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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 16

996 replies

thenewaveragebear1983 · 21/08/2019 21:26

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

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

<a class="break-all" href="http://go.mumsnet.com/?xs=1&id=470X1554755&url=caliberstrong.com/how-whooshes-impact-your-weight-loss/" target="_blank">information about the ‘whoosh’ phenomenon

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Thread gallery
37
Maccalenny · 22/09/2019 07:53

Thinking about a tuna melt, I had to make one for breakfast and it was so good I need to share!
This was some onion, mushroom, olives and capers dry-fried with a bit of garlic, turmeric and salt and pepper. Added some herbs, a tin of tuna and a tin of mixed beans. A squirt of mayo (only low-cal thing I use) then cheese melted on top. It made enough for three portions and is really filling. For scale context, that is a teaspoon in the picture and the bowl is an individual pudding type bowl. I could have had a lot less cheese on top, or none at all and it would still be tasty.

Blood sugar diet and fast800 thread 16
northwooddown · 22/09/2019 07:55

Macca that weight loss is bloody amazing! You must feel like you've had an incredible whole life transformation.
I've totally messed up - went out for dinner last night and tho I'd planned ahead it all fell apart after the second glass of wine - rice, bread, pudding. Urgh. I'm angry with myself. It's the same old pattern - a couple of lbs trickle off in the week then it's all undone with one fun night out. What's the point? Wish I could get out if this pattern.
I'm going for a short run in a minute and will try go to Pilates later and have a strict day. Vegetables and tofu and nuts. And lots and lots of water.

northwooddown · 22/09/2019 07:57

And Madden - enjoy clothes feeling loose! I can only imagine.
Last week I inhaled deeply in a meeting and my trouser flys opened. My belly actually opened my trousers! Imagine. Thank god I was sitting down and wearing a longish too. What a sight.

MozzchopsThirty · 22/09/2019 08:04

@Maccalenny that looks delicious!

Thank you for the advice, sadly any type of food prep is out of the question because there's nowhere to do it!
I will have a good look today and see what I can find
I've got a homemade lasagne, curry and chicken casserole in the freezer with some soups

thenewaveragebear1983 · 22/09/2019 08:26

Mozzchops some of the Young's fish things are nice and can be microwaved. If I was me I'd get really nice salad bits instead- cooked meat, smoked salmon, a decent dressing and some seeds and eat that most evenings in various combinations. There's some mini tins of tuna in dressings in most supermarkets, the ginger and soy is particularly nice.

North I'm the same at the moment. My food was excellent yesterday, but someone gave us a nice bottle of red from their holidays in France and so we drank that and then I drank 2 cans of cider (I never drink cider, it was so sugary like pop!) and even then didn't eat loads but today I'm several pounds up and I feel grumpy. I think in part it's that I'm very sensitive to water retention, and very sensitive to carbs so something sugary just adds 3lbs of water instantly. But it's very hard to not get very low about it. I'm ending the summer 7lbs heavier than I started and I really don't want to gain anymore.

I am determined to keep on keeping on though. I know how to do this. And I know that it works.

Menu is planned for the next few days til payday, but then will have to shop on Wednesday. Today I'm going to test out my hamstring with a short gentle run, and food will be a cooked brunch and chicken curry for dinner.

The week ahead looks ok, but next weekend we have a double birthday celebration (Ds and Dh) and that's not going to end well is it? Two cakes! There's literally no hope for me!

I am definitely doing sober October though, not to raise money or anything but just having a month off drinking!

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TheHammaconda · 22/09/2019 08:46

@MozzchopsThirty, if you have a microwave try getting a system egg poacher. You can make omelettes in the microwave in about 90 seconds.

TheHammaconda · 22/09/2019 08:51

I'm not being quite as religious about calculating the calories in everything I make but the weight is still coming down - around 300g a day. I'm 5.3kg down on start weight after three weeks on the Fast 800. I had initially planned to do four weeks on Fast800 and then move on to 5:2 but I think I'm going to carry on with the 800 cals bit. I'm not finding it as hard as I thought - 800 calories is quite a lot when you take out the majority of carbs in your diet.

Has anyone tried Lizza low carb stuff? lizza.net/collections/lizza-produkte-selber-zusammenstellen/products/lizza-low-carb-brot
I wonder whether it's worth the expense?

Have a good week everyone.

MozzchopsThirty · 22/09/2019 09:10

Thank you for all the advice, I think I'll get lots of salad bits and keep in work
What can I have to make it fun?
I'll def keep beetroot and sunblush tomatoes

Can I have a slice of whole grain rye with soup?

thenewaveragebear1983 · 22/09/2019 10:03

Do you like antipasti/tapas type things? If so, Tesco do a meal deal selection, 3 for £6 (a bit pricey, yes) but they are so nice- anything that's oily, chorizo, olive, Parma ham/salami, mushrooms in oil etc. They do a nice falafel too if you like those (but check the labels, some have lots of extra carbs added, if they're just chickpeas they're ok I think?). I love them, I could eat that type of food all the time!
The merchant gourmet puy French lentils are delicious too (in a pouch by the uncle bens type things) and a spoonful Of that on a salad with some feta is delicious.
Plus, and it's a desired taste, but a bit of sauerkraut does the job for me! If you like pickles then the Polish section of our Tesco has loads of unusual ones, much cheaper, and often they have less (or no) added sugar in the vinegar.

Hungry now after that post!

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Riddleofthesands · 22/09/2019 11:24

Hi everyone, in the middle of a heavy period here, Phoenix mine are definitely longer and super heavy aged 52. I am hoping I am like my older sister which would mean I only have 5 more months before they stop, fingers crossed. This means I can’t resist carbs or count calories just now. I just have to go with it.

Mozz if it were me I would treat every meal as a picnic, cooked chicken pieces, peppered smoked mackerel fillets, tins of tuna and wild salmon, olives, feta, cooked quail eggs, bean salad, lentils (I get the precooked ones Bear mentioned), lots of lettuce, peppers, beetroot, baby spinach, tomatoes. Probably a bit expensive though. There must be some ready meals but I can’t think of one right now, sorry!

MozzchopsThirty · 22/09/2019 11:35

I'm hungry too after reading these lol
Lots of ideas there thank you
Love peppered mackerel
Will have a good look today 👍🏻
Thank you so much

I'm just ready to get back on it
I do not feel good, IBS has flared back up, rubbish sleep, lots of headaches 😩😩

bridgetreilly · 22/09/2019 13:17

Low carb ready meals are HARD! Some ideas:
Tarka dhal/channa dhal and then serve with microwaved veg.
Things from the mezze/deli section - marinated anchovies are my current favourite, but also the mini peppers with cream cheese, olives, ham and cheese roll ups etc.
Salmon poaches well in a microwave.

bridgetreilly · 22/09/2019 13:18

Last night's dinner and today's lunch was this. SO yummy. It's vegetarian and could easily be vegan if you leave out the cheese. You'll have to do your own calorie/carb counting on it, though:

recipes.lidl.co.uk/Recipes/Aubergine-boats

thenewaveragebear1983 · 22/09/2019 15:07

Bridget and anyone else- you can get microwave poaching bags for fish in Lakeland and other places like that if you like that kind of thing.

Microwaveable things are difficult, granted. Remember those little square fish portions in parsley sauce/cheese sauce you used to get in the 70s- those are quite good. The slimming world range at Iceland used to do a good curry that had no rice included, which was also good and quite similar to home cooked.

If you do find any suitable BSD compatible microwave meals, maybe add them to our recipe thread/meal planner (the link in in the op of this thread) as it's a useful resource to have for future reference. I bet there's actually a fair bit out there but it will involve reading a lot of labels!

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MozzchopsThirty · 22/09/2019 16:40

Ooh I remember those

A cod in butter sauce was the height of sophistication 🤣🤣🤣

I've talked the kids into a slow cooker hunters chicken that I'll have with veg

thenewaveragebear1983 · 22/09/2019 19:16

So I'm closing up the kitchen today on 1550 cals, 80g carbs, I've done only 9k steps (and 6km was a run which means the rest of the day I have literally not moved!) but compared with my previous weekend performances, that's actually not too horrific. Which says a lot about my current performance!

I have the overwhelming desire to eat chocolate tonight, but I will try very hard to resist. I am optimistic for tomorrow, I need a few good days under my belt. My mood is low, perhaps I'm coming down with or fighting off a sore throat/ cold combo that the dc have had, but I know I need to do the tough few days necessary to get back on track!

Hope everyone has a great week

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PhoenixMama · 22/09/2019 20:38

Sorry everyone, busy weekend here.

First off, Fast800 friendly ready meals - I can't recommend COOK meals enough. They have a whole range under 350 cals and it's delicious things like Chicken Laksa, Thai green curry, prawns & chorizo, the Singapore noodles with prawns is amazing. I live on them during the week.

I too have given myself a bit of a telling off. I've lost 20lbs in the last 8 weeks but it's been the same 4lbs over and over and to make it worse my jeggings are now cutting into my tummy. I haven't put on loads of pounds but I'm bloated. In 6 weeks in going to be in a work situation where there's going to be loads of photos taken & I need to get my sh!t together. As of tomorrow no sugar for 3 weeks & no booze for a good couple weeks. No excuses. I've got another stone to go & it needs to happen.

(No idea how to deal with the running ravenousness but I'm thinking I'm going to go up to 1000cals but making the extra 200 cals mostly protein with some fat? Is that a good idea?)

thenewaveragebear1983 · 23/09/2019 09:23

I'm the interests of clean slates and all that, I weighed in this morning and it was a very big number again. I do seem to have a rather impressive ability to gain 5lbs every weekend. The week ahead looks good but again, a weekend of celebrating birthdays is ahead- but I still have 5-6 clear days where if I choose to, my food could be perfect.

One day at a time though- today I'm cracking on with some jobs before the weather breaks, starting with cleaning windows!

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PhoenixMama · 23/09/2019 10:18

I'm starving this morning & I know it's just because I'm being strict, it's my mind fighting back and I just needed to soldier through but I hate this part when all I can think about is the could I can't have!

Working lunch today so hoping for a salad with protein but it's somewhere regency so there might be some exciting healthy options! Fingers crossed!

bridgetreilly · 23/09/2019 17:56

Phoenix, Singapore noodles sounds like it would be carb-heavy. Do they have low-carb options suitable for BSD?

thenewaveragebear1983 · 23/09/2019 18:25

Closing the kitchen today on 1200 cals, 39g carbs, 18k steps (5 k was a run). Good day back to basics really.

My dinner was yummy, especially these swede chips which I made- cut up big chunky chip shapes and parboil in the microwave, then toss in some oil and seasoning and oven bake until they are cooked and crispy. Delicious and reassuringly chip-like! 100g swede is 21cal and 4.5g carbs so not too terrible at all!

Tomorrow, I'll have a tuna salad lunch, a mid afternoon snack of maybe a couple of boiled eggs, and dinner will be a chicken thigh traybake with Med veg.

Blood sugar diet and fast800 thread 16
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MozzchopsThirty · 23/09/2019 19:23

Hello all back on it today
I had mackerel with salad for lunch (including an avocado for some fat as recommended by pp)

Tonight's dinner was a Thai curry on green veg

Have felt ok, but shattered I'm ready for bed

Need to know everything about the swede chips, they look amazing

PhoenixMama · 23/09/2019 19:28

@bridgetreilly I think the Singapore noodles is around 40ish grams of carbs so and on those days that's basically my only additional carbs. My sticky ginger beef today was 313cals, 35g carbs, 21g protein & 10g fat. They also do Thai prawn curry for example that only had carbs from the sauce, so there are loads of options. The thing for me is that one pot is not only delicious, it has no real additives but it fills me up.

I've hit 900cals today but I'm ok with that (better than other days in the last month) Had the most amazing dish at lunch with roasted paprika cauliflower & sweet pickled cucumber. Felt very pious & good lol!

Lunch out again tomorrow but specifically picking healthy so all good! Now the weather's changing I can go back to herbal teas in the afternoon, never felt like it in the summer!

thenewaveragebear1983 · 23/09/2019 19:44

Mozzchops they were very nice! Swede is quite a strong flavour though, I might try the same method but with celeriac.

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thenewaveragebear1983 · 23/09/2019 19:48

Anyone who likes noodles by the way, the zero noodles are very good in a strong flavoured sauce. I tend to have about a half portion as otherwise they can be a bit watery but they are v low cals (eg 10) if you need a noodle hit. There's also some high protein ones called Oomi noodles which are really good but they do contain more cals and carbs- still better than real ones though.

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