Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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
MrsMalcolm · 29/04/2019 07:50

Morning all.

Just catching up after a very busy weekend. Interesting reading your comments about socialising. Saturday night was hard as we had friends over so I had a couple glasses of Prosecco and a slice of pizza. Still managed 16/8 and came in at about 1200 calories so not going to beat myself up to much. I knew when I started on Tuesday Saturday would be tricky. I thought I would start when I was in the zone and not leave it another week - better to have one not so good day than a bad week waiting to start ‘on Monday’

Tomorrow is weigh day. Eek. Wonder what that will bring.

Have a good day

Oblomov19 · 29/04/2019 07:57

Back again. If I'm allowed? WinkHaven't been here for a while. Took my eye off the ball, and thus put on a stone and a half, now at my heaviest ever 11-11, and been very unwell diabetically. Sad
Hope it's ok for me to just jump back into the 'fold'! Grin

thenewaveragebear1983 · 29/04/2019 08:02

Last I totally agree with your post. Look at how 'sugar' and 'sweet' are so ingrained in our society. Sweetheart, honey, sweetie- we all use these as terms of endearment, 'oooh no thanks, I'm sweet enough', the entire cupcake huge mound of sugary icing in lurid colours revolution, even gin and tonic has been held down and stuffed with sugar with these flavoured drinks and tonics. Everything is seen as so homely and feminine and coquettish- it's been hugely marketed as a way for middle class women who lead fairly dull lives to 'rebel' in a sort of 'naughty but nice' way. Ironically, the same women who are trying to stop their children eating too much sugar!

Doing this diet has changed my mindset so much, because now I see sugar. I'm not hoodwinked by it anymore. I think, even though I do eat it, I recognise why I am eating it much more readily. I don't eat 'hidden sugars' I do eat blatant sugars though . When I first started this diet, yes, it did make some people around me feel uncomfortable, and yes they definitely applied pressure on me to not spoil their sugar by being all 'sugar free'- and I really tried to just quietly say no thanks rather than explain why. But I think once I started seeing sugar (fructose) as poison, I didn't want to eat it. A life without it is a hell of a lot easier if you don't actually want it.

Read Fat Chance by Robert Lustig, it's very enlightening.

And a few times I did have to very clearly say 'I want to be thin. Not slimmer. Thin. And to do that I need to eat healthily all the time, and exercise.' To my mother in law because sometimes people don't get it. They see cutting out sugar as some huge punishment. Stick to your guns though, like macca said- have it if you want it. But always remember what you want most and why you started. Once you start losing lots of weight people will understand why you're doing it.

OP posts:
boldlygoingsomewhere · 29/04/2019 08:30

Morning!

You’re so right about how ingrained sugar is in socialising. Working in a office with a culture of ‘cakes for birthdays’ is tricky to navigate. It’s amazing how cutting out sugar makes you realise how sweet things taste. We went out for lunch to a Bill’s at the weekend. I had a naked burger with a side salad. I ended up leaving the salad as the dressing they put on tasted far too sweet!
I much prefer really dark chocolate now too.

Well done on the marathon, bear!

AgileLass · 29/04/2019 09:01

Hi there can I join the thread please Smile

I want to lose about 10 lbs.

Currently 9.8, 5’4”, age 36.

Trying to lose pregnancy and breastfeeding weight (have been stuffing my face since DC2 was born). Still feeding the baby on demand, although she’s also on 3 meals a day so I hope bfs will naturally start to taper soon.

Is this a safe plan to follow while breastfeeding? I hope to do Fast 800 for a couple of weeks and then 5:2 to get to where I want to be.

I have a wicked sweet tooth, but trying to keep it in check. I naturally don’t seem to mind a lengthy overnight fast - 12 hours is fine for me, even with 3/4 night feeds - so I’m going to try and push that a bit to 14/16 hours.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 29/04/2019 09:09

Welcome agile, I think it's ok if you're not exclusively breastfeeding (ie baby has real food too?) but maybe 800 might be too low, certainly every day. Maybe alternate between fast days and a higher calorie amount but still keep the carbs low?

I weighed in this morning at 10.7.8 which is a few pounds on in April, plus still the annoying 3 that I want to lose. I'd really like to be 9.13 by Whitsun so that's a steady 2lb a week required. Definitely doable!

OP posts:
careerchange456 · 29/04/2019 09:13

Hello all, I've read the book and I'm in. I've kind of being doing it since I last posted but have been following on plan since Saturday. First day back at work today so we'll see how it goes.

Would anybody mind posting their plan for the week? I know there are ones in the book but I'm interested in real life plans where people aren't able to cook at breakfast or lunch!

thenewaveragebear1983 · 29/04/2019 09:17

Career this is mine. 3 fast days, the other days I'll add extra calories to make it up to 1200/1400 cals. I can post recipes later, a lot of them come from Jamie's America book this week!

Blood Sugar Diet and Fast800 thread 14
OP posts:
JeanieJardine55 · 29/04/2019 12:18

A very merry Monday to everyone and well done on your half marathon bear.

I’ve lost 5lbs this week which isn’t as much as some but I never really lost big amounts at a time so I’m pretty pleased. I’m even more pleased that I’ve stuck to around 800 cals every day and not been hungry (except for the first couple of days). I just sat in the car watching ds3 eat a meatball marinara subway and had no desire whatsoever to snatch it out of his hands.

This week I’m going to try to ditch my morning coffee or at least move it later to give myself a longer fast. I’m usually finished eating for the day by 6.30pm and normally have breakfast after 9:30am so that’s 15:9 if I can get rid of my 7am coffee. But it’s hard!

noworklifebalance · 29/04/2019 12:57

I struggled ditching my morning coffee - I felt 😡 until I got my hit.
I have trained myself now to have black coffee by having progressively less milk, so now I can manage the 16:8 and sometimes longer.

Elloello · 29/04/2019 13:02

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

cafenoirbiscuit · 29/04/2019 13:24

I've been lurking for a while, and am now 4 days in. I;m not going on the scales but I know I can't get into most of my summer clothes now Sad and I'm bigger than when I was full term pg. I desperately need to do something cos I feel like a blob, and have chub rub thighs. Probably need to lose a couple of stone, but even 1 would be amazing, and get me back looking myself again.
I'm not much of a meat-eater but I'm finding it difficult to find meals which leave me feeling full. I've got the books (Fast 800, and the Fast Diet - updated version), but wonder if anyone might have some ideas, or point me towards a website with interesting meal ideas on it?
Also - how long before I feel a bit slimmer? I do feel better but not slimmer yet...........
TIA

AgileLass · 29/04/2019 15:53

Thanks OP. Your meal plan looks great btw.

Today I’ve managed to only have one meal so far - it was a late brunch (11.45ish) of eggs royale Blush

I did a 15 hour fast I reckon, which isn’t too bad. Need inspiration for dinner now - hard to balance everyone’s needs with a fussy toddler, weaning 6mo, dieting me and hungry DH!

PhoenixMama · 29/04/2019 18:16

Yes totally agree we shouldn't have to eat anything we don't really want! It's funny how we're socialised to feel it's more important to keep others comfortable, to be polite, than to true to our wants & needs.

Stepped on the scale this morning & apparently gained 8lbs which is pretty much impossible and must be water, etc. Have very strict days planned today & tomorrow & Weds if necessary.

Does anyone else get sugar hangovers? I think it's from the cake rather than the booze?!?

thenewaveragebear1983 · 29/04/2019 18:30

Welcome new starters!

Make sure you do your measurements!

Cafe if you're not feeling full after meals it can simply be because of the reduced quantity of food at first, this will stop after a few days. If you're generally feeling not satisfied, you can try to eat more fat as it will keep you going longer, adding fat to your lunch rather than 'saving calories' for dinner can help.

I've had a good day back on plan, I've only had one meal today too, so a good long fast. Dinner was a traybake chicken using a Pataks sauce sachet, a new traybake Range which had no added sugar. We had lemon and coriander and it was nice, I had cauli rice and the dc had regular uncle bens. Plus some Greek yog and strawberries for dessert. I have a dull detox headache which has been grumbling away all day which is a good sign I suppose.

OP posts:
Maccalenny · 29/04/2019 19:10

Welcome all the new folks! Keep posting to help stay focussed and on track.

lasttimeround · 29/04/2019 19:43

Welcome new folks and returning folks. Really good starts. 5 pounds is great Jeanie! I'm one of those who loses slowly but maybe that also means I don't get huge rebounds. Phoenix stay strong it's just water hormones or both.
In terms of when you feel slimmer I think it depends on me 5kg about 10 pounds is visible if not measurable by tape oddly enough. Although my neck has shrunk!
I keep wavering between being pleased at progress and the realisation how much longer it's going to take. Sigh...
Can we share tips? I find I need something to finish my meal. Chocolate or cheese. Cheese us better as I have to keep carbs really low or I'm roaringly hungry. But have discovered lidls antipasti in oil. I have the courgette open and have 40g of that with just 10g cheese. Really nice, and feels 'enough' otherwise I'd have at least 20g cheese and struggle not to have 50g. Calorie wise its hugely less.
I also have unsweetened soya milk in tea and coffee and like it. I have some black but the first in the morning just makes me sad if its without milk. As does the one after dinner.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 29/04/2019 19:57

My big tip is to vary what you eat. I get cookery books out of the library when I take Ds to his ghastly 'clap along and shout a lot' class for toddlers, then I sit and read it at home with my shopping list book out, planning all our meals, my exercise and fast days, and things that affect our mealtimes (eg. Out on Friday night, or a weekday thing). Write the recipe page number on the menu plan, then I'm good to go. It's also helpful to me to do a rough tally of the calories for each day, particularly the fast days, so that I know in advance what I need to allow for rather than be pushed over by something being loads more calories or eating too many early in the day. Takes an hour on a Sunday, but it's so worth it.

OP posts:
waterandlemonjuice · 29/04/2019 23:47

Hello, please can I join you? Im on day one of the 8wBSD

MrsMalcolm · 30/04/2019 06:16

Just weighed myself. Lost 6lb. Very pleased. So week 1 done. I would normally have a cheat day after weighing in but for the first time ever I actually don’t feel like it!

lasttimeround · 30/04/2019 08:28

Great loss MrsMalcolm!! I find this is much easier when you don't cheat in terms of having too many carbs esp white carbs or sugar. It's the switching that is hard.
Welcome waterandlemonjuice get stuck into that first week. It gets easier once you get the hang of it. Have lots of water and salt helps with headaches and other aches you get from reducing carbs.

purplespring · 30/04/2019 09:40

Hello, welcome to the new starters and we’ll done on your losses so far.

Well done newaveragebear on your half marathon 🙌

I’m still here, week 4 day 2 now, and the scales are finally starting to move down again I think! They seemed to have got stuck at 16st10lbs for the past 2 weeks, which is frustrating when I have very much stuck to the plan, even with Easter eggs in abundance all around me, and still have so much lose! But yesterday I was 16st8lb and this morning 16st7.5lb, I’m hoping this is going to be the whoosh I’ve been waiting for.

I’m going on holiday in just over 3 weeks and would very much like to see a 15 on the scales before then.

12 days in Italy, my aim is going to be to mostly avoid pasta and pizza but indulge in the odd ice-cream. I actually feel a bit anxious about it. Food has been a big part of our lives holidays in the past and we enjoy it. I don’t want to spoil the experience (for myself or others) by being on a diet, but I also don’t want to end up back where I started.

What I definitely am going to do is get straight back on it when I’m home! We get home late and I’m back at work on a 12 hour shift the following day so I’m going to have something in the freezer ready to take with me.

teta · 30/04/2019 13:34

Can I say hi too?
I’ve been following this diet for the last couple of weeks.
I’ve been really enjoying Ricotta with some raspberries if I feel like some fruit. I do sometimes have a bit of Stevia on it if the raspberries are a bit tart. It’s not a sweetener and has no affect on gut bacteria unlike the others. Plus It was ok to use in Michael Moseley’s Healthy gut diet. I’ve been using the recipes from there too and some from the Blood Sugar diet recipe book. But mostly I’ve been adapting my own.

PhoenixMama · 30/04/2019 15:04

Hi all - lovely to see so many new starters! 3lbs down this morning so burning of weekend excess.

I just went back over the last few weeks in MFP as I've really struggled with being so up & down (my graph looks like a rollercoaster!) But I've not been hitting my protein goal for most of the last 3 weeks so that's going to be my focus for the next couple of weeks as I was religious about it when I started. I've also splashed out for MFP premium as I was doing better when I was using the trial!

I don't have a big social occasion now till May 24th so hoping I can lose another 10lbs between then & now!

Does anyone know if it matters if you so 500cal days to try to lose more?

Maccalenny · 30/04/2019 18:46

Well done Mrsmalcolm! Great result. And well done on avoiding the ‘treat day’.

Purple week three is often a sticking point but it sounds like you are through it and on the way down again. Italy sounds amazing - can you plan to stick to low carb for meals as much as possible, but factor in a number of treats as you want them? Then you will maintain a feeling of control and hopefully not undo all your progress. You may be more likely to get back on track when you get home.

Welcome teta and water!

phoenix - hopefully you will lose the weekend’s weight nice and quickly! I’m not sure going below 800 is advisable...it’s hard enough to get all the nutrients in on 800. And more likely to fall off the wagon if you are restricting that much I would think.