020 18:12

Afternoon all

Another 0.1kg down today making it 4.7kg (10.3lbs). I'm definitely not weighing in tomorrow because I had more carbs than I meant to today.

I managed to get into a top I ordered from a cheapie website and when it came a month ago it was too tight across the midriff - well, I've got it on today and it fits perfectly :-)

VanGoghsDog · 05/07/2020 19:43

Well done Scarlet!

I've been a bit off the timescale today because I went out for a walk with my walking club, it's eleven miles. My usual eating window is 1pm to 9pm. The walk starts at 10.30am, I can't not eat pre walk, so I had scrambled eggs at 9.30am, bit too early from finishing yesterday. However, I shut the kitchen at 5.30pm, so tomorrow is fine again. Think I'll do a 500 cal fast tomorrow anyway, to jump start me again.

PC20 · 05/07/2020 21:13

So encouraging Scarlett when you new clothes fit better!
I've been off the pace today for various reasons. Will climb back on tomorrow

ScarletPower · 06/07/2020 19:58

Evening all

Another 0.1kg off today, 4.8kg in total - 10.5lbs off altogether.

It's still early days but I really hope I've found a way of eating that I can stick to long term.

PC20 · 06/07/2020 21:16

Hi Everyone
Scarlet - your message reminded me to post. I've been so busy today.
I have really missed cereal so decided to have it for my lunch on Saturday. All good.
But - yesterday was going to spend the day with my Mum - & ended up eating cereal for BREAKFAST at 8am. Boo no 16 hour fast! Ended up with a bit of a blow out of a day. Closed that door & started again today (but I did not weigh!)
Today I fasted until lunch at 1 (which included a gorgeous creamy yoghurt from M&S food - yum - not that I'm counting but 149 cal) Then nothing until dinner at 7. So very pleased. Just has a green tea (cos I am out of my window). Have not felt hungry or going without today.
Really going to stick to 16+ hours fasting for 2 weeks & then am away for a few days. Unrealistic to keep 16 hours fasting then I think - but if I can lose 4lb by then I will be pleased.
All the best for tomorrow.

VanGoghsDog · 06/07/2020 21:44

I have fasted today. Tuna salad at 5pm, six raspberries, then a banana at nine. So 500 cal and just within the 16:8 window too.

I'm going to eat a bit more tomorrow I think, I've been quite low the last few days and I don't want to be low on energy. I'll aim for 1400 cals I think. Might have a baked spud for tea.

HighlandPeach · 07/07/2020 08:00

Morning all 😊 Haven’t posted for a few days, so I’m just catching up with everyone’s successes!! Such amazing results.

Just started day 15 and I’ve lost 4.4kg (9.7lbs), which is fabulous. I feel good, not hungry at all. I’ve lost all of my cravings for sweets and chocolate. My size 14 clothes are feeling very comfortable (whereas before I was a bit squished into them)!

I’ve still got a very long way to go...at least another 16kg (ideally 20kg). I think it’s achievable by end November 😊 I’m continuing Fast800 for another 10 weeks (till mid-September).

Have a good day all x

ScarletPower · 07/07/2020 15:57

@HighlandPeach - well done on your weightloss - that really is a great loss.

I am 0.2kg up today on yesterday - no rhyme or reason for it but from reddit forums i am on, they say anytime between week 2 and week 6 you can have a couple of weeks with gains / staying the same / fluctuations - as long as the overall trend is downwards I won't panic

VanGoghsDog · 08/07/2020 00:20

I ate a bit more today, still within the time window and not excessive. I had a yearning for hot chocolate so I made one with oat milk, raw cocoa powder, agave syrup and vanilla extract and it was lovely. No refined sugar. And oat milk is lower cal than milk. I did however have a Penguin type biscuit with it.

I'm now having to have Fibrogel to get my insides moving as fasting always clogs me up (the 'diet' I am loosely following is heavy on protein to fill you up, so I'm having scrambled eggs a few times a week, and it feels like I'm pooing them back out hard boiled back in their shells!).

500cal fast again tomorrow. Also weigh day 🤞🏻

ScarletPower · 08/07/2020 09:49

Official 2 week weigh-in for me. I really went for it yesterday to make sure my little blip on the scales was just a blip - I did a 22 hour fast, drank 2.5 litres of water and kept my carbs below 20g. It worked and I was 0.4kg down on yesterday, 5kg in total now which is 11lbs altogether.

I'm really pleased - the only diet I have ever done where I have lost as much in two weeks was Lighter Life (when I was 5 stone lighter than I am now!) and I wasn't eating anything then, only shakes so was in Ketosis. I'm not on a keto diet now and am really enjoying my food so I'm happy to be 11lbs down.

I know the weight loss might stall for a bit now so I might try not to weigh in for another week.

I found the attached pic on a FB site I'm on and thought it was interesting so am sharing it

16:8 any success?
ScarletPower · 08/07/2020 09:50

VGD - you did make me laugh with the egg tale!!!

VanGoghsDog · 08/07/2020 11:49

Humph, I stayed the same at 163lbs at my weigh in. 500 cal fast today. I need to drink a lot more water I think.

And I possibly need to start weighing my food more carefully. I've gone from a three medium egg scramble to a two large egg, which drops a few calories (and costs less, plus makes a box last longer so shopping is easier). And probably eat less fruit.

Maybe once the fibogel kicks in I'll poo out some weight!

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