5:2 thread 101: Fasting as quick as HH is whizzing down the ski slopes! (Not very fast, with many bumps and wine stops along the way!)

[harriethoyle]

Welcome to the continuing thread for those following 5:2 or other forms of IF (Intermittent Fasting) such as 4:3, ADF, etc.

Basically it is 2 very low cal days ("fasts") per week - which need not be consecutive - and eat "normally" to maintain on the other 5 days.

For those who have dieted or maybe overeaten for years, eating "normally"
means roughly the number of calories your body needs to maintain - NOT reduce - its weight (see TDEE calculator below).

IMPORTANT
If you have had past diagnosed Eating Disorders or serious MH problems you should NOT do 5:2 or any other kind of fasting

JARGON alert

16:8 is a different type of fasting, which can be combined with 5:2.
Daily zero-cal fast for 16 hours and eat within an 8 hour window. To lose weight, this needs a weekly calorie deficit as well

b2b (optional) back-to-back / consecutive fast days, each with an increased allowance of 650 calories instead of 500

BMI (Body Mass Index) healthy range is 18.5 - 24.9 for Caucasians. Upper limit may be 22 for some of Asian origin.

FD = single Fast Day: aim for 500 calories (600 for men or 25% TDEE whichever is higher) or 1000 cals for BF
No alcohol or junk on FDs
Even if you exercise strenuously, do NOT increase FD cals to allow for exercise

MFP = My Fitness Pal, a useful App or website to track food & drink calories

miniFD = MiniFD, 850-1000 calories, no alcohol or junk

NFD = Non-Fast Day, averages around TDEE

NSV / LSV = Non Scale Victory / LifeStyle (change) Victory, e.g. compliment, smaller waist, clothes size

SV = Scale Victory

TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure, the average number of calories you burn in a day, is calculated from your current weight, height, age, activity level.
Aim to average about this for NFDs.

WOE / WOL = Way Of Eating / Way Of Life. We say this instead of "diet", to emphasise that we must make a permanent change in how we eat, to maintain our new healthy weight long term.

Jump in and say hello!

Happy Birthday in Advance!!!! Have a wonderful day! Totally deserve nice food on your Bday! :-) Have fun! Sounds like a good plan for the week .

Black coffee is a game changer for fasting. only few more hours for me! I am even considering yoga class as it is easy Yin Yang today ! ;-) If I finish packing and work that is, which is looking unlikely

Thank you! Kudos on the black coffee, I find it very difficult to get down, although I do just have bog standard instant stuff so maybe the real thing is easier.

Happy birthday @SydneyCarton !

Checking in for a FD today, making chilli for dinner so I'll probably just have the mince

Thank you! It was national fish and chips day apparently, so that was my birthday dinner sorted with no cooking or washing up 😁Hope the chilli was nice

Genuinely shocked by Michael Mosley's death. A man who improved the lives of many. I'm not sure I could say that about myself.

Hope you had a great birthday @SydneyCarton.

I'm back from hols and have had a revelation. I decided to skip breakfast rather than fast and, despite eating out 4 times and drinking alcohol every day, I only put on 0.8kg.

So. Moving forward, I'm going to try 2 FDs a week and IF the other 5 and see if that gets me off my little just-above-target plateau...

Very sad about dr Michael mosely. I used to follow and post on these threads when bigchocfrenzy ran them and attribute my success to his research on intermmittent
Fasting

I completely agree @harriethoyle , I've felt sad all day.
Congratulations on the holiday epiphany! That is basically what I do

Weigh in and FD for me tomorrow

I watched the Michael Moseley programme on the original incarnation of 5:2 in August 2012
I started 5:2 in the first week of September and joined these threads at #3

So incredibly sad the way he died
but his legacy lives on
and has made thousands of lives better

@worriedmama24 I emailed BigchocFrenzy today. She is well and still super fit !

@Talkinpeace lovely to see you pop up! I'm a returner but posted regularly for around 18 months pre COVID.

So glad to see bigchoc is well, was sad to see she isn't around when I came back.

Completely agree re your sentiments on MM

@OohMrDarcy
I email with Bigchoc about one a month.
She is retired and well but tries to avoid the news and social media.
She still tells me I need to give up wine !

Ah that's fab. I remember she was planning to retire and move if I recall correctly and enjoy lots of walks. Don't blame her for ignoring all the rubbish in the world! And she will never stop encouraging you to stop the wine haha! Say hi from me next time you message her (though she probably won't remember me!)

I’ve just logged back onto Mumsnet for the first time in years to post to say I’m very saddened to hear the tragic news about Michael Mosley.

I was a long time poster approx 7 years ago and remember having amazing support from BigChocFrenzy and Talkinpeace and many others.

I also remember the many web chats we used to have with the great man himself. He really has changed many lives and will be greatly missed.

I still continue to fast all these years later, did have a temporary blip during the end of 2019 due to divorce then Covid hit but I still love fasting and love the health benefits.

It just seemed appropriate to log back into where my journey began all those years ago it's also lovely to see there's still some familiar faces from the original threads and all the new posters that will continue to keep his legacy alive.

@Talkinpeace ! Thanks so much for letting me know. I used to post as purple violet. Can you please ask her if she will speak to me? I've been on these threads a a few times over the years to find someone who is in touch with her.

@OohMrDarcy @QuackingDuck85 hi both! I posted as purple violet around 2017/2018. I never managed to keep up with 5:2 after BCF left despite trying a few times. I'm gonna get back on it!

Lovely to hear from you both. How are you doing?

Awww I miss Bigchocfrenzy. She was so helpful when I was first 52ing. Give her my regards @Talkinpeace!

Anyone fasting with me today? Tuna thin and beans on toast today. A combo of fd and economising 🤣🙈

I had a successful water fast last yesterday - weight was way off 69.4. 1 kg up from last week. Now its 71.3 after 4 day holiday with no drinking and lots and lots of walk and veggies - so totally 3kg up . My water retention really messing with my weight again. SO FRUSTRATING!!!!

anyway 5:2 and one day a week water fast is a way of life I m going to continue for life.

Fasting today - water fast.

morning all

lovely to see lots of old time posters, hey @worriedmama24 - am a returner also, covid / mental health fallout messed me up for a while, but I'm back to it since Feb and its going well.

so todays weigh in was 103.2kg - which is a loss of 0.3kg this week - lower than expected but I did enjoy a pitcher of pimms at the weekend so halo slipped a little
total loss since restarting 5:2 mid feb is now 11.6 kg and since restarting IF last summer is 19kg! Feeling so much better in myself already, and 2 dress sizes down since this time last year which is a fabulous feeling.

Chicken Caesar salad for my dinner tonight as its a monday FD here

Lovely to see posts from old timers ❤ and to see you are going strong after all these years!
@harriethoyle Thank you for running these threads now so well! and it has reached 101❤

I dug thru old thread for inspiration and saw many posts my BigChocFrenzy. was wondering what she would be upto . nice to know about her now.

Kitchen closed on approx 540 today

Just my nighttime tea to go in an hour or so

You're welcome @strangerInStrangeLand 😊

Kitchen closing here on 565. It's been hard today, first post holiday FD! IF tomorrow, tuna sandwich and baked fish tomorrow night after my Tuesday exercise class 👌

I remember you as PurpleViolet, and Darcy am I right in thinking you’ve also been on these threads a while.

Worried mama I’m doing really well thanks. Life’s changed a lot for me over the years but in a great place now but it’s made me quite content so weight wise I’ve gained and yo-yo dieted over the last few years but trying hard to loose the last stone. How are things with you?

It’s really strange as a week ago before the awful news started appearing all over the news about MM, myself and my partner decided to do 5:2. We both do different variations of fasting he does 16:8 and I do 16:8 but I’m doing a calorie deficit along side it with one fast day thrown in per week and have done that for many years. But I wanted to try it for a week with 2 proper fast days and switch it up as I had hit a plateau and have been loosing and regaining the same 1lb for the last few weeks. My partner has also been experiencing the same. First week doing 2 fast days and we’ve both lost 3lbs each so are sticking with it and will continue to do 5:2 from now on. I had huge success with 5:2 the first time in hindsight I lost too much weight originally but I’ve currently lost 1 1/2 stone and I’m a stone away from my target now and feel confident it’s actually doable now I’ve switched back over to 5:2.

It's lovely to hear that BCF is doing well, she was such a huge support to so many of us across these threads for so many years and had an absolute wealth of knowledge.

Thanks Harriet for taking over from BCF it's fantastic to see that these threads are still running after so many years.

yesterday fast was success. weight 71.3->70.3. Was able to walk 10k steps and be active.
Next fast on Thursday for 500 calories. Hoping to add 4 days of Hot yoga and some 8k steps daily by doing small 10-20 mins walks thruout the day.

I hear you on the plateau @QuackingDuck85 - I have taken the same approach as you in terms of IF and 5:2 combined so I am hoping that will shake things up a bit. Otherwise I may just have to resign myself to my natural weight being 2kg above where I want it to be!

hey @QuackingDuck85 you're absolutely right there, and I remember your username too - so hi!

your plateau plan sounds like a good one

well done to all yesterdays fasters, I weigh every day just for info so was very amused to see a GAIN of1kg after yesterdays FD - obviously I know this isn't rationally possible and will be water / digestion so I'm not bothered, just had a laugh at it - and also helps remind me to not worry about the day to day numbers just the trend.

NFD for me today and have a wrap planned for lunch and baked potato for dinner - yum