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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.

BSD and Fast800 support thread #17

999 replies

thenewaveragebear1983 · 06/01/2020 10:51

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.

Time restricted eating/TRE :
In addition to the fast800/ BSD plan you can incorporate a strategy of time restricted eating. Put simply, this means only eating between certain times each day to maximise your fasting time. TRE has shown to have positive results for weightloss, even if there is no calorie restriction, and increases insulin sensitivity/reduces insulin resistance. At first, try for a clear 12 hours without food each 24 hours, increasing to 16:8 as you get more adept at fasting.

Some useful links:

previous thread

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

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MooPointCowsOpinion · 15/01/2020 07:07

What am I doing wrong? I’m sticking to 800 calories but I’ve barely lost anything in a week now! Half a stone fell off the first week, but now nothing is moving. I lost more weight doing the 5:2, when I was eating way more calories than this!

TheForgetfulCat · 15/01/2020 07:20

Moo - the 'whoosh' effect has been mentioned on here where you plateau and then lose a lot all at once. Also, not time of the month is it? I can put on a hell of a lot of water weight around then, so standing still is an improvement!

At least moving in the right direction today having had a really good day and lost a whole half pound. Hey ho Smile

PhoenixMama · 15/01/2020 07:36

@Kimlek I know! I haven't seen them since 2006!

@MooPointCowsOpinion Definitely could be a whoosh coming but also other things... how much do you have to lose? what are your carb numbers each day? How much water are you drinking? Time of the month?

Up half a pound today, which is ok, but slightly backed up as well so that might be part of it too. Onwards and upwards today!

CaptainBrickbeard · 15/01/2020 08:03

I feel a bit disappointed as well - I lost 9lbs in Week 1 but only 2lbs in Week 2. Period is due any day (it’s a couple of days late) so that might be it, but it is discouraging!

didireallysaythat · 15/01/2020 08:04

@MooPointCowsOpinion

I feel.your pain. 5 days on the same weight, 800-900 calories, no alcohol and I've done 3 c25k runs/walks. I hate to say it but I lost (ok I regained when I abandoned it) more regularly on sw than this. I had hoped to kick start things with two weeks and then move onto 5:2 but maybe I need to do this for 4 week's???

Kimlek · 15/01/2020 09:06

Same here @didireallysaythat and @MooPointCowsOpinion except I didn’t lose much in first week. I must be doing something wrong as nothing much is happening. Over last 5/6 days I’ve bounced around the 11st 9 - 11st 10 mark. I’ve lost a measly 2lbs since I started properly on 1st Jan and I’m wondering if the recipes are waaay off?
@PhoenixMama said.. Definitely could be a whoosh coming but also other things... how much do you have to lose? what are your carb numbers each day? How much water are you drinking? Time of the month?

  • I have 25lbs to lose ideally but 20lbs would be good (10-13kg)
  • carbs are around 30-50g a day
  • water/herbal teas around 2-3 litres plus calorie counted coffee.
  • I came on a period yesterday
Any ideas please?
Gjem · 15/01/2020 09:57

@Kimlek I’d be tempted to blame your period - give it another 3-4 days and see what your losses are like. I know I really struggle to lose anything when I’m due on regardless of what I eat. I’m not an expert on the carb/calorie side of things but I’m sure someone else will be able to comment!

@CaptainBrickbeard you’re doing so well and you’ll definitely get a bigger loss next week given the period situ. 11lbs in two weeks is pretty great!

I’m weighing daily but second official weigh in is today. Now 8.3kg/18lbs down and my size 18 jeans are feeling looser. Today’s the first day I’ve woken up and wanted chocolate - PMT time for me so I’ll need to really focus this week.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 15/01/2020 10:16

@MooPointCowsOpinion there is a bit in the intro about the 'whoosh', it is a noticeable thing on this plan. However it can be other things: starting a new exercise regime (water retention), totm, or simply just that you didn't have so much visceral fat in the first place (thats what the initial weightloss is: visceral fat, water, glycogen stores- and the water and glycogen obviously get replaced and used up daily, causing fluctuations). I would suggest not weighing for a few days, drink lots of water, get some electrolytes in as well (eg dioralyte?) and keep doing what you're doing- a good day always shows eventually!

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thenewaveragebear1983 · 15/01/2020 10:25

@Kimlek the recipes in the original book are said to be quite inaccurate so I would maybe input into mfp to check them? Other than that, same advice as above really.

& @CaptainBrickbeard, 11lbs in 2 weeks is brilliant well done. Even 2lb in a week is brilliant, that's over 100lbs in a year , the equivalent of 7stone!

Someone asked me specifically about totm? I don't have a particular strategy, but I have an incredible ability to hold substantial amounts of water, I'm talking 7lbs maybe more. I get very water-Retention-ish (not a word?) in the week before and during my period and then for a few days after I literally wee constantly like a rat 🐀
(I am only partly joking)

I've forever at the mercy of my hormones though, I am either due due on, on, weeing constantly or ovulating, on weekly rotation since the age of 13. My period comes every 28 days like clockwork apart from maybe once a year when I have a weird 5-6 week break and Dh and I stress about how we can't cope with any more children. The only respite was when I was pregnant but then having a 10lb baby isn't really respite....

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thenewaveragebear1983 · 15/01/2020 17:53

Closing the kitchen today on 754 cals but oddly 60g carbs (I've had a veggie day so more veg/beans today). I unintentionally fasted til dinner (except for soy milk) because I was busy this morning and then got sidetracked after school and then decided to wait til dinner. My meal was late last night so that was probably a 22 hour fast. I can't say it was enjoyable but once I was cooking dinner I kept opening the fridge but decided against snacking on something, just waited til the meal. I'll be interested to see if it has any effect on the scales. It certainly helped keep the calories below 800 (which I very rarely do)
I ran 6.5km today too so overall a really good day

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TheForgetfulCat · 15/01/2020 18:10

Has anyone experienced the delights of konjac rice? I was disappointed to find my bowl of rice didn't in fact taste much like rice at all - but once I mixed it all up with the strongly spiced veg curry it was at least an invisible filler.

Is it meant to do fibre?

Maccalenny · 15/01/2020 19:25

For all those that are struggling a bit with slower weight loss than they would like....please do stick with it. I lost quite well in my first couple of weeks back in February, then had several weeks of small losses. As Bear said, even those small losses all add up. I’m very nearly five stone lighter, and that is including plateaus through all the school holidays when I tend to stop counting calories. This plan is the only thing that has worked for me and has me at a weight I never ever thought I would see again.
I guess that no single way of eating will suit everyone, but I’ve failed on most other diets and this has worked brilliantly for me.

MooPointCowsOpinion · 15/01/2020 20:02

Does being dehydrated have a huge impact? I’ve noticed work is piling up right now and I can go hours without a drink by accident. Perhaps that’s why I’m not losing? Ending the day easily under 800 today.
The first week carbs were always under 50g, closer to 30g most days. The past week they’re more like 70g. I’m guessing that could be a problem too?

PhoenixMama · 15/01/2020 20:37

@moopointcowsopinion Dehydration is massive! BAsically you body starts holding onto water, glycogen, etc. If I don't drink more than 2L of water I stall completely!

MooPointCowsOpinion · 15/01/2020 20:38

So I just checked my inches and I’ve lost 4.5 inches all over, so I’m glad of that at least! Ending on 500 today as I just didn’t have time to eat and I’m too tired now.

FluffyEarMuffs · 15/01/2020 21:31

@MooPointCowsOpinion try and drink a lot of water before bed tonight!

Drinking water really does make the difference!

I am the same though when I get caught up with work. They don't have sparkling water there either, and I don't like plain so much. I have a colleague who brings me several cups of mint and herbal tea though which helps.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 15/01/2020 22:12

Yes dehydration will affect you in multiple ways: oddly, it makes you retain water in a way that's difficult to access; plus you need the water to complete the chemical process that turns stored glycogen into useable glucose/energy/fuel for your body. Being dehydrated literally stalls the process. I'd say you need at least 2l and maybe more?

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Gillster · 15/01/2020 23:50

Hi All, is there room for another on the thread?

I've been lurking on the thread for the last couple of weeks and feel very motivated by your stories.

I started the Fast800 this week. I'm not obsessively counting calories but I've been choosing a lunch and a dinner out of the recipe book plus having some yogurt and raspberries as a late afternoon snack as don't tend to eat until 8:30ish. I suspect I'm closer to the 1000-1200 mark which is OK as it's still loads less than I usually eat. I set a target 10,000 steps a day for each day in January and so far so good but suspect tomorrow might be tricky given the weather forecast and that I'll be at work all day and single parenting up to 8pm due to DH being in London for work.

Main motivation to lose weight is health. Mother has type 2 diabetes and maternal grandmother died of type 2 diabetes when I was very small. My diet on the whole isn't too bad but I'm a complete chocoholic so need to break the sugar cravings cycle.

My weight doesn't fluctuate massively but around 2 stone has slowly crept on over the last 14 years. I'll soon be in my mid-late forties so need to take action now. I think a short sharp shock of a Fast 800 is needed to lose a bit of weight quickly and hopefully keep me motivated to keep the general principles up.

Also have a 4 year old DS so want to stay healthy for him.

I'm 5'8 and heaviest non-pregnancy weight was 12st 10lb (last week) which puts me into the overweight category. First goal is to get something that starts with an eleven which will put me back into the normal weight threshold. I'll then reassess and see if getting back to 10st 10lbs is realistic. So far this week I've lost 4lb (also lost 1lb last week when I was easing myself into the plan). Keeping my fingers crossed that there's another 1lb tomorrow although appreciate that things may well slow down. I've been fasting for around 15 hours too as find it easier to stick too if I skip breakfast although did have a cheeky cappuccino this morning.

My birthday is mid March so would live to be at least a stone lighter for it. Good luck everyone!

Kimlek · 16/01/2020 04:31

Hi @Gillster welcome! Well done with your first week or so; it certainly sounds like your on track for a slimmer/healthier birthday.
I’m awake early as going on a girlie weekend away... wish me luck staying off the booze! I’ll avoid the 5 big carbs and continue to miss b’fast but won’t be able to calorie count.
Similar to bear I accidentally fasted til 7pm yesterday other than one latte at 6pm it was water and herbal tea all day! 3 litres worth. Was just busy and didn’t get chance for lunch. Had the lovely skinny cottage pie with broccoli & carrots. Weight down by 400g... pathetic but better than nothing.

MooPointCowsOpinion · 16/01/2020 07:18

Had a huge drink before bed and voila... 2.2lbs off this morning from yesterday! Thanks for the advice! I’m now 9.2lbs off overall in 2 weeks. I said I’d do this for 2 weeks and see how it went before I decided on another 2. Going to keep going!

Gillster · 16/01/2020 07:29

Congratulations @MooPointCowsOpinion.

1.5lb off for me this morning so pleased with that. Next target is for weight to start with an 11, so 4lbs to go.

Think today will be tough as had a rubbish nights sleep due to going to bed too late, DS waking up at 4am after a bad dream and generally being a bit cold in bed. Will try to fast until lunch but a coffee is definitely needed!

PhoenixMama · 16/01/2020 07:41

Morning all! Welcome @Gillster! You sound like you've had a great start!

@MooPointCowsOpinion I'm always amazed at people who can do 2 weeks and be like 'great ok, I'm done now!' I didn't think I'd do 16 weeks in a row but loved the routine I got into.

I'm stalled this week, but I'm also really, really hungry this week. Not sure what's going on but def need more water. I've also been really really cold this week, wonder if that's connected?

Kimlek · 16/01/2020 07:43

Crikey everyone is losing so well.... I really don’t get why I’m only 3lbs less after 16 days. I’m not starving so I’ll carry on but I’m a bit disappointed to say the least! About to board my flight and really worried that although I’ll stick to med diet I’ll put it all plus more back on.

Kimlek · 16/01/2020 07:45

pheonix that’s interesting because I’ve been cold too!!

thenewaveragebear1983 · 16/01/2020 08:01

Morning all. I'm down another half pound today making me 10.8.5. I didn't quite keep to 800 yesterday as when I got back from pta meeting at 10 I had a few carrot sticks and a slice of ham. I didn't enjoy the buzzy feeling I had yesterday which was probably a combination of coffee and no food, and I've woken up today with that empty tummy feeling and my stomach is growling. I have A busy day planned of jobs, work planning and housework but I am already thinking about food!

Meals today: a shake with chia, berries and peanut butter, late lunch will be eggs in some form, then dinner after work will be mushroom chilli same as yesterday with a spoonful of vegan cream cheese. No run today, but I might do a hiit workout using my kettlebell and my treadmill, alternating weights with 1minute sprints, to try and build some stamina back into my running (my fitness is suffering at the moment)

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