The FastDay Forum

Hello everyone!

I'm not really new to 5:2 as I've been doing it for two months now. I've also been reading the great information on this forum for a while. It's lovely to find such a friendly, supportive online community.

I started 5:2 on 24 January 2013. I started at 11 stone 12 pounds and wanted to lose 2 stone which I've slowly put on in the last 10 years. I've never dieted before. I just happened to spot the Fast Diet book while browsing for a novel. Comments like 'I expect to do this for the rest of my life' got me interested, which led me to check out the Horizon programme online. Dementia runs in my family and I can be a bit depressive so the potential to lose weight and improve health and overall mood was very appealing.

I started off doing standard 5:2, having 500 calories maximum two days per week. Then after a few weeks I tried not eating at all on a fast day to see how I got on. It wasn't easy, but I realised Dr Mosley was right about hunger coming in waves, rather than building and building until its unbearable. I rode out the waves and I've been doing two 36-40 hour water fasts per week since. A fast runs from dinner time on a normal day eg Sunday, throughout the next (fast) day and then until lunch on the following day. I usual fast on Mondays and Thursdays. It's getting much easier and I'm hoping by my 28th fast I'll have made a habit of it as I find doing something 28 times tends to embed it in my lifestyle.

I've lost a stone in 8 weeks, feel fantastic and have completely changed my attitude to food. My aim is to shed another stone, then move to one day per week, ideally with a 500 cal meal, for maintenance. I intend to do this for the rest of my life.

Welcome to the forum redhead, what a great first post! You make most of us seem like wimps! You have a great attitude and obviously don't need much info from here, but it is really good to have an experienced faster on board.

Are you getting exercise as well? (Just want to be sure you are not losing too much muscle mass...)

Hi Redhead,

I agree - interesting post. Glad it is working for you.

Thanks! I'm learning so much from this forum so I definitely still need all your help! Muscle mass is a case in point. I walk a fair bit, but I don't do any weights. Should I? Any advice? I'm desperate to get rid of a flabby tummy and the dreaded bingo wings and I think resistance exercise is the only way to do that. But I can't stand gyms! Lift tins of beans? Use the tiniest of husband's weights - he uses a bar thing with discs he treads on?

*threads* he threads them onto the bar and then lifts that - he doesn't tread on them. Can't imagine that would do much good! Was too excited about replying to thank you guys!

Hi Redhead, you have done brilliantly so far, well done! I would never have had the willpower to do a fast as long as yours - I'm usually hungry for breakfast the day after a fast day. It sounds like you have over the average weight loss per week with the 40 hour fasts so it is clearly working well. Keep us informed of how you get on - and good luck with losing the last stone asap!

Welcome and congratulations for your loyalty and for losing so much weight!!!
I used to do water (or water with lemon and syrup) fasts when I was younger and I know they ain't easy!

Again, thank you for the warm welcome! The water fasts are definitely getting easier. I give myself something else to look forward to in the evening (it's easier for me during the day at work, hard when I'm home in the dark evenings and the cupboard is near) like a tv programme I've recorded or looking at this forum! It's teaching me a lot about my reward systems. And I feel so great the next morning - spring in the step stuff - that breakfast doesn't even occur to me. I'd recommend trying even for one day just to realise that riding out the hunger is possible - nothing bad happens, I haven't died/ imploded and the feeling the next day really is great.

Yes, I remember how good it feels and the energy levels go sky high! I don't do it anymore because of my stomach problems but I'd happily do it again one day, if my stomach agrees with me.

Sorry to hear you have stomach probs TML13, and glad to hear your positive experience of water fasting. I've only told my husband about what I'm doing as I expect most people would think I'm nuts not eating two days a week. And izzy, Pilates is an excellent idea. I'm going to look into that.

I did a bit of googling and looking at the protein debate threads on here last night to find out a bit more about muscle mass. Slightly worried now as it seems we might lose muscle before fat. However, my tummy/ abdomen and hips/ bottom are definitely smaller and I'm pretty certain there were no muscles to lose in those places!

Wow redhead that certainly takes determination! I so look forward to my evening meal at the end of a fast day, I am not sure if I could do what you do....and every evening there is some blinking cooking programme on, just at the time I want to settle down having got kids to bed....torture!! Its extraordinary...Paul Hollywood baking/Masterchef...they should be banned at 8pm!!

I did a bit of googling and looking at the protein debate threads on here last night to find out a bit more about muscle mass. Slightly worried now

I was quite worried during the course of the protein debate here, as you probably noted. At the back of my mind is always the thought that apart from those great biceps I might lose (ha!), the heart is also a muscle... In fact in real starvation it is usually heart failure that is the immediate cause of death.

But most research suggests that IF (intermittent fasting) is good for limiting loss of muscle and your own measurements tend to confirm that. I recall that Dr M mentioned that with IF the weight loss is c.90% fat (i.e. 10% muscle) whereas with regular dieting it is c.70% fat (this is from memory so please correct me someone if I got it wrong). Still I think keeping up some exercise is a good idea especially if you are going for longer fasts (that's why I mentioned it originally).

Melting (cool name btw!) I used to have to avoid any programmes about food too, but in the last couple of weeks I've noticed I can watch people eating without getting an envious reaction. I watched the horizon last night about taste and they kept showing chocolate and people eating. It didn't bother me. My biggest challenge was last Friday - I fasted because the previous Monday and Tuesday were a write off (I'm Irish and it was Paddy's weekend). I always have a few drinks on a Friday night. It was tough, but I did it. The changes have been pretty unconscious - I don't think of myself as someone with willpower, and that's the power of 5:2 for me. Changing my physical and mental reactions without having to really think about it! Hope this doesn't sound smug or anything, I really just want to emphasise that the body does adapt given time.

And dominic, that is really reassuring. I'm going to try to direct some of my new found energy to some more exercise.

[carorees]

Dominic, I think the heart failure in starvation might also be related to build up of fatty acids and stiffening of the ventricular wall. The high circulating cholesterol you get during a fast results in deposition in the muscle...of course this is during continuous fasting/very low calorie eating that happens in starvation. There may also be potassium derangements too. I think this is what the happened in the rats doing long term ADF. But as we know 6 months of ADF for a rat is rather different from what we are doing. I think that only a very small amount of protein is needed to provide glucose for tissues that are dependent on it. Growth hormone released during fasting protects from muscle being used up.

The 10% lost muscle is probably due to not needing the muscle as weight decreases...takes less effort to move around so muscle is lost accordingly unless you do resistance training.

So does this mean that with 5:2 fasting, even with 2 water only fasts each week, it's not necessary to increase daily exercise to avoid dangerous side effects?

I want to do some more exercise to tone up, but given my previous track record with gym-type exercise (don't enjoy it/ can't keep it up) I'm not hopeful that I'll build in much more structured exercise.

Obviously I'm keen to avoid dropping dead from heart failure so if that was a real possibility, I'd say I could fairly motivate myself to do a bit more.