5:2 Diet - Anyone out there doing this? x

Options
13»

Replies

  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Options
    I've just done my second day, and so far it's going well.

    I know myself and I can't go without breakfast, and tend to be a grazer, so my 2 fast days have been as follows:

    1: Cottage cheese with berries, crackerbread with laughing cow light, salad (no dressing, spinach cucumber tomato), egg white omeltte

    2. Half banana/ egg white pancake with berries, radishes and celery sticks, 50 cal cupasoup and cottage cheese salad, stirfried veg with pastrami.

    I did find I was peckish last night so I nibbled on a dry cracker. I haven't noticed any headaches or change in energy levels, but I havent tried to exercise on fast days.
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
    Options
    I'm not doing it myself but find the concept that it could really help health interesting. There was an article in the Sunday Times a couple of weeks ago which may be on their website (if you have a subscription). It's also featured in the Daily Telegraph, along with recipe ideas: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/9483381/52-diet-healthy-recipes-250-calories-or-less.html

    If I remember rightly, Dr Michael Mosley has said he mainly fills up on green veg on the low calorie days, which makes sense. Cucumbers, broccoli etc have very few calories but are really bulky to fill you up. And protein, of course, helps to curb appetite.
  • HapThompson
    HapThompson Posts: 48 Member
    Options
    If I remember rightly, Dr Michael Mosley has said he mainly fills up on green veg on the low calorie days, which makes sense. Cucumbers, broccoli etc have very few calories but are really bulky to fill you up. And protein, of course, helps to curb appetite.
    I mostly eat vegetarian on my fast days, because you get a lot of food for your calories! I find that stir fries and soups work well, and I've been experimenting with veggie recipes and using things like chickpeas, lentils and beans to get protein. Last week I cooked a spicy butternut squash Moroccan tagine type thing, this week I've made a layered potato and veg gratin, I've made vegetable curries, chickpea stews and might try vegetable and bean burgers next. It's a good way to gets lots of veg, fills you up, helps you eat healthily and keeps things low calorie. I occasionally add things like low fat creme France or cheese to give a bit of protein, and use the recipe creator to work out the calorie values of my meals. I have a tendency to cook 3-4 portions which will then feed me on my fast days for the whole week.

    This weekend I made fruity granola bars and I am obsessed! They were really good and were devoured by my work colleagues so I'm going to make more today and experiment with different combinations of things.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,454 Member
    Options
    I have had a couple of tries at it, once after Michael Mosley's Horizon programme (Eat, Fast, Live Longer) and once after buying his book. The first time I fasted night to night, the second time I tried fasting for 24 hours (as suggested in the book). I did lose weight fasting night to night. I didn't lose weight doing 24 hour fasts. I tried adding up the calories and I think that the 24 hour fast just didn't provide enough of a deficit to lose. The book claimed that I would naturally eat only 95% of my TDEE on the free days, but I suspect I was eating around my TDEE.

    My reason for trying the diet was the possible health benefits and that it's claimed to be more sustainable. Personally, I find it easier to eat at a smaller deficit every day rather than eat at a large deficit twice a week. However, I might go back to it.

    I like cups of tea, so factored that in to my calorie allowance. I just had a little dash of skimmed milk in my tea. I did eat some green veg, but not a lot as I don't find it fills me up in the way that it does for other people. I preferred to eat a little compact meal. When I was doing the night to night fasts, I would save most of my calories for the evening meal so that I could just have a tiny portion of the family meal. I liked that, but it did feel odd to be eating such a small portion and I think it's a bit off-putting for other people who are watching you!

    There is some information on Michael Mosley's site, including links to recipe ideas, forums, etc. http://thefastdiet.co.uk/
  • SRH7
    SRH7 Posts: 2,037 Member
    Options
    This weekend I made fruity granola bars and I am obsessed! They were really good and were devoured by my work colleagues so I'm going to make more today and experiment with different combinations of things.

    They sound good - do you have a recipe?
  • fibechicken
    fibechicken Posts: 3
    Options
    Been doing about 6 weeks now and love it. I did start with straight daily calorie counting .... but been there before and its too much of a grind for me to keep up - 5:2 is the answer to my prayers!!!! just over a stone down, Hips and knees much better....feels very sustainable. There is also a group on facebook 'the 5:2 diet' which has lots of recipes etc. On 'fast' days I either have 2 small meals lunch and dinner or wait till son comes home from school and have all 500 with him. I'valways thought that I NEEDED little and often, but have been surprised how easy it is to ride through hunger and also to work hard (I've been doing lots of trench digging this week) on a 'fast' day. I try to go as long as poss with zero cals (no milk in coffee etc) before breaking fast , to give digestive sytem and insulin prod'n maximim rest and poke body into repair mode. Reading up about the body effects has made me reduce snacking. I try and eat more, less often on feast days.
  • etceteraqqq
    etceteraqqq Posts: 1
    Options
    Are there any tools here on myfitnesspal.com for doing 5:2, like being able to set different calorie goals for different days?

    Today's my first fast day! We'll see.

    I'm also thinking it's pretty obvious a guy came up with this diet, even if a woman co-wrote the book. The chances of my having a fast day the week of my period are approximately ZERO.
  • joygong
    joygong Posts: 10
    Options
    Are there any tools here on myfitnesspal.com for doing 5:2, like being able to set different calorie goals for different days?

    Today's my first fast day! We'll see.

    I'm also thinking it's pretty obvious a guy came up with this diet, even if a woman co-wrote the book. The chances of my having a fast day the week of my period are approximately ZERO.

    I set my calories to maintenance calories and just make sure i stay 500 and under on fast days.
  • fibechicken
    fibechicken Posts: 3
    Options
    Are there any tools here on myfitnesspal.com for doing 5:2, like being able to set different calorie goals for different days?

    Today's my first fast day! We'll see.

    I'm also thinking it's pretty obvious a guy came up with this diet, even if a woman co-wrote the book. The chances of my having a fast day the week of my period are approximately ZERO.

    Well Michael Mosely may be the originator - but Katie Harrison got her book out first - you might find it useful to read her book, there are lots of experiences in it and it is more from a womans perspective! The best thing is the flexibility - you can have your 500 cals as comfort food, whatever. Or if you feel particularly grotty - forget it and 'fast' the next day! I use MFP to count on fast days, take the earbashing it gives me when I finish the day at 500 cals and ignore it the other 5 days! Id only start counting my 2000 calories on the feast days if I wasnt loosing over a month or so (and therefore had a suspicion that I was feasting just a litttle too much!!!) Working brill so far and a sustaible life plan.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Options
    You don't have to press the "diary finished" button, if you don't want to see the ear-bashing. It still keeps everything you've recorded. All that button does is post a message that your friends can read.
  • melmckay99
    melmckay99 Posts: 358
    Options
    I'm in my fifth week of doing 5:2. It gets easier with time. I am doing it for maintenance though, and not for weight loss as I have already lost all the weight I wanted to. The main reason for me trying this out though was so that I could be less of a drag to my bf and my friends. When I restricted my calories every day I would never have enough room to eat out with my friends or have that big lunch with the co-workers. I look at my weekely average of calorie intake now instead of just day by day.

    The first couple of weeks didn't go so well, as I just let myself eat whatever I wanted and as much as I wanted on my non-fast days. I quickly realized that doing this for 5 days a week was not going to help me maintain. Now what I do, which seems to be working well for me, is I fast 2 days a week with just 500 calories that day (Tuesday and Thursday), then on Mon-Wed-Fri I keep my calories pretty low (around 1200) and I eat very healthy and very clean. Then on weekends, Saturday and Sunday, I just go with the flow. I eat healthy when I can, but won't say no if someone asks me to go out for B & E, or all you can eat sushi :) .

    This is what works for me and I'm not saying it's going to work for someone else, and this can be said about any diet really. Just cause the 5:2 says you can only eat 500 calories (600 for men) on your fast days, doesn't mean that having 800 calories 3 days a week is the wrong way for someone else to do it!

    It takes a lot of time to find the best plan for your body. Trial and error my friend. Even though I am five weeks in, and seem to have found somethign that works, doesn't mean I won't be trying something new again next week :).
  • jumcadam
    jumcadam Posts: 95 Member
    Options
    It's definitely worth making sure you've read up about it! There's a couple of eBooks that have been really helpful at explaining the long term health benefits of fasting. The best tip I've come away with is making sure that I eat slower and chew my food more - you do need to savour every bite when you're having a 500cal day!

    I've been doing this for a month, lost half a stone and have been coping fine on fast days - the first day was the biggest hurdle! I've also set it so that my profile doesn't update when I click on 'complete this entry' for my food diary - but have always done this as I don't really need to be "cheerleaded" every day - each to their own though!

    The 5:2 FASTING group on here and the 5:2 Intermittent Fasting Diet Facebook group are both very helpful if you'd like some extra support and tips.
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
    Options
    You don't have to press the "diary finished" button, if you don't want to see the ear-bashing. It still keeps everything you've recorded. All that button does is post a message that your friends can read.

    You can also go to "My Home" then "Settings" then "Automatic News Feed Update Settings" and turn off " I have completed my diary for the day".
  • fatsnacker
    fatsnacker Posts: 209 Member
    Options
    I started in January and have lost 15lbs in 8 weeks. I fast on a Friday and Saturday but eat 1000 calories those days (half that of my normal days). Once home from work on Friday, I have 300 calories left and eat vegetable soup followed by two cups of coffee which is known to suppress the appetite. I tend to lie in on a saturday morning and will eat breakfast followed by a salad for lunch leaving room for a bean burger or savoury rice or soup later on. I am finding this really easy and feel a lot fitter already - my trousers were getting tight and my walk to work took 25 minutes whereas now my trousers are loose and I can do the same journey in 15 minutes.

    other MFP users say that you shouldn't fast on consecutive days and that a woman should only eat 500 calories on her fasting days but you have to find what works for you.

    good luck
  • emmalemon86
    emmalemon86 Posts: 1
    Options
    Ive just finished my 5th week and have lost 8lbs so far. Got a while to go to get to my ideal weight.

    Is anyone finding theyre reaching a plateau?

    I started on 3 small meals a day, but after 3 weeks, my weight loss stopped! A friend from work lent me the Michael Mosely book so I have changed my fast days so that I just have breakfast and tea, just water and peppermint tea or hot lemon through the day to control the hunger pangs. It started things up again! Great!

    Feel free to add me if your on this diet too - It good to see how people are getting on!

Categories