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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

OP posts:
Thread gallery
37
Maccalenny · 07/12/2019 16:20

Back from visiting relatives - lunch was dominoes pizza with salad, with crumble and ice cream for pudding. I asked my lovely aunt for some cheese instead, so I had a cheese salad and passed on the pudding. It was interesting as I had fully given myself permission to eat whatever I wanted.....turned out what I wanted wasn't pizza after all.
Most of the family have not really seen me much this year, so my weight loss was a key topic of conversation. I still don’t tell people what I’ve actually done to lose it, I don’t know why....I just say I’ve cut down on carbs and reduced the amount I eat. Which is certainly true! It was a nice boost to have lots of compliments.

Maccalenny · 08/12/2019 05:42

I’ve been rewarded for my saintliness of yesterday by a miniwhoosh overnight - down 1.2lb since yesterday. Feels better than a carb fest and the resulting stomach ache any day!

Orangeblossom78 · 08/12/2019 11:58

Well after my first week I have had no weight loss but guess this is too early, maybe next week i will see some. No more drinking for me, as it made me crave chocolate etc yesterday

Maccalenny · 08/12/2019 12:30

Hi Orange - have you been weighing through the week, or was today the first time?

Orangeblossom78 · 08/12/2019 15:10

Through the week

Maccalenny · 08/12/2019 15:53

Did you see any change through the week? Just wondering if the sugars in the mulled wine had caused you to store some glycogen again.

Orangeblossom78 · 09/12/2019 08:56

Yes that might be it. What I am really happy with is it is helping reduce my sugar cravings, really helpful which will help with long term change in habits. Bets of luck to everyone this week

Maccalenny · 09/12/2019 19:04

Orange the lack of sugar cravings is a great result and certainly does make life easier doesn’t it! Hopefully you will see some good results on the scales too soon.

Maccalenny · 09/12/2019 19:08

It’s so quiet on here these last few days! Has everyone decided to restart after Christmas?

Hope anyone who is trying to power through the mince pies and Baileys temptation is doing ok.

The chef at school has made shepherds pie today... so this week is a heavy-carb week for me as I eat leftover shepherds pie every day....best comfort food ever.

VenusInfers · 09/12/2019 20:58

It IS quiet, isn't it? I suppose December is not the most natural dieting month. What do you bet it fills right up again in January? Grin

I'm doing okay, just trying to find a 'normal' level of eating now I am not on diet. Keeping the 12 hour overnight break & trying to keep carbs a bit lower, but know I haven't quite got the balance right yet. Think my aim should be to eat normally 5 days a week and do two days on very low carb & low cal. Using two of the days when I am at work as I always take my breakfast and lunch with me anyway so relatively easy to be 'good'.

And Macca? ooooh, yy to Shephard's Pie!

Maccalenny · 10/12/2019 05:04

Venus - how are you finding the swap from fasting days to ‘normal’ days? Has the inclusion of carbs again caused you any issues?

I’m not strict 800 any more, but end up around 1000 for weekdays and up to 1500 at weekends. My weight loss is slow now - around 1lb each week - and I’m aiming to lose another half-stone, then maintain. But I can’t see me managing to maintain if I go back to carbs, because I’ve done that before and I know the cravings and hunger will start! So it will be Mediterranean diet long term for me I think.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 10/12/2019 07:26

It is quiet in here, I agree. I'm still ticking on though. Yesterday I went to a garden centre with my mum and had a lovely stodgy lunch of steak and ale pie (I left the pastry) and veg and gravy. And then for dinner I cooked yesterday's forgotten roast (chicken, with veg and gravy) so I had a rather filing comfort foods kind of day.

I've went to bed earlier than I have been recently and I feel 100 times better today. Life's just so busy this time of year and I have been neglecting myself a bit I think.

This week I've planned all my food, using up some freezer stock and I'm going to focus on getting some veg in. I'm not going to calorie count especially strictly, but just stick to 2 meals a day, no snacks. I'm taking 2 weeks off running to let my leg heal so I can start 2020 in good physical health, so it's actually a good time time to cut my food intake back as well.

Today I plan to wait in for a technician to fix our reclining sofa, so I have a huge list of house based jobs that need worked through. I'm going to use the remaining chicken to make a broth for lunch, and then dinner after work will be something light. Dh is away tonight so I could get away with having soup again for dinner! And another early night.

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Pajamagirl · 10/12/2019 10:33

Greetings from sunnier climes !
I have been lurking , but a little update . Can’t achieve the tre of 12 til 8 here , but having protein rich / carb light meals no idea of calories but certainly not 800 . I am aiming for damage limitation these 2 weeks so bypassing pastries cakes pancakes with syrup and most fruit at the breakfast table .
Good luck to you all

Riddleofthesands · 10/12/2019 11:13

I am still here, have a head cold and period still, feel lousy. My kids end of term this week so lots of Secret Santa’s/concerts etc. I weighed and have regained 2 lbs, only a stone to lose but up and down as I haven’t committed for any length of time. When I feel better I will put in a proper effort. Well done those who are keeping on going.

Maccalenny · 10/12/2019 17:55

Bear hope your leg improves and the extra sleep helps you face the final run-up to Christmas. Who knew there were technicians for reclining sofas!

Pyjamagirl it sounds like you are doing the best you can to be on-plan while still enjoying your holiday. Have a great time.

Riddle that is a early school finish for your kids! Long wait till Christmas for you all.

VenusInfers · 10/12/2019 22:16

Main difference, Macca, is that I've started being very windy again! Clearly higher carb = more bottom burps for yours truly. Lovely!!

It is quite hard to make the transition. I love to bake. Buttered sourdough toast is my favourite food. I need to have those things in my life, whilst keeping high veg & good protein levels etc. and not over eating or drinking when feeling tired or stressed.

There is quite a lot going on with my husband's job (we may need to move cities for the second time in 3 years this summer) so food or wine can be a distraction from that. As can concentrating on a diet Smile.

Hey ho, we are all works in progress. Your approach sounds good, Macca, I'm just not quite ready to commit to full time mediterranean eating. Lovely though the food is.

Hope your leg heals well, Bear.

Hang in there Riddle, it's a tough time of year.
Enjoy the holiday, Pyjama!

Maccalenny · 11/12/2019 04:55

Venus my problem is that I’ve lost weight on low carb before, but put it all on again when I went back to the carbs. I can’t seem to do carbs in moderation, so I think it will have to be lower carb forever for me.
Wheat does bad things to my digestion now as well - windiness being one of those things! So I’m happy to stay off wheat, to avoid the stomach aches.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 11/12/2019 06:55

I would love to be able to say like Maccalenny that I eat the Med diet full time but unfortunately I am not that disciplined. When I started out I was, and I really enjoyed it, and I felt amazing. But I will always be at the mercy of food to a degree, and I've never quite managed to stop the emotional eating. This was really evident to me in the last month or so- I was so stressed and my food just went haywire. Now things are calmer, I'm back on track. Running both helps and hinders that, because if I'm very stressed or emotional, running can just crank my hunger up another notch.

I seem to sway between 'starting again on monday' to completely being on track, then going off plan. I maintain this way but with a swing of about 5lbs, rather than a nice calm maintenance plan. In the last swing, I went dangerously close to 11st and I promised myself I would never go back there, and ideally I'd like to be under 10 for next summer.

I agree about the gluten though, I don't really have it and feel heaps better, and since quitting dairy I feel better too. The combination of dairy+gluten was the worst for me, with bloating and pain (food baby!)

I'm rereading fast800 at the moment and I think I'm going to try a longer fast in the new year, and then really focus on the med style eating and get back to being fully sugar free. That was the healthiest time in my life and I felt so in control then. I've never really focussed on the TRE aspect of the plan so I think I might try that for a bit and see how that works.

Thanks for your good vibes for my leg. It's day 3 today- pain is almost gone but I am determined to rest it for longer this time. I have a massage today with my sports lady so that should help.

Have a great day all. My food is planned to be: nothing til around 11, then a soy latte at work as they have a Costa coffee shop! Dinner will be sausage and lentil casserole using some chicken and some veggie sausages, with celeriac hash.

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Maccalenny · 11/12/2019 19:33

Bear I think my concern is that if I let things slip, I will lose it completely. Certainly I feel that about sugary stuff, and wheat. I don’t think that’s a good relationship to have with food - it’s certainly not ‘everything in moderation’ .
I have a friend who used to smoke, but hasn’t smoked in about ten years. But she still classes herself as a smoker, still dreams about smoking, still craves it. I think some people who struggle with alcohol are the same.....you may not be drinking currently, but you continue to have a problem with drink. I think I will always be an emotional eater and an over-eater....I’m just not doing it at the moment. I have to figure out a way of continuing not to do it, and I think the best way for me will be the long-term appetite suppressant effect of low carb. I cannot ever see me managing to maintain by portion-controlling carby food.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 11/12/2019 21:14

No me neither. My overall food control and feeling 'good' about food is directly correlated with /caused by my sugar consumption. I sometimes have a fairly good grasp on it though, but sometimes it's practically chaotic.

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Maccalenny · 12/12/2019 20:02

Really stressed at work today - probably the closest I’ve been to emotional eating since I started this. Having a large tub of Roses chocolates in front of me all day not helping!
I also think that the fact I’ve been eating shepherds pie, with actual potato, quite a lot this week has made me feel hungrier than usual, and may have weakened my resolve a bit. It has certainly prevented any weight loss.
Either way, I have survived without succumbing to temptation. But I did have some 85% when I got home. I’m eating the Lindt one at the moment - gorgeous!

thenewaveragebear1983 · 12/12/2019 21:03

It's a very stressful time of year maccalenny you are doing so well to resist even some of the time.

I'm über stressed today but after tomorrow all my PTA responsibilities will be over with so I can focus entirely on work and then after Thursday night, just family fun. I have blitzed a fair amount of work today so that hopefully my weekend will be clear and next week will be calmer.

The weekend will be busy though, with one Christmas do Saturday and another on Sunday!

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Maccalenny · 13/12/2019 18:31

Still surrounded by chocolates and biscuits at work...still staying strong, but it’s tough! Today was Christmas dinner day at school - I did have potato and stuffing but not pudding. A fair compromise I think!

Bear hope you can have a relaxing weekend and regroup a bit, so you can through next week with sanity intact.

Riddleofthesands · 13/12/2019 18:40

In bed all day coughing, DH working from home and taken over cooking etc. Feel lousy. Worried about buying Christmas presents and giving bug to rest of family. Haven’t eaten on the plus side. DH cooking salmon for dinner.

Maccalenny · 13/12/2019 19:16

Riddle hope you are feeling better soon, and that the rest of the family don’t get it in time for Christmas.

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