The FastDay Forum

Thanks guys - will just keep at it. Had my 2nd fast day today and was a bit hungrier than on Monday but I have managed it and am just about to go to bed. Looking forward to having some food tomorrow lol x

Hi, I also have 5 stone + to lose, & although I don't have diabetes yet, I am borderline & am hoping this WOE stops me going any further.

I had gestational diabetes with my last 2 pregancies (& probably the first but it was undiagnosed). I had to take insulin & the second pregnancy i was hospitalised at week 34 & induced at week 37 as my sugars couldn't be controled. I have a blood sugar monitor & always know if my sugars are high before i take them as I feel 'just not right'... very difficult to explain to a non diabetic!!! Carbs affect me nearly as bad as sucking on a sugar cube,actually, i am imagining that as I don't actually suck sugar cubes (not since i was 4 anyway!!!)
Only just started, yesterday first fast day but feeling relly positive about it, fingers crossed it works as all the benefits suggest & you'll be off that medication one day... really something to aim for, good luck & keep us posted!!!

Hi and welcome I'm not diabetic but have set my goal at 7stone to lose should be more but I'll see how I feel when I get there, so will be here on a similar journey with you and off to a good start lost my first stone before my holiday (now repairing damage done) before next weigh-in so Good luck. Sue

Hi Mich
I was borderline Type 2. Only avoided being put on medication because I asked for time to try other methods. I actually got my BG down by going low carb. My problem has been more to do with high BG on waking (the so called dawn phenomenon)but during the day my BG can drop very low if I get hungry and I was getting quite shaky at times which is why I wanted to avoid meds. Low carb seemed to smooth that out.

I was wary of fasting but I've had no problems. It has become obvious over the weeks though that if I want to continue to progress I will have to stick with a fairly low carb approach. I went a bit crazy on carbs when I first went over to 5:2. I was one of the people fooled into reading it as eating anything I wanted so I did! My weight loss stalled and my FBG was on the rise but I think I've got it turned rounsd again now.

Good luck on the journey.

miffy49 - after reading the book, I, too, was under the impression that we could eat anything on non-fast days.

However, from reading lots of posts over the last couple of weeks, I still can't work out what percentage of people really are tucking in to anything they want, and still losing weight.

For diabetics, a low-carb diet is, by, far, the correct way forward. As you say, blood-glucose levels really drop on that WOE.

If 5:2 worked that well, why would so many people be experimenting with other ways of losing weight?

Counting calories on non-fast days didn't seem to be what the book was all about, unless I haven't read it properly.

miffy49 - after reading the book, I, too, was under the impression that we could eat anything on non-fast days.

However, from reading lots of posts over the last couple of weeks, I still can't work out what percentage of people really are tucking in to anything they want, and still losing weight.

5:2 creates a calorie reduction of about 3000 calories a week, but if someone is overeating by 500 calories a day to start with then that won't be enough to bring about a weight loss, only to reduce or stop the weight gain. If that sounds a lot, watch "Secret Eaters"

We're still entering data from the Questionnaire but from a quick look I would say that most of the younger women (pre menopausal) do not report a feed day calorie intake number whereas in older women it's about 50/50. The "don't know" people tend also to say their intake is very variable.

So I would say that more than half the 100+ respondents aren't monitoring calories closely.

There's no way you can expect to eat anything you want on feast days. I keep my weight constant by eating enough on feast days to maintain a stable weight. If you could eat anything and still lose weight then that would be happening to me. On the subject of Diabetes, I'm not but my wife is and has not had a problem with 5:2 other than it looking at first as if she is a carboholic ! However we are making progress with lower carb substitutes for potato, ric, bread etc.

The younger end are going to be able to eat more freely aren't they as they will have a better TDEE. If you go strictly to the calories in/calories out formula two fast days still only leaves me 6000 cals to spread over 5 days if I'm going to lose 1lb per week. Hard to achieve that and still eat anything you fancy!

I will admit that I was bitterly disappointed to find that I still need to stay very aware of what I eat if I'm to continue to lose weight and keep my BG under control. I have just assumed that its part of the unfortunate turn that my health took a few years ago rather than their being anything inherantly wrong with the plan. All plans are aimed at a wide market. Some of us will always slip the net! Its just life and life can be shit at times!

miffy49 - if you stick to a low-carb WOE, your weight will come off really well. It is the best way of keeping diabetes at bay.

If you read my posts on the subject of BG you will see that it was low carb that got me back into normal levels and shifted the majority of the 53lbs I've lost so far. I went to 5:2 partly for the health benefits, (having FMS I have a lot of cognitive problems and I hoped it might help reverse the degrading effects of those), but basically, having read Dr Ms account of how his weight dropped and his BG normalised I had hoped that maybe I would be able to maintain my progress on a less restricted diet. Seems not! So, I'm back to a mix of 5:2/16:8 for the fasting benefits along with low carb for the weight and BG. I had been eating very low carb to maintain my weight loss but at the moment I'm trying a slightly more liberal allowance just to get some variety.

I am not diabetic but curious how type 2 diabetics that are on medication manage ,do you on fast days not take your medication as surely your BG levels would go too low , I am interested as a couple of friends are type 2 and would like to tell them about 5.2

depend on the medication and their precise problem. In general Type II diabetics aren't that inclined to low glucose, and if medication is stopping over-production of glucose by the liver then that doesn't conflict with eating less through fasting.

Do you friends do anything different if they eat more or less carbohydrate ? are they prone to hypos ?

Newcastle Uni had Type II diabetics on ~600 calories a day for 8 weeks, as an illustration of what can be tolerated.

Yeah, Type 2 is a totally different ball game to Type 1. Type 2 actually tend to produce too much insulin but are insulin resistant. The Newcastle study had good results over the trial. Are there any further results for the long term effects Phil? I know a lot of people on the diabetic forum were trying out their own version but I don't go on there very often.

Hello Michk
My OH has Type 2 Diabetes & has no problems on fast days. He was advised by his Diabetic Nurse to take half his usual medication when fasting. We just eat dinner on fast days & his own blood tests have improved in keeping him stable throughout the week & he is losing about one pound a week in weight. He has about 10-12 lbs to lose to get to his optimum weight. I will try to get him to post how he is doing & what meds he takes because he is a rather infrequent forum user at the moment.

My OH was told by the doctor (who specialises in diabetes ) that metformin could be continued on normal dose on fasting days. He said it just stops glucose going too high and doesn't cause it to fall when fasting.