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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 15

999 replies

thenewaveragebear1983 · 23/05/2019 07:34

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 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)
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 at 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.

Some useful links:

Previous thread

Blood Sugar Diet and Fast800 thread 14 http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/fasting_diet/3532374-blood-sugar-diet-and-fast800-thread-14

Meal planning ideas thread
Blood sugar diet recipe thread and menu planner 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
57
Ohyesiam · 14/06/2019 15:09

bear thanks for the thread about water, you are very dedicated and it’s appreciated.

whitehalleve · 14/06/2019 18:08

Thanks @Ohyesiam Smile

thenewaveragebear1983 · 14/06/2019 18:12

Hiya tri! Welcome!

Ohyes thanks, I'm quite keen to know the answer actually, it's one thing that's always puzzled me. That's what I love about this thread/diet- I'm always learning new things.

OP posts:
Justalittlebitfurther · 14/06/2019 18:30

I’m feeling a bit disheartened today, I’ve got lots of cravings due to PMS and I haven’t shifted any weight I’m guessing for the same reason 😔 so I’m finding it hard. I have a party to go to this weekend and I’m really worried I’ll sabotage all my hard work so far!

Boldlygoing I have been dairy free for years and it took time to find the milk I liked in tea. It’s worth bearing in mind it will never taste the ‘same’ if you persevere you’ll find you don’t like the taste of cows milk eventually. I drink Oatly barista, it doesn’t split but I do need more than other milks 😊

FurForksSake · 14/06/2019 21:33

Argh! Cut my finger badly on the spiraliser and destroyed my dinner. I was so nauseous and faint I couldn't eat. Managed some quorn strips and sour cream but that was it.

Now all I want is the secret choc bar in the fridge! I am so close to dropping under 11st and it would be such a milestone. But I want it so bad!!

Maccalenny · 15/06/2019 05:03

furforks - hope yr finger is ok....I’ve never cut myself on my spiraliser but I have a chopping machine that I use to make cauli rice that I seem to cut myself on every time I use it....so sharp, and it seems to jump out of the cupboard to get me!

just - stick with it, and in a few days you will be so pleased you did. Cravings will clear, weight will move and the world will seem a better place!

Maccalenny · 15/06/2019 05:59

Saturday morning....graph time!

Start: 16st8.4
End of Month 1: 15st3.6 - 18.8lb lost
End of Month 2: 14st11.2 - 6.4lb lost
End of Month 3: 14st0.4 - 10.8lb lost
End of Month 4: 13st5.0 - 9.4lb lost

A rather unlikely weight loss of 4.8lb this week has boosted this months’s loss! Mostly hormonal this week, with a bit of catchup from the slow weeks at the start of the month. I’m expecting another couple of weeks of plateau or a bit of a bounce back up now, but for today I’m really happy (and a bit gobsmacked) to see 13st 5 on the scale this morning.

Blood sugar diet and Fast800 thread 15
boldlygoingsomewhere · 15/06/2019 07:35

Thank you for the milk recommendation, Justa. I’ll keep an eye out for it.

Furforks, ouch! Hope you are feeling better today.

Well done on the continued losses, Macca!

Another pound has disappeared today. It’s slow going for me...

thenewaveragebear1983 · 15/06/2019 11:45

Macca that's great, what a great loss! Star

I've tried out the Oatly Barrista milk today in my coffee, it's so similar to cows milk I can barely tell the difference, although it's a lot higher in calories and carbs per cup. I had a terrible nights sleep last night, woke up after about 20 mins asleep, and then couldn't get back to sleep for hours. Feeling quite grouchy today as a result. Plus miserable weather, whinging kids, Dh at work; I can see it shaping up to be a long day!

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Maccalenny · 15/06/2019 11:54

Bear sounds like you are going to need that coffee to get through the day today!

Can’t wait for some better weather, my garden is turning into a swamp.

FurForksSake · 15/06/2019 12:41

Under 11st this morning! Good old blood letting for the win!

Justalittlebitfurther · 15/06/2019 12:50

Macca what a great loss! I started at 16st 7.4 so very similar and your post is hugely inspirational. Have you stuck to 800 days throughout that time or done the 5:2 as well?

Maccalenny · 15/06/2019 13:52

Well done furforks!

Just - I did 800 for about 8 weeks, and now I don’t count closely at weekends but stay on plan....I would estimate I’m around 1200-1400 at weekends. During the week I’m 800-1000. I don’t count everything so closely and it feels quite sustainable. I need to lose another 2 stone until I’m counted as a healthy weight, but will be quite happy to lose another stone and maintain there, if that’s how it turns out.

teta · 15/06/2019 17:01

Well done to everyone losing successfully.
I've been on this plan for 58 days .I didn't weigh myself at the beginning because I was really frightened of being appalled and demoralised. I know I've lost a stone since I weighed myself three weeks in. I'm currently 13 stone 4 pounds. My aim is to get down to 12.5 stone first. I'm now sticking to the plan Monday - Friday with no alcohol but wine over the weekend. I allow some sort of low carb baking over the weekend as a treat but eaten sparingly . So fast 800 pear & Brazil brownies or some very thin apple & pastry slices.
I'm now probably losing at 2 pounds a week. I'm 55 and on Hrt which definitely causes water retention and I put on a lot of weight the first month.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 15/06/2019 19:36

My first day dairy free has been horrible. I haven't ever had such terrible withdrawal symptoms, even from carbs. I feel so grouchy with everyone! Horrible.

My foods been good though- I had an omelette with tinned salmon at brunch, and then for dinner I had a vege tikka massala, although I did have it with a small naan bread. It was supposed to be chicken TM but the chicken was off when we opened it, further compounding my delightful mood. This will mean that I'm way over on the carbs, although it's probably not a bad thing to get a good boost of veg and fibre

I haven't run today, Dh got back from work late and I just couldn't face it.

Tomorrow, salad lunch, and we're having roast beef and the trimmings for dinner, plus I will get out between torrential downpours for a long run!

OP posts:
Maccalenny · 15/06/2019 20:36

Tinned salmon in an omelette sounds good...might be my breakfast tomorrow.

Bear I’m sure I’ve missed it on the thread...what has made you decide to go dairy free?

Ive had veggie omelette for breakfast, fish pie for lunch and chicken, veg and chickpea curry for tea. I thought I had a jar of curry sauce that I was going to be lazy and use, but I forgot I fed it to the kids in the week so I made from paste instead. Reduced the calories a fair bit, so I’ve ended around 1100 today.

PhoenixMama · 15/06/2019 22:06

Hi all! An exhausting couple of days so just catching up!

@Maccalenny Amazing results - you so inspire me to keep going!

@FurForksSake I've done that on the spiraliser and it bloody hurts! Hope you're feeling better now!

@thenewaveragebear1983

@ldn How are you doing?

@thenewaveragebear1983 I'm not sure I could give up sugar, alcohol AND dairy. You are a brave soul!

So yesterday mfp informed me that I've lost 42.3lbs which is amazing (and slightly terrifying that even with all that I've still got another stone or so to go!) And then I was able to do a yoga pose I've never been able to do because my belly and thighs were always too big so good all round.

I've been very bad on booze this week but I've been losing all the same - although today I ended up having pizza for lunch but I ordered the kids one and DD had the adult portion which is a huge deal for me. Didn't really have dinner because I was still full!

My (ex?)bf started doing it too and he's lost something like 14kgs in half the time it took me (of course! Why do blokes have it so easy?) but he looks great.

Ok off to bed for me - hopefully will get a little run in tomorrow and break my lazy streak!

thenewaveragebear1983 · 15/06/2019 22:19

Phoenix I don't miss the alcohol at all really, but yes, I have found it hard to find food without sugar and dairy^
^
Macca I don't know if I'll do it permanently, but I've been inspired to partly because of ethical reasons, plus coupled with the fact that it's probably the biggest calorie load in my diet. I eat a lot of it. Even today I was aware that probably 3/4 times I would have had something dairy based if it was available. I'm reading an interesting book about Paleo, and there was an interesting chapter on food addictions and cravings and I realised I probably crave it because I have a degree of intolerance to it (runs in my family too). My plan was to have a good 6 week stint of doing a really 'clean' diet, stick to BSD - but if today is anything to go by, I would rather eat the dairy than resort to carbs (eg. Today I've eaten naan bread and also some fruit) so I'll have to closely monitor it. I was pleasantly surprised by the oat milk though and I think once I've menu planned and shopped it will be easier.

OP posts:
Maccalenny · 16/06/2019 04:24

Bear - you’ve got me thinking as I also eat a lot of dairy. I guess it is the same as with meat, in that it was once something we would have a little bit of, every so often, and now it is so cheap and widely available it is so easy to eat loads, and to overeat on it. I think that my recent plateau over half term was probably due to one meal each day being natural yoghurt and raspberries - I remember reading once about the big insulin response dairy causes, because of all the lactose....definitely my biggest source of sugar at the moment.

I’m not sure I will ever be brave enough to be dairy- free....for the milk I would do it, as there are decent substitutes, but I really would struggle without being able to add a sprinkling of cheddar to nearly everything I eat. But you have inspired me to think about cutting it down a bit.

Maccalenny · 16/06/2019 04:28

Phoenix - fabulous results! It’s nice to be finding things easier when some of the weight is gone isn’t it. I keep having an odd moment when I go to put my hand on my hip, but my hip isn’t where it used to be so I sort of miss!

thenewaveragebear1983 · 16/06/2019 08:06

Macca yes I'm the same with cheese. I love adding it to meals. However, I also love just cutting a slice to munch on and I probably do this more times than I realise. The tricky thing is, a bit like sugar, 'milk' is featured in so many foods and not even necessarily obviously milky/cheesy/creamy foods so it's very difficult to remove it, however I do think it could prompt a bit of an overhaul of my diet (and my, quite frankly, sloppy habits) and clean up my food a bit.

Anyway: we've now done 15 days alcohol free which is something of an achievement. I've actually lost track of how many days sugar free, but i'm 1/3 of the way through my self imposed torture challenge. I'd love to say I'm sleeping better but I'm not really! I feel good this morning though.

I just need to knuckle down and get a few good days under my belt this week. I'm still coasting along at 10.7, which is a gain of 4lb left over from holiday and I'd like to get that back to my safety zone of 10.3, and as always, still vainly hoping to see a 9 on those scales eventually. I have noticed an increase in my muscle tone though, I think my increased calories has had that effect, so I might have to make my peace with those few extra pounds!

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teta · 16/06/2019 08:48

I’m lactose intolerant but still don’t tolerate lactose free milk very well so have non dairy milk and yoghurt. Coconut yoghurt is delicious and most hard cheeses have a negligible amount of lactose in them. The only way I know this is because of the Fodmap diet I follow to control Ibs symptoms. Soft cheeses of course are high in lactose. I crave cheese - I love goats cheese salad and baked Camembert but I start getting really itchy if I eat it every day. Particularly over Christmas when we have lots of celebratory dinners.

FurForksSake · 16/06/2019 10:10

Aw! Did not need to read cheese chat this moring. I want a baked camembert stat.

Well. Yesterday and this weekend in general I am writing off. Yesterday I ate a couple of tiny vanilla wafers, avocado and bacon on sour dough, a small piece of chocolate birthday cake, half a garlic bread baguette, a small waitrose pepperoni pizza, pint of cider and two squares of choc (didn't like it, binned it). Today we are going to the harvester for dinner for father's day.

So today I am going to fast till 5pm and then will eat. We almost never go out to eat, last time was three months ago and the next time will be our anniversary in a few weeks (shit, really soon! forgot). So, I think I might just eat as I please. I won't drink (cider last night was a very very rare occurrence) so not to worry about that.

FurForksSake · 16/06/2019 12:40

Just looking at the harvester menu and the nutritional information. Good god if I made some choices it would be 5 -7 days worth of food on fast800. In one dish.

So I have a new plan, salad cart as usual (and one bread roll). And then a halloumi salad bowl

Feel good salad - Halloumi (Small) - Roasted butternut squash, quinoa, chargrilled Tenderstem broccoli and soya beans, tumbled with fresh leaves and a pineapple & ginger dressing, topped with halloumi. (V)
Contains: Milk, Soya

kJ/kcal	Fat	Saturates	Carbohydrate	Sugars	Protein	Salt

Per Portion: 2,386kJ/568kcal 33.5g 13.3g 32.8g 14.4g 31g 3.6g

And then I'll have sundae best which is about 350calories and 30g of carbs.

So all that should be 1500-1800 calories. There are no calories available for the salad cart and rolls, most of it will be negligible, but I will have some blue cheese dressing and croutons and bits.

Maccalenny · 16/06/2019 12:57

furforks - great strategy to check menu ahead and plan. Hope you have a lovely Father’s Day lunch.

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