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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

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Thread gallery
36
lasttimeround · 01/05/2019 20:50

On constipation I have 2 words: psyllium husk

Fantasmagoric · 01/05/2019 21:25

Ooh the pepper soup with cheese and onion dippers sounds lush!

waterandlemonjuice · 01/05/2019 22:27

Hi everyone, I think I'm slightly over 800 cal today but never mind.

Had a ‘muffin’ 160 cals
125g Raspberries
Pork scratchings 250 cal
Some salami
Tuna steak with a spinach, edamame and caper salad

Loads of water. Feel knackered!

whitehalleve · 02/05/2019 07:17

Ha I eat so many cheese chunks and pickled onions Smile

thenewaveragebear1983 · 02/05/2019 07:40

Morning! 3.5lb down so far this week. This is my 4th day sugar free, I'm feeling pretty good. Menu today is a salad lunch, maybe with egg mayo (every now and then I get an urge for it) and dinner is steak with some creamy beans recipe I found. So hopefully will be nice.

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MrsMalcolm · 02/05/2019 08:01

Creamy beans sound nice! Well done on your loss so far this week.

I am craving Diet Coke Hmm. I have not had any since I started. What is that about?!? I will not crack.

Picked onions have been added to my online shop Grin

teta · 02/05/2019 09:31

I felt really hungry yesterday so did a poached free range chicken with ginger, onion, garlic, courgettes, carrots, peppers, fresh turmeric and live cider vinegar plus a spoon of coconut oil. This is Michael Mosleys chicken soup recipe from the Happy Gut book and it’s delicious and soothing.
I then had some bare naked protein noodles with it and a cup of cocoa made with sugar free almond milk.
So all in all with a salad for lunch I was just over 800 calls.
My tummy is going flatter but I don’t want to weigh myself yet as my weight will demotivate me. I didn’t weigh myself to start as it would make me too depressed and demotivated. My aim is to fit comfortably into my denim wide crops. As my tummy really retains onto its flab It’s a good indicator for me.

PhoenixMama · 02/05/2019 09:53

Down another lb here so that's good. Hoping at least 1 a day for the rest of the week.

@waterandlemonjuice What's with the pork scratchings and the 'muffin'? Could you replace those with other protein, the salami and tuna are your only protein so you probably aren't hitting the suggested 60g.

@MrsMalcom I never drink coke but had a total craving a few weeks ago, got the calorie free one and then couldn't drink it all it tasted repulsively sweet!

waterandlemonjuice · 02/05/2019 10:38

Hi Phoenixmama, the 'muffin' is eggs, cheese, bacon, so is mainly egg, it's from a low carb cookbook and each one is 160 cals. The pork scratchings are 250 cal a packet; of which 46g is protein and 50g is fat per 100g

waterandlemonjuice · 02/05/2019 10:41

Teta, I know the feeling about weight, I don't know what I weigh either so I get DH to do it and just tell me the loss or gain every week. That works for me! When I'm closer to the weight I want to be then I'll look at the scales. So I do know what you mean on that front.

waterandlemonjuice · 02/05/2019 10:44

The pork scratchings are these: awfullyposhsnacks.com/
And it helps instead of crisps or when everyone else is eating crisps. They are 250 cal a pack so on 800 cal a day they count as a meal, more or less but when I go to 5:2 I think they'll be even more useful. Not every day, obviously, but a couple of times a week. They do a chilli version too.

waterandlemonjuice · 02/05/2019 10:48

The muffins are these, more or less although I do them with 12 eggs, 225 g of cheese, 125ml of water and then add snippets of bacon or sausages. So you mix the eggs and water, then add sausages or whatever then divide into 12 muffin cases, sprinkle the cheese on top and cook for 20 ish minutes at 180. I count up the calories for all the ingredients then divide by 12 if I've made 12 muffins. I make 12 of these and freeze them - they are a bit soggy once defrosted but edible, imo! It works out at about 160 calories per muffin,hope this is useful to someone!

lifemadesweeter.com/breakfast-egg-muffins/

thenewaveragebear1983 · 02/05/2019 11:25

God I love pork scratchings. I buy the multipacks of 6 little bags at Tesco and they're about 150 cals a bag

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PhoenixMama · 02/05/2019 14:41

Oh yeah I used to make those muffins. Haven't done so for a while so thanks for the reminder, might do so this weekend!

Was looking at the scratching as a crisp substitute but those they are nearly double my entire day's fat allowance Shock Great that they're zero carb though! Who knew!

thenewaveragebear1983 · 02/05/2019 14:50

Phoenix oh, they are little bags of heart attacks, but when everyone else is eating crisps they can be a godsend!

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KittyMcKitty · 02/05/2019 16:40

Ok I think I understand a bit about macros (have got MFP) - what sort of fat / protein / carb percentages do people aim for on 800 calories?

Elloello · 02/05/2019 16:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Fantasmagoric · 02/05/2019 16:57

@Elloello I wish I knew!! I'm struggling too - looking on here on way to car to build my resolve (but I had a kit Kat earlier).

Actually, for me it is usually when I feel overwhelmed with my responsibilities (most of the time) and in my own for 30 mins in the car.... I have an apple now, will eat that.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 02/05/2019 17:07

It's that emotional eating conundrum isn't it? Those 'can't control myself, shove it all in, rummaging round the kitchen cupboards' moments are rarely, if ever, about your stomach, and almost certainly about your brain.

Kitty I've not been tracking this week to give you an example, but I find when I've had a good day, my carbs are around 20% and the rest is split across protein/fat, usually pretty equally. However, I don't actually aim for those figures if that makes sense. That seems to be naturally where I end up if I eat the right foods. You don't need to obsess about macros on this plan. If you eat 800 calories (or even if you have more) provided you stick to the plan, you should find your carbs are naturally limited. Everyone has a personal 'limit' that works for them so it helps up play around a bit. Some find sticking to less than 50g carbs a day, regardless of how many calories you have, also works quite well.

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waterandlemonjuice · 02/05/2019 17:48

I try to stay v low on carbs probably under 30g a day. So mostly protein and fat.

Yyy to emotional eating, I do it too.

waterandlemonjuice · 02/05/2019 17:56

Im probably slightly over 800 cal again but never mind

Muffin, 160 cals
100g raspberries, 60 ish
Salad of spinach, cucumber, spring onions, 60g dolcelatte cheese, (220 cal) tsp of dressing (60 cal?)
150g prawns, 160 cal
2 sausages, 260 cals (88g)
An apple with a teeny piece of cheese

Hmm, definitely over but never mind!

Fantasmagoric · 02/05/2019 19:22

I've managed 1150 total - actually quite pleased but kicking myself about that kitkat.

Had an awesome stir fry with halloumi and soy sauce with courgetti (which I love!) - quite stuffed but so Mediterranean and low cal.

Enjoying hearing how you are all doing.

Maccalenny · 02/05/2019 19:42

I’ve always meant to make some of those egg muffins - I will give them a try for next week’s breakfasts. I love a make-ahead and freeze recipe.

I’ve also enjoyed the odd pack of pork scratching when doing keto - the decent ones don’t have lots of additives and can avoid a crisp-binge if you feel one looming!

I’ve been strangely hungry today, haven’t eaten anything I shouldn’t have, just a bit too much of things.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 02/05/2019 21:00

I've eaten a lot today, but no sugar has passed my lips! That's 4 days now, I'm actually quite proud of myself. I'm going to continue over the weekend then count cals from Monday, even though it's bank holiday. We have no real plans so nothing to get in my way,

My dinner was exceptional. Really delicious. Here's a rough recipe:

Earlier today: marinate some steak in balsamic vinegar, crushed garlic, mixed herbs and olive oil. Leave a few hours.

Cook some finely chopped bacon until crispy then add:
Onion, celery, carrot , finely chopped,

Cook until soft. Add broad beans (or peas) and sweet corn (I despise sweet corn so added asparagus chopped into Cm pieces) Add 350ml chicken stock, and 100 ml double cream, and simmer down until it's really creamy.

In a separate really hot pan, cook the steak pieces, then serve.

Oh my. It was delicious. The veg/beans but could easily do a meal in itself.

Blood Sugar Diet and Fast800 thread 14
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PhoenixMama · 02/05/2019 21:36

You're all going to make me but some of those pork scratchings aren't you?

That dinner sounds great @newaverage. Do you know what the cals are?

So my macros are set to:
Carbs: 60g / 30%
Protein: 70g / 35%
Fat: 31g / 30%

I work really hard to make sure I stay under the carbs (as soon as I go over I gain gain gain). But my most recent discovery is that if I'm under cals but significantly under protein I don't lose. So there's something about balance in there. Blush

Closing the kitchen tonight just over at 813 and only because I treated myself to a mini bottle of prosecco to celebrate a really important work milestone. I'm trying to celebrate effort right now instead of straight up success because I'm trying something new. Little wins for the win!