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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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Thread gallery
23
thenewaveragebear1983 · 20/01/2020 19:23

@CaptainBrickbeard I think it's because January is such an interminably long month, and it's so long since payday! I definitely feel better when January is done, February feels like almost spring and it's so short in comparison!

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FluffyEarMuffs · 20/01/2020 19:44

Ah, @thenewaveragebear1983 but February has an extra day this year 🤪

Gillster · 20/01/2020 20:01

Just back from the gym and now cooking this. I've had it before and it's well tasty. Going to serve it with some long stemmed broccoli.

BSD and Fast800 support thread #17
thenewaveragebear1983 · 20/01/2020 20:24

@FluffyEarMuffs and yes, it's only 3 (2!) day shorter but January just feels so loooooooong!

Closing the kitchen up today on 1250 cals, 41g carbs. 16k steps (no run today, but I did an hour of boxercise with my PT this morning) I'm pleased with that despite being over on cals. I have eaten really well today. And lots. But only the right things.

Tomorrow: lunch will be another big salad (today I piled my plate with lettuce and veg, then added my protein etc) - probably with tuna or turkey. Dinner will be a chilli which I found in the freezer, (unable to calorie count but I am hoping that if I was organised enough to make and freeze then it would have been when I was on a 'good week') which I will have with veg after work.

I'm excited for tomorrow- having my sports massage which I love, and finally finally seeing some improvement in my hamstring so hopefully won't be agony.
Then after I'm having a microdermabrasion and endomology treatment on my tummy. I've ummed and aaahed about it for months and it's the first stage of a series of collagen treatments which will hopefully tighten up my terribly damaged tummy skin. After losing so much weight (and after pregnancy and 2 sections) , I am left with the damage so I hope this will help me kind of see the benefit of losing weight and not just this horrible loose skin. It won't be perfect and I will have to have 6 sessions of collagen after tomorrow's session but this will hopefully be a start.

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didireallysaythat · 20/01/2020 22:28

Ok back on it - a weekend of normal food gas restarted my digestive system so I skipped supper and went for a jog/walk instead. I'll skip breakfast and I've a salad packed for lunch tomorrow.

Kimlek · 21/01/2020 06:37

bear I’ve never heard of microdermabrasion on the tummy... I’ve no idea what endomology is either but good for you!!
I’m 11st 8.6lb this morning. Bizarrely in just one day I’ve lost the 2.5lbs I gained over the long weekend away. The gain will have been alcohol which I never want to tough again! Yet it took me 16 days to lose it in the first place. I find this very bizarre!
I cooked all day yesterday so had mouthfuls of bolognese, lentils and korma but certainly not much. Had a snack of almonds. For dinner I pan fried chicken with stir fried veg and drank lots of ginger tea all day as couldn’t get warm. Did an hours pilates class.
Today I have tennis, lunch will be avocado and dinner the spicy tuna patties with ratatouille. I’ll also aim to drink 3 litres of water/ginger tea and stay well clear of booze!

CaptainBrickbeard · 21/01/2020 06:49

That’s great, Kimlek! I’m so pleased for you.

I’m on day 5 of a plateau and soooo fed up. First week on the diet I lost 9lbs, second week 3lbs and unless this plateau breaks tomorrow I’ll finish week 3 on a 1lb loss. I expected to still be in quite a rapid weight loss phase at this point but if it’s slowing down this much in the third week I’m very disappointed!

I haven’t stuck to 800 calories but I haven’t gone much over 1000 any day and I have a lot of weight to lose. I’ve stuck completely to the food, drink 3+ litres of water a day, add salt, fast for 14 hours of every 24 and am not constipated so I really feel like I should have done better this week.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 21/01/2020 07:00

10.10.4 today so a little half pound off overnight

There's some amazing losses on this thread at the moment- well done everyone! I hope those who are plateauing can see that somewhere along the line it happens to everyone, and then the losses start again- please don't get disheartened, you're doing amazingly! Stara good day always shows eventually- maybe not as dramatically as we hoped, but it always does! Have you all done your measurements? I don't track mine now but in the early days once a month I'd measure my stomach, hips, arm etc - it was very motivating to see inches dropping off especially when the scales were sticking.

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TheForgetfulCat · 21/01/2020 07:29

Officially fed up today. Really pleased with 12st1 yesterday and today scales are determined to say 12st3. What happened there? Three days to see if I can retrieve things before wedding.

MMC20 · 21/01/2020 07:46

Hi everyone. Thanks for this thread. Started Fast800 2 weeks ago and 4 pounds down. I'm hoping to give and receive support. Good luck all ❤️

thenewaveragebear1983 · 21/01/2020 07:48

2lbs overnight is always water. It's impossible to gain 2lbs of fat overnight, I promise. Drink plenty today, herbal tea/green tea if you like it? Keep the carbs really low for the next few days as well.

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TheForgetfulCat · 21/01/2020 07:52

OK. I have lots of herb tea so herb tea and very low carb it is.

Wedding only matters to me, both my brother and his (lovely) fiancée are going for the quiet-verging-on-invisible approach to wedding planning and were delighted by my daughters wish to turn up in her reindeer onesie. So it'll be all right really Smile

Riddleofthesands · 21/01/2020 09:22

Morning all, I was doing great, delicious very healthy food, did my walk/run, and then at 9 pm I wolfed down a packet of sweet popcorn. I hate sweet popcorn. 400 kc! Madness. Pretty sure there is nothing else in the cupboards to trip me up. Today really needs to be a good day. Keep going everyone and remember why you are doing this.

PhoenixMama · 21/01/2020 09:45

Morning all! @thenewaveragebear1983 I'm interested in your treatment too, my belly has shrunk a lot with the weightloss but the loose skin I hate!

Down a pound this morning, which is making me grumpy that I'm up still plus still in pain. Did manage most of yoga this morning but generally uncomfortable and unhappy. Can't wait for my back to sort itself out. Off to get my hair colored which is crazy overdue so hoping I look fab after that!

Kimlek · 21/01/2020 10:57

MMC20 welcome!
forgetful you’re doing so well and that 2lbs WILL be off again.... keep going!
pheonix would a physio session help?
captain thank you! I think we should do some measurements as suggested by bear. Does anyone plot measurements?

I’ve just returned from tennis absolutely ravenous and can’t wait til lunch & fint fancy cold avocado & sardines so just made spicy speedy beans, which were ok I spose. Still feel hungry but will drink lots to try to fill up.
I’m worried that today’s weight is wrong somehow. Given it took 2.5 weeks to lose 2.5lbs, 4 days to put it back on, how can it be off again after just one day? I’ll be delighted if it’s still off tomorrow.

onanothertrain · 21/01/2020 11:04

Kimlek I do measurements, when I started the first 8weeks I measured weekly. In 8 weeks I lost something like 22 and there wasn't a week I didn't lose. I could not be bothered with daily weighing and all the angst that seems to go along with it. In fact I don't even have scales.

onanothertrain · 21/01/2020 11:05

Should have said 22 inches.

MMC20 · 21/01/2020 12:00

Kimlek: thanks.
Might sound like an obvious question but anyone low in confidence given history of unsuccessful dieting? Scientifically, this 800 should work but can't help thinking I'm gonna be the outlier Confused

thenewaveragebear1983 · 21/01/2020 12:16

Welcome @MMC20. My confidence issues are more to do with that 'I am broken and completely powerless around food and I know me, I'll end up eating crap so I might as well anyway, and oh, look, I told you so....I ate crap' - repeat ad infinitum, for about the last 20 years....
Or- i can't control myself at totm, or I can't just have one treat I have to eat the lot (I still really struggle with this one, I have a binge mentality)

What I will say is that this diet will change what you always thought you knew about food (especially if you've gone to slimming clubs, ww or sw for example) because we've spent years telling ourselves eg. We can't eat tiny portions, we shouldn't eat fat, we must eat 'little and often', we must eat breakfast- and then this diet blows all these out of the water. We just have to trust it, and it works. I always say it's easier to go cold turkey than to allow a little bit of bread, potato, sugar etc- because the need for those things is sometimes because that's what we've always done, and it can help to fully embrace the new lifestyle. So In answer to your confidence question: don't doubt yourself. This will work for you, if you stick to it.

That being said, it's not always easy to stick to it, and that's why I love this group. Sometimes our needs are emotional not physical or nutritional, and we all do slip up, and we all do deliberately sabotage ourselves, and we all do have crap days/weeks/months - I find along with learning about the diet, I've learned a lot about myself doing this. I've learned to recognise why I find myself suddenly craving chocolate for example (hint: it's never hunger!)

Good luck, and please do post if you need to, this group is so friendly and we never judge- we've all been there Thanks

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thenewaveragebear1983 · 21/01/2020 12:21

@PhoenixMama I will keep you updated on my tummy treatment. Today I've had basically a facial on my stomach (weird I know) and have now signed up to 6 sessions of collagen which I will start in Feb. It's £240 for the course so I am Not going into this lightly, it's a big thing for me- but I have heard positive things so I'm going to try it, apparently it can last 2 years. I hope that it might help me break my habit of hating my stomach, because currently it's a big issue for me, I have certain clothes I won't wear because I can see it through them, and it's actually worse since losing weight. I don't often do things like this for myself so I've decided to go for it.

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MMC20 · 21/01/2020 12:24

Thanks so much thenewaveragebear1983!
It seems to be more of 'when' I'll have a slip-up than 'if'. I completely agree about the cold turkey approach. Having just crisp for example is a high-risk situation for me as I end up bingeing and doing disordered eating. It's scary how vulnerable I am to this. Guess I've already learnt something about me. Appreciate your realistic yet kind words.

FluffyEarMuffs · 21/01/2020 12:33

Morning all! Welcome @MMC20

@thenewaveragebear1983 I am going to be following your treatment too. Just last night I found myself pondering over stomach skin on my dog walk.

I am out with my dog again now. I'd like to hit 10,000 steps again - and every day this week - but it's so hard with working and it being so dark so early.

Lunch today will be avocado and poached egg with salad.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 21/01/2020 12:52

@MMC20 I think part of that lack of confidence come from repeated dieting. Low fat dieting is bloody hard, miserable work. God, I used to lose half a pound a week at slimming world and pay a fiver for the privilege and I could regain a month's work in a day off plan. Plus they warn you against losing to much, losing to quick, not eating enough... don't know if any of you watched the Tom Kerridge diet show that's been on? Now I like TK, I love his recipes- but I'm watching this programme thinking 'this will never work' - it seems so old fashioned, cutting fat and using low fat cottage cheese and 'only a sprinkling of cheese for flavour'. These diets are doomed to fail right from day one, and if you've a history of low fat diets it's very likely you've tried many, lost weight, and regained weight multiple times.

This way of eating really is a lifestyle change

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Riddleofthesands · 21/01/2020 13:36

Hi Bear, I am waiting in for a delivery and just watched TK on catchup. I like him and the group of people he has all seem lovely. I was interested in the 51 and 54 year old sisters as they are my age, they both looked great to me in week 1, just a bit of tummy to lose. I shuddered when he made pasta, I gain 1lb just taking it out of the larder. I think his previous low carb plan was more likely to work for me. I know I wouldn’t lose weight eating 1,000 + kc.

Lunch was cold salmon and red onion and tomatoes salad with rocket, dinner will be the same.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 21/01/2020 14:10

@Riddleofthesands and during the course of the show they'll all lose weight which further compounds the myth of low fat=weight loss. It will be interesting to see how they are a year later. I do love a diet show though! I love 'how to lose weight well' too

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