Has anyone tried intermittent fasting / 5:2 Diet?

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  • Keiras_Mom
    Keiras_Mom Posts: 844 Member
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    Wouldn't try it to be honest you are not doing your body any favours. High protein low carb everything in moderation with exercise is and always has been the best way to lose weight. We get ourselves so worked up on the newest fad that is out there and it is a fad !!! This type of diet may have suited us in the cavemen days but that's because they didn't live the 24/7 lives that we do now. You need to keep your body fuelled for what you are putting it through. I have seen people doing this and they look and feel terrible after a while. There are much (easier) and more pleasant ways to lose weight. I not saying calories in calories out as eating 600 cala of ice cream is not the same as 600 cals of chicken and veg but you hopefully catch my drift.

    Spikes in insulin every couple of days when you come off fasting isn't great. You would be better with a continuous diet with a re-feed day every week or so where you maybe have a pizza etc, this tricks your body into thinking its no longer dieting but it's not enough to throw you off track. You get a increased metabolism and kicks starts the loss again.

    3 stone in 5 months along with exercise shows that you don't have to fad diet to lose weight !

    I would advise you to look into this a bit more. Dr Michael Mosley did this for a Horizon show and has continued doing it, has lost some weight but more importantly does it for health reasons. Constantly feeding does not give your body chance to repair itself which is what you are doing. He had numerous tests done whilst dong it and they have done lots of research on mice and their life expectancy increased by about 20% when kept on this style of diet, brain functions also improved. Typing on my ipad so in short go and look up the horizon programme, it is very interesting, he also has a book just being published called the fast diet.

    Exactly what I would have responded with.
  • SheepieSuzi
    SheepieSuzi Posts: 5
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    hi all,

    newbie here so excuse any faux pas!

    Having seen dr. mosely on bbc breakfast and seen his horizon programme last year, i think the lifestyle change may suit me and my partner. Exercise will add to the increase in metabollism hopefully.
    I am disabled so general mobility is a problem, my partner works in a sedentary job and time is our biggest enemy.
    Before I start, I am checking my daily exercise and food intake using this great site and will continue to monitor it and have ordered dr. mosely's book.
    I'm also checking with my GP.

    I'll keep people updated.

    As I understand it, it is 'eat what you like' (but don't binge lol and pref only to your daily calorie allowance) on 5/7 days and eat 500 calories for women and 600 calories for men on the other 2 non consecutive days..

    Thanks all and good luck with your weight loss and lifestyle changes.

    SheepieSuzi
  • kazdav
    kazdav Posts: 62 Member
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    Also regarding the fast day, have your evening meal and then go to bed, treat your 24 hour period from midnight to midnight, in that period you can have 500/600 cals, it is up to you when you have them. Personally I like to save mine and have a decent evening meal. What it does not mean is that last eve meal at 6pm, next at 6pm following night (after 24 hours) and then you are free to gorge.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
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    As I understand it, it is 'eat what you like' (but don't binge lol and pref only to your daily calorie allowance) on 5/7 days and eat 500 calories for women and 600 calories for men on the other 2 non consecutive days..

    Hi SheepieSuzi. I have the MIchael Mosley book and it says not to count calories on eating days, but to "trust your body". It claims that people don't tend to eat too much on the eating days, and in fact will eat slightly under their energy needs (so are effectively having a slight calorie restriction even on the non-fasting days).

    When I tried it, I did continue to count calories on the non-fasting days, so I'm thinking of giving it another go and this time keeping calorie counting strictly to the two days a week.

    The book also suggests that you can try fasting over a 24 hour period (rather than from night to night) if you find it easier (e.g. lunchtime one day till lunchtime the next. I'm thinking of trying that too.
  • mabelbabel1
    mabelbabel1 Posts: 391 Member
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    I've got Dr Michael Mosley's, The Fast Diet book....and will be starting this in a week or so....once I've got a better idea of my typical TDEE.

    I think for someone like me who needs that feeling of hunger to feel that they are being good, it will be very helpful psychologically. Plus not being so hung up on what I eat the rest of the time will help with my OCD traits.
  • mn_omagh
    mn_omagh Posts: 9 Member
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    Hi people,

    For anyone in the UK interested in the 5:2 diet, there is a great article in today's Sunday Times "Style" magazine, which includes recipe ideas for fast days and tips on how to handle the hunger.

    There is a small extract of this article in the link: http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/style/living/Wellbeing/article1190008.ece
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
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    I read the article in the Sunday Times, and I'm really interested in trying this approach for a while.
  • lilymarlene100
    lilymarlene100 Posts: 8
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    I have had the book on this for some time now, but not got round to doing it, until this week.
    DH is doing the Cambridge diet....it was that or a bypass which the NHS said he wasn't heavy enough for! He is having a knee op next week and has lost 59 pounds now since Sept 3rd doing Cambridge. He is aiming for 15 1/2 stone eventually.
    Anyway I started this 5:2 diet yesterday and am using Cambridge products on only two days a week. Bar for b'fast, soup for lunch, bar for dinner. It wasn't too bad. I thought I'd be screaming by bedtime but I was OK. Back to normal eating today.....but I won't go mad
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
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    There's quite a lot of information on http://thefastdiet.co.uk/.
  • joe2626
    joe2626 Posts: 123 Member
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    I switched to the 5:2 diet after Xmas and after a cruise with an open buffet and i'm loving the results so far. I've lost the holiday & Xmas weight (maybe 5lbs) plus an extra 2-3lbs and i'm only in week 3. I have also switched from cycling to running for my cardio which may be making a difference too, but if done correctly and planned well around your schedule, i'd say give some form of IF a go!
  • NeverGivesUp
    NeverGivesUp Posts: 960 Member
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    I love fasting. I have experimented with it since November last year. Fasting didn't help me lose weight till I combined it with juicing. I have finally found my groove combining the two. Everyone has to do what they are comfortable with and experimenting is the best way to figure that out. Experimenting means that you will try and fail till you find the right combination. It gets frustrating unless you have a great support system to cheer you on here. I fast every day till the evening. I have an eating window between 5 and 10pm. I have a big appetite so this helps me control that. I plan on doing this for the rest of my life. I love feeling full and feeling empty every day. Since I have been juicing I feel amazing amounts of energy and my bloodwork has been phenomenal. I recommend highly this lifestyle. Don't be strict about it, find what works for you and your appetite. I like eating when I am hungry and I am never hungry in the mornings so the way I am doing it really works for me. Just don't look at this as temporary. Have faith that your body is changing within too.
  • rachelblair09
    rachelblair09 Posts: 33
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    i dont believe in fasting whatsoever. God created our bodies to be nourished and taken care off. not starved for 2 days straight. i have lost 4 stone and got my body fat down to 18% with not one day of fasting or eating any less than 1900.
  • NeverGivesUp
    NeverGivesUp Posts: 960 Member
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    i dont believe in fasting whatsoever. God created our bodies to be nourished and taken care off. not starved for 2 days straight. i have lost 4 stone and got my body fat down to 18% with not one day of fasting or eating any less than 1900.

    And here is ignorance at its finest. Fasting does not mean starving. Do your research before you spout ignorant statements like this. And while you are at it think before you write.
  • Dragonnade
    Dragonnade Posts: 218 Member
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    On week two. And yesterday was a fast day and it was easier than last week where I broke on the second fast day and attacked my fridge out of boredom. Lesson learnt - planning and doing stuff and it's looking up.

    I'm going to keep at it for a while and see what happens. I tend to eat near TDEE anyway but it is already psychologically liberating on up days. And quite zen on fast days.

    It is most surprising to me that I don't feel rubbish on fast days even when it's 4pm, I've not eaten and I've walked over 3km into town and back to buy shoes!
  • chocohollic
    chocohollic Posts: 55 Member
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    I heard about 5:2 fasting yesterday and have been Googling it, as never heard of it before, then come on to this forum and find this thread!, so glad I have and am definitely going to give it a go! I'm intrigued! :)
  • ChristineDiet
    ChristineDiet Posts: 719 Member
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    Hi.

    I'm just starting this today, for me I will do it Tuesday and Thursday's, but will also allow myself the freedom to change the 2 days (non-consecutive) if things come up in different weeks where one day is easier than another - just aiming for two days basically.

    My plan is to eat around the 500 cals on those 2 days, and rather than 'fast' completely I will have a light lunch (soup and some crackers, for example) and then a light dinner (chicken with loads of salad, for example).

    I tried this just before Christmas for a couple of weeks and wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, basically I skip breakfast (well I have a coffee) and then just adjust my meals to be as low as cals as I can. I found it actually made me think about what I was eating because I wanted to eat something substantial and filling I went for the healthy things like protein with vegetables/salad and you would be surprised at how much vegetables/salad you can actually have!

    Lots of people do these kinds of 'fasting' for religious reasons and have had no problem, they still eat - they just reduce the calories on 2 days - a different method of calorie cycling I guess. personally I couldn't go 24/36 hours without food so just aiming for the 500 cals in the day!

    Good luck. x

    Edit to say: On other days I will eat my normal 1500/1600 cals per day.

    Edited again to say - be careful joining the 5:2 groups, I have had a lot of FR from people who joined the group who are eating less than 500 every single day. I don't support that and can't and won't support it.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    i dont believe in fasting whatsoever. God created our bodies to be nourished and taken care off. not starved for 2 days straight. i have lost 4 stone and got my body fat down to 18% with not one day of fasting or eating any less than 1900.

    You have no clue WHATSOEVER.

    Fasting got me down to 6.3% BF and deadlifting over 2.75x BW.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/599982-intermittent-fasting-faq

    In saying that, I do not recommend it to anyone who has had any possibility of an ED or anyone who is hypoglycemic. .
  • ChristineDiet
    ChristineDiet Posts: 719 Member
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    There's quite a lot of information on http://thefastdiet.co.uk/.

    Thanks for this! x
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    i dont believe in fasting whatsoever. God created our bodies to be nourished and taken care off. not starved for 2 days straight. i have lost 4 stone and got my body fat down to 18% with not one day of fasting or eating any less than 1900.
    You lost me at God created....
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    I have no issue with IF itself. I do an informal version as I only eat within a window, however, the health benefits touted a lot, particularly with the 5:2 type ones are very possibly overstated as they do not compare a non calorie restricted 5:2 plan to a calorie restricted one. Of the benefits I have seen mentioned, they all have been associated with calorie restriction alone. So, is it the IF giving the benefits or is it the calorie restriction? I know that there are continuing studies ongoing into this so would love it is anyone has seen any studies with a proper control of IF v non IF as I may just not have seen them.

    OP: In fairness you did point this lack of research out in your OP so I am in no way having a dig, just pointing out my skepticism as to the health benefits being mentioned in this thread,.

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