Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

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 19

999 replies

thenewaveragebear1983 · 10/05/2020 22:25

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

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
35
collywobble · 14/06/2020 15:22

@thenewaveragebear1983 thank you for the recipe that sounds so much nicer than white sourdough that's for sure . I will give it a try .

I'm having a good weekend food wise but the lovely weather did temp me to a couple of glasses of wine in the garden with my book. I have subsequently gained two pounds this morning at weigh in . I've just walked 10k so I'm hoping this will help shift it . Why are weekends so hard?

PhoenixMama · 14/06/2020 15:59

Hello all - seems the 2 messages I sent yesterday from my phone never landed!

Yesterday was a bit off plan as a socially distanced meetup went on longer (and foodier) than expected. Up a lb today but also period from hell so lets see what happens in the next few days.

Girlfriend taught me a weights workout this morning and I can barely walk so that's all good!

Justasecondnow · 14/06/2020 19:57

Much better off plan day today. BBQ no.2 one burger in bun, sausage no bun, and very small amount potato salad. And very small slice of bday cake. And no booze! Having chicken kebab for tea.

2 birthday BBQs in a row spelled disaster but was much more in control of it today. Planning a properly counted cals/carb week and a little run every day. No plans next weekend. So have a clear run for a bit. Feeling surprisingly positive not doom laden after dodgy weekend.

NathanNathan great reading about your ongoing weight loss on less restrictive plan. I am realising I’m dying to get to maintenance so I can gradually reintroduce carbs. I just freaking love them. Bloody annoyingly delicious crisps, toast, roasties and so on. Better keep working on the mindset I think!

bluepixie · 14/06/2020 20:23

Terrible day
But least it’s just one day rather than 3 which is what I’ve been doing for a long while
Back on tmrw with a super low carb day
Boiled egg and smoked salmon
Brocolli and Stilton soup
Trout and brocolli.
50mls milk for my 2 coffee
Will be 800 cals and 25 carbs

Justasecondnow · 14/06/2020 20:43

Cream123 ah right there with you, but feeling motivated and on it now. We can do it!

Cocobox · 14/06/2020 22:38

Pretty decent here, ate a large roasted cauliflower by myself (no idea what the calories are on that) with roast chicken, dodged the carbs the family had but had a bit more wine than I should have. Not expecting a loss but overall not too bad for a Sunday. Keep going everyone.

agteacht · 14/06/2020 23:43

Haha @Cream123 your updates make me giggle. They're just so honest and frank 😂

I haven't had a great weekend I must say, in a word - booze. Two more days of my 12 week BSD stint and I'm clearly tiring. Just as you say @NathanNathan Mosley says it's time-bound. So great to hear the 5:2 is working for you. 2lb a week on that is amazing. I am heading that direction too.

With regard leptin etc, I listened to a podcast recently which challenged that exercise makes any difference. I will try to find it and link to it. But basically it outlined a study which suggested you can exercise all you like but don't expect it to make a difference to your weight.

I go on my spin bike 6 days a week regardless of that but don't think it's worth using it to support weight loss.

I also listen to the secret slimming podcasts, thanks for the recommendation on here. I had hoped Katie would stick with fast800 though, she was doing so well!' Not on the Facebook group bit that is a shame it's like that.

fufulina · 15/06/2020 07:03

Urgh. Despondent as I head into week 7. 0.2kg this morning on so I have bounced around the same weight all week, and now week 6 loss is just 0.6kg. On calories in/out it would be over 1.5kg lost at least.

Am going to do a 24 hour fast today - primarily to stop myself falling off the wagon in Spectacular style due to stalled results and being pissed off.

Leptin - I don’t think - is related to exercise. Although I totally agree @agteacht, exercise for weight loss is flawed for me. Leptin is another hunger regulatory hormone - in concert with fat cells, and that is as far as my research has taken me!

To put the cherry on the cake of a not so stellar week, we saw family yesterday and my SIL sent a photo she had taken. Well. Thank GOD it wasn’t 10kg ago because I looked awful. Grist to the mill.

Have good weeks everyone. Keep on keeping on!

bluepixie · 15/06/2020 07:42

1.5 on after test carb fuelled day. So no longer 10.9 AGAIN.
I’ll have it off by tmrw I reckon. Super focussed. Bday next week and champers and cake planned and I really want to be 10.7. I can do it.....

Just having my coffee followed by my egg and salmon no carb brekkie!

bluepixie · 15/06/2020 07:43

Oh happy bday @Kimlek today right? Am I going to be terrible for being totally off plan next week when they have an angelic day planned!

Bestbees · 15/06/2020 07:48

Morning!
Almost a brilliant day yesterday, 4 hour coast path walk, salad lunch, on plan dinner, bike ride and then...oops half a bottle of wine! However today is another day. And I didn't eat crisps after drinking so that's a win! And, and other lb off this morning. Tomorrow is the weeks official weigh in and hoping for a good week.

Food for today:
Broccoli and stilton soup with a boiled egg
Lentil stew with cauli mash and greens
Yog and berries.

Good luck everyone 👊

thenewaveragebear1983 · 15/06/2020 07:56

@fufulina @agteacht I agree about the exercise/weight loss thing. It's all explained very clearly in Jason Fung's obesity code about cals in/cals out and yes on a day to day basis it's definitely your food intake not your exercise that results in weight loss. However, what we were discussing yesterday, the 'norm' that your body will always return to: that is where exercise works its magic. Higher muscle mass = higher bmr so you burn more calories just existing. Cells are more efficient and less insulin resistant. Your body 'set point' is lowered so you will maintain at a lower weight/lower body fat % than if you do zero exercise. It's frustrating though because I exercise a lot and it means I have to be even more disciplined sometimes on the day to day. You really cannot outrun a knife and fork !

Anyway, weighed in this morning at 10.9.4 which I think is around 3.5-4 lbs off over the week. I am actually very pleased with that as I have had a tricky few days this week but I am glad I have managed to claw myself back onto the plan and not just write the whole weekend off.

Today I'm going for a short run this morning and will also do c25K with ds at some point. Food shop later on (menu all planned from the book again). Lunch : smoked salmon and scrambled egg, dinner; pork and mange tout stir fry.

Have a great day!

OP posts:
Kimlek · 15/06/2020 08:20

Thank you cream
Have had a dreadful weekend and will read all these and catch up later. My DD is not in a good place and I’m making her worse.

Postmanbear · 15/06/2020 08:22

Week 3 weigh in and 1 pound lost. I’ve stuck to under 50g carbs and I’ve averaged at 1000 calories A day this week so a bit disappointed but I am now within normal BMI so it was bound to be harder. I’ve also been lazy with exercise.

I’ve found that I can either reduce my eating or do exercise, I find it super hard to do both at the same time.

Makegoodchoices · 15/06/2020 08:32

Starting today. Should have started months ago but had my annual diabetes test last week - focused me slightly on what I should be doing!
Only difficulty is the cooking for everyone else bit.
And boredom eating.

What podcasts do people recommend?

whensmynexthol1day · 15/06/2020 08:34

@thenewaveragebear that's a brilliant weight in! Well done.
To those bouncing around the same weight I've been through a couple of periods like that and they're so depressing! And annoyingly more likely to make you think sod it and sabotage even more! But its always works its way through in the end for me. Just lost 1.1kg after a loss of 0.1kg last week. Averaging around 0.67kg a week on an average of 900-950 daily (good in the week, not so good at weekends!). 5.5kg to go to get to 57kg which will be a weight I'm not sure I've seen since I was about 11!

The killer for me is alcohol- I've not had anything for a week and I'm sure this makes a difference. I need to keep telling myself that if I can survive lockdown and all its associated trauma of work, childcare/ homeschool, boredom, endless tidying etc without a drink then I can bloody well survive a non- lockdown week at work without hitting the bottle on a Friday night!

bluepixie · 15/06/2020 09:03

@Kimlek hope ur DD is ok xxxxx

Cocobox · 15/06/2020 09:09

Happy Birthday Kimlek, hope things improve there.

Day 4 for me (W1), lost 3 lbs so far. Already feel so much better eating like this. I am 50 and my body is much happier eating less. My kids are teenagers so I am not sleep deprived or exhausted looking after little ones.

B coffee
L cold chicken (sm) and salad
D salmon, green beans and Swiss chard
Going to try to have zero wine today.
30 mins on cross trainer.

Looked back over my old diaries and last time I was at my goal weight was 23 months ago.

I would love to know the slimming podcast recommended too. Thanks.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 15/06/2020 12:36

The podcast is called 'the secret world of slimming clubs' .... it's very funny but not exactly 'on plan' advice! They originally started doing slimming world but in January one of the presenters switched to fast800. If you want a serious podcast, there's a series caloric 'feel better, live more' with the lovely doctor Rangen chatter her and he dies a variety of health based podcasts, several of which have been about fasting, Mediterranean diet etc, and are very interesting

Happy birthday @kimlek , don't know how I missed that update! Hope you have a lovely day

OP posts:
Cocobox · 15/06/2020 13:49

Thanks thenewaveragebear1983 I will try both.

Tried on a green summer dress I bought last year for ‘when I was slimmer’. I do that quite a bit. It’s really stupid. It’s a size medium. Anyway the middle buttons don’t do up, it’s my tummy bulge. I am 33.5 inches at my narrowest (waist) and the dress is 29 inches when on the hanger. The dress currently makes me look like Ma Larkin which is fine but not what I was going for. During lockdown I’ve lived in elasticated waist baggy trousers and baggy t shirts. No wonder women had tiny waists in the 40s, no elasticated anything.

Morale still good though. I will try it on again when I lose 14 more lbs and see if it makes a difference. If it’s still awful I will pass the dress to my beautiful God daughter.

PhoenixMama · 15/06/2020 14:37

Morning all!

Well, 4lbs down in the first week back on which is good especially with my period. Emotionally I'm all over the place right now and finding it hard to navigate my cravings but I'm doing ok.

Happy birthday Kimlek - look how far we've come in a year! I hope your DD is ok.

I have another take on maintenance in case it's interesting. After around 16 weeks on BSD and almost 50lbs lost I hit a wall, mega-plateau and nothing would move it. (I tried so many things!) It was around the time my DD and I moved, she had no school place, life was super stressful and I just couldn't keep it going. That was August last year. Since then I went back to eating healthily but generally not on plan and until lockdown my weight would fluctuate up and down by round 6lbs - I would put them on quickly and lost them quickly but I was always losing the same lbs. This time I'm determined to break through that plateau but I know it's going to be bloody hard. From weeks 16 - 20 on BSD I lost 1lb and that was being strict. I tried 5:2 and I gained, I stopped restricting and generally, I stayed the same. I've also watched people come off Fast800 and quickly undo their work on 5;2. Some people do a lot better on 2:5 (which is what I think I need) The moral of the story is that everyone's body's different and I think Bear is a great role model for trying different things and seeing what works for you!

agteacht · 15/06/2020 15:50

Hey @PhoenixMama this is helpful and sorry if I'm being a bit slow to grasp what you are saying, but from week 16 what did you do to maintain and bounce around within those 6lbs? Just followed the principles broadly?

At present my maintenance plan is to look at the week more holistically as a 10,000 cal week, bringing me just under my TDEE. Then on some days do fast days / be stricter at around 800 cals and on others eat more. But I am sticking to low carb principles as my body just couldn't take a lot of carbs now. I had some chips one day last week and genuinely felt awful for it for about two days!!

bluepixie · 15/06/2020 17:31

863 and 33g carbs.
Kitchen closed! Fingers crossed that 1.5 off tmrw x

PhoenixMama · 15/06/2020 17:44

@agteacht So from weeks 16 - 20 I only lost 1lb, after week 20 I basically stayed the same for the next 8 weeks without doing much of anything, tried to stay away from loads of sugar, carbs but you know, Christmas was in there! - usually, I could lose any gain in less than 3days on 800. (My weight really fluctuates around my cycle).

thenewaveragebear1983 · 15/06/2020 19:46

Closing up the kitchen on 897 cals, 45g carbs, 16k Steps. Really good Monday for me, may this mojo continue through the week!

OP posts:
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is closed and is no longer accepting replies. Click here to start a new thread.