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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:
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thenewaveragebear1983 · 17/05/2019 19:55

LND I suppose I deal with it by always keeping in mind what I'm doing this for. To be honest, the sugar doesn't feel too depriving at the moment, I'm nearly three weeks sugar free and I honestly don't miss it. I still have wine (and am not a massive drinker). I'll happily forego rice/chips/pizza etc. I always plan a really nice meal for Friday and/or Saturday night (usually not strict calorie counts but always on plan) and that helps.

You can still eat out with friends (steak, salad, tandoori chicken, starters, calamari, most pubs will have something on the menu you can eat that's BSD friendly)

You can still enjoy a glass of wine or 3 occasionally. I drink every weekend, only 2/3 glasses.
You can still relax at home (see above)
You can still make lovely meals, special food to make Saturday feel
Like an event (eg, cheese fondue? Strawberries and whipped cream?)
If necessary, you can take a day off (so it's not like you can never eat cake again)

I think you're in the throes of carb detox and your inner carb monster is causing you to feel all melancholy and blue. Ignore it!!!

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Lndnmummy · 17/05/2019 20:06

Yes!! So right!! Bloody carb monster!!! Thanks guys, fantastic food (ha ha) for thought...
The scales are showing lovely results and I’m feeling so much better than at the beginning of the week. I will stick to being very strict for the next couple of weeks simply because I really need to detox from carbs, and wine probably. I use both as an emotional crutch and I was unprepared for how utterly rubbish I’d feel without them, both physically and emotionally. But I’ll deal with it. Having salmon tonight with eggs and asparagus.

Feelingfortyisntfun · 17/05/2019 20:13

I’m one of those that want to adapt it and then wonder why rhinos aren’t going so well!
I think actually for me carbs don’t make me gain weight it’s the quantity I have; I don’t want one slice of thin bread l, I don’t feel satisfied with a slither of cake.

Mac sounds like a good plan and that you’ve done really well- inspiring.

Lnd I’m with you on this one but that’s probably why we have a nation of overweight people. The only way I think I can find a way round this is find something to love other than food!

Feelingfortyisntfun · 17/05/2019 20:14

Rhinos how did autocorrect or my typo ended up as rhino HmmGrin

Maccalenny · 17/05/2019 20:54

I was quite worried for the rhinos, not doing so well!

Ohyesiam · 17/05/2019 21:04

Loving those rhinosGrin
Well I’ve gone a little off trackSad. I’ve done too much exercise, packing it it because o can’t this weekend, and I’m working away most of next week and won’t be able to. I ended up tired achey and hungry, I’ve had 1 380, all BSD, but almost two days worth. I think I’ll go to bed as damage limitation.

StarJasmine · 17/05/2019 21:53

Hello all. I just wanted to sign in and say hello. Day 2 of Fast800 for me (still reading through the book but following the principles from reading the website). I’m doing this because I feel really unwell, with a BMI of 36 and 4 stone to lose to get to ‘healthy’, I’m exhausted all the time and my mental health is terrible. My blood pressure is right at the top of normal (or ‘pre-high’ on one site) and I’m waiting for blood test results, but being obese won’t be helping.

No weight loss this morning but feeling ok about it all. I have an Aria scale which syncs with my Fitbit, so I weigh daily but don’t have to look if I don’t feel up to it, it will be recorded automatically onto the Fitbit and linked apps to view later.

Today I had:
B: Hardboiled egg with cucumber, cherry tomatoes and olives
L: Lentil Dahl (Heinz Creationz pouch) with cauliflower rice. And a Hartley’s sugar free jelly pot :-)
D: Big salad with rocket, spinach, yellow pepper, sundried tomatoes, feta and red onion
Total 787 calories
Struggling to drink as much water as the apps tell me (2.8L!!!) but normally I hardly drink any so still doing better than usual.

Fingers crossed for some movement on the scales soon. Reading everyone’s achievements here is really inspiring - I want to be like you!

thenewaveragebear1983 · 17/05/2019 22:56

Star welcome! I have been looking at those aria scales, I want a new set that do body fat % - do they do that? Would you mind posting a link to the ones you have?

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StarJasmine · 17/05/2019 23:48

Fitbit Aria 2 scales

Pricey (I think I got mine on a flash deal or Black Friday or something) but they’re good, they recognise different users, do weight & body fat % and sync automatically with the Fitbit app (which in turn will sync with other apps too). I like that I don’t need to do anything apart from stand on them and it’s all automatically recorded and updated.

Maccalenny · 18/05/2019 04:32

My twelve-week summary:
Start: 16st 8.4
Week 1: 9.2lb loss
Week 2: 4.0lb loss
Week 3: 0.6lb loss
Week 4: 5.0lb loss
Week 5: 1.2lb loss
Week 6: 2.2lb loss
Week 7: 1.6lb loss
Week 8: 1.4lb loss
Week 9: 2.8lb loss
Week 10: 2.2lb loss
Week 11: 3lb loss
Week 12: 2.8lb loss
Total loss in 11 weeks: 36lb
Current weight: 14st 0.4
Another really good loss this week - increasing my calories over weekends has not slowed my overall weekly loss at all, which I’m so pleased about. My weight is sticking a bit at the start of the week, then dropping towards the end of the week.
So, only a tiny bit to go before I’m in new numbers, and only two-three weeks before I’m not obese any more!

Blood Sugar Diet and Fast800 thread 14
Maccalenny · 18/05/2019 04:38

Should be overall loss in 12 weeks, not 11 - can’t believe it’s been 12 weeks already! It has gone really fast. I was telling folks at work yesterday that I’ve had no alcohol in 12 weeks, even though I can if I feel like it - just don’t really feel like it at the moment. I never drank loads, but often a glass of red in the evenings.

boldlygoingsomewhere · 18/05/2019 06:48

Well done, Maccalenny. It must be great to see your chart like that - a great visual stimulus to keep going.

I’m not weighing myself but my jeans which I couldn’t do up 3 weeks ago are now comfortable again and feeling a bit looser.

Maccalenny · 18/05/2019 08:19

Thanks boldly. I love my graph - removes a lot of the anxiety that can creep in when weight stays the same for a few days...I can look back and remind myself that each time this happens, I lose a couple of lb in the days after.

I’ve done loads of diets, as I know most of us here have. I usually weight myself daily when trying to lose weight, and record my weight somewhere...either in a diary or on an app. But I usually only record it on the days it drops...so on an ordinary diet I might only be recording a weight once a week. This time I decided to record every day’s weight, whether up or down. I’m so pleased I did, so I can see how those upward blips have very little impact on the overall downward path.

Also, when I’m faltering, the first thing I do is stop weighing, then I know my weight will have gone up, so I feel stupid and don’t want to weigh myself....and the cycle continues. I really do believe that just by weighing daily, forever, I might be able to break the cycle and maintain weight loss for the first time.

StarJasmine · 18/05/2019 08:21

Macca amazing losses, congratulations.

W1D3 for me and my first loss -2lb since yesterday. I can’t quite believe it.

Maccalenny · 18/05/2019 08:35

Enjoy it Star - week 1 is fabulous! Drink plenty and keep salt levels up...your weight loss will amaze you.

StarJasmine · 18/05/2019 09:37

I am unusually thirsty which is weird seeing as I’m drinking so much more water than I usually would, it’s counterintuitive. I’m going to try to get the bulk of it in earlier in the day today, learnt that lesson last night lol.

I’ve downloaded the Happy Scale app too as I like your graph so much Macca! Linked it all in to update automatically, good stuff. I agree with you about the benefits of daily weighing. Keeps the focus, starts the day’s routine thinking about health.

PhoenixMama · 18/05/2019 10:15

Goodness, the thread has moved fast! Going back to answer questions!

@LDN I'm playing catch up so back to your question about depriving yourself. In the beginning, I felt a bit like, 'I'm never going to eat food I love again!' but then as it settled down I realised I wasn't really wanting any of those foods I thought I would. With regards to eating out with friends I've become really good about asking for changes or substitutions - can I have the chicken strips but with salad, a burger, no bun, that sort of thing. Weirdly the only place I've struggled to have a decent meal (that is healthy & enough to fill me up) is Wagamama - which was a shock because I thought it was really healthy!

The other thing is I ended up having 2 separate weekends back to back which were controlled free-for-alls (Easter weekend and then my birthday weekend & party - I gained for both of them but by the following Thurs I was back to where I was before the weekend. Knowing I can eat off plan and recover is one of the most impactful things about this WOE. Previously I'd be 'screw it, I've messed it up, it'll be too much work, I can't do this, blah blah, blah.' With this it's lets see how quickly I can correct!

@Macca your results are so amazing and inspiring! I'm just a month behind you so it is really great to see the losses continuing! I totally agree with you on weighing every day, I was a weigh once a month girl before but seeing those numbers move multiple times a week is amazing, and definitely keeps me in check. It is weird after the first month going from losing every day (for me anyway) to losing every couple of days but now I'm counting the quarter and half pounds it all makes a difference.

@feelingfourty I wanted to answer your question as well about why I'm doing this. I've had some mental health issues over the last couple of years (PND, PTSD, anxiety, depression) and the meds for that made me gain some significant weight - which just made me even more depressed! I asked all of my consultants at varying times how I could lose the med weight and they all sort of shrugged and said, that it's really hard and lots of people don't.

As I've gotten stronger mentally I started to think I was just going to have to deal with always being bigger, but then I've had two friends get diagnosed with cancer and one of them said she wished so much she'd taken better care of her body beforehand and how being obese may have contributed and it was a bit of a wake up call. I thought about DD being without me, I cried my eyes out for a night and then happened across an AIBU post where someone wanted to lose weight quickly for something and someone suggested the Fast800. I looked it up sure it was a fad but I like MM and when I read the science in the book it really clicked. It took me over a year to lose 10lbs of medication weight before I started this so I figured even if I lost 10lbs in 12 weeks it would be better - I lost 21lbs in the first month!

Now I have realised how much carbs, and refined carbs damage my body - after eating the two pastries Blush yesterday morning I felt sluggish, mentally slow, craved more carbs, my body almost felt anxious even though I wasn't - it was like taking some sort of weird class A drug! I've realised that I function way better like this, and seeing the weight come off, to be able to start to run again, to not want to hide when I run into people who knew me when I was slimmer, to look in the mirror and think 'damn I look good!' that is worth giving up all the pastries! (But even more so when I know I can get back on track - in the same day!!!!- and not spiral off the cliff of carbs!)

So after PastryGate yesterday I had a salad with a tiny bit of halloumi (no dressing) for lunch and some chicken pieces for dinner (with chocolate covered rice cakes because I was craving sweet). Stepping on the scale this morning expecting a gain and I've lost another half a pound making it 4lbs this week! Bloody lucky! I'm now down 32lbs in 9 weeks on Fast800 and 40lbs since my highest last year. Plus only 5lbs from being the lightest I've been since having DD. I've planned a weekend of on plan meals so no celebrations thank goodness. I am so gunning for those next 5lbs!

teta · 18/05/2019 10:17

I had a whoosh overnight!
3 pounds down.
Am I mad to browse pink silk jumpsuits on BrandAlley?
My rational side has just said no. But if I carry on losing maybe it’s a possibility.....

QRCode · 18/05/2019 11:14

Phoenix sounds like those pastries were just what you needed to push the scales down! My DSis was diagnosed with breast cancer aged 49 and she is a size 24 so it's impossible not to wonder if her weight contributed. The BRCA genetic test was negative so we know it wasn't because of that.

teta whoosh sounds great. Post a link to the jumpsuit and we'll help you decide!

Another 0.4kg down for me, now 3.6kg or 8lbs since 1st May.

QRCode · 18/05/2019 11:15

And macca,well done to you too!

Maccalenny · 18/05/2019 11:37

teta - great result!
phoenix - thank you for saying how you came to be here....I find I’m learning a lot about myself from reading other people’s stories. You’ve done so well to lose so much so fast....and isn’t it so frustrating that your doctors couldn’t give you any helpful advice about how to address the medication weight. When the official advice remains low-fat, moderate carb eating, aiming just below TDEE, it’s not surprising that most people struggle to find a way to lose that weight, or any other weight.

Maccalenny · 18/05/2019 11:40

QR hope yr dsis is doing ok. I feel grateful every day that I found this way of eating as if not I’m sure I would have just carried on putting on weight, increasing all those risk factors. Well done on your loss.

teta · 18/05/2019 12:08

Qrcode I think there are so many factors suspected of causing breast cancer. Sugar, alcohol, now dietary fat!?, not breast feeding, weight. Also more cancers are now being picked up due to screening. I’m just grateful we live in a modern age where mastectomy’s are not the first or only route. Both my grandmothers had breast cancer & mastectomies. But I only found out my maternal grandmother found some lumps and went to the doctor. The doctor assumed it was cancer but it was subsequently found out it wasn’t.The mastectomy was totally unecessary. This was Ireland when doctors were God.
I’ve just had a tin of baked beans with a egg on top for lunch. But I drained the tomato sauce off in a sieve so I lost most of the sugar. A dietician once told me this tip.

Maccalenny · 18/05/2019 13:27

I had such a lovely lunch! Onion and garlic cooked in a bit of oil, then a tin of tomatoes and a tbsp smoked paprika, cooked for 10 mins, a tin of chickpeas, cooked for 10 mins, then a tin of tuna and some olives and parsley stirred through. It made four portions at 200 cal each. I added some anchovies and had a couple of mini peppers stuffed with humus - these are from Asda and I’m a bit addicted at the moment! Some lettuce and a few cubes of cheese brought it to about 350cals.

Blood Sugar Diet and Fast800 thread 14
thenewaveragebear1983 · 18/05/2019 15:57

Some amazing results and stories on this thread, good work everyone!

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