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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

OP posts:
Thread gallery
23
FluffyEarMuffs · 04/02/2020 10:48

Funnily enough @thenewaveragebear1983 I had a veg box delivery this morning that I am going home to unpack. I bought a jar of almond butter as it sounded nice, and I have some apples and Cheshire cheese too. I am now pondering a meal out of those for lunch 😊 I have cod for dinner.

@DottyDetective travelling and not having control over this is a huge worry. My childhood eating contributes still to my own issues, so I understand. If you can avoid the big three of bread, potatoes, pasta, it would go a long way I think. Can you say it's an intolerance? Or would that lead to more invasive questions?

73kittycat73 · 04/02/2020 12:10

Hi @thenewaveragebear1983 Thank you for your reply and advice. I will have to experiment a bit then. I have a blood glucose monitor arriving today so can track what happens with my carbs and blood sugar spikes (Mainly cutting out because of type 2 diabetes.). Thanks again! Smile

Colourmylife1 · 04/02/2020 13:15

@thenewaveragebear1983 Thanks so much for the warm welcome back. I’ve been watching your amazing results with admiration! I do know what you mean about it being harder to restart. Funnily enough you inadvertently answered my question in your post immediately before mine! I need to reread the book and follow the plan the right way, rather my own way! At least until it all falls into place. That means cutting out all alcohol for me and being strict on carbs. Thanks for the support! Hope everyone is having a good day!

DottyDetective · 04/02/2020 21:02

Colour I’ve lost the baby weight after my first and only regained it again after baby 2. It’s so much harder to motivate yourself when you know how hard it is isn’t it. My baby is 15 months and I’ve only just got the motivation to restart and to be honest it seems insurmountable. Thought I could do two weeks of Fast800 then a week of 5:2 when I’m away over half term and then a few more weeks of Fast800. Not ideal breaking it up I know but better than not doing it at all?

Colourmylife1 · 04/02/2020 21:13

Dotty well done for losing the baby weight. You know you can do it again! My kids are long grown up so it is so much easier for me as I have complete control over what I buy and eat, and no one else to think of. I think all of you following this plan while looking after families are amazing! I’ve finished the day on 791 calories and 20g carbs do I’m very pleased with that.

PhoenixMama · 04/02/2020 21:45

Evening all. I'm at my wit's end today and am verging on bursting into tears. Day went totally off the rails as ended up being sent from the gp to a&e with DD (she's fine, it's a bad sprain not a break) and was there for 5 hours with no lunch, no supplies and only a vending machine. Then I'd planned to get food after school but couldn't because I had to get her & her crutches home and I've had a couple of worrying/frustrating days, I haven't lost anything for over a week and I still have my period. I'm grumpy, tired, worried & about to cry. Very fed up. Hoping tomorrow is better but being back at the place I plateau'd at for months is seriously getting me down.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 04/02/2020 21:46

Gone slightly off piste today as I went for lunch with my friend but this place only did sandwiches so I ended up having bread x 2 slices. My evening meal was sliced turkey, half an avocado, and a fried egg, and then yogurt, raspberries and peanut butter.
Not a terrible day, but not perfect Either. I did 17k steps (6 km was a run) and I feel exhausted now!

Tomorrow, I'd like a run in the morning but will assess in the morning, weather permitting. I'm going in to work early to mark exams so will be there over lunch, which means my usual fare of a soy milk latte from the coffee shop as my liquid lunch! Dinner will be a chicken tikka masala using a paste and coconut cream, with veg. All in, that should be a relatively low carb, low cal day.

OP posts:
thenewaveragebear1983 · 04/02/2020 21:47

X-posted @PhoenixMama, your day sounds horrible. Hope dd is ok now she is home Thanksand that you feel better tomorrow yourself too Thanks

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DottyDetective · 04/02/2020 22:38

Thanks Colour, it’s a serious amount of weight! Baby 2 was a non sleeper and I are carbs non stop to keep me going! Phoenix what a tough day you’ve had. Totally normal to plateau where you’ve had a prior set point. Bear your food sounds really good!

Kimlek · 05/02/2020 06:58

Aww pheonix I have my fingers crossed that you’re feeling much happier today!!
I was starving yesterday and ended up having 926 cals and being over on all my macros - carbs 75!! Not sure why they were so high! Fasted til lunch then had eggs, kale, mushrooms, toms & seeds; as a snack had an apple with peanut butter, dinner was bolognese (no courgetti as couldn’t be bothered spiralling it). I’m now up again (0.8lb) to my plateau weight which is annoying.
I’m rereading the book as not sure what tweaks I’m making that are so wrong. I’ve got an hours tennis again this morning and another brisk dog walk. Fast til lunch but think I need something lighter that my fave eggs,kale, toms fry up. Stuffed peppers for dinner.

CaptainBrickbeard · 05/02/2020 07:16

I am quite confused as well. I’ve had a whooshy Week 5, down an unexpected 4lbs despite going away and eating between 1400-1900 calories a day with over 50% carbs for four days straight. I was pretty strict yesterday and kept carbs down in particular but it feels like Week 1 again to be getting on the scales and seeing a pound drop off every day at the moment. I know it won’t last and I’m certainly not complaining! I’d just like to get my head around why some of us have these horrible stalls when we are doing it all right and amazing whooshes even when we aren’t... Anyway, I hope to send whooshes around the thread. I’m finishing Week 5 a total of 17lbs down and I do feel quite in the groove of this diet now - still motivated to keep going at least knowing that any stall or gain won’t be forever.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 05/02/2020 07:45

I think the answer to that is that bodies are weird. They don't always do what we've been told that they will. I once read somewhere that your body weight represents the food you ate 10 days ago- as in, you step on the scales and what shows is the effect of your diet last week. I'll try and find an article.

@CaptainBrickbeard 17lbs in 5 weeks is brilliant, well done!

@Kimlek I'm sorry you feel a bit disheartened. Fluctuating Weightloss can be demotivating but your overall weight is going down. It could be that you're like me and super sensitive to carbs and retain a lot of water? I sometimes can't get my rings on in the mornings but by 10am it's gone.
Any sudden weight loss overnight is water, it's impossible to lose say 4lbs fat overnight. If you consider the example you have of 0.8lbs, that's about 400mls of water. It's very possible that you could fluctuate by much more than that in a day, simply based on eg. How much salt, what food (especially fibre) you ate, if you've exercised and are holding water in your muscles for repair, and glycogen stores.

I do understand the daily weighing at the beginning of the diet because it's very motivating, but it simply doesn't do my head any good because like you @Kimlek I fluctuate wildly. Would you consider maybe weighing only once or twice a week?

I know it seems like everyone else is losing lots but we are all different. My lowest weight was 10.3 and my target was 9.13 (just to be in the 9s) and I literally chased it around for a year, maintaining to within a few pounds but never ever going below 10.3. I was running a marathon a week at that time and I just never ever dropping below 10.3. Eventually I relented and stopped chasing it and went up to 10.7, and then 10.10 and now I'm chasing that 10.3 again! I genuinely don't think my body will go below 10 stone, and no matter how strict I am, I never will.

@Kimlek be kind to yourself, you've made some huge diet changes and maybe the scales are stalling but the health benefits aren't. You will get there! Thanks

OP posts:
thenewaveragebear1983 · 05/02/2020 08:02

www.ontheregimen.com/2014/02/09/what-those-scale-weight-fluctuations-really-mean/

@Kimlek this is quite an interesting summary, although probably nothing we didn't know already! The other key one for me is sleep. I am so affected by sleep, it affects my insulin sensitivity the next day really badly and that has a knock on effect on everything (cortisol levels, water retention, food cravings) and I find sleep quality and weight are correlated for me.

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DottyDetective · 05/02/2020 11:37

I blame bad sleeping for a lot of my weight gain too. I’ve gained weight after having each of my babies during breastfeeding and poor sleep. I’ve just started listening to the Circadian Code on my commute actually and it’s fascinating. Will report back!

Riddleofthesands · 05/02/2020 12:34

I completely agree with the poor sleep link to weight gain.

Phoenix hope you have a better day, and your DD is ok. Plateaus are deeply depressing.

Lunch was sauerkraut and cheese, dinner will be brill fillet, roast peppers and asparagus. I think this week I have maintained but not lost, I blame my period and a poor few nights sleep. I just have 12 lbs to lose but its very difficult.

FluffyEarMuffs · 05/02/2020 12:54

Afternoon all!

I made it to a hiit/spin session at the gym at 6:30am and I have walked 10,000 steps already 😇

Lunch (just!) was halummi, salad, a soft boiled egg and some asparagus tips.

Then I'll have a 400 cal shake later this afternoon as it's too busy to cook this evening.

Great article @thenewaveragebear1983 🙌🏻

I am powering through this week with a vengeance 😁 I would like a whoooosh too please.

Kimlek · 05/02/2020 13:39

Thank you bear that’s all incredibly interesting. I think I’ve read somewhere about the body showing weight changes a week later or something similar too. I’m keen to keep weighing daily as in some respects it spurs me on. If I’m plateauing then I’ll keep it strict. I’ve never had a whoosh or a big loss but I expect if I did I could be tempted to relax it a bit. I’m determined to get down to a healthy weight (10st) and this way of eating makes sooooo much sense. I’ve never dieted before, always been able to eat what I like and despite a sweet tooth was always slim (unfit but slim) throughout my teens, 20’s, & 30’s. It only started creeping up in my 40’s. I’m now 50 and need it gone. The extra lbs affect my fitness and general well being. I feel fitter even though I’m only 7/8lbs lighter. Now it’s beginning to shift I feel more able to join a gym... maybe?
fluffy spin & hiit?!! Wow!
I’ve had a vigorous hours tennis this morning followed by an hours brisk dog walk. I’ve not yet had lunch as I’m not hungry and think I’ll have some left over bolognese for dinner. Think I should get an early night too as my sleep has not been great!

thenewaveragebear1983 · 05/02/2020 15:14

Busy day for me today. I had a quick 'lunch' of peanut butter, cheese, avocado and sliced turkey literally grabbed from the fridge door standing up. I made sure to drink a lot before teaching today as I end up frazzled and parched on a Wednesday as I have to talk sooooo much, and feel a lot better today.

Tonight it's a quick freezer fish tea and then I'm out at PTA meeting tonight. It should be a reasonable low carb day as a result.

OP posts:
DottyDetective · 05/02/2020 20:21

Had a busy day today too and another one tomorrow. Makes not eating a bit easier at least. Broke my fast at 22.5 hours with 2 hard boiled eggs followed by a dinner of salmon with cauliflower mash and kale. 759cals and 29g of carbs. Found the weighing scales and am down 0.5kg since Sunday which is heartening though slow compared to most people here!

onanothertrain · 05/02/2020 21:22

I've had food on plan this week so far but a lot of it so calories will be over. I've felt pre menstrual for a few days now so I'm blaming it. Either that or I've got worms 😁

PhoenixMama · 05/02/2020 21:40

Hi all, slightly better day here food wise, even managed to avoid the amazing cake on half price at the café for dd's activity tonight. Prob slightly over on carbs but partially because I still haven't made it to the shops for proper food yet.

Today was 2 eggs & a piece of toast for brunch (around 1130) then Heck sausages, some sweet potato & veg for dinner. Was still up this morning so will see tomorrow. Very thirsty today! Did not feel like getting up to do yoga but forced myself & did a short one. Not enjoying last year's 30 days as much as I enjoyed this year's but hoping that changes soon. Plan is to keep doing all 6 of her 30 day plans until June & then starting again! Ending the evening having to comb my hair for nits which is always fun! Turning in soon!

thenewaveragebear1983 · 05/02/2020 22:10

I'm knackered today, and after a long day and a long and stressful pta meeting I am in real danger of diving into the biscuits. I'm determined not to and have had some ham and cheese instead but my nerves are jangling and I'm in real danger of some stress eating!

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Kimlek · 05/02/2020 22:26

Oh no bear step away! Step away from the biscuit tin!
I ended up having a lunch of avocado & smoked salmon, dinner was a double portion of bolognese (zero courgetti as in a rush). Total cals 780 and macros good. I’ve been tired all day yet suddenly I’m not, but going to bed now regardless!!

Colourmylife1 · 06/02/2020 08:49

After 3 days of following plan to the letter I stepped on the scales and I’ve lost 3lbs since Monday. I can’t quite believe it. I know it’s water and bloat but I’ll take it! My plan is lose another 2 lbs then start upping my calories by 100 every few days. I seem to maintain on around 1500 to 1600 calories.

PhoenixMama · 06/02/2020 08:55

So stepped on the scale this morning and it said I was at my plateau number which was immensely frustrating then stepped back on & it said I was basically back to my lowest so who knows what's going on but I'll take the lower number for sure! I'm still dealing with major carb cravings atm so will see how I get on! Still 9lbs from my goal!

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