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Fasting / 5:2 diet

The 5:2 thread number 26 - Bring on the Lifestyle Change Victories!

982 replies

BetsyBell · 24/08/2013 11:15

The continuing thread for those of us following either the 5:2 diet or the alternate-day fasting diet.

The 5:2 diet was featured on Horizon in August 2012, and essentially requires you to fast for 2 non-consecutive days per week. The other 5 days, you can eat what you like, or approximately your TDEE (see explanation below). Alternate-day fasting is just how it sounds; you fast every other day. By "fasting", we mean that we keep our calorie consumption very low, around 500 calories on average for a woman, 600 for a man, on those days.

You'll find on these threads we use a number of acronyms. If you're new to the threads, or Mumsnet in general, they might not make much sense.

WOE/WOL = Way Of Eating/Way Of Life. We use this term instead of "diet" as many of us see this as something to do in the long term.

MFP = My Fitness Pal, a website many use for keeping track of the number of calories they're eating.

TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure, quantifies the number of calories you burn in a day. This measure is best estimated by scaling your Basal Metabolic Rate to your level of activity. TDEE is critical in tailoring your nutrition plan to desired fitness goals. Here is a link to a calculator to help you figure out how many calories you should be eating in a day.

ADF = Alternate-day Fasting, as it says on the tin, fasting every other day rather than 5:2.

NFD = Non fast day

NSV = Non scale victory

Michael Mosley has a website to accompany his book on the subject. Please go check them out, as he's the whole reason most of us are here!

I know a number of people lurk on this thread, as this is currently quite popular. Please just jump in and post if you're new- you'll find a lot of support here.

Here is a list of links to get you started with this way of eating. Please let us know if you find a new article or some other information online:

All our previous threads can be found by browsing through our very own fasting section of the site.

Another thread which breadandwine has started is a good resource for some of the tips and links that get lost in these big threads. In addition to sharing links, we try to condense some of our top tips for fasting there. Keep in mind, we all do this differently, so these are just tips, not rules. This might be a good place to catch up with us if you're feeling a bit lost!

frenchfancy has a recipe thread over here, please post any low-calorie recipes there so they don't get lost in these bigger threads!

If you've been at this a while and are moving on to maintaining your goal weight, there is a thread here to discuss that.

Here is the link to the BBC article regarding Michael Mosley's findings, which was featured on Horizon.

There's a link to the aforementioned Horizon programme here.

A blog post here gives some of the scientific explanation for why this way of eating helps you to not only lose weight, but improve your all-around health.

A Telegraph article which comments on the diet and gives a brief overview by Dr Mosley himself, very informative if you're just starting. (I highly recommend this for an overview)

A study discussed here gives commentary specifically addressing the effect of this diet on obese people (both men and women), with regard to both health and weight loss. ("After 8 weeks of treatment, participants had an average 12.5 lbs reduction in body weight and a 4 cm decrease in waist circumference. Total fat mass declined by about 12 lbs while lean body mass remained relatively constant.) it also mentions "Plasma adiponectin, a protein hormone that is elevated in obesity and associated with heart disease, dropped by 30%. As did LDL cholesterol (25%) and triglycerides (32%).")

Something to consider if you are currently your ideal BMI: this appears to suggest the benefits for women at a lower BMI might not be seeing the same health benefits that are found on men at their ideal BMI.

A BIG THANK YOU to all who have been contributing. Most of us are learning this way of eating as we go along. All of the links above have been posted by others in our previous threads, and they've been very helpful.

A HUGE THANK YOU to Greeneggsandnicht for putting together all this info and resources into one concise OP text, much appreciated by so many 5:2ers!

Come join us, and tell us about your experiences with this diet!

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BetsyBell · 24/08/2013 11:16

Hat tip to HellesBelles... for the thread title :)

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HellesBellesThinksSometimes · 24/08/2013 11:19

Happy to help Grin

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NeoMaxiZoomDweebie · 24/08/2013 11:24

Hello all! As a newcomer to the thread and the idea of this I thuoght I'd post on the new thread....can I ask...on the fasting days if I were doing the 5.2, you say you can have up to 500 cals....does that include tea and coffee? What do folks eat? I suppose a bowl of soup and three cups of coffee?

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NeoMaxiZoomDweebie · 24/08/2013 11:25

Oh and is this a good choice for someone who needs to lose about a stone and a half?

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BetsyBell · 24/08/2013 11:30

NeoMaxi Hello! Yes, count everything - black coffee/tea is virtually calorie free so just need to make sure you include your milk - 20cals for a splash I think?

There's a recipe thread here - you can eat a surprising amount on a fast day meal as long as it's mostly plants and some lean protein. Carbs quickly wipe out your calories so use wisely.

The prevailing wisdom seems to be to skip breakfast, hold out for as long as possible and eat your allowance in 1 or 2 small meals.

I usually do a tiny lunch and bigger dinner. Most seem to manage to hold out till the evening and have a substantial meal.

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BetsyBell · 24/08/2013 11:32

neo Yes, it's good for most people whether they have lots or little to lose, or indeed none. Not everyone gets on with it but those who do seem to love it.

Try it out and see :)

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HellesBellesThinksSometimes · 24/08/2013 11:32

Hi Neo I have four stone to lose and have seen others on here with only a few pounds to lose so it just depends on whether this woe works for you.

Re fd eating, a typical menu for me would be:

Boiled egg and tuna salad - huge! A big spoon of rachel's low fat yoghurt - I like gooseberry - just to have something sweet.

Morrocan bean stew, chicken thigh, chocolate truffle.

Roughly 500 calories.

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swallowedAfly · 24/08/2013 11:33

just marking my place.

i lost 2st in 4months thereabouts and then had surgery and some health stuff followed by a holiday and then school holidays and will have had a nearly 3month break by the time i get back on it when i start work again next week. but that's ok Smile

i've gained a few pounds back but nothing dire given what would normally happen if you dieted for 4months solid, lost 2st and then stopped the diet.

i'd like to lose another stone ideally but am happy with that taking some time. come next week i just want to go back to fasting twice a week and see where that takes me rather than be obsessed about how quickly i'm losing etc. hopefully my body will respond well given i've had a break as i'm convinced it's the mixing things up a bit that gets things on the move.

good luck to all newcomers and big waves to old hands Smile

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NeoMaxiZoomDweebie · 24/08/2013 12:04

Ooh thanks! For me this sounds perfect as I'm just not organised enough to always have tonnes of fresh food in...but I'm sure I can manage. DH is a vegan and always eating raw salads and veg soups etc so that wont be hard. If I added 2 sugars to my three coffees though would that use up all my 500 cals? Sad plus a splash of milk...

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eatriskier · 24/08/2013 12:06

Thanks for Betsy

cake hasn't made it mobile yet...

lovely fry up this morning. yum yum. better not weigh myself till September.

(This is eagle BTW, for anyone wondering and who missed it on the last thread)

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JB30 · 24/08/2013 12:12

Waiting for friend so thought I'de see if new thread here! Go thread 26! Thanks Betsy Thanks

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BetsyBell · 24/08/2013 12:17

Neozoom - I looked up on Mfp and white coffee with 2 sugars is around 60 calories a cup.

Hello newly named Eagle!

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peplum41 · 24/08/2013 12:18

Oh eagle I liked your old name. It was enigmatic. Pout and sulk.

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eatriskier · 24/08/2013 12:24

sorry peplum Sad
my user names are anagrams
eagleriderdirk had to go as I got married yesterday Grin

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peplum41 · 24/08/2013 12:31

Oh and thanks to betsy, when do you go away? Any where nice?

Inspiring thread titlehelles, this is my totm is imminent week which means I revert to type, pre 5:2. Normal service will resume shortly.

trucks can you give us a vague hint as to where you live. Equator? Line of longitude? Caribbean?

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peplum41 · 24/08/2013 12:33

Mrseatsweddingcake oh I see! Many, many congrats. Are you enjoying your honeymoon?

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BetsyBell · 24/08/2013 12:39

Ooooooooh! Congratulations eatriskier What the devil are you doing on here instead of honeymooning?!

Off to a Greek island on Tuesday peplum - I hope it will be nice!

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eatriskier · 24/08/2013 12:45

Thank you!
No honeymoon I'm afraid. I have been blessed with a teething baby though Confused

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eatriskier · 24/08/2013 12:45

Enjoy your hols betsy

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JB30 · 24/08/2013 12:59

Congrats EatRiskier
Have to figure out how to name change, too recognisable I fear!

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changeforthebetter · 24/08/2013 13:04

Congratulations eatriskier Flowers

Happy hols betsy! Smile

Thought I might actually die last night from awful stomach cramps (drama-llama, me? Wink) but got lovely medicine from a Dr Ranj-alike this morning so much happier and actually a bit peckish. May take a photo of the 10 st 5 on the scales to keep my motivation up!

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NeoMaxiZoomDweebie · 24/08/2013 13:07

Betsy thanks so much for that info.....have a gorgeous hol!

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NeoMaxiZoomDweebie · 24/08/2013 13:16

How long did it take people to see some results can I ask? If you don't mind letting me know what your target weight loss was that might let me know a bit about my expectations and if they're realistic!

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postmanpatscat · 24/08/2013 13:42

congrats eatriskier Flowers

neo I aimed to lose 19lbs and achieved that in 12 weeks Admittedly I did a lot of exercise too.

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NeoMaxiZoomDweebie · 24/08/2013 13:49

Well done PostmanPatsCat that's a lot in a short time! What excersise did you do?

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