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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.

Blood Sugar Diet and Fast800 thread 14

999 replies

thenewaveragebear1983 · 13/03/2019 19:48

Here’s the new thread for the BSD followers, plus those following the Fast800 plan. Everyone is welcome to join us. Here’s a quick recap!

The BSD/fast 800 is a low carb, Mediterranean style way of eating, with the primary aim of stabilising your insulin response when you eat. You achieve this by: eating fewer carbs, cutting out sugar and sweet tasting foods including most fruit, and by following a low calorie plan that reduces your visceral fat meaning that everything functions more effectively. Less insulin means less fat storage (in a nutshell, although more info can be found on this online). The blood sugar diet was designed to reduce T2 diabetes symptoms (or even reverse it entirely) but can also be used for weightloss.

Eat:
Meats and fish
Oils
Eggs
Full fat dairy products
Nuts, seeds
Pulses/ beans
Veg that grows above ground
Limit fruit: apples, pears, berries- in moderation, with meals, with fats

Occasional alcoholic drinks allowed (spirits, red wine are preferable to beer, lager, etc) although alcohol is calorie heavy and can influence your appetite
Tea and coffee, herbal tea etc.
And water- drink lots of water!

Avoid
sugar, sweets, and ‘naturally occurring sugars’ such as fructose, maltose, honey, agave, puréed dates etc....

Potatoes of any variety
Pasta
Rice
Breakfast cereals (occasional steel cut oats are ok)
Breads/ flour based products

Exercise:
Michael Moseley recommends HIIT workouts to increase calorie burn and help to tone up, and recommends walking more (increasing your steps weekly until you hit around 10000 a day)

Mindfulness
MM also suggests a programme of mindfulness, meditation, practised for a few minutes each day.

How to follow the plan:
Fast800: follow the plan above, sticking to 800 calories every day for 2 weeks. Ideal to give your weightloss a real kick start, plus improve your insulin function and reduce your sugar cravings.
8 weeks BSD- 8 weeks, follow the guidelines above- 800 calories a day. You don’t need to count carbs grams because the diet is naturally self limiting.
BSD 5:2- for a more leisurely weightloss journey, or as maintenance, or once you’ve done an 8 week stint or 2 weeks of Fast800, you can play around with a combination of increased calorie count, ‘free eating’ and fasting days (800 cals) until you achieve your goals. Many of our long standing members now follow this approach.

You can stop 800 calorie days at any time once you achieve your goal. It’s advised to limit yourself to 12 weeks maximum of 800 calorie days, but you should get excellent results in 8 weeks. Depending on your weightloss goals, you can do further ‘rounds’ of either the 8 week BSD or the Fast800. We recommend you take your measurements before you begin, not just your weight. A target pair of jeans in a smaller size or even a photography or two can be very motivating!

Some useful links:

previous thread

meal planning thread

<a class="break-all" href="http://go.mumsnet.com/?xs=1&id=470X1554755&url=healthyeater.com/important-tool-weight-loss" target="_blank">TDEE calculator to calculate your daily calorie requirement

information about the ‘whoosh’ phenomenon

OP posts:
Thread gallery
36
purplespring · 08/04/2019 13:40

Hello everyone welcome minutepapillon and StellaRae

Very interesting re. fructose newaveragebear and funny re. your late 90s diet. I can relate. I will have a look at Emi Wong, my knees are a bit rubbish another thing I’m hoping will improve with weight loss, although they always have been really.

Well done on the moderation PhoenixMama and lasttineround on your loss and getting straight back on it after your night out.

I’m now week 2 day 1 and as of this morning have lost 11.75lbs very, very pleased with that! And I know I’m repeating myself here, but I’m completely shocked at how little hunger I have felt, in fact since day 2 I haven’t felt hungry at all. E.g yesterday I had a salad at 13.45 (289 cal) because it was lunchtime, and then made myself some eggs, chorizo and mushrooms at about 21.00 after work, but only because I knew I needed more calories and protein not because I was hungry at all. I did have a headache though, despite drinking lots of water during the day, which settled after eating (although that also coincided with finishing work and sitting down).

I’ve got lots of nightshifts over the next 2 weeks. My plan is to fast all day till approx 1700 before my first night then have tea with dd, have something overnight around 0100-0200 (always depends on what is going on at work anyway) leaving myself a few calories for a little snack before going to bed in the morning if I feel I need it to sleep better; and count that all as 1 day even though it goes into the morning of the second. My thinking is because I haven’t slept my body won’t really know it’s been nighttime. Then after my last night I’ll get up at lunchtime and have lunch and tea out of a new day’s calories. I feel like nights might have a bit of an impact on what I see on the scales in the short term but as long as I stick to the recommended calories/protein it shouldn’t make a difference in the longer term.

Does anyone else work nights?

onanothertrain · 08/04/2019 18:48

I've had such a lax couple of weeks, apart from rice and pasta I've had all the carbs.
Had a sensible day today and have meals planned for the rest of the week so hopefully I'm back on it. Thankfully I didn't slip on the exercise front so don't feel as though I've put weight on 😕

Maccalenny · 08/04/2019 19:07

Thanks for chicken recipes bear and last - all sound much more appetising than the dried up chicken breast I usually serve up! I will trial some at the weekend on the kids too, who claim not to like chicken but that’s probably down to how I cook it.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 08/04/2019 19:30

Macca I always find chicken breast disappointingly high calorie too, some of them are huge and when I divide it up into 100/150g portion it's a dried up little fillet!!

OP posts:
lasttimeround · 09/04/2019 07:03

Hi minutepapillon I've just realised we are at exactly the same BMI range. I'm currently 27.5 would like to get to 22. My weight loss seems a lot slower than most so I might be glowering at you enviously in a few weeks. Although I'm in a good head space and just really focused on doing the right things most of the time. How is the first week going?

thenewaveragebear1983 · 09/04/2019 07:47

I had a pretty disastrous day yesterday, ended up eating a hot cross bun. In my defence, I'm rather stressed and my period is now 5 days late, and before close of play tomorrow I have to pack for myself for my weekend away, the 3 dc for their time at granny's, and pack up my entire kitchen ready for work to start the day we get back. My meals are pretty good but I'm stress-grazing really badly.

I'm going to try for a fast800 day today, which is achievable provided I stick to my menu. A run this morning with my friend and my sister visiting this afternoon, so lots to keep busy as well.

OP posts:
noworklifebalance · 09/04/2019 11:44

Ugh, I have reached that dreaded weight loss plateau! Lost nothing during my 3rd week of 800kcal/day with fasting at approx. 14:10.

I admit I have become a bit slack in my calorie counting but I do have a reasonable idea and my carb intake is minimal - raspberries/strawberries (approx. 5g of carb/100g) and then peppers, tomatoes, spinach, said leaves. Coconut milk in my coffee.

All meals are otherwise egg/meat/fish based with no more than 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil used for cooking (for the whole family) and sometimes none. Granted, oily fish is oily but I will have that (e.g. 1 piece of smoked mackerel) with salad and no dressing.

A bit frustrating but on the plus side, I have lost inches from my waist. My stomach is as near to flat as it has been in the past decade and I am feeling more confident in my clothes and the way I carry myself.
I would just like to lose another 8kg to get to my ideal measurements/BMI for health reasons - my BMI needs to be right at the lower end of the normal range due to various risk factors that I can not change.

PhoenixMama · 09/04/2019 13:25

New average that sounds really stressful! Rome is just around the corner though which hopefully will be lovely for you!

nowork Hopefully you're due a whoosh soon!

I've apparently gained more weight (I checked both scales) but it must be cycle related. I'm feeling a bit down and blah today - this horrid weather isn't helping and I just want to eat heaps and heaps of sourdough toasted with butter. Being good though. I'm super happy with my losses up until this week so I need to just stick with it. I can't believe I've nearly done a month!

Minutepapillon · 09/04/2019 14:28

Hi lasttimeround, I have only ever dieted twice before - to get rid of pregnancy weight, the last time was years ago, so I don't know how quick or slow the weightloss will be, probably slow (peri)! I am quite active and busy (childminder plus my own family) but not sporty, so I don't think I can rely on exercise to help. I am in no hurry though, and it will improve my health and peri symptoms (cutting out sugar) too, which is my main motivation aside from having less weight to lug around. Hello to everyone else! I am managing to keep within calories (slow clap - that is all of two days!) I never eat chicken breast unless in a sauce, curry for exemple. I prefer the taste and texture of the fattier parts. Can relate to the stress blowouts - we are doing work on the house and trying to keep kid-friendly areas safe and dust-free while DH works is hard, but we are near the end, thankfully.

noworklifebalance · 09/04/2019 17:46

A whoosh would be amazing, Phoenix - fingers crossed!

Maccalenny · 09/04/2019 18:39

bear hope you manage to get everything sorted out so you can relax and enjoy the holiday.

nowork and phoenix - it seems that 3-4 weeks is a plateau for everyone! So long as you are sticking to the plan and aiming for 800cals, it will start moving again.

lasttimeround · 09/04/2019 19:48

Bear - hope that damn period arrives soon and you feel better.

I'm also feeling the end of my first rush of enthusiasm. Ate 1200 today. Quite deliberately. Carbs still very low as I'm hugely sensitive. Will see how it goes from here on out in terms of how low to keep my cals. On 800 I may well reach a healthy weight after 4 weeks. But I don't want to crash out cos it's too hard. Had a bit extra today as I'm achy and tired. Tomorrow will aim for 800 again of good food choices. No more cheese treats. Or at least not so much of it. More fish. But if I still end up more like 1200 that's still good. Maybe I'll regroup in a week or so and try for another straight fortnight at 800.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 09/04/2019 20:36

Thanks all. I actually think I have delayed it by exercising so much last month (maybe delayed ovulation possibly?) as I'm normally regular as clockwork. This month I felt a bit pmt ish at the right time but now it's sort of gone. I will add, I am 100% certain I'm not pregnant, so will just need to wait it out. I did run a lot of miles last month, plus increased my strength training too, plus threw in a few fast days.

Today has been really good, salad lunch, few bits of cheese at 5pm, dinner will be a Young's fish thing and some calamari and salad. I did have a hot cross bun left from yesterday but Dh let the boys share it while I was out. I can't work out if I'm angry or grateful.

I've not counted calories today, but foods been good, I've done 23k steps ( including a 10km run and 1hr circuits) and have done about 1/3 of my jobs which I will finish tomorrow.

OP posts:
Akire · 09/04/2019 21:31

Back on the wagon after going out yesterday. Woke up and thought yes I can do this and I did. Though am peckish now so hope dosnt keep me awake.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 09/04/2019 21:41

Well done akire. I sometimes struggle to sleep when I've had a very low carb day and I have a cup of hot/warm water before bed which seems to help.

OP posts:
noworklifebalance · 10/04/2019 07:51

Lost a pound!! Genuinely very pleased, as it's a stone in 3 weeks.

I have had rye bread with avacado and tomatoes twice this week since a PP mentioned it and I was wondering whether that was my downfall.

However, the German style rye bread I found is only 19g of carbs and 98kcal per slice and, with those toppings on two slices, it lasts me two meals (450kcal).

Then I had a low to zero carb dinner e.g smoked mackerel grilled with red onions, peppers and beetroot with salad (350kcal).

noworklifebalance · 10/04/2019 07:56

Also doing HIIT 3-4x per week

  • trying to become addicted exercise so it becomes part of my weekly routine.
Burru · 10/04/2019 08:59

Hello!

I’m new to this - started the fast800 at the weekend and it’s very inspiring reading all your posts.

I’m not finding hunger a problem (well not too much) but oh boy the headaches Angry

Hoping it will improve by the weekend, I’ve been taking half an electrolyte tablet every day and ibuprofen to get through work.

I want to lose the 5kg i’ve put on since Christmas (!!) and then another 10 or so...

PhoenixMama · 10/04/2019 10:17

I'm stuck in plateau land this week and thinking I'm not going to see much movement (down anyway) untill my period is over next week. I've also got a couple more tricky situations to navigate - dinner & copious amounts of gin when starting with a new friend on Friday night (note to self drink slowly!) And another dinner out tonight. I have discovered that Tesco & Waitrose do lovely chicken soups that are around 150 calls for 300ml which is fab!

@burru try upping your salt content & magnesium if you can, plus drinking at least 3L of water a day helped with my headaches!

lasttimeround · 10/04/2019 13:33

Lost half a stone in 2.5 weeks. This is the longest I've kept properly focused on a diet. Out tonight with DJ and have already decided what I'm getting so it fits.

Welcome burru keep reminding yourself of the benefits once the carb flu goes and it will go. I take magnesium tablets on have lots of salt and water. I have that saly that has potassium in it - losalt.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 10/04/2019 20:28

Well done everyone.

I've had a good day, I haven't calorie counted but all I ate was lunch of salad and egg, a few nibbles of cheese, and dinner was chicken tikka and haloumi with stir fried veg and salad. Ran 9km, did 25k steps, plus 2 Emi hiit workouts (I love her, today I did thighs and arms, 25 mins total).

I am now having a glass of red though, and relaxing before we leave for Florence at 7am. I'm going to try and have a bit of a phone detox while I'm away, so I may not be around until Monday!

Next week will be chaos for me, kids off school, dd has multiple dental ops all week in prep for braces, plus I'll be on the 2 week countdown to my half marathon and my kitchens being ripped out on Monday. On the plus side though, at least I'll be busy and will have to keep out of the kitchen! I'm planning a menu of chicken and salad for most of the week!

Ciao Bella! Grin

OP posts:
Burru · 11/04/2019 09:13

Thanks for your encouragement- it really helped, I was about to throw in the towel yesterday as feeling so rough but your words pushed me through!

Feeling better today - first time I’ve not felt I needed breakfast, saving it for steak tonight!

Scales are going in the right direction too.

lasttimeround · 11/04/2019 18:34

Nicely done burru.

I'm slowly moving from what is really a low carb vaguely healthy 800 cal diet to a more Mediterranean diet. Upping my veg this week and trying some slightly higher carb veg. Gosh tomatoes tomorrow. Plus focusing on healthier meats more often. Today tinned sardines with courgette fried in a little olive olive with garlic chilli and lemon. And mushrooms and broccoli with mince and blue cheese.

Blood Sugar Diet and Fast800 thread 14
Blood Sugar Diet and Fast800 thread 14
noworklifebalance · 11/04/2019 21:56

Are tomatoes high carb? Shock
Maybe that's why my weight loss has sloooowwed!

For dinner today I had a bowl of stir fry veg with a small about of oyster sauce (10g carb) and scrambled egg & tofu mixed through.

I hope those veg (mange tout, green beans, broccoli, peppers) were ok carb-wise!!

noworklifebalance · 11/04/2019 21:57

*amount

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